Vladimir Nabokov: The Enchanter

[pontalba]

SIL LOL! Yes HH would have been writhing.....

 

[Peder]

Here's something that puzzled me even while I was first reading the book: I've always thought that pedophiles (regardless of whether they go after young girls or young boys) are usually insecure in their relationships with adults, and therefore choose children because they're more easily dominated. HH is different. HH felt comfortable about his ability to dominate and outsmart adults (men and women), and he wasn't attracted to girl children below (or after) certain ages. The first budding of his "nymphet"s sexual maturity seemed to be what was arousing to him. HH makes several references to Lolita's beginning signs of womanhood, although he seemed to have wanted her to stay at that exact spot where she only was showing only the very first signs.

It was only the very early prepubescent that he was attracted to, but he was able to function sexually with an adult woman. HH just wasn't your run-of-the-mill pedophile.

In The Enchanter there is also reference to the little girl with the low-cut dress and the make-up.) I don't see how the Annabelle episode would explain all of this. Evedrybody has had a first love.

Edit: ( I see that you and I were busily analyzing HH at the same time, pontalba! How he would have hated that!)

Still,
I have wondered the same thing from time to time, whether VN's characters were consistent psychologically. Whether pedophiles were like the characters he described (or vice versa, really), and whether their grown selves were consistent with their youthful and formative experiences.
I haven't seen any psychologists/psychiatrists (yet) to have commented on such questions. and the only comment I have seen, I think in Appel's Introduction, is the general comment that VN did examine pscyhiatric [boing, if true] records of pedophiles. When the sun comes up I'll dig it out.

Also, Pontalba commented that "the man doth protest too much," and I have just come across the paragraph she has to be referring to, and which you must also have been looking at. Because for a whole paragraph Humbert does go on and on about the wonderfully loved and sunny childhood he had. And it comes right after the dense summary of all the assorted connectings among members of his family and the " lightning, picnic." It struck me that he/VN might have been going out of his way to assert that Freudians, and others, would have nothing whatever to find in Humbert's background, and that moreover there was nothing to all those things that they spoke about in forming character (in Humbert's or anyone else's childhood). Especially since as I recall, that "sunny" paragraph just precedes Humberts assertion that it was Annabel, all Annabel exclusively, who led to his interests which would finally be incarnated again in Lolita. He seemed to really want to nail that point down flat when I was reading it again this afternoon. And that may be the one time that VN himself, or a character, ever commented on the psychological origins of their perversions in a story. I can't swear to that but other occasions don't come to mind. (Humbert of course claimed he had a rare gift.)
So I'm with you, both. It is an interesting question how true to life VN's characters are, allowing of course for the fact that they are mostly all quaint and odd to begin with. (John Shade in Pale Fire may be the exception -- a completely normal family man. )
And when the sun comes up I'll see how much of what I just wrote is correct.
But nothing ventured, nothing gained,
And also, not always right , but never in doubt,
So, CU tmw,
Peder

PS I wonder if Pifer's Casebook has anything to say?

 

[StillILearn]

Looking forward to your reply, Peder. See you when the sun comes up! (I have a normal twelve year-old in my house tonight, and she is just so not what HH or VN refers to.

 

[Peder]

Looking forward to your reply, Peder. See you when the sun comes up! (I have a normal twelve year-old in my house tonight, and she is just so not what HH or VN refers to.

Still,
That is SO easy to believe!
I see (even in the dark ) that I overstated a little. The three stories with a sort of common theme, namely Nursery Tale, Enchanter, and Lolita, may also share a common (alleged) 'psychological' explanation, namely an unsatisfactory early experience. Two definitely do, so that's an idea that VN hung onto, at least for the purpose of telling stories.
Peder

 

[pontalba]

Peder
As to how "true to life" VN's characters are, well who knows how people think? I would not be the one to say that the characters are not realistic. From what I have seen of "Life", anything is possible. Now I admit I have lead a somewhat sheltered life in some ways. But people can be formed (warped?) by events that maybe would not affect others in the same manner.
In a way it comes back to the Nature vs. Nuture theme. But humans can only work with what we have. If Humbert didn't have the fundamental "underpinnings" imbedded when he was a child, and didn't have a strong enough sense of self or simply mental or emotional strength........well, anything could result. And did.

