Live & Breathe Words
Lolita Audio
Vic Damone’s “You're Breaking My Heart”: Humbert actually does have his heart broken by Lolita when he visits her when she is older and has escaped him and he comes to realize that he ruined her childhood. He finds a little bit of compassion and feels actual regret for what he had done. However, I think that before this happened, he would have found not being able to have Lolita because her mother kept getting in the way heartbreaking. His heart was set on Lolita and would do anything to not have a broken heart.
Elvis Presley’s “Teddy Bear”: Humbert sees Lolita as something he can possess. Once he removes the obstacles standing in his way, he can hold her and cuddle her, just like a teddy bear. Also, Lolita most likely had a teddy bear that she slept with every night. I have a stuffed cat, but teddy bears were popular back in 1950s. Humbert wanted to be Lolita’s teddy bear. When Lolita is raped by Humbert for the first time, I can imagine her clutching her teddy bear and crying herself to sleep, trying to find some kind of comfort.
Jo Strafford’s “You Belong to Me”: Humbert has claimed Lolita as his own. He calls her “my Lolita” throughout the novel, even though she is not his. When he first sees her, I can imagine him whispering “you belong to me.” When she runs away, he feels like he has lost a part of himself and that his possession has left him. She never should have belonged to him in the first place.