... called analepsis. Nabokov has chosen to present Humbert' childhood very sweepingly as if to place no great importance upon it, perhaps he is stressing that his childhood has no significant bearing on his condition. I grew, a happy, healthy child in a bright world of illustrated books, clean sand, orange trees, friendly digs, sea vistas and smiling faces. Humbert also describes his childhood fleetingly as if that is the way he actually feels about it. The days of my youth, as I look back on them, seem to fly away from me in a flurry of pale, repetitive scraps like those morning snowstorms of used tissue paper that a train passenger sees whirling in the wake of the observation car. The next events of Humbert's life are in section three, when we hear about Annabel, his first love. These events are described at great length as Humbert emphasises that they more important to him. ...

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