 

[StillILearn]

Peder
As to how "true to life" VN's characters are, well who knows how people think? I would not be the one to say that the characters are not realistic. From what I have seen of "Life", anything is possible. Now I admit I have lead a somewhat sheltered life in some ways. But people can be formed (warped?) by events that maybe would not affect others in the same manner.
In a way it comes back to the Nature vs. Nuture theme. But humans can only work with what we have. If Humbert didn't have the fundamental "underpinnings" imbedded when he was a child, and didn't have a strong enough sense of self or simply mental or emotional strength........well, anything could result. And did.

Of course you'e right, pontalba. Generalizations -- well -- they stink! HH didn't have to be like any other pedophile or person on this or any other planet. Nor did Lolita. I may be subconsciously trying to analyze VN.

And VN'd hate that even more than HH would!

 

[Peder]

Research

Of course you'e right, pontalba. Generalizations -- well -- they stink! HH didn't have to be like any other pedophile or person on this or any other planet. Nor did Lolita. I may be subconsciously trying to analyze VN.

And VN'd hate that even more than HH would!

Still, Pontalba,
I've had a fun morning looking at the research that VN did for his characters and the similarity between the three protagonists. And then there are the fascinating tidbits that accidentlaly came to light, which will make a third post. But before we get to the research and the characters I agree that the stories are certainly fiction, and there need be no resemblance to any real fact. But one does wonder about the possible connections between the fiction and the reality, especially when VN went out of his way to try to make his descriptions authentic.
What I have found indicates most clearly that he did so in quite some detail for Lolita

-- observing girls, ... searching out recent studies of the physical and psychological development of American School girls ...titles from jukeboxes...phrases from teen magazines, women's magazines ... Girl Scout manuals and overheard conversation." (Boyd TAY p211)

For Humbert, Boyd's mentions of VN's research are more vague.

He noted newspaper accounts of accidents, sex crimes, and killings: 'a middle aged morals offender who abducted fifteen-year old Sally Horner ...G. Edward Grammer's ineptly staged murder of hiis wife, .. a hitory of the Colt revolver, gun catalogs, an article on barbiturates.. (Boyd TAY p211)

and Appel, in the introduction to Lolita beginning with Nabokov himself speaking, states:

"What was most difficult was putting myself ... I am a normal man, you see." Research was thus called for, and in scholarly fashion, Nabokov followed newspaper stories involving pedophilia (incorporating some into the novel), read case studies, and, like Margaret Mead coming home to roost, even did researchin the field .. (Appel, TAL p Xl)

and goes on to mention observing girls is school buses, playgrounds and so forth.

What details VN may have gleaned from those stories and case studies is not at all mentioned (except for Horner and Grammer).

However, I must say that the Introduction, after all this rereading and discussion of Lolita, looks so much more understandable to me now. I would strongly recommend rereading it for every one here, for the sheer enjoyment of recognizing what probably seemed obscure originally.

Next the three men themselves,
Peder

 

[StillILearn]

Thank you so much for doing all this research for us, Peder. All in all, this really does make me want to not only reread Lolita, but to delve deeper into the mind of the man, not to even mention reading the rest his works.

But first, I'm taking a little (640 page) detour through the sixteenth century. I need to get out of the present day every once in a while so's to get a little historical perspective on things -- you know what I mean? Does anybody else need to get out of Dodge now and again? So to speak? Tudor times always kind of puts things back into perspective for me.

As does the bubonic plague.

 

[Peder]

Erwin, Arthur, Humbert

Erwin, Arthur and Humbert are the three men from A Nursery Tale, The Enchanter, and Lolita repsectively, who all share hidden desires for younger girls. The question is what VN attrribtes these desires to, if he refuses to attribute them to Freudian events during infancy and earliest childhood.

