Natalia Ctala

ENG 1975- Privacy and Literature

Professor Kamran Javadizadeh
April 25, 2016
Lack of Control Discourages Privacy
Lolita is a novel about how a man marries a New England widow to be close to
her nymphet daughter. Its about perversion, and how its main character Humbert
Humbert corrupts a childs view on basic human relationship and sexuality, leading her to
live a childhood in the absence of fundamental privacy. As seen in Lolita, a known
concept of privacy is challenged and redefined in the way Humbert Humberts
relationship develops with Lolita, because as his control over her diminishes over time
and as his fear of being caught aggravates, the more obtrusive he becomes towards the
child. H. H. and, generally, the whole novel reformulate a traditional understanding of
privacy, because what Lolita considers to be privacy and private moments towards the
novels end, are altered from the innocent and child-like view she once had on the
subject. Lolitas privacy specifically is seen to suffer from Humberts insecurity and lack
of control, as will be shown shortly. His control over Lolita encourages him to authorize
what he believes is privacy, or more freedom than what he would award her later on.
First and foremost, the relationship between Humbert Humbert and Lolita can be
seen from various perspectives when it comes to the childs privacy. For the sake of this
argument, and although completely and morally repulsive, H. H. should be looked at as
Lolitas lover. Traditionally, and considering the relationship between the two, privacy is
seen as something necessary for a healthy relationship, and a boundary that must be set. It

provides space for both people, and room for them to grow together. At the beginning of
the novel, H. H. is seen to understand, or at least feign as if he did, how important privacy
is and treats Lolita with respect towards her private life. Maybe out of fear to not drive
the child away, or maybe tiptoeing for not knowing what he was getting himself into,
Humbert allowed Lolita enough freedom and respected her more than he would later on.
Since Lolitas mother had died, H. H. had complete control over the childs life, because
she literally had nowhere else to go. He knows how powerful he is when he thinks, My
scheme was a marvel of primitive art: I would whizz over to Camp Q, tell Lolita her
mother was about to undergo a major operation at an invented hospital, and then keep
moving with my sleepy nymphet from inn to inn while her mother got better and better
and finally died (Nabokov, 106). This total control made it easy for him to allow her
some type of freedom or private life. This type of approach can be seen in at the
beginning of the twos relationship, when Humbert picks up his new daughter from
Camp Q. When Lolita leans over to kiss him, Humbert thinks, I was dreadfully afraid I
might go too far and cause her to start back in revulsion and terror. And, as above all I
was agonizingly anxious(Nabokov, 113). In situations such as these, and also
instances where Lolita first started to make male friends, for example, H. H. is portrayed
as more distant and allowing her more freedom, maybe not out of respect for her, but out
of fear of being caught. Regardless, since he had such an immense amount of control
over her, allowing her to have a private life did not seem like a threat to Humbert.
As the novel goes on, the concept of privacy is redefined and Humbert Humbert is
seen as an agent responsible for this change. At first, Lolita having a private life and some
type of freedom was seen as normal, not as a risk. As Lolita starts getting older and her

initial nymphet ways begin to change, Humbert senses he is losing control over her. Not
that H. H. ever had complete control over her, given that external forces he called McFate
always appeared to interfere with his master plan, but he was beginning to lose the
control he believed he did have. This loss of control is evident in an argument, where H.
H. said, Dolores, this must stop right away. I am ready to yank you out of Beardsley and
lock you up you know where, but this must stop. I am ready to take you away the time it
takes to pack a suitcase. This must stop or else anything may happen (Nabokov, 205).
Humberts loss of control over her caused him to tighten his grip on Lolita, so he could
regain control, since the young child really had nowhere to go. What Lolita knew as
privacy, then, shifted and the little freedom she initially had, diminished. H. H. became
much more controlling and tracked the childs every move, as an attempt to regain
control over the situation. This concept is clearly seen when, for example, Humbert
allows Lolita to go to the roller-skating rink with boys she has met, as long as he can stay
in the parking lot (Nabokov, 160). For him, everything and everyone she interacted with
was a threat to their relationship and to his innocence. As his control over her life
lessened, so did the privacy he allowed for Lolita to have initially, by it being invaded to
a greater extent from now on.
For Lolita, privacy now is not what it once was, and this issue is clearly portrayed
in the novel. Originally, giving the child some privacy and freedom was not an issue,
since she was basically guileless or simple-minded and young. Lolita was now growing
up and understood the severity and the unfairness of the events that were taking place, as
she often hinted. This is observed when she and Humbert are pulled over by a police
officer, and after he let them keep on driving, she remarked The fruithead! He should

have nabbed you (Nabokov, 113). At this point, and after remarks such as those, control
seemed essential for Humbert. He realized that the more Lolita grew and met people, the
less control H. H. had over her now. Her privacy was no longer seen as an important part
of his attempt to keep this scheme a secret. Humbert now had to take direct action in
viewing Lolitas privacy and freedom as something that had to be limited, due to his
insecurity. This concept is portrayed in the novel when Humbert leaves the hotel room to
get a haircut and suspects Lolita has been out when he comes back, accusing her of being
unfaithful. The scene goes, I stood staring at her sinful feet. Youve been out, I said. I
just got up. Went out for a sec. Wanted to see if you were coming back I ripped her
shirt off. I unzipped the rest of her. I tore off her sandals. Wildly, I pursued the shadow of
her infidelity (Nabokov, 214). This scene portrays H. H. as a madman, as he describes
himself. Hes crossing personal boundaries and violating the childs privacy for fear of
being caught in his immoral actions, and as a result of jealousy towards Lolita being with
anyone else but him. This, apart from having actual control over her, also influences the
privacy or little freedom he awards Lolita. The more H.H.s fear of being caught
increases, and as his control decreases, the more he tightens his grip on her. His loss of
control over the situation and over his lover have caused him to limit the respect he once
somewhat had for her and deprive her of basic and humane privacy, given his lack of
security. Since Humbert has no control over Lolita now, she in turn has no privacy or
freedom from him.
Lolita serves as a common thread between the themes of control and privacy, and
how by Humbert Humbert having control over Lolita, it allowed him to provide her with
at least a hint of privacy. Even if not considered legitimate privacy, he just hadnt

tightened his grip as much initially to take full advantage of his situation yet, because he
still felt in control. H. H. is an agent of change in this concept of privacy, given that his
actions, driven by insecurity, challenge what he considers privacy and makes him violate
Lolitas basic human rights. This change challenges the traditional definition of privacy,
because the actions H. H. performed in order to ensure that Lolita was faithful to him and
that his oppression was kept a secret, were completely acceptable in his eyes, and were
not in violation of her whatsoever. Throughout the account, he loses sense of what
privacy really is and still believes he isnt obtrusive toward Lolita toward the end.
Humbert Humbert redefines the concept of privacy, because how much privacy he
respected or how much freedom he was willing to contribute was dependent on the
amount of control he could exert over the situation, as well as how secure he felt in it
being kept a secret. In this way, because of how his relationship develops with Lolita, H.
H. redefines a basic understanding of the concept of privacy, given that the more control
he loses over her as time goes on, the more invasive he becomes towards her.