She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. But in my arms she was always Lolita.
Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
Lolita is the light of my life and fire of my loins when I say her name, "Lo-lee-ta," my tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth, or in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock, when she is Lo, plain Lo, and even as Lola in slacks or Dolly at school, or Dolores on the dotted line, she is always, in my arms, Lolita, my sin, my soul.
In order to write a cumulative version of the opening of Lolita, which seems almost sacrilegious to me since I love these opening paragraphs so much, I had to group the short, often fragmented sentences together into an overarching idea. I choose to go with Humbert's names for Lolita, which is the surface topic of the paragraph. Unfortunately, in trying to create one sentence out of about nine, I had to simplify it a great deal, which is something Nabokov avoids with his extreme parataxis. In the opening, there are absolutely no connectors, even when the ideas being stated appear to be related. Though all of the names given to Lolita appear to be related to her, as Nabokov demonstrates in his etymological analysis of the name Lolita, they are each distinct identities that have little to do with Lolita herself, but instead, have to do with Humbert's fantasy of Lolita. In order to make this a cumulative sentence, I had to add conjunctions, which relate identities that are not actually related. I also had to group parallel constructions, in order to omit verbs and cram more information into one sentence. The sentence I wrote ends up being much simpler in sense than Nabokov's paragraphs, which force the reader to do much more of the work and, in their brevity, are more ambiguous than clear.
What Nabokov does do is use his language and form to bring out the meaning for the reader, rather than making explicit connections. The opening paragraph, with its pattern 4 sentences that list subjects in a series, A, B, C, creates a sense of reverence for this character. The delicious alliteration of L-sounds rolls itself through the mouth like the name "Lo-lee-ta" does in Humbert's schematic of speech. The religious language, "light of my life," "fire," "sin," "soul," reinforce the devotional overtones. Adoration is being performed. A prayer is being said. Still, this worship has hellish undertones. "Sin" following immediately after "fire" evokes fire and brimstone, retribution, but paired with soul, offers hope for redemption. The paragraph is filled with antithesis, "My sin, my soul," that underscore the indecision and moral struggle of Humbert.
The second paragraph relies almost completely on isocolon, but begins by interrupting the isocolon that is being set up with parenthetical explanation.
She was Lo in the morning
She was Lola in slacks
She was Dolly at school
She was Dolores on the dotted line
The sentences follow a pattern of subject + verb + name +prepositional phrase, emphasizing that Lolita's names and identities change according to where she is in space, as well as what she is wearing. Breaking the isocolon of the first sentence with a running style creates a breathless beginning that is then contrasted with the methodical, reasoned isocolonic sentences that try to encapsulate Lolita and keep her in her place. These extremes of feeling are what Humbert undergoes when he thinks about Lolita. She breaks the rules. She escapes from the boxes in which he tries to organize her in his mind. The simple sentences have a childlike quality, reflective both of Lolita, who is a child, and Humbert, who thinks often in immature and childish ways.
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