A Rose by Any other Name....

Having finally settled down and enrolled Lolita in an all girl's school (ostensibly to protect his conquest from the draws that young men her age would provide) H.H. continued his sexual relationship with his step daughter. However a noticeable shift occurred wherein Humbert began to exchange sex for money or favors. In such a way they lived their life, until Lolita was presented with an opportunity to act in a play. She pleaded with Humbert, and after he relented she was able to participate.

Unbeknownst to H.H. however, Lolita begins craving freedom and after some time runs away.

In this blog post, I'd like to address something that I neglected to address last time. Namely, the sexual competency of children. At what point do children understand sex, or at the very least understand the persuasive possibilities that it provides? Lolita, (the novel, not the character) seems to suggest that such a transformation can occur at a very young age. Despite, social convention to the contrary, even history seems to say the same.

One of the most notable love stories ever is Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. The story contained therein is one of love and lust encapsulated within the budding and ultimately burgeoning romance of the young lovers. I recall once reading that Romeo was 14 to Juliet's 13, and such information seems to call into question the popular belief that sex between children and adults always is initiated by the adult.

I can think of a good half dozen examples, ranging from young men who have crushes on their female teachers, all the way to Lolita initiating sex with Humbert to support this idea. What then has changed in society that makes the act of sex with children criminal?

I would have to say that the answer to that is two fold. There has been a dramatic increase in our life expectancy coupled with a subtle shift in our political sensibilities. We became more conservative and at the same time advances in technology and medical knowledge resulted in longer lives. Our increase in life expectancy took the burden of women to conceive whilst young.

It should be noted that this has little to do with Humbert, who is ultimately in the wrong due to the fact that he is Lolita's official guardian. This is a position of trust and he abused it.