"Lolita" pages 140-179

We pick back up with this story when Humbert has just told Lolita that her mother has died. Lolita seemed to have accepted this fact very quickly. Because the very next day her and Humbert began their travels all over the United States. They did this probably because it would seem weird to their neighbors if they lived together back home. People may get suspicious of their activities. Throughout their travels they avoided the upright places to stay and mostly stuck to the simple motor courts or motels I guess. Humbert’s lawry on page 153 gave him some advice, he “has suggested I give a clear, frank account of the itinerary we followed, and I suppose I have reached here a point where I cannot avoid that chore. Roughly, during that mad year (August 1947 to August 1948), our route began with a series of whorls in New England, then meandering south, up and down, east and west; dipped deep into ce qu’on appelle Dixieland, avoiding Florida because the Farlows (his lawyer) were there, veered west,” Also they avoided where Lolita was born even though she really want to go there. To me it seems like Humbert is trying to distract Lolita from reality. By taking her all these different and new places he is able to keep her to himself with none to answer to. It is very strange to me to think about this, because I am probably going to be married soon and I would like to take my children (whenever I have some) to see the US. I did this as a child and can only imagine what Lolita was going through. But throughout this entire trip Humbert was taking advantage of her. Page 158 shows that Lolita is becoming bored with this lifestyle. She asked “how long did I think we were going to live in stuffy cabins, doing filthy things together and never behaving like ordinary people.” Additionally on page 159 Humbert shows his extreme jealously towards any other males Lolita paid attention to. “Oh, I had to keep a very sharp eye on Lo, little limp Lo! Owing perhaps to constant amorous exercise, she radiated, despite her very childish appearance, some special languorous glow which threw garage fellows, hotel pages, vacationist, goons in luxurious cars, maroon morons near blued pools, into fits of concupiscence with might have tickled my pride, had it not incensed my jealousy. For little Lo was aware of that glow of hers, and I would often catch her conulant 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, that I would hear her and the fair mechanic burst into perfect love songs of wisecracks.” I think that this section really shows Humbert and Lo’s relationship for how it really is. Lo is so mixed up and confused that she actually sort of flaunts herself in front of other men. At an age of only 13 at this time this must seem really strange to all these adult men. But possibly this is only Humbert’s imagination. He is so possessive of her that even when she is just being like a normal little girl he becomes so jealous that he can’t stand it. In the last sentence he uses the word “love” to describe the interaction between Lo and these other men. Maybe this is because he wants love from Lo but can’t because she only has sex with him because he bribes her and basically pays her as a prostitute.
After a time Humbert decides to move back east. On page 173 we find what Humbert thinks of this decision. “I now think it was a great mistake to move east again and have her go to that private school in Beardsley, instead of somehow scrambling across the Mexican border while the scrambling was good so as to lie low for a couple of years in subtropical bliss until I could safely marry my little Creole for I must confess that depending on the condition of my glands and ganglia, I could switch in the course of the same day form one pole of insanity to the other-“ I don’t really understand why he would want to make her his wife. What would that change? It wouldn’t make her love him. But as we can see he thinks with his testicles instead of his head. On page 176 we find out what he intends to do, he will send Lo to a private all girls school. This is an attempt to keep her from boys her age. This quote shows how much he really doesn’t care about Lo “I really didn’t mind where to dwell provided I could lock my Lolita up somewhere;” She, outside her will had become his prisoner and in a way her was her prisoner too. He couldn’t live without her sex. So he had to keep her around no matter what.