Humbert Humbert

The narrator and protagonist of Lolita. Humbert is an erudite European intellectual with an obsessive love for nymphets and a history of mental illness. He manages to seduce the reader with his gift for beautiful language, but he is nonetheless capable of rape and murder, especially after he obtains his iconic and life-changing list for Dolores “Lolita” Haze, a twelve year-old girl who fits his idea of a perfect nymphet. After being forced to marry Charlotte Haze, Humbert secretly abuses his position as Dolores’ stepfather and keeps his infatuation towards her secret from Charlotte, but when caught, Charlotte is tragically yet conveniently murdered when threatens to get the police involved, and instead takes Dolores across country. He often rapes and sexually abuses her despite her part being willing more often than not. Throughout the next year, he maintains a sexual relationship with Dolores and forbids her from doing regular teenager stuff, However, tensions rise as Dolores grows disillusioned with Humbert’s possessiveness and runs away with Clare Quilty, a child pornographic director whom she was in love with. Devastated, Humbert searches for Dolores, only to find her three years later, married and pregnant. His obsession with her makes him desire to steal her again but he instead decides to make her come with him willingly, only to be rejected by Dolores. Humbert, despite his knowledge of the world, becomes self-aware only toward the end of the novel, when he realizes he has ruined Dolores' childhood with his selfish and disgusting notion “love” for her, causing him to leave in a depressed state even though Dolores forgives him. He writes the story of Lolita from his prison cell, where he awaits trial for his murder of Clare Quilty, whom he killed on account of the latter’s “kidnapping” of Dolores. However, he dies of heart failure soon after Dolores' death. His birth date is September 8th, 1912