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Dreaming with Lolita Essays

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Dreaming with Lolita

What world are you living in? Over the past hundreds of years psychologists have been studying the functions of the human mind. It is a task that seems to prolong as information and new methods arrive. What makes us dream or imagine things? The fact that we have dreams and ambitions in life strives us to believe through imagining and dreaming that we will eventually get a break in life. Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov, is a novel that characterizes these types of situations. It implies similarity in plot and theme between Lolita and certain fairy tales. Furthermore, Nabokov implies the folk characterization in Lolita to show the paradoxical relationship of art and reality thus showing how real life people live out the …show more content…

Humbert portrays Charlotte as an obstacle and wishes, "for some terrific disaster" where Charlotte is, "instantly and permanently eliminated" (Nabokov 55). Humbert shows his deep disgust towards her by calling her many different nasty things throughout the novel. For example, Humbert refers to Charlotte as, "The Haze women (Nabokov 47), the "old cat" p. (Nabokov 49), and the "detested mamma" (Nabokov 51). Humbert also states that Charlotte, "was to me but and obstacle" In addition to this parallel, Charlotte, like the evil fairy mothers and stepmothers in "Cinderella" and "Snow White" hated her daughter" (Jones 70).

Another interesting parallel also deals with Charlotte and the Queen or stepdaughter in "Snow White." Both of these characters are in competition with their daughters and stepdaughters for the attention of the male. In Lolita, Humbert, "overhears Charlotte and Lolita fighting over him" (Jones 69). He states that he heard, "a great banging of door and other sounds coming from quaking caverns where the two rivals were having a ripping row" (Nabokov 55). As for in "Snow White," the Queen constantly asks in the mirror "who is the fairer of them all, herself or her daughter" (Jones 69). In addition, both Charlotte and the Queen as a result of their jealousy towards their daughters opt to send them out to the wilderness. Nabokov's characterization of Charlotte as the jealous mother serves a purpose. "Initially, it makes the characters and actions

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