Wednesday, October 9, 2013

do you know where your children are?

Before Humbert's and Lolita's road trip had ended, and after Humbert's rather theatrical threat or attempt to terrorize Lolita, Humbert begins to find Lolita out and about, possibly with an intention or not—who knows?

"For little Lo was aware of that glow of hers, and I would often catch her coulant un regard in the direction of some amiable male, some grease monkey, with a sinewy golden-brown forearm and watch-braceleted wrist, and hardly had I turned my back to go and buy this very Lo a lollipop, than I would hear her and the fair mechanic burst into a perfect love song of wisecracks."
When Humbert would turn his eyes from Lolita to buy her a lollipop, for which Lolita probably demanded him, she would seemingly flirt with the guys around her.

"...and out of the goodness of my lulled heart allow her... to visit the rose garden or children's library across the street with a motor court neighbor's plain little Mary and Mary's eight-year-old brother, Lo would come back an hour late, with barefoot Mary trailing far behind, and the little boy metamorphosed into two gangling golden-haired high school uglies, all muscles and gonorrhea."

"Or else, at a ski lodge, I would see her floating away from me, celestial and solitary, in an ethereal chairlift, up and up, to a glittering summit where laughing athletes stripped to the waist were waiting for her, for her."
Another instances where Lolita is possibly being dubious.

"...Lo, bending forward, would let her sunny-brown curls hang forward as she stuck her racker, like a cripple's stick into the ground and emitted a tremendous ugh of disgust at my intrusion."
Lolita's response to Humbert when Humbert tries to involve himself between Lolita and another child playing tennis.

"...I tried to keep as far away from people as possible, while Lo, on the other hand, would do her utmost to draw as many potential witnesses into her orbit as she could."
Humrbert's observation during dinner at a lodge.  These instances where Lolita acts out or misbehaves and mistreats Humbert may only be indications of her personality.  Or she might be purposefully trying to vex Humbert, in scheme of something.

"Her weekly allowance... was twenty-one cents at the start of the Beardsley era—and went up to one dollar five before its end.  This was a more than generous arrangement seeing she constantly received from me all kinds of small presents and had for the asking any sweetmeat or movie under the moon... Knowing the magic and might of her own soft mouth, she managed...to raise the bonus price of a fancy embrace to three, and even four bucks."
As Humbert states, Lolita has no need for such amount of money for Humbert already provides, more precisely, spoils her of all that she needs and more.  And for her to try so hard to receive bonus allowance and increase the overall amount, Humbert wonders—fears–that Lolita plans to run away.  Or even worse.

"Lo who had gone to play tennis at Linda's country club had telephoned she might be a full half hour late, and so, would I entertain Mona who was coming to practice with her..."
At this point, Lolita and Humbert had settled and Lolita is attending Beardsley and had made friends of her own.  Humbert notes that Mona might be pursuing Humbert in a sense, and if Lolita is "playing the pimp."  Or maybe Lolita isn't even at the country club entirely.


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