In a depiction of the incredibly vulnerable state the reader witnesses Humbert at in the end of the novel—we are made aware of the simultaneous nature embedded in Nabokov’s utilization of language. In a state of susceptibility, Humbert is overcome by an “attack of abominable nausea” and is “forced” to stop. By being overpowered by an overriding “attack” of moral revulsion, Humbert is then privy to a sense of divine intervention—evident in the presence of the “ghost” of the “old mountain road.” The description of the road, as something that “accompanied, now traversed” the “brand new highway” emphasizes an underlying presence of simultaneity. The aforementioned “ghost” interacts as a figure possessing dual meanings. It not only stands as a reference to the past, but, the “ghost” resurfaces in the indication of the road being something traversable—as being able to …show more content…
The explicit and implicit meanings derived from the images of the “mountain” and “ghost” directly interact with the immensely tangible symbol of the “new highway.” This exposes the presence of ghosts—or the past—as occurring at the same time as the present. The language utilized holds coinciding definitions, exalting the idea of simultaneity as both literal and abstract. The presence of “asters” furthermore emphasizes this idea once inspecting the dual meanings of the word. Not only are asters a type of flower, but also reference the star shaped structures that are formed during the mitosis in an animal cell. This latter reading of the word reveals a sense of division from previously combined objects, characterizing Humbert’s struggle to make sense of Lolita’s disappearance as a type of mitosis, or