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Symbols
The Enchanted Hunters is the name of the motel where Humbert Humbert first rapes Lolita. It is also the name of Quilty’s play. The image of the “enchanted hunter,” is a symbol for pedophiles like Quilty and Humbert. They are “hunters,” because they chase little girls. They are “enchanted,” because their desires have warped their imaginations, and prevent them from seeing reality clearly.
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The Enchanted Hunters Symbol Timeline in Lolita
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Enchanted Hunters appears in Lolita. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1, Chapter 21
...she asks if he’d like to spend the fall there, at a quaint hotel called The Enchanted Hunters.
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Part 1, Chapter 25
...suitcase full of new clothes. Finally, he makes a reservation for the next night at The Enchanted Hunters, a motel in a nearby town.
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Part 1, Chapter 27
...to a hospital where she will be having an operation. Meanwhile, he takes Lolita to The Enchanted Hunters. While they drive, Lolita adopts a teasing, childishly flirtatious attitude with Humbert; she says that...
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Part 1, Chapter 32
Soon after she tells this story, Humbert Humbert and Lolita leave The Enchanted Hunters, getting back on the road. Lolita—who may or may not be joking—begins to frighten Humbert...
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Part 2, Chapter 11
...particular, Pratt asks Humbert to let Lolita participate in the school play, a production of The Enchanted Hunters. Humbert agrees, frightened that Pratt has noticed something wrong with Lolita. Before leaving the school,...
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Part 2, Chapter 13
Lolita begins rehearsing for her lead role in The Enchanted Hunters, a play about a young farmer’s daughter who hypnotizes lost hunters in the woods. Eventually,...
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Part 2, Chapter 29
...took her away. Initially reluctant, she finally reveals his name: Clare Quilty, the author of The Enchanted Hunters. Quilty, who had been a friend of Charlotte’s, had known Lolita since her early childhood....
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