Elitism: A Cultural Reading Of Nabokov's Lolita

Nabokov holds an important position in the history of the twentieth-century American literature or even in the world literature. As a Russian-born American writer Nabokov has a binary cultural background of both Russia and America.Lolita, published in 1955, is one of the most controversial novels of the 20^thcentury. As David H. J. Larmour observes, "Lolita was that rare cultural phenomenon that left its mark in public consciousness from the most austere member of the intellectual community to sweaty-palmed adolescents in small-town America". Under the cover of grotesque plot, there are two conflicting cultures reflected in Lolita: popular culture and elite high culture. Which side will Nabokov take? This thesis aims to explore into Nabokov's cultural stand in Lolita.The thesis includes six parts. Part One gives a brief introduction to Nabokov's life, works and literature review, a summary of the story and states out the theoretical bases and the layout of this thesis. Part Two focuses on the cultural background of Lolita for the further analysis. With the rising of postmodernism, the boundary of high culture and popular culture is gradually blurring. Confronting this cultural turn, Nabokov tends to keep his elitism stand. Part Three deals with an important concept of Nabokov the author: Poshlust. Through the analysis of the images of people who enjoy the popular culture, and the deteriorating effects of the popular culture, we understand that Poshlust is a concept Nabokov creates to discriminate popular culture. Part Four develops around the concept of Otherworld. It is actually an artistically imagined world which is in great contradiction with the then popular Freudian psychological analysis which deems artistic imagination as inability to distinguish between reality and illusion. Through the exploration of "the Otherworld" of the author and the protagonist Humbert, we know that Otherworld .is a vehicle of Nabokov's cultural nostalgia. Part Five discusses the aesthetic pursuit of Nabokov through the analysis of Humbert's nyrnphet obsession. By the cultural reading of the concept of aesthetic bliss, we expose the deep-rooted elite cultural orientation of Nabokov. Part Six concludes with the summary of the paper and the significance of this study.