Open AccessA Parody of Psychoanalysis in Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita
Author(s) -
Hossein Sharifi
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of english language and literature
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2368-2132
DOI - 10.17722/jell.v9i2.357
Subject(s) - unconscious mind , interpretation (philosophy) , psychoanalysis , simple (philosophy) , reflexive pronoun , human sexuality , key (lock) , philosophy , art , literature , psychology , epistemology , sociology , computer science , linguistics , gender studies , computer security
In Lolita (1955), Nabokov is playing a game with all his readers. Who do you think the winner is and what the game is all about? Nabokov who is a brilliant author wants to criticise Freud and his theory of psychoanalysis. He wants to rebel against Freud and his ideas. This paper aims to show you how successful Nabokov was in conveying his own ideas. We want to see whether or not psychoanalysis can be rejected by the help of Nabokov using a parody and trying to put psychoanalysis three key concepts: sexuality, memory, and interpretation into questioning. In this attempt, Nabokov takes a journey from conscious to unconscious and guides the readers with himself through this journey. He shows them symbols which may not represent real symbols, and simple characters which may not be that simple and plain; characters which have a wound in their Superegos and a dark side in their Ids and Egos.