Subject
Lolita. Can you crack the code ? (fwd)
Date
Body
From: Yvan Chaxel <yvan@apg.ph.ucl.ac.uk>
Dear Nabokovians,
The question is to find when ( which year ) that particular "summer" took place.
1_ "Oh when ? About as many years before Lolita was born as my age was
that summer."
2_ "I was born in 1910, in Paris".
3_ " But the mimosa [ the mimosa of that particular summer ] grove ...
until at last 24 years later, I broke her [Annabel's] spell by
incarnating her in another [Lolita]."
4_ "Now, at 12, she [Lolita] was a regular pest."
All the information in brackets is just meant to clarify the riddle for someone
who wouldn't know anything about the novel. No extra information should be
seeked from the book in order to find the answer. A corollary question
could be to find out in which year Lolita was born, and in which year
Humbert Humbert met Lolita for the first time. The correct answer should not
only give these dates but also prove that it's the unique possible answer.
So, can you break the riddle ?
Yvan Chaxel
yvan@apg.ph.ucl.ac.uk
Dear Nabokovians,
The question is to find when ( which year ) that particular "summer" took place.
1_ "Oh when ? About as many years before Lolita was born as my age was
that summer."
2_ "I was born in 1910, in Paris".
3_ " But the mimosa [ the mimosa of that particular summer ] grove ...
until at last 24 years later, I broke her [Annabel's] spell by
incarnating her in another [Lolita]."
4_ "Now, at 12, she [Lolita] was a regular pest."
All the information in brackets is just meant to clarify the riddle for someone
who wouldn't know anything about the novel. No extra information should be
seeked from the book in order to find the answer. A corollary question
could be to find out in which year Lolita was born, and in which year
Humbert Humbert met Lolita for the first time. The correct answer should not
only give these dates but also prove that it's the unique possible answer.
So, can you break the riddle ?
Yvan Chaxel
yvan@apg.ph.ucl.ac.uk