Clare Quilty

Clare Quilty is a fictional character in Vladimir Nabokov's 1955 novel "Lolita". He is nemesis to the protagonist, Humbert Humbert, in that he battles for the affection of the title character. He was portrayed by Peter Sellers in the 1962 film version and by Frank Langella in the 1997 version.

=In the Novel =Part I

The book introduces Quilty in the eighth chapter, when Humbert Humbert, imprisoned because of Quilty's murder, reads his biography from a copy of "Who's Who in the Limelight" he finds while in jail:

Quilty appears only once in Part I, as an unnamed figure in the dark who briefly asks Humbert about the girl with him, Lolita, at the motel "The Enchanted Hunters". He is previously mentioned and discussed by various characters in the novel - Lolita has a picture of him in her bedroom, and Charlotte Haze and the Farlows mention his uncle Ivor the dentist. These frequent allusions fail to get Humbert's attention.

Part II

Quilty reappears as the playwright of "The Hunted Enchanters", which he writes during his stay at the motel where he meets Lolita for the first time. Humbert has by then sent Lolita to Beardsley School for girls and been hired himself as a professor at the Beardsley Women's College. Quilty somehow tracks them and sets up the play (along with co-writer Vivian Darkbloom) to be performed at the school, whereupon he has Miss Pratt, the headmistress, convince Humbert to let Lolita act in the school play. Here Lolita meets Quilty, and begins to have an affair with him.

Humbert, who has still no idea of his nemesis' identity, has a fight with Lolita about leaving Beardsley. Lolita runs away, only to accept smilingly Humbert's designs after a mysterious telephone conversation - presumably with Quilty. Humbert and Lolita engage in a road trip plagued by Quilty's looming figure - he follows them in his red convertible through a long stretch of their journey, makes a brief masked visit at their motel, even fakes a telephone call from Beardsley just so he might play tennis for a few minutes with Lolita. This adds to Lolita's increasingly erratic and distrustful behavior - disappearing for short lapses of time and lying to Humbert.

Lolita eventually comes down with a fever that sends her to a hospital. After a short convalescence, Quilty takes her away pretending to be Humbert's brother. Humbert begins a wild goose chase, visiting and revisiting hotels and motels looking for the missing couple. Alas, Quilty signs the guest book under pseudonyms, anagrams and word plays - all of which sets him apart from the other guests, but his identity remains undisclosed.

In 1952, Humbert has abandoned his search for Quilty and Lolita until a letter from Lo (now married) asking for money sets him on the hunt again. He manages to track down the address, but to his disappointment, Lolita - pregnant as well - refuses to leave her husband and only reluctantly gives away the identity of Quilty, or Cue as she calls him. Having fallen in love with him, Quilty promised her a Hollywood career but everything ended when Lolita refused to take part in Quilty's orgies and other "crazy things". It is implied that Quilty is also bisexual.

Humbert drives up to Quilty's house and waits till morning to barge in and execute Quilty. Their ensuing dialogue, incoherent and inconsistent due to Quilty's hangover and unpredictable nature, lasts for an hour. Humbert becomes tired of Quilty's pleading and haggling, and shoots him several times after some struggle. Quilty manages, however, to climb up the stairs and hide in his bed before being shot one last time. As Humbert walks down and meets some of Quilty's newly arrived friends, Quilty comes out of the bedroom one last time, amazingly still alive, and drops dead at the upper end of the flight. Humbert is taken into custody afterwards.

The 1962 Film

Quilty's role is considerably expanded in the 1962 version. The epilogue where Humbert tracks down and kills Quilty is moved to the beginning of the film, thus starting out in medias res. Quilty then appears dancing in a local party with Vivian Darkbloom and even interacts with Charlotte Haze, which kindles his interest for Lolita. This event is non-existent in the book.

Quilty then appears unseen in the dark to Humbert and goes on to have an awkward conversation with the protagonist. In the novel, the viewer recognizes Quilty, who interacts with Humbert for a considerably larger period of time. Quilty interacts with Humbert for a second time before his execution in his home: disguised as "Doctor Zemph", he convinces Humbert to let Lolita take a role in the play written and directed by Quilty, thus enabling him to become acquainted with her, and eventually taking her away from Humbert. In the novel, it is the headmistress, Miss Pratt, who convinces Humbert of letting Lolita take a part in the school play, and "Doctor Zemph's" dialogue is a combination of Miss Pratt's and some fragments from a magazine Humbert reads about teenagers in the novel.

Although he does not appear again for the whole film, Quilty follows Humbert and Lolita in his car for quite a while, and secretly removes her from hospital at the very end. The film ends where it starts: with Humbert entering Quilty's house, ready to execute him.

The 1997 Film

Quilty's role in the 1997 film version is far more faithful to the novel (and thus, smaller) than the Kubrick version. His first encounter with Humbert is taken from the novel, and briefly appears throughout the rest of the film until his last encounter with Humbert at the end.