Blog Post #3: Close Reading - eddie eaton

I chose to analyze the following passage:

"Carrying the glasses, I walked through the dining room and spoke
through the parlor door which was a fraction ajar, not quite space enough
for my elbow.
 "I have made you a drink," I said.
 She did not answer, the mad bitch, and I placed the glasses on the
sideboard near the telephone, which had started to ring.
 "Leslie speaking. Leslie Tomson," said Leslie Tomson who favored a dip
at dawn. "Mrs. Humbert, sir, has been run over and you'd better come quick."
 I answered, perhaps a bit testily, that my wife was safe and sound, and
still holding the receiver, I pushed open the door and said:
 "There's this man saying you've been killed, Charlotte."
 But there was no Charlotte in the living room. "

This passage occurs shortly after Charlotte, Humbert's wife and cover-up for being around Lolita, discovers his true feelings towards herself and her daughter. She is so overcome with grief and anger that she writes a letter about how wicked and sickening Humbert thought's are that she read in his diary. When delivering this letter, she walks into the street, where she is struck down by a speeding truck. Through this passage, the author uses various literary devices such as irony, indirect characterization, and a harsh tone to communicate the feelings behind Charlotte's imminent death.

The action of Charlotte dying marks one of the first tragic events of the story, not including pedophilia. For this reason, the author uses a harsh and unforgiving tone to make the short impact feel blunt and forceful. The author uses harsh words such as, "mad bitch,: and doesn't hesitate or beat around the bush when it comes to the death, saying quickly she had been, "run over," and that, "there was no Charlotte."  The quick unraveling of the horrific event and harmful words create the feeling of a harsh environment for the reader. The tone presented makes readers feel shocked and changes the tone of the story as a whole, by presenting a new conflict that Humbert must try to solve: How would he deal with Charlotte's death and presenting the news to Lolita? Overall, the tone of the passage develops the novel by adding conflict and presenting harsh realities that were not present before.

In addition to harsh tones, the author uses indirect characterization to reveal the thought of the characters in the story. Because the novel is written in the first-person from Humbert's perspective, readers are allowed to see any thoughts that he decides to include in the text. In the passage, he reveals that he thinks his wife is a "mad bitch."  This helps paint Charlotte as an angry and irritable person, although her anger is justified because she had just figured out her supposed lover is actually only married to her for their daughter. This characterization of Charlotte helps the reader not feels so bad about Charlotte's death. Although Humbert's acts are easy to define as wrong, because the novel paints him as a victim, the reader is alleviated to believe that Charlotte was the wrong character. Ultimately, the indirect characterization of Charlotte as an angry wife helps readers not feel sad about her demise.

Lastly irony is also present in the plot of the story. Earlier before her death, Humbert had planned to murder Charlotte and take custody of Lolita so he could have her all to himself. This allows readers to think as Charlotte as an obstacle in Humbert's plans. It also implies that Humbert would have to get rid of her somehow for him to truly indulge in his fantasy of being with Lolita. However, by having Charlotte killed in an unrelated and anticlimactic manner, it surprises the reader and adds a feeling of shock and a certain humor to the story.  

Overall the author uses indirect characterization, tone, and irony to add more complex elements to the story and passage listed above. It is hard to analyze through the feminist lens in this situation because there is hardly any mention of the societal standards for women or systematic structures that held down the marginalized gender at this time period for this passage. However, one could argue that by saying, "mad bitch," Humbert does not care for his wife and views her as more of an object than a person and that this view was influenced by societal standards.