sation politely but concisely. He isn’t humble about it either, he knows his own intelligence, and makes sure the audience knows too. He pounds into the reader’s mind that he is physically attractive, very intelligent, and equipped with first-class social manners. So, as we digress from the obvious, let me talk of yet another idiosyncrasy Humbert Humbert so viably possesses.Humbert’s jealousy plays such an important role in the story. It causes many things to occur that perhaps normally wouldn’t have. Humbert’s jealousy forbade Lolita to participate in the school play for fear that it would lead to dates with boys her age. This obviously caused the unannounced visit by a disguised Clare Quilty, putting in danger Humbert’s most enjoyable lifestyle by threatening to have a team of Psychiatrists observe Lolita’s daily home life. Humbert’s jealousy was actually a weakness. His fear of losing her causes him to give into her every whim and desire. Along the many weeks they spent on the open road, Lolita’s both literal and figurative appetite drained Monsieur Humbert’s bank accounts quite rapidly. How could he say no? What choice did he have? None. When taking into account the immorality of all the things he was receiving on their voyage, and their inherent value to him, he would have paid any price for the insignificant souvenirs and pointless tours of monuments they encountered along the trip. He couldn’t risk being caught; it isn’t far fetched to imagine Lolita throwing a fit and spilling her guts to an official for the mere refusal of an ice cream cone Humbert wouldn’t buy her.So, in coming to a conclusion, I feel that Humbert Humbert isn’t crazy, or emotionally disturbed, but rather a bit vulnerable. His original fling with Annabel had such a strong impact on him, that from then on, he had a predetermination of what beauty in the opposite sex was - a nymph...
