In Chapter 8, Humbert encounters a seemingly unimportant piece of passage. The passage is cited at the end of the chapter. Humbert doesn't say much about it, which makes it cryptic. He acknowledges the ambiguity himself: "I was treated last night to one of those dazzling coincidences that logicians loathe and poets love." I can't help but have some speculations.
"Quine, Dolores."
Why does Humbert mention this name? Is this the same Dolores, by any chance? Was her last name just changed, like Humbert changed Lolita's name to "Haze"?
"Guilty of killing Quilty."
What does this mean? Why is she guilty of killing quilty? And what's up with the pun?
Nabokov sums up this chapter nicely:
"Oh, readers, I have only words to play with."
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