JK Rowling’s 'love' for the novel Lolita has been a talking point for years, however, has resurfaced after the Harry Potter author spoke out about allegations she invited Jeffrey Epstein to the Broadway premiere of The Cursed Child.
Rowling was revealed to be featured in the Epstein files, with an invitation to the show being sent to the financier and infamous late paedophile.
Though Rowling was named on the invitation, however, this was simply a template sent out to guests of the opening night, and was shown via emails to have been arranged by publicist Peggy Siegal and one of the show’s producers.
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Though Rowling has come out and denied any contact with Epstein from her or anyone on her team, this has not stopped social media sleuths from digging through every single statement she’s ever made on similar subjects.
This has led to fans re-examining quotes from Rowling about the classic novel.
Lolita is arguably one of the most controversial books ever written, released in 1955 it is focused on the protagonists obsession with a 12 year old, who he eventually kidnaps and sexually abuses.
Despite the subject matter, it has received critical acclaim over the years, with debates raging for decades over whether it is intentionally horrific to criticise what it presents.
Rowling once defended the book in a 2000 BBC Radio 4 interview, stating that it makes her cry every time she finishes it.
She said the book had a ‘plot that could have been the most worthless pornography becomes, in [author Vladimir] Nabokov’s hands, a great and tragic love story.’
In 2024, these quotes first resurfaced, with one viral post suggesting she doesn’t understand the book and questions why someone reading it would find the story ‘romantic’.
Another viral tweet suggests that Lolita is a ‘moral test’ and by finding it romantic she had ‘failed it’.
This has resurfaced once again in light of her false connection in the Epstein files, with one person tweeting yesterday: “Remember when JK Rowling called Lolita a tragic love story?”
Another fan used this argument in a tweet to argue against people suggesting she didn’t invite Epstein personally, saying: “JK Rowling described Lolita as a ‘great and tragic love story’… stop defending vile human beings.”
Numerous other tweets have pointed to the quotes to argue that it implicates her, however, the reality of this doesn’t quite support it.
Rowling’s opinion does go against the views of the author, with Nabokov having denied claims that it is a strictly romantic story, but they are not uniquely uncommon.
Stanley Kubrick, who adapted the book into a famous and controversial film, also referred to it as a ‘very sad and tender love story’.
Whilst many may quite rightfully disagree with Rowling over her claim that Lolita is a romantic story, the resurgence of the quotes in the context of the Epstein files doesn't indicate any real involvement.
Rowling herself quoted a tweet making fun of her for ‘sending invitations to epstein 10 years after he was convicted’, penning: “This is beyond silly.
“Neither I, nor anybody on my team, ever met, communicated with or invited Jeffrey Epstein to anything.”
Topics: Books, Celebrity, JK Rowling, Jeffrey Epstein, Social Media, TV and Film, Twitter
Michael Slavin