Blog Post #2- Critical Lens Close Reading

When finishing with the first half of the book Lolita, I decided to step back and think for a brief moment on a certain passage I had just recently read from a psychoanalytical lens. Specifically, the chapter in which Lolita's mother, Humbert's then wife, passed away, and the resulting events. There are several facts within the book that could not be disputed, such as H. Humbert's occupancy as the book's resident pedophile, but others are, at this point in the book at least, arguable. This is just one of them, and one must ask the question is H. H. a murderer? It is certainly true that Humbert wanted his dear Lolita's mother out of the picture so that he could have her all to himself, but at the same time he felt himself to be too cowardly to commit the atrocity himself. He obviously wanted the event to transpire, and although he was not the person to pull the proverbial trigger, he was a large part of the reason Lolita's mother was offed. It was his id giving him the urge to do her in, but his ego and superego would not allow it, but when she caused it herself he allowed himself not to be happy, but to move his own plans forward. H. Humbert's wants were given to him in the most primal way possible, which fulfilled his id, and the simple fact that he had not purposefully caused the event to occur satisfied his more moral driven functions. A more interesting question to ask would be whether or not Humbert sees himself as a murderer. Clearly, he understands he is not without guilt in the debacle. Unfortunately, the question does answer itself, as Humbert is too obsessive over his apparent love for Dolores to be able to see himself as he truly is, as he did inadvertently caused the death of his late wife.