relax as a guest
Sit down. Make yourself at home.Lolita · 1962 — 第 23 / 30 章 · 4'33" · B2
The School Psychologist Visits Humbert, Explained：the facts of life
A school psychologist, Dr. Zemph, calls at Humbert's house to raise concerns about Lolita: has anyone taught her "the facts of life," and why is she so restless in class? He proposes a home visit by a district psychologist, and Humbert grows colder with every word.
あらすじ
Dr. Zemph introduces himself as the Beardsley High School psychologist and says Lolita let him in. He asks whether anyone has instructed her in the facts of life, reads out her school reports, and warns that her behavior suggests repression. His solution is a visit from a district psychologist and a three-member board.
注目の表現
make yourself at homeso as to save you the expensethe facts of lifecast our minds back
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いま
このシーンの表現
the facts of life
sex education, euphemistically
The doctor finally raises sex education through a polite euphemism.
Her aunt sat her down to explain the facts of life.
このシーンの他の表現
- make yourself at home
settle in freely
- so as to save you the expense
a mocking claim of thrift
- cast our minds back
recall the past
- in point of fact
as a matter of fact
- get fed up with
grow tired of
このシーンのメモ一覧
79 行のセリフに 25 件のメモ
in order to
I sat in the dark so as to save you the expense of the electricity. Ha-ha-ha.spare you the cost
I sat in the dark so as to save you the expense of the electricity. Ha-ha-ha.Link expense, of, and the into one run.
I sat in the dark so as to save you the expense of the electricity. Ha-ha-ha.conditional clause: Standard English wants if I put here; his progressive form marks him as a non-native speaker.
Dr. Humbert, would you mind if I am putting to you the blunt question?sex education, euphemistically
The doctor finally raises sex education through a polite euphemism.
We are wondering, has anybody, uh, instructed Lolita in the facts of life?Run the d of instructed straight into Lolita.
We are wondering, has anybody, uh, instructed Lolita in the facts of life?the start of puberty
...but the onset of maturity seems to be giving her...some real difficulty
...a certain amount of trouble.a proper subject
I really don't think that this is a fit topic.pay close attention to
...and she has got the curvatures which they take a lot of notice of.relative clause: The relative clause is joined with which, and its preposition of is left at the end.
...and she has got the curvatures which they take a lot of notice of.a girl's figure — A dated word for a woman's figure.
...and she has got the curvatures which they take a lot of notice of.recall the past
The doctor pivots to shared high-school memories to soften Humbert.
But if we cast our minds back....as a matter of fact
Humbert corrects the doctor's assumption about who he is.
In point of fact, uh, Dr. Zemph, I am a lecturer in French literature.Drop the t in point and weaken of.
In point of fact, uh, Dr. Zemph, I am a lecturer in French literature.grow tired of
She looks at the book for a while and then she gets fed up with it.either...or: Either...or sets up two opposing options and forces a choice between them.
"She either has exceptional control or she has no control at all."believe it or not
...she wrote a most obscene word with the lipstick, if you please...as we see it
And so, in our opinion, she is suffering from acute repression of the libido...sexual drive — Clinical jargon, rare in casual talk.
And so, in our opinion, she is suffering from acute repression of the libido...cannot understand
I fail to see the significance of all this...as regards ...
...as far as her record as a student is concerned, Dr. Zemph.declining to help
The doctor names what Humbert has been dancing around: non-cooperation.
Do I take it then that, uh, you are refusing to cooperate...object clause: Take it that uses it as a placeholder for the real that-clause object.
Do I take it then that, uh, you are refusing to cooperate...「The School Psychologist Visits Humbert」を読み解く
What's really going on
The visit is an inspection dressed as concern. Dr. Zemph is polite and faintly sinister, sitting in the dark to save the electricity and then asking, "has anybody, uh, instructed Lolita in the facts of life?" From there he moves to evidence: the class reports, the gum, the lipstick word on a health pamphlet, and a diagnosis of repression. His proposal is the real threat — a district psychologist and three colleagues coming into the house to investigate the home. Humbert answers with polite stalling and one blunt denial, "But she's not being repressed, Dr. Zemph." The scene works because both men keep smiling while negotiating over a girl neither of them treats as a person in the room.
Theme
PowerThe psychologist speaks for an institution and threatens a home visit, and Humbert can only deflect the authority aimed at him.
SecretsThe interview circles the one thing Humbert cannot admit, and every question about the girl's behavior is really a question about the house.
このチャプターで学べること
- The facts of life is a dated cover for sex education.
