Redemption of Humbert Humbert
Humbert Humbert is not as bad as history has judged him to be. After careful application and deliberation it has come to my attention that the protagonist is not guilty of the crime many believe he has committed. Having analyzed all of the contributing factors it is clear that this case is one of extreme delicacy. The interior and exterior determinants that this man has experienced have caused this somewhat disturbing outcome.
Humbert seems to have suffered serious psychological trauma since meeting Annabel with her ‘honey-colored skin’ and ‘big bright mouth’. The love story that develops between Annabel and Humbert one call almost call romantic as they, ‘all at once were madly, clumsily, shamelessly, agonizingly in love with each other’. However their relationship was cut sort before it could truly develop as ‘she died of typhus in Corfu’. Here in this statement it is clear Humbert lacks emotional stability as he seems completely unfazed by this action, however we know this not to be the case as his longing for her is never complete until he meets someone of her type, Lolita. Humbert debates in his mind whether his ‘miserable memories…of that remote summer…[caused] the rift in [his] life’ to begin. Was this cycle of unfortunate events which unfolded with Annabel at such a young age, the first exterior determinant which has caused his psychological difficulties?
John B. Watson’s theory is one that is very relevant in this case. He was the first theologian to discuss psychological behaviorism suggesting that behavior can be predicted and controlled as people live and act in a determined universe, therefore all human behavior is controlled by prior causes. This theory falls under hard determinism, which is the belief that we cannot be held morally responsible for our actions as they all have prior determinants. Behavior for hard determinists is influenced by our heredity environment; nature and nurture. Therefore one...