Humbert Humbert was describing a compulsion. Vladimir Nabokov set out to create an archetype. But the real little girls who fit this idea of the mythical nymphet end up getting lost in the need for artistic license. The abuse that Sally Horner, and other girls like her, endured should not be subsumed by dazzling prose, no matter how brilliant.
I think the artistry on display in the novel is defensible but deeply problematic.
I think Kubrick, men and women who refuse to find Humbert the fucking worst person imaginable do real harm to victims of predatory violence against kids.
A lot of fucked up things here to unpack. The novel brings a bunch of things to the table to start a good conversation. Better source materials exist now, but who is to say this discussion even exists without ‘Lolita’ being ‘Lolita’.
