Lolita

The novel "Lolita" certainly challenges the "normal" expectations of a love story. But, in a sense, it really does this all by changing one key element, and giving the story an immoral twist. Though poetically written, and, in fact, a beautiful story, it can be a hard story to follow because of one major difference: the love is between a young, teenage girl, and a middle-aged man. Aside from this one detail, everything about the love shared between the two characters is really incredible. Nabokov does an excellent job of taking a shocking subject and delivering it in a way that can still be appreciated. Personally, as I read the descriptions Nabokov wrote for the way that Humbert appreciates and views Lolita, they were written in a way that allowed me to look past their vast age difference, and see inside to what the character felt for the young girl. It challenged my own conceptions about what elements of love or a relationship can make it "wrong" or "right." Is it really wrong if both people involved are truly in love with one another? Should things like age, or any other situation really play such a heavy role in something as subjective and personal as love? Had Lolita been the same age as Humbert, this book wouldn't have had nearly the shock-factor, nor would it have raised so many questions about morality. But, at the same time, I really don't think it would have been as interesting. I think the same applies to love, and, really all aspects of life. Who truly has a 100% normal life? I believe as human beings, we feed off of the "abnormal."