I wanted to write more about how Humbert pictures each of his characters and what about them makes them so special and detailed, to the point where I can visualize them. I also wanted to go outside of the book and talk about the trend called Lolita. Where women try to look and dress like prepubescent girls, because thats what they deem to be more attractive.
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Possible Theme Choice
For my theme, I was really interested in talking about and researching the concepts of beauty in Lolita. It always stood out to me when I was reading. Like, when Humbert goes to pick her up from the camp and sees her for the first time he is highly disappointed, "She was thinner and taller, and for a second it seemed to me her face was less pretty than the mental imprint I had cherished for more than a month: her cheeks looked hollowed and too much lentigo camouflaged her rosy rustic features"(pg. 111). Humbert has built this image in his mind of what Lolita is to look like, it hasn't fully set in that she is going to grow and her body will change. He is picturing her as Annabel, which in his mind is the perfect girl for him.
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You could stick with beauty in the novel, as described here: that's a very rich subject, believe me. This includes Humbert's handsomeness and its connection to the way he is. Also, CH, who is "handsome."
ReplyDeleteIf you want to move from beauty in the novel to "Lolita" fashion my worry would be that you need to find a way to connect very different subjects (one is interpreting the book; the other is discussing today's culture). You could argue that the influence of advertising etc. described in the novel, which is somewhat exaggerated, has come true - the novel is prophetic. Valeria dresses "a la gamine" - like a young girl, and this has a long history in beauty culture, but the sexualization of 12-14 year olds hinted at in Lolita is certainly humorous in the book, but is now common place. You would argue that specific passages in the book predict today's obsession with prepubescent girls as sex objects.
I want you to write about what interests you most, but if you do this second path, I would say: keep it grounded in the novel. I somewhat prefer that you write about beauty in the novel, because this is a topic with boundaries - you can cover it thoroughly without straying from the "prison" of the text....