Introduction to Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita/The intrusive voice

The use of intrusive voice is one of the most noticeable devices used by Nabokov in his works. In Lolita, the technique of intrusive narrator is employed. Nabokov creates Humbert, the novel's main protagonist and its narrator, who is prone to digressions and adresses the reader directly while telling his story. Humbert often intrudes throughout the novel: he appeals to the readers and the jury who will judge him (“Gentlewomen of the jury! Bear with me! Allow me to take just a tiny bit of your precious time”). He constantly reminds the readers that what they are reading is his memoir and that he is aware of the presence of his audience.

Why the author used such a technique?

• Humbert creates distance from his evil deeds and allows readers to perceive him as a pathetic, sick man, not as a beast. Readers are able to pity him. See the example taken from the novel:

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, (...). We are not sex fiends! We do not rape as good soldiers do. We are unhappy, mild, dog-eyed gentlemen, sufficiently well integrated to control our urge in the presence of adults, but ready to give years and years of life for one chance to touch a nymphet. Emphatically, no killers are we. Poets never kill.

• Humbert's intrusions also serve as immediate additional comments to the reader: he foreshadows the events and explains what to expect:

A few words more about Mrs. Humbert while the going is good (a bad accident is to happen quite soon).

• Nabokov allows Humbert to intrude and make digressions in order to create suspense in the story.
• Nabokov, through Humbert's allusions, constanty reminds readers that what they read is fiction and that Humbert is a character who is just a figment of imagination.
• By using such intrusions Nabokov creates distance from reality, which makes the story of seduction of a vulnerable girl more bearable and less repulsive for the readers.