The Aesthetic Significance Of Sensuous Elements In Lolita

Lolita is a classic of world literature which has encountered much critical controversies since its publication owing to its immoral themes and has achieved sensational success. This novel, in the form of a confession or memoir, with extremely beautiful language and delicate artistic skills, presents the protagonist Humbert 's deep affection, enchantment and twisted love for his pubescent stepdaughter Dolores(Lolita).Since the publication of Lolita, studies of it have gone through various transitions concerning theories, contents and methods. A consensus on the aesthetic significance of this novel has long been reached. As a memoir, memory plays an important role in Lolita, and sensuous elements such as color, light, sound and odor are important elements for stimulating the protagonist 's memories and expressing senses of beauty. This thesis, based on the Nabokovian �aesthetic bliss', with the analysis of these four elements, attempts to explore how sensuous elements express and convey to the readers Lolita's delicate beauty.This thesis is mainly divided into three parts: introduction, four chapters and conclusion. Introduction gives a general survey of the topic of this thesis, reviews on the relevant literature abroad and in China and introduces its theoretical background. Chapter one exemplifies in detail the aesthetic fu nction of expressing ecstatic emotions of the sensuous element �color '. Yellow expresses glamour and lust, red expresses love and pain, and blue expresses devil and sadness. Chapter two exemplifies in detail the aesthetic effects of representing mysterious powers of the element �light'. On the one hand, lights reflect the atmosphere and beauty of nymphets; on the other hand, shades indicate mystery and fate. Chapter three analyses the aesthetic effects and significance of �voice' of revealing inner motions in this novel. The sounds not only reveal the changes and development of Humbert's emotions, but also foreshadow death and loss. Likewise, chapter four analyses the aesthetic function of �odor ' in evoking psychological complexes in this novel. This thesis mainly analyzes two complexes: the nostalgia for childhood love and t he nymphet complex. Conclusion summarizes the main content of this thesis, restates the important points, complements the findings and points out the flaws of this thesis.