Continued Myopia in Nabokov

"Some of the pranksters were much younger tan the King, but this did not matter since his pictures in the huts of mountain folks and in the myopic shops of hamlets, where you could buy worms, ginger bread and zhiletka blades, had not aged since his coronation." (99)

Hmmm....Nabokov seems to be very familiar with this word and it's meaning. I must keep track.

Pablo Picasso: Boy Leading Horse

I think this is the painting that Kinbote mentions on page 83.

Myopic Humbert

A man who is as self-assured as Humbert Humbert should not act dense. Throughout the entire novel readers are reassured time after time of Humberts’s intelligence. So, it seems odd that he is unable to read the clues left by his nemesis, Clare Quilty. Perhaps Humbert has poor vision which hindered his ability to piece together the puzzle. Now, the idea of Humbert’s vision being bad is never given directly, but rather indirectly. Although, we should not consider his vision bad but myopic, and when we examine the definition of myopic we learn that it means—essentially—nearsighted, shortsighted, and narrow-minded. All of which easily pertain to Humbert but Nabokov only gives us the clues of his myopia while referencing Dolores. Humbert is telling us that the reason he experiences myopia is because he was distracted by Lolita.

During the two trips that Humbert and Lolita went on he was pretty much a happy camper, with the exception of the end of the second trip when he was sure that everywhere he went he was being followed by someone. Other than that he did not notice the clues until he went back over his trip and then he noticed all sorts of evidence left by Quilty. However, Humbert still seems to be unable to plainly lay the blame all on his own shoulders. He has to drag Dolores into by letting us believe that her distracting qualities were the only reason why he did not notice Quilty sooner. Humbert would have us believe that Lolita is myopically challenged when he says:

“I had seen that kind of thing in children before but, by God, this was a special child, myopically beaming at the already remote stage where I glimpsed something of the joint authors—a man’s tuxedo and the bare shoulders of a hawk-like, black-haired, strikingly tall woman” (221).

This comes to us on a page that is graced with clues about Clare Quilty. Lolita is throwing Humbert for a loop and he does not even realize it, and since his a learned man it could be said that maybe he is embarrassed that he did not see the hints sooner. But instead of directly telling us he has to hint at it by describing Lolita’s vision as myopic when in all actuality he is the one who is shortsighted.

Once the novel has been read Humbert can be seen as somewhat predictable. By the end of the novel readers are not surprised to learn that Humbert still does not know who stole Lolita away from him and he needs Lolita to tell him. Well, we are back to myopia—believe it or not. We are aware of his shortsightedness again just after Lolita tells him that she was taken by Quilty. Humbert says:

“No matter, even if those eyes of hers would fade to myopic fish, and her nipples swell and crack, and her lovely young velvety delicate delta be tainted and torn—even then I would go mad with tenderness at the mere sight of your dear wan face, at the mere sound of your raucous young voice, my Lolita” (278).

She is not the one who has to worry about her eyes fading into “myopic fish.” Humbert knows that it is his eyes that are doomed but, he cannot come out and admit that to anyone. This is the point of the novel where he realizes that he has been so stupid—or, perhaps, narrow-minded is a better word.

Humbert Humbert is supposed to be one of those characters that readers can relate with even though he is essentially a villain. However, it is hard to relate with him at times because he often fails to see the “reality” of things and when that happens he seems very content to place fault with other characters. In the end, poor Humbert Humbert cannot seem to outwit a man with supposedly less intelligence than himself. His comeback—a gun.

Things That Annoy Me

"Lines 1-4: I was the shadow of the waxwing slain, etc.

the image in these opening lines evidently refers toa bird knocking itself out, in full flight, against the outer surface of a glass pane in which a mirrored sky..." (73)

Thankyou Captain Obvious! I can read a poem. On a more serious note, I just love how Kinbote says that lines 1-4 evidently refer to a bird knocking itself out. What else would these lines refer to? I can't figure it out, and I have re-read these lines multiple times trying to figure out any other possible meaning. I can't find any.

I enjoyed reading Brittini's paper about Lolita and Nefertiti. While I sat reading Lolita I did notice all the references to the sun but I never had the imagination to make the connection between the Egyptian Sun God that Nefertiti worshipped and Humbert Humbert's worship of Lolita. I think Brittini did a brilliant job of making a very interesting connection.

Pale Fire

So, I guess I am one of Nabokov's biggest critics in this class. However, I will first start by saying that Pale Fire is a vast improvement over Lolita. I enjoy reading poetry, so naturally I assumed that this would be an enjoyable read but I am having a hard time understanding why Pale Fire so enjoyable for people. On the other hand I am enjoying the slight dyslexic tendencies that I have encountered. Unlike Lolita I am actually interested in making discoveries in this piece. I will keep posting as I read more in depth.

Vlad and Rocko's Modern Life

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiRhIozmfzE

Pay close attention to all of the credits. What do you see?

Elphinstone (223)Lolita


The County of Elphinstone, Queensland

Alexander Elphinstone 1st Lord of Elphinstone (followed by 6 more Alexander Elphinstones, all Lords of Elphinston)

6 John Elphinstones all Lords of Elphinstone

2 Charles Elphinstones

1 William

1Sidney

1 James

Currently

Alexander Mountstuart Elphinstone, 19th Lord of Elphinstone (b. 1980)
Heir Presumptive - Hon. Angus John Elphinstone, Master of Elphinstone (b. 1982)


Wace (251) Lolita

Wace (c. 1115 – c. 1183) was an Anglo-Norman poet, who was born in Jersey (a British Crown Dependancy of the coast of Normandy), and brought up in mainland Normandy (he tells us in the Roman de Rou that he was taken as a child to Caen), ending his career as Canon of Bayeux.

Wace and Elphinstone are two towns in the novel that are realtively close to eachother, distance-wise.

MYOPIC

Adjective

1. Ophthalmology. pertaining to or having myopia; nearsighted.
2. unable or unwilling to act prudently; shortsighted.
3. lacking tolerance or understanding; narrow-minded.

Nabokov uses this word a couple of times at least. Example: "I had seen that kind of thing in children before but, by God, this was a special child, myopically beaming at the already remote stage where i glimpsed somthing of the joint authors..." (221)

"No matter, even if those eyees of hers would fade to myopic fish, and her nipples swell and crack, and her lovely young velvety delicate delta be tainted and torn..." (278)

This wor appears on a page that mentioned Clare Quilty. I think it is interesting that Humbert Humbert is frequently showing Lolita's myopic vision. It is his myopic vision that readers should be concerned with considering he is the nearsighted one, especially when it comes to figuring out the clues left for him by Quilty. I think that by always point out Lolita's myopic tendencies Nabokov is secretly wanting readers to notice Humbert's myopic tendencies instead. Just a theory.

Note: It seems as though this word is used more than twice in this novel but I am having a hard time locating instances. If anyone knows of other page numbers please let me know. Thanks!