Subject
Re: Nymphets Who Read LOLITA
Date
Body
Dear Mo,
I first read *Lolita* when I was twelve years old. Like Rose Lichter-Mark,
I was hooked from the first sentence, although I did not understand much of
Humbert's vocabulary.
Apart from being young, however, I don't think I met Merriam-Webster's
definition of "nymphet." At age twelve I wore glasses and braces and was
very shy -- but I did like to read.
:) SES
On Sat, Nov 12, 2016 at 8:58 PM, Mo Ibrahim <mibraheem@gmail.com> wrote:
> The first time I met a nymphet* who was reading LOLITA was about ten years
> ago. She was a high school junior who boldly cradled her copy around
> Manhattan. But she is no anomaly. For example, Amy Rose Spiegel and Rose
> Lichter-Marckread read Lolita as nymphets.
>
> Spiegel, who wrote “Older Men: Everything you always wanted to know about
> them, and weren’t at all afraid to ask”, shared that when she was fifteen
> she, “[...] idealized the thought of someone being single-mindedly obsessed
> with me the way the novel’s narrator is with Lolita.”**
>
> And Lichter-Marck, who wrote “Two Kinds of Memory: Catching moments like
> butterflies”,** shared that when she was sixteen she fell in love with
> LOLITA and that “From the first sentence I was hooked.”
>
> I’ve written about fictional nymphets like Molly Maxwell who independently
> read LOLITA in class, but it would fascinating to hear from other nymphets
> who have read Nabokov’s magnum opus and get their take on the novel.
>
> * Based on MERRIAM WEBSTER'S definition of nymphet, my studies, and
> experiences, I’ve extended Humbert’s age limit by five years to
> nineteen-years-old.
>
> ** Both articles are published in ROOKIE, which is Tavi Gevinson’s online
> magazine and book series for teenagers.
>
> Search archive with Google:
> http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
>
> Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,dana.dragunoiu@gmail.com,
> shvabrin@humnet.ucla.edu
> Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
> Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
> Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
> AdaOnline: "http://www.ada.auckland.ac.nz/
> The Nabokov Society of Japan's Annotations to Ada:
> http://vnjapan.org/main/ada/index.html
> The VN Bibliography Blog: http://vnbiblio.com/
> Search the archive with L-Soft: https://listserv.ucsb.edu/lsv-
> cgi-bin/wa?A0=NABOKV-L
>
> Manage subscription options :http://listserv.ucsb.edu/lsv-
> cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=NABOKV-L
>
>
--
Susan Elizabeth Sweeney
Professor of English
Director of the College Honors Program and Director of Scholar Programs
College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA 01610-2395
Office: 508-793-2690 or 508-793-2562
susanelizabethsweeney.wordpress.com
Nabokov and the Question of Morality
<https://www.palgrave.com/us/book/9781137596666>
<https://www.palgrave.com/us/book/9781137596666>
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,dana.dragunoiu@gmail.com,shvabrin@humnet.ucla.edu
Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
AdaOnline: "http://www.ada.auckland.ac.nz/
The Nabokov Society of Japan's Annotations to Ada: http://vnjapan.org/main/ada/index.html
The VN Bibliography Blog: http://vnbiblio.com/
Search the archive with L-Soft: https://listserv.ucsb.edu/lsv-cgi-bin/wa?A0=NABOKV-L
Manage subscription options :http://listserv.ucsb.edu/lsv-cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=NABOKV-L
I first read *Lolita* when I was twelve years old. Like Rose Lichter-Mark,
I was hooked from the first sentence, although I did not understand much of
Humbert's vocabulary.
Apart from being young, however, I don't think I met Merriam-Webster's
definition of "nymphet." At age twelve I wore glasses and braces and was
very shy -- but I did like to read.
:) SES
On Sat, Nov 12, 2016 at 8:58 PM, Mo Ibrahim <mibraheem@gmail.com> wrote:
> The first time I met a nymphet* who was reading LOLITA was about ten years
> ago. She was a high school junior who boldly cradled her copy around
> Manhattan. But she is no anomaly. For example, Amy Rose Spiegel and Rose
> Lichter-Marckread read Lolita as nymphets.
>
> Spiegel, who wrote “Older Men: Everything you always wanted to know about
> them, and weren’t at all afraid to ask”, shared that when she was fifteen
> she, “[...] idealized the thought of someone being single-mindedly obsessed
> with me the way the novel’s narrator is with Lolita.”**
>
> And Lichter-Marck, who wrote “Two Kinds of Memory: Catching moments like
> butterflies”,** shared that when she was sixteen she fell in love with
> LOLITA and that “From the first sentence I was hooked.”
>
> I’ve written about fictional nymphets like Molly Maxwell who independently
> read LOLITA in class, but it would fascinating to hear from other nymphets
> who have read Nabokov’s magnum opus and get their take on the novel.
>
> * Based on MERRIAM WEBSTER'S definition of nymphet, my studies, and
> experiences, I’ve extended Humbert’s age limit by five years to
> nineteen-years-old.
>
> ** Both articles are published in ROOKIE, which is Tavi Gevinson’s online
> magazine and book series for teenagers.
>
> Search archive with Google:
> http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
>
> Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,dana.dragunoiu@gmail.com,
> shvabrin@humnet.ucla.edu
> Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
> Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
> Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
> AdaOnline: "http://www.ada.auckland.ac.nz/
> The Nabokov Society of Japan's Annotations to Ada:
> http://vnjapan.org/main/ada/index.html
> The VN Bibliography Blog: http://vnbiblio.com/
> Search the archive with L-Soft: https://listserv.ucsb.edu/lsv-
> cgi-bin/wa?A0=NABOKV-L
>
> Manage subscription options :http://listserv.ucsb.edu/lsv-
> cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=NABOKV-L
>
>
--
Susan Elizabeth Sweeney
Professor of English
Director of the College Honors Program and Director of Scholar Programs
College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA 01610-2395
Office: 508-793-2690 or 508-793-2562
susanelizabethsweeney.wordpress.com
Nabokov and the Question of Morality
<https://www.palgrave.com/us/book/9781137596666>
<https://www.palgrave.com/us/book/9781137596666>
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,dana.dragunoiu@gmail.com,shvabrin@humnet.ucla.edu
Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
AdaOnline: "http://www.ada.auckland.ac.nz/
The Nabokov Society of Japan's Annotations to Ada: http://vnjapan.org/main/ada/index.html
The VN Bibliography Blog: http://vnbiblio.com/
Search the archive with L-Soft: https://listserv.ucsb.edu/lsv-cgi-bin/wa?A0=NABOKV-L
Manage subscription options :http://listserv.ucsb.edu/lsv-cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=NABOKV-L