My choice to reimagine scenes from The Scarlet Letter, Lolita, and Middlesex in the context of 21st century technology, specifically the internet, came from three factors. One is the “Universe of Desire” exhibit at the Museum of Sex, which showcased the collision of sex and internet and blurring of publicity and anonymous “privacy.” The exhibit […]
I really, really enjoy Calliope/Cal’s tone in Middlesex. Give the credit given to author Jeffrey Eugenides, Calliope/Cal has the ability to help the reader capture the full emotional value of images, actions and sequences without the excessive reliance of adjectives. I was beyond moved reading the passage when Dr. Philobosian was walking through his home […]
Though I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, I wasn’t very shocked by the direction Nabokov steered his novel plot-wise. The foreshadowing of Clare Quilty’s increased significance was present dating back to Dolores’ poster of him when she was still a nymphet. In the foreword, we already know that Humbert is in some sort of legal […]
Sorry for the late post! I wasn’t quite to the end of part two last night and wanted to finish it before writing. First of all, wow! I have so much respect for Nabokov as an author! He has total mastery over language, mood, and his audience. I know there is no “real” author present, […]
Oh Lolita, my Lolita, I have begun to feel for you! Dear Humbert was endearing and charming when his having Lo was but a fantasy. However, what I read in Part Two of Lolita eroded my warm feelings toward Humbert Humbert. How could they not when he admitted to threatening Dolores for sex? “I relied […]
At the end of Lolita, I felt kind of regretful that I did not borrow/purchase the annotated version because of all the references and word plays I am bound to have missed. I appreciate that this novel was split up into two classes: after our initial discussion, I approached reading part two differently than part […]
We’re able to paint a clear picture of the world’s sexual history with what we’ve seen in the Museum of Sex and read in Peiss this past week. I’ll get to Humbert later on. I spent a lot of time in the first room of the museum reading about the gradually increasing push in the […]
Lolita, Lo-lee-ta, Lo. Lee. Ta. I love it—I love this book! Vladamir Nabokov gets into your head and leaves behind Lolita, Lolita, Lolita. What a magnificent novel to read, especially in light of Foucault, and refreshing after the more restrained The Scarlet Letter. And yet, after visiting The Museum of Sex, there is no way […]
After visiting the Museum of Sex in combination with reading Lolita and this weeks documents I have noticed a strong trend in sexuality -the attempt to construct some ideal that arises from an illusion/fantasy. In the museum I was struck by the simulator in the BDSM exhibit on the second floor. This sort of “create […]