For Erwin, who collected imaginary harems of attractive women and children, while riding the streetacar to and from work,

We should bear in mind that Erwin was so morbidly shy that only once in his life, taunted by rascally colleagues, he had accosted a woman, and she had said quietly: "You should be ashamed of yourserfl. Leave me alone." Thereafter he avoided conversation with strange young ladies. In compensation, separated from the street by a window pane, he looked boldy and freely at passing young ladies [from the streetcar] .... and then would suddenly bite his mether lip. This signaled the capture of a new concubine;`whereupon he would set her aside as it were, and his swift gaze, jumping like a compass needle, was already seeking out the next one."

Truth to tell, Erwin remains pretty much an observer through to the end of the story and never had any sexual contacts within the story or, presumably, elsewhere.

For Arthur, the story starts with him already absorbed in wrestling with his sexual outlook,

"How can I come to terms with myself? This cannot be lechery, coarse carnality is omnivorous ... so what if I did have five or six normal affairs -- how can one compare their insipid randomness with my unique flame?"

And that is before he has even seen the daughter who will become his target!

Humbert, as we have seen, traces the origin of his own pedophilia to his interrupted amorous dalliance with Annabel (dalliance interruptus ) and is at great pains to proclaim a perfectly happy childhood and, by implication, no insidious (Freudian) influences.

So, at least for story-telling purposes, VN reuses the notion that an unhappy youthful episode has psychologically warped two of his three protagonists, and all have lived from youth toward grown adult years with the desire deep within themselves. So it starts in youth and remains fixated on younger girls as the men grow toward middle age, despite differences in their outward personalities.

Freud however need not apply, nor so much as utter a peep!

peder

 

[pontalba]

SIL
Which Tudor in particular, or a string of them?

Peder
I hate to admit it, but I have barely read the Annoted version of Lolita. By the time I received it, I'd already marked up my first copy. I did run thru and check out much of the French, but that was about it. I'll remedy that this day.

You know in the 'old days', I'd have rather died than mark up a book! It simply wasn't done! LOL

Regarding Erwin from A Nursery Tale, I really got the impression that he was attracted to grown, young, but grown women. The only child he mentioned to my rememberance was the 14 year old with the older Humbert clone. But I did zip thru it pretty fast. I could have missed it.

Pederwrote--dalliance interruptus

Never heard it put better!

 

[Peder]

The Enchanter

One of the bonus tidbits from rereading the Introduction to Lolita was to have it confirmed yet again just who the Enchanter was.
I had started out this thread thinking that the Enchanter was the little girl, and never even seriously questioned the notion unitl it slowly dawned on me that the title was Enchanter, not Enchantress (and in Russian too!). Breaca quickly pointed out that Arthur was The Enchanter and settled the question.

Since then, I have found that Dmitri Nabokov mentions matter-of-factly (TE p98)

The Enchanter, evel conjuror though he may be, lives partially in an enchanted world. And common madman or not, he lives on a special poetic plane as a mad king (for he knows that he is any case mad!)...

while Appel, in His Introduction to Lolita states, again matter-of-factly (p xxxvii),

...the "enchanter" sees the girl for the first time in what might be the Tuileries Gardens:

A violet clad girl of twelve (he never erred) was treading rapidly and firmly in skates...

.. the "enchanter" makes no sexual advances until the final pages, soon after the girl's mother has died...

The cruelest cut of all is that the last quote is from a page that I had previously marked in the margin as "Enchanter." And still I didn't remember it! (Doh!)

It seems that everybody, who is anybody, just knows who the Enchanter is, without even remarking or clarifying what I think is a somewhat obscure fact. So, I guess that's how you can tell an expert!

Peder

 

[Peder]

You know in the 'old days', I'd have rather died than mark up a book! It simply wasn't done! LOL

Regarding Erwin from A Nursery Tale, I really got the impression that he was attracted to grown, young, but grown women. The only child he mentioned to my rememberance was the 14 year old with the older Humbert clone. But I did zip thru it pretty fast. I could have missed it.

Pontalba,
I had never marked in a book -- until I fell in with the evil people in these various book forums. And until I just had to try to keep track of just what the hey was going on in Lolita.