- So as to save reframes intrusion as a favor.
- In point of fact quietly corrects what someone assumed.
- Refusing to cooperate is a formal accusation, not a question.
発音のポイント
- expense of the — Link expense, of, and the into one run.
- instructed Lolita — Run the d of instructed straight into Lolita.
- point of fact — Drop the t in point and weaken of.
I sat in the dark so as to save you the expense of the electricity. Ha-ha-ha.Zemph's joke about waiting in the dark, which sounds thrifty and instead signals that he has been sitting in Humbert's home uninvited.
Dr. Humbert, would you mind if I am putting to you the blunt question?The polite formula before an intrusive question: he asks permission to ask, then asks about the girl's sexual education.
You and I, what are we?Zemph's rhetorical turn, comparing himself and Humbert as grown men against the boys at the school who watch Lolita.
We are symbols of power, sitting in our offices.His flattering definition of the two men: important, respectable, and, by implication, too mature to understand the girl's trouble.
"She either has exceptional control or she has no control at all."A line from Lolita's school report, read aloud as evidence that she is unstable, when it might just describe any restless teenager.
But she's not being repressed, Dr. Zemph.Humbert's one direct answer in the whole scene, denying the diagnosis and, by extension, refusing the home visit.
このシーンについての質問
Why does Dr. Zemph visit Humbert?
He is the Beardsley High School psychologist, and Lolita let him in on her way to a piano lesson. He has school reports about her restlessness and wants to talk about her behavior with Humbert.
What does 'the facts of life' mean?
It is a polite old phrase for sexual knowledge. Zemph uses it to ask whether anyone has explained such things to Lolita, which is the question Humbert least wants to answer.
Who does Dr. Zemph want to send to the house?
Dr. Cudler, the district psychologist for the Board of Education, and his three-member board of psychologists. Zemph proposes that the four of them visit the home and investigate the source of Lolita's supposed repression.
Why does Humbert resist the psychologist?
An official investigation of the home is the one thing he cannot allow. He answers politely but refuses to cooperate, denying that Lolita is repressed at all.
Does Zemph believe Humbert?
He listens politely and keeps pressing. When Humbert says Lolita is not repressed, Zemph asks whether to take that as a refusal to cooperate, and the exchange becomes a standoff.
ロリータ · 全 30 章
すべて見る →
次のチャプター · 第 24 章have a nerveHumbert Grills Lolita After the Play
第 1 章overcome with powerHumbert's Roman Ping-Pong With Quilty
第 2 章last wordsHumbert Kills Quilty
第 3 章Happily divorcedCharlotte Shows Humbert the House
第 4 章go steadyCharlotte Plays Matchmaker at the Party
第 5 章keep the lights onQuilty Meets Humbert
第 6 章joie de vivreCharlotte and Humbert Dance
第 7 章a dragLolita Sneaks Back for a Sandwich
第 8 章a long faceHumbert Reads Poe to Lolita
第 9 章stroke of geniusCharlotte Sends Lolita to Camp
第 10 章no alternativeCharlotte's Letter Kicks Humbert Out
第 11 章feel insecureA Jealous Wife Questions Humbert
第 12 章sacred and profaneCharlotte Shows Humbert the Gun
第 13 章every game has its rulesCharlotte Confronts Humbert Over Candy
第 14 章a dupeCharlotte Finds Humbert's Diary
第 15 章darkest before the dawnThe Farlows Comfort Humbert
第 16 章bide our timeHumbert Picks Up Lolita
第 17 章tied up in knotsHumbert Checks Into the Hotel
第 18 章a normal guyHumbert Meets the Normal Guy
第 19 章Russian rouletteLolita Wakes Humbert With a Prank
第 20 章cut it outHumbert Tells Lolita Her Mother Died
第 21 章cross your heartLolita Makes Humbert Promise
第 22 章a fine one to talkHumbert Forbids Lolita to Date
再生中 · 第 23 章the facts of lifeThe School Psychologist Visits Humbert
第 24 章have a nerveHumbert Grills Lolita After the Play
第 25 章come betweenHumbert and Lolita's Big Fight
第 26 章a fine pairHumbert and Lolita Are Followed
第 27 章since whenHumbert Visits Lolita in Hospital
第 28 章by any chanceLolita Leaves in Care of Her Uncle
第 29 章old flameHumbert Finds the Married Lolita
第 30 章the past is the pastLolita Confesses Her Love for Quilty第 23 / 30 章 · 残り約 24 分