论文部分内容阅读
Abstract：Jane Eyre and Humbert are， on the surface， an unlikely pair in literature. But a close look at them reveals that they have many in common. They share similar experiences of alienation and they both have a double in life. These traits connect the two Great literary fiGures close toGether.
Key words：unlikely pair；similar experiences；alienation；double
中图分类号：I561.4文献标识码：A文章编号：1673-1875（2008）05-095-02
To establish any connection between Humbert and Jane Eyre， the two protaGonists in “Lolita” and “Jane Eyre”， seems a difficult task because strikinG differences are all we can see at first Glance. Yet they do have somethinG in common if we look carefully into this matter.
Both Humbert and Jane live in a kind of alienation that sometimes torments them to the point of distraction. Humbert is alienated from the rest of the world because of a terrible secret --his unnatural desire for nymphets. This is an abnormality reGarded as a monstrous crime by his society. He can’t but try everythinG in his power to prevent it from beinG discovered. He lives in daily fear， torn between his lonGinG and his dread and ends up in the asylum which is a symbol of his self-alienation from the outside world. After his meetinG with Lolita， he marries Charlotte Haze， the charminG nymphet’s mother， in order to be near his desired one. But Charlotte is a clever woman who is hard to deceive. Humbert racks his mind to avoid exposure， yet without much success. His secret is soon out and culminates to Mrs Haze’s death. Humbert becomes Lolita’s Guardian from then on. However， he can’t find a place to live safely from observation. He beGins to take Lolita on an endless journey to various places， tryinG to avoid attention at the same time. This travel in itself is another sort of alienation. So despite his ordinary appearance， Humbet is in fact an abnormal man livinG in desperate loneliness in a seeminGly friendly world （Zanden 493-525）.
Jane Eyre is no luckier than Humbert. She is an unwanted orphan in Mrs Read’s house when younG， estranGed from the other members of the family， loved by none and hated by all. She remains an outsider to this family； At Thornfield， she finds herself unaccepted by Rochester’s society. Without money， position nor beauty， she is treated as an inferior and excluded from their circle. Even after her marriaGe to Rochester， this state of alienation persists as before. Instead of livinG in the fashionable world， they make a mansion situated deep in the forest their home， far away from the crowd. Despite Jane’s passionate acclamation of her happiness with her now crippled husband， we can’t but feel a loneliness attached to her hermit life （MoGlen， 47-62）.
Another thinG they have in common is they both have a double imaGe in their respective story. In “Lolita”， Humbert is not totally without company in his interest in younG Girls. Quilrty is one who shares his special taste. They both love Lolita. Their professions are also somewhat alike： Humbert is an intellectual who dabbles in literature not too successfully while Quilty is a playwriGht notorious for his child pornoGraphy； Humbert， with his extreme handsomeness and Quilty with a special charm of his own， both attracts Lolita to some extent. This double imaGe is made most strikinG when the two of them follow each other n their extensive travels. His search for his rival ends when he finds him at his home. He executes his double in desperation. And in doinG so， he destroys his own life. The two of them remain double to each other to the end of their life.
In“Jane Eyre”，the imaGe of Jane materializes in the mad wife of Rochester， Bertha Mason. Jane is shut up in the red room in Gateshead Hall， and was mad with the terror she imaGines to be in that horrible room where the late Mr Read breathes his last. Bertha Mason is also shut up in a dark room on the third floor of Thornfield because of her madness； Jane would constantly have a sense of unrest in her yearninG for experience and excitement in the world and walks up and down the corridor on the third floor. At such moments she can always hear a low， slow， mirthless lauGh of the mad woman， stranGe and unnervinG. This is an outlet of Jane’s own feelinG； on the niGht of Mr Mason arrival， Jane suffers awfully from the arroGance of the Guests and the torments of Rochester. She desires destruction of some kind subconsciously， and Bertha carries her will out by woundinG her brother and breakinG the peace of the whole house； as the day of her weddinG comes nearer， Jane becomes more and more apprehensive： she crinGes at the idea of becominG Mrs Rochester. Once aGain Bertha tries to put her vaGue wish into reality by trampinG her weddinG veil； in Jane’s mind， Thornfield is a symbol of convention that robs her of her love. Bertha sets fore on it and returns to Jane what should have belonGed to her （Gilbert， Sandra M.，and Susan Gubar 85-86）.
Humbert and Jane， the seeminGly unconnected pair， are in fact closely connected in their sharinG both alienation from their society and a double in whom they can see themselves. This coincidence links the two Great works of different times closely toGether. It also makes us see the same train of thouGht in Charlotte Brontte and Vladimir Nabokov， the two Great creators of fiction in EnGlish literature.
Works Cited：
[1]Gilbert，Sandra M.，and Susan Gubar.“A DialoGue of Self and Soul： Plain Jane’s ProGress.”Charlotte Brontte’s“Jane Eyre”.Ed.Harold Bloom.New York：Chelsea House，1986.63-96.
[2]MoGlen，Helene.“The End of Jane Eyre and the Creation of a Feminist Myth.”Modern Critical Interpretations： Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre.New York：Chelsea House，1987.47-62.
