Daddy's Little Girl

One can get a lot from a letter: a glimpse of the world, the mind, and the soul behind the hand. This letter comes after several years of Lo's disappearance in Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, of 1955. She is much older now, but still a young girl in Humbert's eyes. There are many ways to interpret this letter, and I will be examining this version and the film versions by Stanley Kubrick in 1961 and Adrian Lyne in 1997.

This version says to me that Lo still feels close to her father but knows that he was hurt by her disappearance. She does not want to continue hurting him. But she is keeping him a part of his life and in doing so, she needs to tell him what exactly is going on. So, she jumps right in and tells Humbert that she is pregnant and married. Life is hard, though, and she admits it. She is not accusatory. She sounds sad and wanting to

have a relationship with him once more, only truly as father and daughter. But, she is cautious. She doesn't want to be a burden to him, so when she asks for money, she says, "Anything is welcome." She also begs him to write (though I wonder how he can if she does not give her address). She tries to show her affection by being chatty about her baby and the neighborhood. She is her old, sarcastic self when talking about the neighborhood she and Dick live in. But, soon after telling Humbert about her pregnancy she confesses that this letter is hard to write. She knows that she hurt him, but she also wants to move on and be happy again, thus leaving off her home address because, "Dick must not know." She is trying her best to sound fine, but she is confiding in Humbert like she used to. She says that she has, "gone through much sadness and hardship," but she does not say this in the beginning. By doing this, she sounds like the little, vulnerable girl he used to know.

The letter used in Kubricks' film version of this novel is much different than this one, both in style and content. The text of it is as follows:

First, let's look at the scene stylistically. We cannot see anyone in this. We only have a close-up view of the typewriter and the letters as they land slowly on the page, which fades into the screen after we hear the sound of the typewriter. We are led to believe that the author is Lolita (played in this film by Sue Lyon), but she is not shown to us. There is no music or other sound but that of the typing. The typing is slow, either as if the typer is deliberate in choosing their words, they are crying, or they cannot type well. A typewritten letter is much less personal. It doesn't have the same character as a hand-written letter does. The book does not say whether this letter was typed or not, only that the envelope in which it arrived came with the address scrawled, in Lo's writing (p. 263). The book does say that the date on the letter was September 18, but in this version, it is March 19. It could mean that they originally wanted her to be JUST pregnant, instead of, "big with another's child" (p. 278), but they later chose not to mention the date of arrival. In any case, the director was given license in this scene to do whatever he pleased with the letter and the characters. There could have been more to this letter, but the screen fades out, as does the sound of the typewriter.

Though this is less personal than a hand-written letter, it gives a good characterization of Lolita. It reads as if Lolita has, "gone through much sadness and hardship" because she is married and pregnant. This can also sound accusatory; that Humbert (played by James Mason) ruined her life for good, no matter what changes she has made. She should be happy about her marriage and her pregnancy, but she cannot, and it is all his fault. This letter, because it is typed, is very cold. Lolita never loved Humbert in this movie version. There was very little tenderness between the two; only Humbert's for Lo. Lo asks Humbert for money. Every child does that. But, Lo sounds almost demanding because this is right after her complaining. It's as if she is saying, "You messed up my life, so you'll have to fix it." She does not specify how much money, nor does she say anything so courteous as, "Anything is welcome." She is not chatty; she is to the point. We know she only wrote this to shove her life down his throat, that she shouldn't really need him. She's, "going nuts," so she backs down and asks for money. She doesn't want Humbert in her life at all, it seems. She doesn't mention Dick (played by Gary Cockrell), she doesn't mention the baby, but that she is going to have one, she does not chattily talk about the town she lives in, and most importantly, she does not admit how hard the letter is to write. But, if it were easy, then, why didn't she hand-write it? She chose to type it to make it business-like and as far away from intimate as possible. It seems that she would rather be alone and forget everything about her previous life. If it weren't for the money issue, she would not be writing. She leaves off her home address at the top of the letter, unlike most letter-writers. She also does not explain why she left it off. But, it is very obvious that she wants to be left alone. She is as unforgiving as she was when she was younger. She takes no responsibility in any of her actions in hurting his feelings. She doesn't care about him, only about herself.

Lyne's version of this letter and scene is much more intimate like the book. The younger Lo (played by Dominique Swain) comes out very clearly at times and it is of a much more welcoming tone. The text is as follows:

Stylistically, this scene is much different to Kubrick's. Firstly, we do not see it being written. Instead, we see it arrive at Humbert's (played by Jeremy Irons) house and we hear it being read in his head, through a voice-over. That is not the only sound. There is a soft music playing that is dream-like and very sad. It is slow and stops when he stops reading. The lighting is very low, again, almost dream-like. The camera movements are slow. We pan the room as he reads, and move up his body, watching his reaction to the letter. Sometimes the camera is on the letter itself, as if we were Humbert reading it. He sits, smoking, slowly digesting the information in the letter. At the end, a lone tear runs down his cheek, acknowledging that he did and still does indeed love her.

The Lolita in this letter is kinder. The letter is not confrontational, it is cautious. There is no date nor is there an address. She could have been writing this letter in secret or placed the address on the envelope, which we do not see closely. There is no other reason than plain caution that would explain the absence of the address on the letter. It is not cold in the way the Kubrick letter is. She asks whether he is still mad at her for leaving, unlike in the book where she assumes he is. She is seeking forgiveness, and still wants a relationship with him even though she is married. She wants to be close, like they were before. She wants to forget all the bad things that went on. She starts asking how he is and then gives a small synopsis of her life. It is neither cheery nor cold. She is treading on thin ice and she knows it. She knows she hurt him and wants to be part of his life again. She wants him to know Dick (played by Michael Dolen) and her baby when it comes and be the dad that he can. But, she also knows that this is the man who loved her with all his being - this man that she is telling about her marriage to another. She asks whether he is mad at her after she mentions Dick. She doesn't want him to still be angry, but he needs to know what's going on. Also, it is as if right after she writes this letter, she is going to disappear again. By giving him warning, she is showing that she does care. She asks for money, but knows it is a large favor, considering what she put him through. She says, "Anything is welcome." By his giving her money, she knows he is showing he has forgiven her and does want to be in her life again. If he does not give her anything, she knows he is still hurt and possibly does not want to know her. She ends with saying that she has, "gone through much sadness and hardship," not in any accusing sort of way, but to sound almost hopeful. It almost sounds as if she is saying, "I've gone through so much terrible stuff without you." Perhaps she is acknowledging that though he did a bad thing, he did love and care for her and life without him is not more desirable. She in some ways is still the Lolita he once knew. She treats him like a father like she did a few times earlier. But, there is also more going on here.

A great deal can be read from a letter. The saying, "Read between the lines" is ideal in this situation. There are words and then there are the thoughts and feelings of the person behind those words. Letters can be very personal or they can be cold. Written word does not always have to be serious and monotone. In fact, it can be very full of life, emotion, and meaning, as these three versions of the same letter show us.