For my final close reading entry and penultimate, I feel it would be appropriate to present a passage from the climax/falling action of Lolita. Passage is from Part II, Chapter 35.
"The whole sad business had taken more than an hour. He was quiet at last.
Far from feeling any relief, a burden even weightier than the one I had
hoped to get rid of was with me, upon me, over me. I could not bring myself
to touch him in order to make sure he was really dead." (Pg. 304)
This passage comes after Humbert murders Dolores's accused kidnapper, Dr. Ivor Quilty. After kidnapping Dolores, Quilty then attempted to force her into participating in a child pornographic orgy. When she refuses, she is kicked out and left alone and not to mention pregnant.
The symbolism of this event is an idea that has been toying with my mind ever since starting the novel. With Humbert killing Quilty, it is almost as if Humbert has destroyed the stereotype of the manipulative and abusive pedophile that preys on the innocence of children. Humbert has attempted to distance himself from this character that society has created and in killing Quilty, Humbert ultimately proves to the reader that they are not the same figure. A sense of closure is given to Humbert and to the reader. However, this does not make Humbert's actions against Dolores any more forgivable ion the eyes of the reader. As the novel progressed, we have seen Humbert coming very close to transforming into the predatory creature that Quilty exemplifies.
Conclusively, Humbert feels this differentiates them by a greater margin than we the reader truly perceive. After witnessing how unstable and manipulative Humbert, at the end of the day neither of them are forces for good, which is why Humbert's character as an antihero keeps the reader questioning whether it would be any bit sensible to trust this man. In the eyes of society, he is still a monster and a criminal. If this was a case study to prove to the general public that pedophiles were not bad people, the results of would seem favorable at first, but quickly turn into lost cause. Confession of a White Widowed Male might be a bigger understatement than ol' Humbert having a screw or two loose.
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