Loliata, The Forbidden Fruit

While reading Lolita, I cannot help but pick up on the several references and allusions to the apple that Nabokov makes. The apple which is known as the ultimate symbol of seduction also symbolizes the idea of the “forbidden fruit.”  The apple pops up several times throughout Humbert’s recount of his interactions with Lolita, as well has his descriptions of his own personal feelings. The first time we see the apple [play a big role in the story is the creepily erotic scene where Lolita is eating an apple while shamelessly flirting with Humbert. In this scene the apple provides the allusion to the apple in the notorious Garden of Eden story, where mankind is tempted by the forbidden fruit of an apple tree. Humbert again makes this allusion when he is thinking of his feeling towards Lolita. He relates his anguish of his daily temptation to that of Adam’s, calling himself Adam in his orchard of apple trees. Through these allusions to temptation and the forbidden fruit, it becomes clear that Humbert knows his feelings and eventual actions are wrong. He describes himself as a pervert and a monster, fully acknowledging that his love for Lolita is forbidden. However, just as Adam did, Humbert continuously submits to his lustrous urges. When picking up Lolita from camp, Humbert once again alludes to the biblical metaphor by describing Lolita. After going so long without seeing her, he falls for her even harder than before. He describes her as, “all rose and honey…with a pattern of little red apples.” Once again this imagery of the forbidden fruit appears to show to the reader that his lust is still intact. I’m quite confident that as long as Humbert feels attracted to Lolita, the apple imagery will continue to show itself in his writings.