Lens Essay Arguement & Intro

Structure of Argument:

Doniger suggest that masks allow one to self-impersonate: to become the very person that others see in us. While Doniger very thoroughly explores the act of donning masks, she falls short in addressing the act of shedding masks. Nabokov’s provocative novel Lolita brilliantly explores both the act of donning and shedding masks. In his novel, Lolita at first becomes the person Humbert Humbert projects. However, as years go by and their relationship becomes more stable, Lolita attempts to shed the mask that Humbert Humbert has unfairly and inappropriately projected unto this young girl. Nabokov’s Lolita extends Doniger’s intriguing argument about donning asks by arguing that the shedding of certain masks remains just as important in discovering one’s true self.


Introduction:

“Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins” (Nabokov, 9)

Nabokov’s Lolita is a brilliantly written novel about Humbert Humbert, a middle-aged man obsessivingly lusting after a 12-year old girl. Humbert Humbert, or H.H. as he familiarly refers to himself, meets Lolita through a woman he stays with during the summer. Due to the fact that Humbert narrates, it is sometimes difficult for the reader to gauge how mutual the interactions between Humbert and Lolita truly are. However, Nabokov eventually makes clear to the reader that Humbert has projected certain images upon Lolita: images that she initially seems to embody, yet eventually completely rejects. These ‘masks’ that Humbert forces upon this young girl bear striking resemblance to the masks essayist Wendy Doniger claims society can force upon its members. In her essay “Many masks, Many selves”, Doniger suggest that masks allow one to self-impersonate: to become the very person that others see in us. While she very thoroughly explores the act of donning masks, her essay falls short in addressing the act of shedding masks. Lolita brilliantly explores both the act of donning and shedding masks. In his novel, Dolores at first becomes the person Humbert Humbert projects. However, as years go by and their relationship becomes more stable, Lolita attempts to shed the mask that Humbert Humbert has unfairly and inappropriately projected unto this young girl. Nabokov’s Lolita extends Doniger’s intriguing argument about donning asks by arguing that the shedding of certain masks remains just as important in discovering one’s true self.