Provocative Desires And Tragic Fates

The Russian novelist Vladimir Nabokov’s masterpiece Lolita was first published in1955in France then three years later in America. However, the fame of thiscontroversial work is always accompanied with dispute and censure as it tells a storyabout a middle-aged man Humbert’s desire for his teenager stepdaughter Lolita.Whether intentionally or not, in order to approach his incestuous lust, the protagonistHumbert hurts the people involved in his pedophilia and destroys his and Lolita’s life inthe end. However, a lot of readers are overcome by its charm and even shed sympathyfor the perverted pedophile’s tragic life. Based on Edmund Burke’s theory concerningbeauty and sublimity, this thesis mainly discusses Humbert’s desire for beauty and thesublimity of the two major characters’ destined tragedy. This thesis tries to illustrate thatin spite of its abnormal plots, the combination between the aesthetic value and thehumanistic concern embodied in this book does make it a truthful and touching work.The thesis also argues that, contrary to the commonly accepted opinion, Nabokov isactually a responsible writer who roots his humanistic concern for individual liberty andsocial ethics deeply between the lines.The thesis mainly consists of five chapters. Based on the brief introduction toNabokov and his writing, chapter1proves the significance of this research by providinga literature review. This part also includes the theoretical foundation, i.e. the key pointsof Edmund Burke’s aesthetic theory about beauty and sublimity. Initiating withintroducing the three dimensions of beauty in Burke’s theory, namely, the object of loveor lust, the features and measurement of beauty, chapter2firstly categories Humbert’spedophilia into physical desire towards the young female body and psychological desireto escape time prison and reconstruct time, then analyzes the expectation of beauty inHumbert’s abnormal desires. In light of Burke’s study on sublimity, tragedy andsympathy, chapter3analyzes the sublime quality that Lolita conveys to the readers byexamining the manifestation and contributive causes of the two major characters’tragedies. Chapter4turns to Nabokov’s humanistic concern by studying his concern for individual freedom as well as social ethics. In the conclusion part, the thesis reviews thebody part and reaffirms that Lolita is a work that reflects both the aesthetic value andhumanistic concern at the same time.