Humbert Humbert's Journal

          H.H's Journal entries, that he does not actually possess when he is "writing" Lolita in jail, are very curious. He claims to remember them verbatim, which makes me, the reader, suspicious about this sudden outstanding memory. If Humbert can remember his journal entries that he wrote long ago word for word, why is it, then, that he cannot remember certain details and certain moments of his past?

       Humbert's journal entries mirror his overall style. However, the journals seem more complex and metaphoric than the rest of the novel. It is almost more rant-y than the rest of Humbert's writing, and he tends to write in third person half the time. H.H. will go on personal rants about his beloved Lolita, interjecting moments of elation that had not been included before. This, in my opinion, is where the book reaches a sort of climax, because this is where we really see the beloved Lo come alive. We see her vividly and we see her move and breathe and live for the first time. This is, arguably, the moment that Lolita actually becomes a character rather than a passive fairytale, which may be the reason Nabokov incorporated these journal entries into the narrative of Humbert Humbert in the first place. However, it still brings in to question the reliability of his memory. Suddenly, any moment in which H.H. can't "recall" something becomes an elaborate lie to trick the reader. Yet, it could also be another way for Humbert Humbert to clarify how powerful his love for Lolita is.

H.H.'s journal entries mark a pivotal moment in Lolita, because it is the first moment that Humbert not only shows weakness, but true passion and vendetta for his beloved nymphet.