Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0000935, Tue, 30 Jan 1996 10:39:34 -0800

Subject
Re: VN's worst novel? (fwd)
Date
Body
EDITOR'S NOTE. At last the cool voice of reason enters the hubub re
LOLITA. For those who took Mr. William's comment's to heart I mention an
article by Elisabeth Patnoe that recently appeared, I think, in COLLEGE
ENGLISH. The posting below will be the last in the current LOLITA series
debarring even more sensational developments.
--------------------------------------

From: Selena Marie Brewington <sbrewing@darkwing.uoregon.edu>

On Thu, 25 Jan 1996, Donald Barton Johnson wrote:

> From: Joe Williams <jwilliams@mail.mcp.com>
>
> this Mr. Nabokov that in most of America it is illegal to have sexual
> relations with someone under the age of 18. Even if you are from
> Europe someplace.

I am afraid you are misinformed, sir. If my counting is correct, among
the states listed below, there are 13 in which it is
illegal to have sex with persons under the age of 18 - not including
Alaska or Texas, which are the two largest states in the Union. I would
like you also to know that Humbert Humbert was French. And would you
please humor me and explain what prompts you to think that _Lolita_ is
Nabokov's novel of least worth, now that you are not misinformed about
the laws in the U.S.A.

>Age of Consent in the United States, by state.
>As of August 6, 1994
>
>oAlabama........16
>oAlaska.........16
>oArizona........18
>oArkansas.......16
>oCalifornia.....18
>oColorado.......16
>oConnecticut....16
>oD.C............16
>oDelaware.......16
>oFlorida........18
>oGeorgia........14
>oHawaii.........16
>oIdaho..........18
>oIllinois.......16
>oIndiana........16
>oIowa...........14
>oKansas.........16
>oKentucky.......14 [1]
>oLouisiana......17
>oMaine..........14
>oMaryland.......16
>oMassachusetts..18
>oMichigan.......16
>oMinnesota......16
>oMississippi....18 [2]
>oMissouri.......16
>oMontana........16
>oNebraska.......16
>oNevada.........16
>oNew Hampshire..16
>oNew Jersey.....16
>oNew Mexico.....13
>oNew York.......17
>oNorth Carolina.16
>oNorth Dakota...18
>oOhio...........16
>oOklahoma.......18
>oOregon.........18
>oPennsylvania...14
>oRhode Island...16
>oSouth Carolina.16
>oSouth Dakota...16
>oTennessee......18
>oTexas..........17
>oUtah...........14
>oVermont........15
>oVirginia.......16
>oWashington.....18
>oWest Virginia..16
>oWisconsin......18
>oWyoming........18
>
>Footnotes:
>
>[1] Age 16 if the man is 21 or older.
>[2] If the female is over 12, the statute applies only to virgins.
>