This thesis explores the opposition between self-assertive and self-transcending needs within the human condition using Vladimir Nabokov’s novel, Lolita, for illustrative purposes. I argue that the human quest for meaning and fuller humanity hinges on finding a balance between our need for autonomous selfhood and our need to be part of a larger reality, a balance that paradoxically requires us to surrender the self that we have struggled to establish. Using Lolita to explore this dynamic process, the thesis integrates aesthetics, religion, and depth psychology in a philosophical analysis of the human dilemma.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis explores the opposition between self-assertive and self-transcending needs within the human condition using Vladimir Nabokov’s novel, Lolita, for illustrative purposes. I argue that the human quest for meaning and fuller humanity hinges on finding a balance between our need for autonomous selfhood and our need to be part of a larger reality, a balance that paradoxically requires us to surrender the self that we have struggled to establish. Using Lolita to explore this dynamic process, the thesis integrates aesthetics, religion, and depth psychology in a philosophical analysis of the human dilemma.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Van Der Ryn, Julia"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"Master's Thesis","degree_discipline":"Humanities","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Philp Novak, PhD","Jan Van Stavern, PhD"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2004,"date_issued":"2004-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2004-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:05:51Z","subjects":["Humanities","Arts and Humanities"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholar.dominican.edu/humanities-print-theses/246","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Philp Novak, PhD","Jan Van Stavern, PhD"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Van Der Ryn, Julia"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Humanities"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Humanities","Arts and Humanities"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholar.dominican.edu/humanities-print-theses/246"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis explores the opposition between self-assertive and self-transcending needs within the human condition using Vladimir Nabokov’s novel, Lolita, for illustrative purposes. I argue that the human quest for meaning and fuller humanity hinges on finding a balance between our need for autonomous selfhood and our need to be part of a larger reality, a balance that paradoxically requires us to surrender the self that we have struggled to establish. Using Lolita to explore this dynamic process, the thesis integrates aesthetics, religion, and depth psychology in a philosophical analysis of the human dilemma.
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