Among our early clues about Quilty is his resemblance to Humbert (or Humbert’s resemblance to him). This resemblance is one of the reasons that Lolita finds her mother’s boarder attractive, and we are reminded of it later on when Humbert believes for a brief time that Quilty may be his uncle Trapp. How does Quilty conform to the archetype of the double or Doppelgänger? In its literary incarnations, a double may represent the protagonist’s evil underself or his higher nature. What sort of double is Quilty? Are we ever given the impression that Humbert may be Quilty’s double?
Quilty is a baser side of Humbert. I was struck by the idea of a quilt being something you can wrap up in and find comfort in. That’s how Humbert wanted Lolita to feel with him. Introducing Quilty turned that idea of comfort into something sordid. Humbert couldn’t admit that his relationship was sordid so he created Quilty.
Quilty seems an extension of Humbert’s excuses and denials of his own terrible actions. For instance, Quilty was bad – he kidnapped Humbert’s darling girl. And, according to her story recounted late in the book, Quilty introduced her to depraved sexual behavior. Humbert only loved her. But, everything Quilty did, Humbert did in spades.
I agree with Cheryl that Quilty displays the baser side of Humbert. But while Quilty parades his depravities, Humbert tries to keep them hidden. They are equally “evil” but Humbert wraps himself in romance and secrets.
Quilty is Humbert’s moral and artistic double, not his moral opposite. He represents the disintegration of Humbert’s delusions—the realization that Humbert’s “love story” is no different from the sordid pornography he despises. When Humbert kills Quilty, he attempts to destroy that reflection, but the act only confirms their connection.
In short: Quilty is not Humbert’s higher nature or pure evil; he is Humbert stripped of disguise—the twin who reveals what Humbert has been all along.