Primary Characters in Lolita
Humbert Humbert
The unreliable narrator and protagonist of Nabokov's novel, Humbert Humbert (H.H.) is a complex and deeply disturbing character who presents himself as a sophisticated European intellectual.
NoteThe name "Humbert Humbert" is a pseudonym, reflecting the character's tendency to create artificial personas and manipulate reality through language.
Key characteristics:
- Self-proclaimed scholar and aesthete
- Obsessed with "nymphets" due to his traumatic loss of childhood love, Annabel
- Masterful manipulator of language and narrative
- Suffers from severe psychological issues, including paranoia and obsession
"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, exhibit number one is what the seraphs, the misinformed, simple, noble-winged seraphs, envied. Look at this tangle of thorns."
Dolores Haze (Lolita)
The novel's titular character, though crucially not by her real name, Dolores is a regular American pre-teen girl whose life is irreversibly altered by Humbert's obsession.
Common MistakeMany readers mistakenly view Lolita through Humbert's manipulated lens, rather than seeing her as the victim she truly is.
Key characteristics:
- Actually named Dolores, nicknamed Lo or Lolita by Humbert
- Initially 12 years old when Humbert becomes her stepfather
- Described primarily through Humbert's unreliable perspective
- Shows signs of normal adolescent behavior and interests in popular culture
