For The Record, Lolita Was Not Sexually Precocious — She Was Raped

mommyish.com ^ | 11/16/11 | Koa Beck

[GreenLanternCorps]

No, it was statutory rape, because a 12 year old in our society is not capable of consenting to sex or really understanding what is happening. But the damage to a 12 year old is not the same.

A 12 or 13 year old girl seduced and statutorily raped by her soccer coach will, with time and effort probably recover emotionally and at least has the possibility of forming normal relationships in the future.

A 12 or 13 year old boy raped by his soccer coach will probably suffer more emotional damage and take longer to recover, due to the homosexual nature of the rape, they may recover and have a normal life, but it will be harder.

A 7 or 8 year boy or girl old raped by their soccer coach may never fully recover, and will have a lot more psychological damage and will never have a truly normal life. That’s why it is worse.

A 4 year old raped by an adult will be probably be severely damaged for the rest of their life.

The younger a person is when abused, the greater the damage. That is why the distinction between before and after puberty is important.

[GreenLanternCorps]

I was not aware of that, puberty hit me when I was twelve. If she was prepubescent, then it becomes pedophilia and Humbert becomes a much worse villain.

As I said, I’ve not read the book and never will.

[bluecollarman]

Age Limit in Age of Consent Laws in USA

	1880	1920	2007
Alabama	10	16	16
Alaska	-	16	16
Arizona	12	18	18
Arkansas	10	16	16
California	10	18	18
Colorado	10	18	15
Connecticut	10	16	16
District of Columbia	12	16	16
Delaware	7	16	16
Florida	10	18	18
Georgia	10	14	16
Hawaii	-	-	16
Idaho	10	18	18
Illinois	10	16	17
Indiana	12	16	16
Iowa	10	16	16
Kansas	10	18	16
Kentucky	12	16	16
Louisiana	12	18	17
Maine	10	16	16
Maryland	10	16	16
Massachusetts	10	16	16
Michigan	10	16	16
Minnesota	10	18	16
Mississippi	10	18	16
Missouri	12	18	17
Montana	10	18	16
Nebraska	10	18	17
Nevada	12	18	16
New Hampshire	10	16	16
New Jersey	10	16	16
New Mexico	10	16	17
New York	10	18	17
North Carolina	10	16	16
North Dakota	10	18	18
Ohio	10	16	16
Oklahoma	-	-	16
Oregon	10	16	18
Pennsylvania	10	16	16
Rhode Island	10	16	16
South Carolina	10	16	16
South Dakota	10	18	16
Tennessee	10	18	18
Texas	10	18	17
Utah	10	18	16
Vermont	10	16	16
Virginia	12	16	18
Washington	12	18	16
West Virginia	12	16	16
Wisconsin	10	16	18
Wyoming	10	16	16

[firebrand]

Yes, that’s pretty much the point of the book. Humbert hears the laughter of the children and realizes his sad feelings are not those of missing Lolita, but those of realizing he has stolen her childhood.

But the reader is roped in with the sex aspect. One can only hope most readers walk away with some new understanding.

[Free Vulcan]

Unbelievably creepy. Growing up in a dirty factory town, in that situation you are exposed to so many things at such a young age. The pressure to ‘be in the game’ was crushing. I knew so many girls that were way too advanced beyond their years, and man did most of them pay the price later in life in one way or another. Everybody just grew up way too fast.

To actually be promoting and encouraging that is just sick. Nothing good can come from hypersexualizing young teens. This is just pure trailer park morals being pushed on all of us, and I can tell you from being in the middle of that all it does is damage and break people down for life.

[The Great RJ]

Visit any mall and you will see young girls dressed like street walkers. Not that this is an excuse for pedophilia, but you have to blame parents for letting their daughters dress and act like this and put them at risk for sexual exploitation.

[RedMDer]

[struggle]

I read the story too - it’s a very well written story.

It’s also very graphic; it isn’t graphic in detail, but the imagination of HumbertX2 is shocking in all of it’s masculine obsessiveness.

I did chuckle when HumbertX2 tried to excuse his obsession by stating that Edgar Allen Poe had his Virginia, so he could have his own vixen as well.

[moehoward]

"Visit any mall and you will see young girls dressed like street walkers."

Or any public High School. Worse, is any dance function at the school.

[dragonblustar]

The book doesn’t describe any sex acts. It’s all implied.

Does that makes it better in your world? Funny how creepy people like to find loop holes.

[Mad Dawg]

I am stunned that it was considered appropriate literature for high school! Would you mind saying what year that was?

[Loud Mime]

You’re right about the schools - - they love to show off and have horrible language.

Back in history early teens were getting married and had more responsibility. Society treats them as children. Perhaps the legal age should be lowered - including convicting them of crimes as adults. Maybe that will wake them up.

[Sherman Logan]

Distinctions between degrees of evil are not irrelevant.

Rape of an adult female - very evil.

Rape of an underage but post-pubescent female - even more evil.

Rape of a pre-pubescent child - most evil of all.

Why people take the common-sense observation that C is worse than A or B to imply that A or B therefore not so bad as all that is beyond me.

Here’s an example you might be able to comprehend.

It’s worse to murder two people than one person. That doesn’t mean I’m saying it’s ok to murder one person.

[nickcarraway]

Lolita certainly glorified, "style over substance" literature. More than any other write, Nabokov was all about the style.

[Borges]

Lolita is a classic and great Americana. I suppose ‘Creepy people’ would also include William F Buckley who was a good friend of Nabokov’s.

[Borges]

It was about the collision between European Intellectualism with American pop culture, Modernism and poster-modernism and the ability of creative art to attempt to expiate the horrific acts. It has substance to store.

[mmichaels1970]

hmm...I admit that this article finally taught me what "that book by Nabokov" meant in "Don't Stand So Close to Me".

[dragonblustar]

Lolita is a classic and great Americana.

The book is about the rape of a girl. Glad you find it a classic.

[Borges]

Crime and Punishment is about the brutal murder of an old woman and her sister. Is that a classic? How about Macbeth where a child is murdered (among many others). Your argument is absurd on its face.

[ottbmare]

My grandmother was married at 15, my grandfather was 21 at the time (this was in 1920). She and my grandfather remained married for 64 years, until he died in 1984. Those who would call this child abuse and would call my grandfather a rapist or pedophile would be wrong.

Of course what happened to your grandmother wasn't child abuse and your grandfather wasn't a child rapist or a pedophile. They were legally and honorably married. They lived in a different time and place. Nearly a hundred years ago people didn't live as long as they do today, education didn't go on as long, so people entered into adult life and work at earlier ages. Presumably your grandmother happily consented and your grandparents were in love (and if I know much about young people, your grandmother was probably at least as mature emotionally as your grandfather at the time). That's a lot different than the deep evil of a grown man holding his child stepdaughter an anguished prisoner so he can seduce and then rape her at his leisure.