automatic pistol

The automatic pistol that Humbert Humbert inherits from the late Harold Haze is a compact .32 caliber weapon with an eight-cartridge magazine, a walnut stock, and a full blued finish. Humbert keeps it wrapped in a white woolen scarf inside a copper money box, a "luizetta" given to him by Gaston Godin, and he refers to it with the intimate, mocking nickname "Chum." The pistol is not merely a tool but a constant companion, a symbol of the violence that lurks beneath Humbert's scholarly exterior and a physical manifestation of his capacity for destruction.

Acquisition and Early Fantasies

Humbert acquires the pistol from the effects of Harold Haze, Charlotte's deceased first husband, along with a 1938 catalog that advertises it as "Particularly well adapted for use in the home and car as well as on the person." He learns to use it during walks in the woods with John Farlow, who is an admirable marksman. Even before he possesses the weapon, Humbert's mind turns to murder as a solution to his problems. During his swim with Charlotte at Hourglass Lake, he contemplates drowning her, but finds he cannot bring himself to do it. Later, he daydreams about killing her with a more classical poison, but dismisses the idea as impractical in the modern era. The pistol, however, remains a theoretical option, a dark fantasy he toys with but does not yet act upon.

The Companion on the Road

During the year-long cross-country journey with Lolita, the pistol becomes a constant, if hidden, presence. Humbert keeps it loaded and ready, a source of security against the perceived threats of the world, particularly the mysterious figure in the Aztec Red Convertible who he believes is following them. The pistol is a secret he shares with no one, a private talisman of his power and his paranoia. It is during this period that he first rehearses its use, not on a person, but on a symbolic target: an old gray sweater, which he hangs on a branch in a secluded glade and shoots full of holes. This act is a dry run for the murder he is already contemplating, a way to test the weapon and his own resolve.

The Instrument of Revenge

After Lolita's disappearance and his subsequent three-year search, the pistol is finally brought into play. Humbert retrieves it from its hiding place, oils it thoroughly, and wraps it in a rag "like a maimed limb." He drives to Pavor Manor, the home of Clare Quilty, the man who took Lolita from him. The confrontation is a chaotic, almost farcical struggle. Humbert's first shot misses, hitting a rocking chair. He fires again, hitting Quilty in the side, then follows him up the stairs, firing three or four more times. Each bullet seems to inject a spurt of energy into Quilty rather than killing him, and he continues to talk and move. Finally, Humbert hits him at close range through the blankets on the bed, and Quilty dies. The pistol, the object of so many fantasies, is the agent of the final, bloody act.

Aftermath and Abandonment

In the immediate aftermath of the murder, Humbert's relationship with the pistol becomes confused and detached. He finds himself sitting on it instead of holding it. He leaves it behind in the bathroom of Pavor Manor, along with his raincoat, as he walks out of the house. The weapon that was once a source of imagined power and security is now just another piece of the "mess" he wishes to forget. The pistol, like the act of murder itself, has not brought the catharsis he anticipated, but only a hollow, flat feeling. It is abandoned, a discarded tool of a completed, and ultimately unsatisfying, task.