My only grudge against nature was that I could not turn my Lolita inside out and apply voracious lips to her young matrix, her unknown heart, her nacreous liver, the sea-grapes of her lungs, her comely twin kidneys.
Vladimir NabokovRead
But that mimosa grove-the haze of stars, the tingle, the flame, the honey-dew, and the ache remained with me, and that little girl with her seaside limbs and ardent tongue haunted me ever since-until at last, twenty-four years later, I broke her spell by incarnating her in another.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote captures the lasting impact of a past love that continues to resonate throughout the years.
In this quote, Vladimir Nabokov reflects on a profound memory of love, evoking the imagery of a mimosa grove as a metaphor for beauty and longing. The memories of a young girl and the intense emotions they stirred in him lingered for decades, illustrating how certain encounters profoundly shape our lives and influence our future relationships. The act of 'breaking her spell' suggests a transformation of those memories into something new, highlighting both the enduring nature of love and the possibility of moving on.
Themes
LoveMemoryLongingTransformationPast
In practice
Example use cases
During a wedding toast, reflecting on the beauty and lasting impact of first love.
More from Vladimir Nabokov
All quotes →Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.
Vladimir NabokovRead
A change of environment is the traditional fallacy upon which doomed loves, and lungs, rely.
Vladimir NabokovRead
...in my dreams the world would come alive, becoming so captivatingly majestic, free and ethereal, that afterwards it would be oppressive to breathe the dust of this painted life.
Vladimir NabokovRead
I believe the poor fierce-eyed child had figured out that with a mere fifty dollars in her purse she might somehow reach Broadway or Hollywood - or the foul kitchen of a diner (Help Wanted) in a dismal ex-prairie state, with the wind blowing, and the stars blinking, and the cars, and the bars, and the barmen, and everything soiled, torn, dead.
Vladimir NabokovRead
Adultery is a most conventional way to rise above the conventional.
Vladimir NabokovRead
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