The butterfly motif continues in these chapters, as Lolita
transforms from girl to woman, from hapless innocent to seemingly
ruthless manipulator. If the novel undergoes a shift in genre, from romance
to crime thriller, Lolita’s role in the narrative shifts as well. Whereas
before, Lolita represented the idealized loved one, she now represents
the femme fatale, a crucial character type in the film noir genre.
Femme fatales are cruel yet irresistible, and, like that category of
character, Lolita grows increasingly indifferent to Humbert’s disintegration,
seducing him into trusting her only to betray him, leading him to
his destruction. Lolita lures Humbert to the summer production of
Quilty’s play but then hides what she knows about Quilty, convincing
Humbert that Quilty is actually a woman. She then defies Humbert
by secretly erasing Quilty’s license plate number. Humbert’s threats
and bribes are having less and less of an effect on Lolita, as she
slips out of Humbert’s control. Like a classic film noir protagonist,
Humbert begins to drink too much and rely too heavily on his gun.
We should note, however, that although Humbert seems to
have fallen into this crime thriller unwittingly, he remains the
narrator of this tale. This means that Humbert controls the shift
in genre, and that the decision to cast himself as the beleaguered,
hapless detective is, ultimately, his. Lolita may come across as
a femme fatale in these chapters, but her inner psyche and secret
intentions remain just as opaque as before: it’s never made clear
whether Lolita is masterminding the whole scheme or whether she’s
simply acting on Quilty’s instructions. Similarly, what Humbert
interprets as a cruel plot to destroy him may, in fact, be the desperate
actions of a girl trying to escape an oppressive, unhealthy situation.
After all, if Humbert can convince us, his jury, that the object
of his sincere devotion cruelly duped him, then he manages to cast
himself as the true victim in this situation, perhaps earning our
sympathy.
