Analysis of Nabokovs Lolita - Essay Example

Lolita Syndrome Lolita Nabokov’s ic novel is a mockery, virtuosic, elusive, ironic story book that was published in 1955. In the novel, the hectoring rhetorical voice of the narrator, Humbert is put against the almost unvoiced figure of Lolita. She is a 12-year-old girl at the beginning of the novel is seduced by Hambert for sexual motives. The novel main story is about the story of 37-year old man’s affecting and sexual love affair. After being hospitalized in some mental health center and doing weird writings, Humbert moved to U.S. Where he rent a widower house, Charlotte Haze. In the process of living in that room, he sees her 14-year old daughter, Lolita, and immediately got attracted to her The paper will explore how Lacanian concepts of unconscious, desire, as well as alienation, are reflected in the main characters of Vladimirovich Nabokov’s Lolita. The paper aims to clarify the hidden reasons underlying contacts of the three major characters in Nabokov’s Lolita through the Lacanian model for the expansion of psyche, namely: symbolic order, imaginary order and the real. Freudian literature psychoanalysis analyzes the fantasy of a particular novelist aiming to disclose the writer unconscious by examining the slip of tongues, sexual instinct and physical demand. For Lacan, the subject is represented in signifying chains that consist of the imaginary, symbolic and real orders. The unreal order is a world of perception (Lois Tyson , 27) while the symbolic order is the planet of predefined societal roles and gender differences. Humbert, the main character of the story, details his childhood and background in Europe as a researcher and his tragic childhood love for Annabei Leigh. He is now obsessively attracted by ‘nymphets’ young girls who possess a mysterious seductive, power. Lolita and Humbert drove across the U.S for a year where he endangers to put Lolita in an orphanage if she refuses to comply with his sexual requirements . He got a job at Beardsley College and admitted Lolita in the girls’ school there Lolita’s desire to hang out with boys injure her relationship with Humbert. He have been suspecting Lolita of infidelity and decided to take her for a road trip , their road trip, Humbert lost her contacts. Discussion Lolita In the track of the novel, she is pursuing her wish to realize unity, the vital meaning, and complete security. Lolita goes through three stages to start with she revolts against her mother who is a complete personification of the symbolic order. Since she had been inundated in and constricted by social norms and ideologies that are the very essence of control ,She tries to twist free from the yoke of control of rules. Her mother‘s quite voice sounded in the dark; “And now we all think the Lolita should go to bed”… she replied “ I think you stink … “which means there will be no picnic tomorrow” quoted Haze “This is a free country “, said Lolita (Nabakov, 28) Therefore, she intends to avoid the symbolic order since all the norms distinguish her as a separate body that is bereft of its prior unity thus its total control. The ulterior reason for her circumvention is because she likes to control rather than to be controlled which is the exact essence of the symbolic order. In the hope of achieving security, total control, ultimate meaning of life, she turns face and takes refuge to Humbert and unavoidably succumbs to his amorous craving. Since Lolita thought that there was something in Humbert that she believe could soothe and satisfy her, but a moment later she realized that it is fake, so she grew to spurn it. She had entered his world, umber, and black Humberland, with rash inquisitiveness, she surveyed it with a sign of amused revulsion; and it seemed to him she was prepared to avert from it with something akin to plain repulsion (Nabakov, 116). She had been dispossessed of her right to converse with other males of her age. For that reason got unfriendly with the conditions, she deliberately showed her hatred to the relationship and her intention to pull off at any cost. “I would sleep with the very fellow who asked me and you could do nothing about it “ Lolita addressing Humbert (Nabakov, 145). Lolita comes to the conclusion that the affair was relentlessly ruining her, so she envisions no promising future and left. Finally, she found marriage the proper way where she seems to find solace and tranquility and inescapably, in her own idea, the vital meaning. Two years after her disappearance, Humbert found her whereabouts and tried to convince her for a reunion but she turns it down due to her complete satisfaction in her present