To understand obsession the origin of one’s obsession must be explored. Obsessive fixation is a concept that was coined by Sigmund Freud, in 1905, Freud theorized that one of the causes of such psychological fixation was due to a lack of proper gratification during one of the psychosexual stages of development, a central element of the psychoanalytic sexual drive theory. In Lolita, Annabel, Humbert’s childhood love, and Humbert never manage to consummate their love, and four months later she dies of typhus in Corfu. In accordance with Freud this lack of consummation and therefore lack of gratification is likely the cause of his predilection for young girls. The relationship between Annabel and Humbert is described as idealistic and somewhat conventional. Humbert describes the
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Nabokov juxtaposes the relationship between, Annabel and Humbert with that of Lolita and Humbert. Annabel and Humbert were free and joyous like that of a ‘Canary’ however the relationship between Humbert and Lolita is imprisoned and abusive. This juxtaposition highlights the impact of Humbert’s fixation and the effects such obsession can have. Furthermore Nabokov’s use of the image of the Canary shows that Humbert was once free of his condition and to some extent ‘normal’ thus clearly defining the causation of his fixation, the death of Annabelle. This causation possibly leads the reader to empathize with Humbert, In contrast, the fixation In Moby Dick stems from an abhorrence, “That inscrutable thing is chiefly what I hate.” Rather than a past event triggering compulsive behaviour, Ahab is fixated on killing the one thing he despises most. Melville wrote Moby Dick (1851) before Freuds theories and because of this his depiction of obsession is caused by a passionate hatred rather than complex cognitive processes as seen in Lolita, Humbert is a character with clear psychological issues defined by his traumatic childhood experience however Ahab is ostensibly driven by simply rage and
Nabokov juxtaposes the relationship between, Annabel and Humbert with that of Lolita and Humbert. Annabel and Humbert were free and joyous like that of a ‘Canary’ however the relationship between Humbert and Lolita is imprisoned and abusive. This juxtaposition highlights the impact of Humbert’s fixation and the effects such obsession can have. Furthermore Nabokov’s use of the image of the Canary shows that Humbert was once free of his condition and to some extent ‘normal’ thus clearly defining the causation of his fixation, the death of Annabelle. This causation possibly leads the reader to empathize with Humbert, In contrast, the fixation In Moby Dick stems from an abhorrence, “That inscrutable thing is chiefly what I hate.” Rather than a past event triggering compulsive behaviour, Ahab is fixated on killing the one thing he despises most. Melville wrote Moby Dick (1851) before Freuds theories and because of this his depiction of obsession is caused by a passionate hatred rather than complex cognitive processes as seen in Lolita, Humbert is a character with clear psychological issues defined by his traumatic childhood experience however Ahab is ostensibly driven by simply rage and