Humbert describes his childhood as rather idyllic, and
this description reveals many personality characteristics that make
him unique among other characters in the novel. Most important,
his background is European—not from any particular country, but from
a mixture of nationalities. His European character and manner will
prove irresistible to many Americans, and it sets up the American-European
cultural conflict. Though Nabokov explicitly stated that this is
not a novel of a jaded European seducing an innocent American or
a shallow American seducing an elegant European, the contrast between
the two cultures is highlighted prominently throughout the book.
Humbert’s childhood, in other ways, is edenic and dreamy, far different
from the childhood that Lolita will have. As the only son of a well-to-do
father, Humbert is cultured and educated with high standards, and
was raised among the elite vacationers on the Riviera. This privileged
childhood is interrupted and forever marked by his encounter with
Annabel Leigh.
The name Annabel Leigh is an allusion
to Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “Annabel Lee,” an ode to a young wife.
Critics generally assume that the poem refers to Poe’s young wife,
who died tragically early in their marriage. There are multiple
allusions to Poe throughout the novel, but none so overt as this.
Annabel’s name indicates her status not only as a prepubescent lover
and object of desire but also as a young life cut short. Even though
Annabel predates Lolita, Humbert makes clear that his love for Lolita
has blurred the memory of his earlier love. Humbert can’t recollect
Annabel’s appearance exactly, but he provides a lyrical description
of their attempts at lovemaking. This tendency will be reversed
when it comes to Lolita, whose physical features receive long, evocative
descriptions while her sexual encounters with Humbert are narrated
ambiguously and obliquely. Though Humbert romanticizes his trysts
with Annabel, he manages to provide detailed accounts of their failed sexual
encounters. With Lolita, he is too far in love to provide anything
so mundane.
Humbert’s concept of the nymphet recalls the nymphs of
Greek mythology, who were beautiful, wild, sexually active, and
seduced by gods and men alike. Thus, Humbert’s invented name for
the category of girls he likes places a learned and romantic veneer
over his deviant desires. The age range of nymphets is fixed, and
Humbert has no use for the nymphets who grow into ordinary women,
an unfortunate aversion. Many adult women in the novel are clearly attracted
to Humbert, but he sees them only as obstacles and hindrances. Humbert
also tries to make his love for nymphets timeless by linking it
to the practices of historical figures and faraway cultures. His
romanticization of his attraction to underage girls belies his half-hearted
attempts to provide a dutiful psychiatric analysis of his tendencies.
Throughout the novel, Humbert speaks of the “enchantment” and “spell”
of his moments with Lolita and Annabel. The nymphet is a symbol
of lost youth and pure love, a dream-girl, who, given her romantic
qualities and the censure of society, is virtually unattainable
to the adult man.
