The Barber of Kasbeam (Continued): Ethics and Affect in Nabokov’s Lolita

Abstract: A particular mode of criticism—what can be referred to as “cerebral formalism”—has now dominated Nabokov studies for decades. Such criticism is often limited to identifying patterning, intertextuality, and wordplay. As a result, very little attention is given to the affective responses produced by Nabokov’s work. The influence of “cerebral formalism” also means that Lolita ’s ethical value has largely been conceived of in an affectively desensitized way. By engaging with recent critical discussions about affect in Nabokov, I seek to move away from this cerebral mode of criticism that remains prevalent in Nabokov studies. I frame my article around Lolita ’s much-discussed Kasbeam barber passage—a passage that Nabokov describes as one of “the nerves of the novel” ( AnLo 316). In the first section, I consider Richard Rorty’s reading of the Kasbeam passage, and I go on to contrast Rorty’s reading of the passage with my own affect-oriented close reading. In the second section, I offer a strong intentionalist reading of the same passage, directly connecting it to sections from The Nabokov-Wilson Letters , Speak, Memory , and Lolita . However, I use this intentionalist evidence primarily to demonstrate the limits of intentionalism. The article concludes by arguing that Lolita is best treated as an experiential object, and by calling for a critical embracing of affect and literary uncertainty.