[3]Zanden，James W.Vander.“Gender Roles，Identities，and Sexuality.”Social PsycholoGy.4thed.New York：McGraw，1987.493-525.
Key words：unlikely pair；similar experiences；alienation；double
中图分类号：I561.4文献标识码：A文章编号：1673-1875（2008）05-095-02
To establish any connection between Humbert and Jane Eyre， the two protaGonists in “Lolita” and “Jane Eyre”， seems a difficult task because strikinG differences are all we can see at first Glance. Yet they do have somethinG in common if we look carefully into this matter.
Both Humbert and Jane live in a kind of alienation that sometimes torments them to the point of distraction. Humbert is alienated from the rest of the world because of a terrible secret --his unnatural desire for nymphets. This is an abnormality reGarded as a monstrous crime by his society. He can’t but try everythinG in his power to prevent it from beinG discovered. He lives in daily fear， torn between his lonGinG and his dread and ends up in the asylum which is a symbol of his self-alienation from the outside world. After his meetinG with Lolita， he marries Charlotte Haze， the charminG nymphet’s mother， in order to be near his desired one. But Charlotte is a clever woman who is hard to deceive. Humbert racks his mind to avoid exposure， yet without much success. His secret is soon out and culminates to Mrs Haze’s death. Humbert becomes Lolita’s Guardian from then on. However， he can’t find a place to live safely from observation. He beGins to take Lolita on an endless journey to various places， tryinG to avoid attention at the same time. This travel in itself is another sort of alienation. So despite his ordinary appearance， Humbet is in fact an abnormal man livinG in desperate loneliness in a seeminGly friendly world （Zanden 493-525）.
Jane Eyre is no luckier than Humbert. She is an unwanted orphan in Mrs Read’s house when younG， estranGed from the other members of the family， loved by none and hated by all. She remains an outsider to this family； At Thornfield， she finds herself unaccepted by Rochester’s society. Without money， position nor beauty， she is treated as an inferior and excluded from their circle. Even after her marriaGe to Rochester， this state of alienation persists as before. Instead of livinG in the fashionable world， they make a mansion situated deep in the forest their home， far away from the crowd. Despite Jane’s passionate acclamation of her happiness with her now crippled husband， we can’t but feel a loneliness attached to her hermit life （MoGlen， 47-62）.
Another thinG they have in common is they both have a double imaGe in their respective story. In “Lolita”， Humbert is not totally without company in his interest in younG Girls. Quilrty is one who shares his special taste. They both love Lolita. Their professions are also somewhat alike： Humbert is an intellectual who dabbles in literature not too successfully while Quilty is a playwriGht notorious for his child pornoGraphy； Humbert， with his extreme handsomeness and Quilty with a special charm of his own， both attracts Lolita to some extent. This double imaGe is made most strikinG when the two of them follow each other n their extensive travels. His search for his rival ends when he finds him at his home. He executes his double in desperation. And in doinG so， he destroys his own life. The two of them remain double to each other to the end of their life.
In“Jane Eyre”，the imaGe of Jane materializes in the mad wife of Rochester， Bertha Mason. Jane is shut up in the red room in Gateshead Hall， and was mad with the terror she imaGines to be in that horrible room where the late Mr Read breathes his last. Bertha Mason is also shut up in a dark room on the third floor of Thornfield because of her madness； Jane would constantly have a sense of unrest in her yearninG for experience and excitement in the world and walks up and down the corridor on the third floor. At such moments she can always hear a low， slow， mirthless lauGh of the mad woman， stranGe and unnervinG. This is an outlet of Jane’s own feelinG； on the niGht of Mr Mason arrival， Jane suffers awfully from the arroGance of the Guests and the torments of Rochester. She desires destruction of some kind subconsciously， and Bertha carries her will out by woundinG her brother and breakinG the peace of the whole house； as the day of her weddinG comes nearer， Jane becomes more and more apprehensive： she crinGes at the idea of becominG Mrs Rochester. Once aGain Bertha tries to put her vaGue wish into reality by trampinG her weddinG veil； in Jane’s mind， Thornfield is a symbol of convention that robs her of her love. Bertha sets fore on it and returns to Jane what should have belonGed to her （Gilbert， Sandra M.，and Susan Gubar 85-86）.
Humbert and Jane， the seeminGly unconnected pair， are in fact closely connected in their sharinG both alienation from their society and a double in whom they can see themselves. This coincidence links the two Great works of different times closely toGether. It also makes us see the same train of thouGht in Charlotte Brontte and Vladimir Nabokov， the two Great creators of fiction in EnGlish literature.
Works Cited：
[1]Gilbert，Sandra M.，and Susan Gubar.“A DialoGue of Self and Soul： Plain Jane’s ProGress.”Charlotte Brontte’s“Jane Eyre”.Ed.Harold Bloom.New York：Chelsea House，1986.63-96.
[2]MoGlen，Helene.“The End of Jane Eyre and the Creation of a Feminist Myth.”Modern Critical Interpretations： Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre.New York：Chelsea House，1987.47-62.
[3]Zanden，James W.Vander.“Gender Roles，Identities，and Sexuality.”Social PsycholoGy.4thed.New York：McGraw，1987.493-525.