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Re: QUERY: Lolita's subjectivity
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In a message dated 4/17/2008 5:18:25 PM Central Daylight Time,
NABOKV-L@HOLYCROSS.EDU writes:
>
> Hello everyone,
>
> I have been following this discussion with interest. Last February, at a
> panel with Steve Blackwell and Zoran Kuzmanovich that Marianne Cotugno
> organized at the U of Louisville, I gave a paper entitled "Lolita, I Presume," which
> analyzed the various names applied to Dolores Haze over the course of the
> novel. I found that no one ever calls her "Lolita" except Humbert, and that he
> himself usually addresses her as "Lo" out loud and as "Lolita" in fantasy,
> memory, or imagination. He only addresses her aloud as "Lolita" three times --
> twice in remembered dialogue that seems unreliable (209, 236), and once
> during their final meeting, when he asks her to come away with him. Dolores's
> answer to that question is the only time in the novel, as far as I can tell,
> that she acknowledges or responds to the name "Lolita" (278).
>
> In general, I argue that Dolores doesn't seem to think of herself as
> "Lolita" but that she also avoids identifying herself completely with any of the
> names applied to her.
>
> Susan Elizabeth Sweeney
As I recall, Shelley Winters calls her this in Kubrick's film. I'll have to
check VN's screenplay to see how he handled the question. Or perhaps someone
else can check because my screenplay is in my office and I won't be back there
until Monday. I can't recall how the other film version handles it.
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NABOKV-L@HOLYCROSS.EDU writes:
>
> Hello everyone,
>
> I have been following this discussion with interest. Last February, at a
> panel with Steve Blackwell and Zoran Kuzmanovich that Marianne Cotugno
> organized at the U of Louisville, I gave a paper entitled "Lolita, I Presume," which
> analyzed the various names applied to Dolores Haze over the course of the
> novel. I found that no one ever calls her "Lolita" except Humbert, and that he
> himself usually addresses her as "Lo" out loud and as "Lolita" in fantasy,
> memory, or imagination. He only addresses her aloud as "Lolita" three times --
> twice in remembered dialogue that seems unreliable (209, 236), and once
> during their final meeting, when he asks her to come away with him. Dolores's
> answer to that question is the only time in the novel, as far as I can tell,
> that she acknowledges or responds to the name "Lolita" (278).
>
> In general, I argue that Dolores doesn't seem to think of herself as
> "Lolita" but that she also avoids identifying herself completely with any of the
> names applied to her.
>
> Susan Elizabeth Sweeney
As I recall, Shelley Winters calls her this in Kubrick's film. I'll have to
check VN's screenplay to see how he handled the question. Or perhaps someone
else can check because my screenplay is in my office and I won't be back there
until Monday. I can't recall how the other film version handles it.
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm