Humbert Reads Poe to Lolita, Explained：a long face

What's really going on

The breakfast scene is where Humbert's two lives share a table. Downstairs, Charlotte runs the household and scolds Lolita about dishes and elbows; upstairs, Humbert turns the same girl into a literary audience, reading Poe and calling him "the divine Edgar." Lolita refuses to play along — "Well, I think it's a little corny, to tell you the truth" — and her mockery is the healthiest thing in the room. When Humbert asks about Mona's party, she senses the real question underneath and answers with a joke, then warns him that she will not keep his secrets: "I will never give away any of your secrets" is a promise she makes and immediately treats as a game. The feeding at the end, one bite offered like a reward, shows who is being trained to whom.

Theme

このチャプターで学べること

• Don't tell Mom makes a theft into a shared secret.
• A long face is a sulky look, not a length.
• Must you questions scold rather than ask.
• Blab means to spill a secret carelessly.

発音のポイント

• Don't tell Mom — The t sounds in Don't tell are dropped, leaving a small pause.
• sort of — Sort of is usually reduced to something like sorta.
• What do you — What-do-you is rushed, with do almost swallowed.