Lolita Summary

The story unfolds as the protagonist, known by the alias Humbert Humbert, passes on a manuscript detailing his controversial life to his attorney before his death in prison. He recounts his childhood love affair with a young girl named Annabel Leigh, a relationship that was never physically consummated before her untimely death. This event seems to trigger Humbert's obsession with young girls, which persists despite his time in a mental institution, various jobs, and even a failed marriage to an adult woman. His obsession leads him to America where he becomes enamored with a girl named Dolores, the daughter of the widow he rents a room from. Humbert's attraction to Dolores, whom he calls Lolita, grows, leading him to marry her mother, Charlotte, just to stay close to her. However, their marriage doesn't last long as Charlotte discovers Humbert's true feelings from his diary and confronts him, only to die in a car accident shortly after.

After Charlotte's untimely death, Humbert fetches Lolita from her summer camp, revealing her mother's fate only upon their arrival at a motel. Humbert's account suggests that Lolita seduces him, and they embark on a year-long journey across the country, during which Lolita learns how to manipulate Humbert's obsession, and Humbert in turn threatens her with an orphanage to keep her compliant. All the while, they are being followed by a mysterious man. Eventually, they settle down in the northeast where Humbert finds employment at a college and Lolita enrolls in school. Their relationship strains further as Humbert restricts Lolita's social interactions with boys her age, leading to secretiveness and accusations of infidelity on Lolita's part.

This culminates in Lolita falling ill and being taken to the hospital, where she is allegedly picked up by her uncle - a ruse that leaves Humbert heartbroken and furious. Two years of searching for Lolita ensue, during which Humbert learns of her life now; married, pregnant, and living in poverty. Much to Humbert's surprise, Lolita's husband is not the man who'd been stalking them, but rather Claire Quilty, a playwright Lolita was infatuated with but who ultimately rejected her. Despite Lolita's refusal, Humbert unsuccessfully attempts to rekindle their relationship, leaves her financial aid, and then takes revenge on Quilty by murdering him. The narrative concludes with Humbert's arrest and subsequent imprisonment, where he continues documenting their story, insisting it be published only after Lolita's death. With the death of Lolita during childbirth, followed by Humbert's own demise due to heart failure, the manuscript is ultimately passed on.