Suggestions
Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.Please wait while we process your payment
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
Please wait while we process your payment
By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy.
Don’t have an account? Subscribe now
Create Your Account
Sign up for your FREE 7-day trial
Already have an account? Log in
Your Email
Choose Your Plan
Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan!
Purchasing SparkNotes PLUS for a group?
Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more!
Price
$24.99 $18.74 /subscription + tax
Subtotal $37.48 + tax
Save 25% on 2-49 accounts
Save 30% on 50-99 accounts
Want 100 or more? Contact us for a customized plan.
Your Plan
Payment Details
Payment Summary
SparkNotes Plus
You'll be billed after your free trial ends.
7-Day Free Trial
Not Applicable
Renews June 4, 2023 May 28, 2023
Discounts (applied to next billing)
DUE NOW
US $0.00
SNPLUSROCKS20 | 20% Discount
This is not a valid promo code.
Discount Code (one code per order)
SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. You may cancel your subscription on your Subscription and Billing page or contact Customer Support at custserv@bn.com. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. Free trial is available to new customers only.
Choose Your Plan
For the next 7 days, you'll have access to awesome PLUS stuff like AP English test prep, No Fear Shakespeare translations and audio, a note-taking tool, personalized dashboard, & much more!
You’ve successfully purchased a group discount. Your group members can use the joining link below to redeem their group membership. You'll also receive an email with the link.
Members will be prompted to log in or create an account to redeem their group membership.
Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Continue to start your free trial.
Please wait while we process your payment
Your PLUS subscription has expired
Please wait while we process your payment
Please wait while we process your payment
With the help of Humbert’s acquaintance Gaston Godin, Humbert and Lolita move to 14 Thayer Street, an unimpressive house in Beardsley. Humbert is disappointed in the Beardsley School for Girls, which emphasizes social skills rather than intellectual achievement. The headmistress, Pratt, believes that Beardsley girls must focus on the “four D’s”: Dramatics, Dance, Debating, and Dating. Humbert is appalled, but some teachers reassure him that the girls do some good, solid schoolwork. The Thayer Street house has a view of the school playground, which pleases Humbert, since he believes he will be able to watch Lolita and, he hopes, other nymphets. Unfortunately, builders arrive to make changes and block his view.
Humbert describes Beardsley and his neighbors, with whom he is on civil yet distant terms. He constantly worries that they might snoop on his arrangement. Humbert also worries that Lolita might confide in their cook, Mrs. Holigan, and tries to make sure that they are never left alone together.
Humbert’s friendship with Gaston Godin, a popular man regarded as a French sophisticate and genius scholar, smoothes his arrival in the new town of Beardsley. Gaston knows all of the small boys in the neighborhood and has portraits of them, as well as famous artists, in his home. Humbert enjoys their occasional chess games but finds Gaston to be a mediocre scholar and somewhat dim-witted.
Humbert and Lolita’s relationship has become more strained. Despite her allowance and many small presents, Lolita wants more money, and she starts to demand it before performing sexual favors. Humbert periodically breaks into her room to steal back her savings so she cannot run away from him.
Humbert worries about Lolita attracting boys, and he reads the local paper’s teen advice column for instruction. He allows Lolita to interact with some boys in groups, but never alone, a rule that upsets Lolita. Despite his attempt to control every aspect of Lolita’s life, Humbert can’t be sure that she hasn’t stolen away with a boy. However, he has no particular boy to suspect. Humbert imagines how others see him and wonders how he has managed to fool everyone. He still lives in a constant state of anxiety.
Humbert finds himself disappointed by Lolita’s friends, few of whom are nymphets. He talks to Lolita’s friend Mona to discover if Lolita has any boyfriends, but Mona, rather than supplying Humbert with details, seems attracted to him instead.
Please wait while we process your payment