Twenty-first International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov’s portrayal of America was published in Paris in 1955 by the Olympia Press, a publisher devoted to paperback erotica. The novel had previously been rejected by four American publishers who were horrified at its subject-matter: the lustful obsession of a middle-aged pedophile, a divorced and learned European professor, for his twelve-year-old step-daughter. British novelist Graham Greene’s praise for Lolita brought it into the limelight. In 1958, Lolita was finally published in the United States, where its notoriety ensured its immediate success. Considered nowadays to be one of the best novels of the 20th Century, Lolita has become firmly established in the literary canon. Moreover, its main character, has become an icon in mass culture. However, by making her a teenage temptress with an out-of-control sexuality, popular culture has distorted the point of the novel. Film versions, including adaptations by Kubrick and Lyne and other “decantations”, have contributed to this misrepresentation. In this paper the archetype of Lolita is analyzed in two films produced in Spain during the 80s: El Nido (Jaime de Armiñán, 1980), and Memorias de Leticia Valle (Miguel Ángel Rivas, 1980), based on the novel with the same title by Rosa Chacel. Three elements of the myth in these films are considered: Lolita and the adult male characters and the nature of their relationship. The analysis is carried out from a Gender perspective, and it also takes into account the historical and social context in which the two films were produced.