The trial of Humbert Humbert versus Hermann Hermann; the seductive capabilities of Nabokov’s predators
CandNo: 148515
When thinking about Nabokov’s Humbert, the predatory paedophile as well as the murderer from Lolita, one does sometimes wonder if he is not a victim of his illness. Some may also argue in his favour claiming that he indeed was deeply in love with Lolita, which could justify his behaviour. Nabokov’s Hermann Hermann from Despair, the older and worse-known brother of Humbert Humbert, does not provoke feelings of sympathy, even though his crimes are on a similar, if not worse, level of cruelty. I will argue that although both characters are undoubtedly criminals, they do also possess some good qualities that make them less monstrous and more humane. As Nietzsche (51) says, “To be evil is ‘not to act in accordance with custom’, to practise things not sanctioned by custom, to resist tradition, however rational or stupid that tradition may be” and if that is to be taken into consideration while looking at both of Nabokov’s characters, they undoubtedly can be
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His skills are not as impressive as he believes they are, though, and he does not only commit a murder, but he also gets cheated on by his wife. The difference between those two criminals is, then, that Hermann believes he is more talented and therefore bound to succeed when it comes to him getting away with the murder, whereas Humbert acknowledges the fact that he is devious and he does not try to cover up his crime. Moreover, he pleads guilty and while doing so, he appears more vulnerable as he describes himself as a victim