A nymphet is a sexually precocious or attractive pubescent girl. The term was coined by Vladimir Nabokov in the novel Lolita, in which the main character, a self-described nympholept, uses it to describe the girls (aged 9 to 14) to whom he was attracted. Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (Russian: Влади́мир Влади́мирович Набо́ков, pronounced ) (April 22 [O.S. April 10] 1899, Saint Petersburg – July 2, 1977, Montreux) was a Russian-American, Academy Award nominated author. ... Lolita (1955) is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov. ... Pedophilia, paedophilia, or pædophilia (see spelling differences), is the paraphilia of being sexually attracted primarily or exclusively to pre-pubescent children. ...

Lolita

Main article: Lolita

The archetypal nymphet is the character Lolita of Vladimir Nabokov's novel, from which the term originated. Lolita has been filmed twice: the first adaptation was made in 1962 by Stanley Kubrick, and starred James Mason, Shelley Winters, Peter Sellers and, as Lolita, Sue Lyon; and in 1997 starring Jeremy Irons and Dominique Swain. Lolita (1955) is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov. ... Lolita (1955) is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov. ... Lolita is a 1962 influential film by Stanley Kubrick based on the classic novel of the same title by Vladimir Nabokov. ... “Kubrick” redirects here. ... James Neville Mason (May 15, 1909 – July 27, 1984) was a three-time Academy Award nominated English actor who attained stardom in both British and American films. ... Shelley Winters (August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress. ... Richard Henry Peter Sellers, CBE (8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English comedian, actor, and performer, who came to prominence on the BBC radio series The Goon Show and later became a film star. ... Sue Lyon in Lolita Sue Lyon (born July 10, 1946 in Davenport, Iowa) is an American former actress. ... Jeremy John Irons (born September 19, 1948) is an Academy Award, Tony Award, Screen Actors Guild, two-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award-winning English film, television and stage actor. ... Dominique Ariane Swain (born August 12, 1980) is an American film actress. ...

Nabokov describes these nymphets as being "deadly little demons" with feline features and thin, downy limbs. Nymphets are not always the type of girls a normal man would consider the prettiest, but they have a demonic ability to attract men at least ten years older than themselves.

Related terms

Faunlet

The term faunlet, also coined by Nabokov and used by the character of Humbert Humbert, is used to describe the young male counterpart of a nymphet, in the same way that the mythological fauns (or satyrs) were the counterpart of the nymphs. A faun, as painted by Hungarian painter Pál Szinyei Merse In Roman mythology, fauns are place-spirits (genii) of untamed woodland. ... Satyrs (Satyri) in Greek mythology are half-man half-beast nature spirits that haunted the woods and mountains, companions of Pan and Dionysus. ... In Greek mythology, a nymph is any member of a large class of female nature entities, either bound to a particular location or landform or joining the retinue of a god or goddess. ...

Nympholept

Nabokov borrowed the term nympholept, a rare, archaic term meaning a person seized by emotional frenzy, as if enchanted by nymphs. The word is found with this meaning in the poetry of Lord Byron: "The nympholepsy of some fond despair." Lord Byron, English poet Lord Byron (1803), as painted by Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, (January 22, 1788 – April 19, 1824) was the most widely read English language poet of his day. ...

Nabokov used the word to describe one who could "discern" nymphets from other girls. In Humbert's own words: "[A nympholept is] an artist and a madman, a creature of infinite melancholy with a bubble of hot poison in [his] loins and a super-voluptuous flame permanently aglow in [his] subtle spine."

See also

• Lolicon
• Pedophilia
• Ephebophilia
• Child sexuality
• Adolescent sexuality
• Kodomo no Jikan (manga series titled Nymphet in English translation)

Lolicon art often depicts childlike characteristics with likely double meanings. ... Pedophilia or pædophilia (see spelling differences) is a mental state in which an adult has a preferential sexual attraction to prepubescent and in some definitions, preadolescent children. ... An Ephebe Kisses A Man Tondo from an Attic kylix, 5th c. ... Child sexuality refers to sexual feelings, behavior and development in children. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Kodomo no Jikan literal translation: A Childs Time) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Japanese manga author Kaworu Watashiya. ... maNga is a popular Turkish nu metal/rapcore band. ...

References

External links

• Constructions of Childhood in Art and Media: Sexualized Innocence, Alexandra Wood.