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Obstacle to his romantic plans for Lolita
- Humbert, of course, sees Charlotte only as an obstacle to his romantic plans for Lolita. Though Charlotte is not an overtly kind and wonderful mother, her presence does protect Lolita—when Charlotte dies, Humbert is free to kidnap Lolita and change her life forever.
www.sparknotes.com/lit/lolita/character/charlotte-haze/
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Though Charlotte is not an overtly kind and wonderful mother, her presence does protect Lolita—when Charlotte dies, Humbert is free to kidnap Lolita and change her life forever. A detailed description and in-depth analysis of Charlotte Haze in Lolita.
- Lolita
Lolita attracts the depraved Humbert not because she is...
- Humbert Humbert
Humbert is a completely unreliable narrator, and his myopic...
- Clare Quilty
Quilty and Humbert both adore nymphets, but they act on...
- Context
SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year...
- Motifs
When Humbert and Lolita play tennis one day, Humbert leaves...
- Vladimir Nabokov
Some countries deemed Lolita obscene and banned it, but the...
- Part Two, Chapters 12–17
Humbert misses the more simple, straightforward explanation...
- Suggestions for Further Reading
A suggested list of literary criticism on Vladimir Nabokov's...
- Lolita
Humbert is deeply uninterested in Charlotte and her house, until she leads him outside to the piazza and garden. There, he sees Dolores —Charlotte’s daughter, whom she calls “Lo,” and “Lolita”—for the first time.
- Summary: Chapter 16
- Summary: Chapter 17
- Summary: Chapter 18
- Summary: Chapter 19
- Summary: Chapter 20
- Summary: Chapter 21
- Summary: Chapter 22
- Analysis
Still reeling from Lolita’s kiss, Humbert is handed a note by the maid, Louise. Charlotte Haze has written him a letter, confessing her love for him and asking that he leave—unless he reciprocates the feeling and marries her. Humbert goes into Lolita’s room and looks at the clippings on the wall. One of the men in the pictures resembles Humbert, an...
Humbert considers marrying Charlotte so he can stay close to Lolita. He even toys with the idea of giving both mother and daughter sleeping pills in order to fondle Lolita. He would stop short, he thinks, of having sex with the girl. Humbert decides to marry Charlotte and calls the summer camp to tell her. However, Charlotte has already left, and h...
Charlotte and Humbert become lovers and start planning the wedding. Charlotte quizzes him on whether he’s a good Christian and says she will commit suicide if he isn’t. Charlotte enjoys the prestige of being engaged to Humbert and waits on him hand and foot. Humbert states that he actually enjoys some aspects of the affair and that it seems to impr...
Humbert describes Charlotte further and mentions that she is about to suffer a bad accident. Humbert finds Charlotte extremely jealous, as she asks him to confess all his previous relationships and mistresses. Humbert makes up some stories to satisfy her romantic notions. He grows used to Charlotte, but her constant criticism of Lolita still secret...
Charlotte and Humbert go to the nearby lake in the last week of summer. Charlotte confesses that she wants to get a real maid and send Lolita off to boarding school. Humbert seethes quietly but, afraid of repeating his experience with Valeria, doesn’t want to intimidate her. He considers killing her there at the lake but cannot bring himself to do ...
Humbert tries the silent treatment on Charlotte, to no effect. However, when she decides they will go to England in the fall, Humbert argues against it, and she immediately becomes contrite for making plans without him. Regaining some control in the relationship pleases Humbert. Charlotte tries to be near him as much as possible and mentions going ...
Charlotte informs Humbert that Lolita can only begin attending boarding school in January. Meanwhile, Humbert visits a doctor and pretends to have insomnia, in order to procure stronger sleeping pills to use on Lolita and Charlotte. When he returns from the appointment, he finds that Charlotte has broken into the table in his study and found the jo...
A combination of melodramatic gestures, laughable attempts at world-weary refinement, and sincere, naked emotion, Charlotte’s letter to Humbert provides insight into both the woman she really is and the woman she would like to be. The letter also predicts the future in some uncanny ways. In the letter, Charlotte mentions that while Humbert is readi...
Humbert is a completely unreliable narrator, and his myopic self-delusion and need for sympathy make many of his statements suspect. He claims Lolita seduced him and that she was in complete control of the relationship.
According to Humbert, he is downright irresistible, a positive hunk whose "gloomy good looks" always get him the girl, causing Lolita to swoon, Charlotte to love him passionately and possessively, and Jean Farlow to develop a teenage crush.
Early in the novel, Lolita's mother, Charlotte, dies in what appears to be a freak car accident although he has already fantisised about killing her. However, much later on there are two clues that Humbert may have had her killed on purpose. First, Lolita herself seems to believe he is responsible. She has this exchange with him:
Charlotte is a very jealous woman, and this jealousy leads her to discover Humbert Humbert’s secret love for Lolita. Charlotte is run over by Frank Beale as she runs across the street to mail letters with information about Humbert’s crimes.
