By Elena Hijazi | Staff Writer

The divine singer Lana Del Rey has always been heavily inspired by the classic novel Lolita written by Russian author Vladimir Nabokov. After reading Lolita and consuming Del Rey’s entire discography umpteen times, I have made some observations as to where this inspiration comes from, especially on her first album, Born to Die. For a bit of context, the songs that I will discuss here: Lolita, Off to the Races, Carmen, Born to Die, Burning Desire, and Gods and Monsters, are all from her album Born to Die (Paradise Edition). The other two songs I will mention, Cinnamon Girl and Ultraviolence are from her albums Norman F*cking Rockwell and Ultraviolence, respectively.

To begin with, Lana Del Rey has a song called Lolita where, same as the novel, she takes on the persona of a young woman who does not want the attention that she gets from the “boys downtown” (Del Rey 1:14). She only craves the attention from one man. The inspiration is evidently taken from the character of Lolita, a young lady who is relentlessly lusted over and sought after despite her young age. Lana showcases Lolita’s youth in her word choice throughout the song, “I’m not gonna play.” (1:03), “no more skipping rocks” (1:13), and “I want to have fun and be in love with you.” (2:40)

Additionally, the first words of the book Lolita are “Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins” (Nabokov 1). This very line is used repeatedly in the verse of Del Rey’s song Off To the Races, “light of my life / fire of my loins / be a good baby / do what I want.” (0:36) Nabokov also says on page 137 of the novel “I moved toward my glimmering darling.” (Nabokov 137) Off to the Races goes “swimming pool, glimmering darling” (0:24) We can see the way Del Rey plucks beautiful pairings of words from the novel like one delicately plucks petals off a flower, and she splatters them onto her songs where and when she deems fit.

Moreover, the novel Lolita is obsessed with a song called Carmen, “and the stars, and the cars, and the bars, and the barmen” (Nabokov 59). Lolita’s Carmen is a charming lady, a free spirit roaming around town all night and day. Similarly, Del Rey has a song with the same name. Del Rey’s Carmen is a lady of the night, “it’s alarming, honestly / how charming she can be.” (0:19). Carmen numbs her pain with this lifestyle that she has chosen to partake in, “lying to herself ‘cuz her liquor’s top shelf” (0:14), “she says ‘you don’t wanna be like me / don’t wanna see all the things I’ve seen / I’m dyin’ / I’m dyin’” (0:29). Lolita’s Carmen is repeated quite a lot throughout the novel. We can see how Del Rey took the concept of this song from the novel and melancholized it into her own version of Carmen: a soulful, beautiful, poignant, and melodic version.

In Lolita, Nabokov says “resting his head on his hand with burning desire” (Nabokov 136). Del Rey has a song with the title Burning Desire, that extends on this very concept. “I’ve got a burning desire for you, baby.” (0:52) It is a particularly specific pairing of words that may be a coincidence, but I don’t believe in coincidences. Neither does Del Rey, singing these lyrics in her song Born to Die “Is it by mistake or design?” (0:51)

Furthermore, on page 127 of Lolita, Nabokov describes a “fictitious pill” (Nabokov 127) as “violet blue” (Nabokov 127). Del Rey uses this exact term in her song Cinnamon Girl to describe the pills her lover takes to keep himself distanced from her, but just out of reach from her, “violet blue, green, red, to keep me at arm’s length / don’t work.” (0:23).

In Lolita, Nabokov utters “I am dreadfully sorry, my darling, my own ultraviolet darling.” (Nabokov 232) Del Rey has not only a song but an album with the title Ultraviolence. The album’s songs harmonize the idea of a melancholic woman who is mistreated by a lover, but she sees this mistreatment as ultraviolet. She beautifies the violence, and she turns it into butterflies.

Lastly, I think her song Gods and Monsters perfectly explains the reason she uses Lolita as a muse for her album. She says, “it’s innocence lost, innocence lost.” (1:19) repeatedly all throughout the song. Her album rages out this theme of the bleeding it takes to transform from a girl to a young woman. She speaks of the loneliness, intricate agonies that women hide behind glamor and beauty, and the innocence that they are forced to shed as part of growing up. She often sings about the fear of growing old, her song Young and Beautiful centering around this theme, “will you still love me when I’m no longer young and beautiful? / Will you still love me when I have nothing but my aching soul?” (0:50)

All in all, Del Rey’s music is soulful, poetic, and sensitive. Nabokov’s style of writing is known for these romantic qualities as well. Lana’s real name is Elizabeth, and Lolita’s real name is Dolores. Lana and Lolita are personas put onto these ladies, both veiling and revealing glimpses of who they really are and of how they are perceived. This is my take on Lana Del Rey’s inspiration from Lolita, I bestow it upon you with an open mind and heart. Thank you for taking the time to read this.