hip of Lolita’s tragic story, and in using him as a character focaliser, Nabokov prevents the reader from perceiving any other account of the narrative, encouraging them to accept the monstrosity of Humbert’s recitation. The satirical tragic romance takes advantage of the prominence of themes of sexuality and psychology during the early 20th Century as a consequence of the influence of Freudianism on literature, as seen Joyce’s similarly scandalous Ulysses and Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Nabokov’s ultimate unreliable narrator entices the reader through enhancing the façade of romance and mysticism surrounding his paedophilia, encouraging sympathy and a common identity among the readership, and deluding Humbert’s depiction of himself within his narrative. However, central to the plot is the repulsive sexual relationship between Humbert and teenager Lolita, and the reader is unable to avoid recognising the unreliability and contradiction within the narrative and cannot disguise the inevitable shame and sympathy felt towards Lolita’s pain and loss of childhood. Therefore, while it is indisputable that Nabokov encourages the reader to accept his monstrous narrator, this is only to emphasise the tragic ending and evoke a sense of self-hatred and humiliation.

It could be argued that the reader is encouraged to accept Nabokov’s monstrous male narrator through his use of elaborate language to enhance the veneer of romance and mysticism surrounding his paedophilia which prevents the reader from truly acknowledging the violent and manipulative nature of the relationship. The purity of his love is enhanced through his narrative, with the discussion of ‘nymphets’ at the beginning of the novel immediately romanticising his attraction to justify the relationship, which is furthered by Nabokov’s listing of adjectives, ‘the elusive, shifty, soul-shattering, insidious charm’, which have clear otherworldly and mystical connotations. Additionally, the adjective ‘shifty’ subtly implies the dishonest and deceitful nature of the narrator. The alliterative phrase ‘intangible island of entranced time’ highlights this magical and elusive nature of the monstrous male hero and positions the narrative in a place of ethereal and indefinable romanticism. The monstrous male protagonist also describes himself as the ‘Enchanted Hunter’ and ‘nympholept’ to attribute magical characteristics to himself which compliments the mysterious concept of the ‘nymphet’ and creates a justification for his actions, enabling the reader to accept Humbert as an otherworldly, unrelatable narrator. Surprisingly, the unreliable narrator himself admits to the ability to distract the reader with his language, ‘you can always count on a murderer for a fancy prose style’, suggesting that the intention in using such elaborate and eloquent language is, indeed, to engage the reader in the romance and mystery of the narrative. This suggestion is enhanced by Nabokov’s use of the French language throughout the novel, which both relates to the autobiographical elements of the novel as both Nabokov and his monstrous narrator were highly educated and academic Europeans and creates a romantically academic façade of Humbert’s character. Such references, ‘comme, vous le savez trop bien, ma gentille’, are commonly concerning Lolita, and the inability of the common reader to understand his foreign narration furthers the seductive and private natu