ABSTRACT
In his groundbreaking novel, Lolita, an exquisite and disturbing depiction of a sexual perpetrator’s fascination with a twelve-year-old girl, Vladimir Nabokov describes the predator’s rumination as he looks on at his prey. We witness the particular language of desire and seduction, and yet note how he might describe any child: their fragile exuberance, delectable innocence, and boundless possibility as youth and vitality begin to flower. We then watch aghast, as trust is betrayed, shame instilled, and the child’s world is forever altered.
