The story is essentially timeless, placeless, and nameless. The
protagonist is a middle-aged man who lusts after a certain type of
adolescent girls. Infatuated with a specific girl, he marries the mother
to gain access to her. The mother, already sick, soon passes away, and
the orphan girl now is in his care. He takes her on a tour. On their
first night, she is terrified when she is exposed to his “magic wand”.
Shocked at his own monstrosity, he runs out on the street and is killed
by a car.None of the key persons is named; it is just "the man", "the widow" (also "mother", even "person"), and "the girl". Only the viewpoint of the man is presented, - we learn close to nothing about the views of his victims. He is conflicted and tries to rationalize his behavior, but is also disgusted by it. “How can I come to terms with myself?” is the opening sentence. He makes his moves like a chess player. But once he seems to have reached his goal, he is startled by her reaction. The conflict is not resolved but by his destruction.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Enchanter
Normalisierung durch das Nachwort des Sohnes Dimitri Nabokov in der englischen Übersetzung. Dimitri verteidigt seinen Vater gegen Pädophilie Vorwürfe. Er übernimmt die Rolle des Anklägers (s. Adorno).
Von der Lust, die Grenze zu überschreiten.
