Carolyn Kunin: I didn't know about the mists & bunny reference, I simply thought that behind Haze, an improbably surname, the rather ordinary surname Hayes was hiding in plain sight [ ].p.s. American Beautywise? - there's the famous rose and a less famous movie ...
Jansy Mello: So, you did explore those Irish mists [In Ireland, Hayes originated as a Gaelic polygenetic surname "O hAodha", meaning descendant of Aodh ("fire"), or of Aed, an Irish mythological god. Septs in most counties anglicised "O hAodha" to "Hayes". In County Cork, it became "O'Hea"] as VN probably intended us to (no idea why, though).
The pretty friend of the middle-aged character’s daughter in “American Beauty” (the one covered by roses) is Angela Hayes. But the movie came out almost thirty years after “Lolita” and the surname Hayes must be just a coincidence.
You also ask: “now if we only could find out why the wonderful John Ray's name is used to portray such an ass ….” in an angry tone. Funny, I always considered the doctor to be a typical example of institutional psychiatrists and never bothered much about him, nor why he’d been given such an illustrious name - except for the play with his initials (JR Jr.). I must have been too hasty in my dismissal!