“Then, with all possible caution, on a mental tiptoe so to speak, I conjured up Charlotte as a possible mate. By God, I could make myself bring her that economically halved grapefruit, that sugar-less breakfast.” (70)
In this excerpt, Humbert Humbert contemplates Charlotte’s marriage offer in a way that makes the reader picture a figurative light bulb above his head. He references the ad that Lolita has cut out from a magazine in which a handsome man (labeled H.H.) is modeling a robe and carrying breakfast to his lover who is still in bed. This sentence stuck out to me for several reasons, but mainly because it proves that Humbert is, in many instances in this novel, an actor and manipulator. By comparing himself to the model in the ad, he admits to himself and the reader that he is willing to play a role and go so far as to marry Charlotte in order to get what he wants. The wording of the sentence also seems significant in representing what the marriage would be – “sugar-less.” This sentence makes a comparison between the model in the ad who is bringing his lover a “sugar-less breakfast” to the manipulating Humbert who is willing to enter in to a loveless marriage. This passage proves that Humbert should not be pitied or sympathized with, for he is an evil, manipulative "nymphetophile" who is willing to go to drastic measures in order to obtain his darling Lolita.
Q: Is Humbert so accustomed to the success of his lies and manipulation as to actually think that Charlotte would believe the love letters are not actually meant for Lolita?
Cami Morrow
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