conditions. She addressed her father in the letter about her present conditions that was promising but with no money to pay bills (Nabakov, 190). It reflects the penetrating influence of what Lacan termed “Name-of-the-father” on her gratitude of the world and understanding. It is her perception of life, pleasure, and ultimate goal in life. The ideologies of her society are so highly entrenched in her that have made her feel comfortable and satisfied with her current condition than with her past moment with Humbert. Though the present situation is too inferior in terms of financial status and affection, she is bound to it The reason for her satisfaction of the current situation is not the result of her unique thinking and personality, but the outcome of what she has been trained to be , that is social ideas. It reflects Lacan’s idea when he says: “the desire is always the desire of others.” Hence, in spite of her past sentimental affairs with Humbert, Lolita, however, feels difficulty and even hates her relationship with Humbert. So, these proof shine light on the penetrating and uncontroversial pressure of what Lacan calls “Name-of-the father.” And it is what Lacan means by the association between the signifier and the signified. According to him, this type of relationship is various and even contradictory from individual to individual and even can change in an individual occasionally. From the novel, it is evident that, Lolita’s mother and Humbert’s sensing and resolutions of concepts like life, joy are at odds with one another. Another fact that support this is that Lolita’s perceptual experience of these concepts alters in the way of time, that’s why she is taking unlike steps to gain unity and complete control. Lolita’s mother (Mrs. Haze) She intends to control Lolita throughout the story and complain most of the time about her behavior and mood. She describes Lolita as moodiness is a regular attendant of growing up, but Lolita overstates. Sullen and evasive, Rude and defiant. (Nabakov,29). When she got upset with her etiquette, she always demands to send her to camp to rectify her behaviors in accordance with the ideologies of the society (Nabakov, 42). Humbert Humbert gets fixed in and obsessed with what Lacan mentions as “the Real.” He is after unity, control and security but not in search of the decisive meaning in life. He comprehends that there is no quality reality, and that he is in a ceaseless vertex of apprehension, what Lacan dubs :”Trauma of real”. In one of his conciliation, he claims that taboos throttled him. Therefore, he did not feel any wrong act in his affair with Lolita; hence he continued to beg for her return. Humbert actions portrayed his lack of respect to and compliance of society ideologies. Humbert accepted to marry Mrs. Haze with the intention of being near Lolita. He quoted imagining all the casual caresses of his would be able to lavish , all together represents the clean lack, the void around which wishes turns, as such causes the desire, and the unreal element which conceals this emptiness, renders it observable by filling it out (Žižek, 2005). The object a is both the gap, the void, and whatsoever item that fill the void in our symbolic reality (Sean, 88) Conclusion Lolita drowns into what Lacan term the imaginary order, the planet of union, sheer control, immediate possession in order to avoid the symbolic order. She experiences a predefined, highly reflected relations, given that she wishes to be in charge rather than to be controlled. The essence of symbolic order. On the other hand, Lolita’s mother portrays symbolic order. She wants her daughter to follow the predefined social roles and gender variations, the world of language, subject, and object (Habib, 589) Work Cited Habib, M A R. Modern Literary Criticism and Theory. A History. Carlton: Blackwell. 2005. Print. Homer, Sean. Jacques Lacan. London: Routledge, 2005. Internet resource. Lacan, Jacques, Héloïse Fink, and Bruce Fink. Ecrits: The First Complete Edition in English. New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 2006. Print. Nabakov, Vladimir. Lolita. London: Penguin publications. 1995.print Nobus, D. Concepts of Lacanian Psychoanalysis. London: Rebus Press. 1998. Print, pp. 10 Tyson, Lois. Critcal Theory Today. A user-Friendly Guide. New York and London: routledge. 2006. Print Wright, Elizabeth.“Modern Psychoanalytic Criticism.” Modern Literary Theory A Comparative Introduction. Ed. Ann Jafferson & David Robey. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. 2005. Print Žižek, Slavoj. How To Read Lacan. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. 2007. print Read More