Manipulating Both H.H. and His Audience

In the article, "In Search of Aesthetic Bliss: A rereading of 'Lolita'," the author argues that there is a story within a story and Humbert made up his own reality, which was the book. The "fiction of reality" is something we've discussed a lot in class, but it seems like we have been missing something. We know Humbert isn't a reliable source, but this is mainly due to the fact that we know more than Humbert knows. It's the game Nabokov plays against his character and his reader--both are at his mercy for how the story goes. However, Nabokov seems to give Humbert the power of the story by re-writing his own story, where sometimes the story truly feels as if Humbert is writing it, instead of Nabokov. Nabokov seems to be giving him freedom, but he isn't. It's a complicated game, one that I still don't fully understand. Roth explains it as, "what Nabokov gives the reader is not reality, but a way of perceiving reality" (29). Nabokov does this for both the reader and Humbert. Both are given a story, and a reality, but the way both are viewing is by the manipulation of Nabokov. The game is much bigger than just the story, because Nabokov plays the game with perception. This is, of course, is something that happens when one reads anything, but not in the way Nabokov does it. He tricks the reader into thinking how he wants him or her to think. It's not a choice, other than choosing to read the book, but something that is forced on the reader.