With respect to Erwin's interest I was stuck for quite how to phrase it, because what you say is mostly true. You didn't miss anyone. However there was also the one final girl whom he chose, who sounded like a young woman, but who turned out to be the first girl he chose. And there she sounded like a younger girl out with her dog. It sounds to me like VN lost continuity there, maybe before he had a full-time continuity director with the same initials VN. /oh the presumption!/

Erwin noticed a girl in white who had squatted down to tousle with two fingers a fat shaggy pup with warts on its belly...Still playing with the puppy she half rose from her haunches and clapped her hands above it. The fat little animal rolled over on the gravel, ran a few feet and toppled on its side....Her palish lips twitched as if repeating every small movement of the puppy....She started running showing nice legs and the puppy tumbled in her wake like a woooly ball.

From that she sounded quite young to me, which baffled me when she appeared to be more grown, later in the story. But you are right, there is only the one teenager who is clearly identified. The other must be my (Nabokovian) imagination.
Peder

 

[Peder]

Does anybody else need to get out of Dodge now and again? So to speak? Tudor times always kind of puts things back into perspective for me.

Still,
I do know what you mean. I dally with other books, which I mostly pick up on impulse when I am at Borders. But sometimes the prose and the story-telling are just so atrocious compared to VN that I never finish. If You Could See Me Now, was in that category and is now down on the communal shelf unfinished. I Know This Much is True is written in NY colloquial style, so I find it quite readable, even if not VN, and I am sure I will finish all of it someday. A recent Grisham, The Broker, hangs in the balance because the first chapter is just so horrible, but as a spy story it might catch my interest. And Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea is patiently waiting for me to pick it up again. That I know I'll finish, sad ending and all.

But I know I'll also keep a VN going. Right now I'm rereading Pnin, and have about six TBR on the VN stack. Pifer's Casebook I'll also be looking at next for its more scholarly articles about VN and Lolita, and for possible thoughts for discussion here on the forums.
But I do know the urge!
And then in the Spring a young man's fancy also turns,
Peder

 

[pontalba]

I've put a few thoughts on Appel's Annotated Lolita over in the Lolita thread....

 

[StillILearn]

pontalba =

Which Tudor in particular, or a string of them?

The Tudor in this case is Elizabeth I, who (I guess) only has a sort of a bit part in this one.

Peder =

I do know what you mean. I dally with other books, which I mostly pick up on impulse when I am at Borders. But sometimes the prose and the story-telling are just so atrocious compared to VN that I never finish

.

The "Dodge" in this case happens to be the entire twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Give or take a few centuries. (I do know what you mean about VN spoiling your enjoyment of other writers though. He takes writing to a whole 'nother level.)

 

[pontalba]

SIL
Anything in that time frame is interesting IMO! I've always been partial to the Stuarts and the Tudors anyhow.

Peder
I liked some of the early Grishams, but like a lot of other series they seem to have gone down the nick a bit. I suppose you can only get so much blood out of a turnip.

And then to compare them to Nabokov.....well!

 

[Peder]

Peder =.

The "Dodge" in this case happens to be the entire twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Give or take a few centuries. (I do know what you mean about VN spoiling your enjoyment of other writers though. He takes writing to a whole 'nother level.)

Still,
Ahh! No I don't necessarily leave the century. I just go to totally different genres. Like a first person account of life aboard a British fishing trawler 'way up in the North Atlantic, including a major storm. Or spy stories.
Peder

 

[Peder]

Peder
And then to compare them to Nabokov.....well!

Pontalba,
Well I don't necessarily object to mind-mush, but there are limits!
Peder

 

[pontalba]

Still,
Ahh! No I don't necessarily leave the century. I just go to totally different genres. Like a first person account of life aboard a British fishing trawler 'way up in the North Atlantic, including a major storm. Or spy stories.
Peder

Leaving the century is a good thing. Its nice to read of a time that while in a way is less complex, the mechanisms of living are more complex, at leas more difficult to accomplish.

I high recommend it.

But I do enjoy my spy stories too......... Any Century.

 

[Peder]

See you all tomorrow,
Gotta hit the hay,
Peder