hird is the metric of what constitutes plot and what shall constitute aestheticism in literature. Plot, as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, may be seen to be ‘the main events […], considered or presented as an interrelated sequence; a storyline’. In contrast, the aesthetics of writing is defined in two ways: more broadly ‘the pursuit of, or devotion to, what is beautiful or attractive to the senses, esp. as opposed to an ethically or rationally based outlook’. The definition also notes that this is specifically also in reference to the aesthetic movement, this being, as defined by Tate, ‘a late nineteenth century movement that championed pure beauty and ‘art for art’s sake’, emphasising the visual and sensual qualities of art and design over practical, moral or narrative considerations’. Setting ‘Big American Charlotte frightened me’ proclaims Humbert in Lolita and henceforth Charlotte and America are linked through the adjectives: both are ‘big’ and both are frightening. This ultimately distances him from both the country and the woman, as he is bound by fear of her learning of his desire for Dolores (‘I could not say anything to Charlotte about the child without giving myself away’)., Similarly, Ginsberg equivocates America with debasement and asks ‘America […] when will you take off your clothes?’ in the opening of Howl. Take off America’s clothes Humbert does, he loosens and disrobes the strict conservative attitudes of the country with the nature of his relationship; he asks when it will be open to his advances with a suggestion of sexuality and intimacy. This occurs not just in his challenging of every societal value through his so-called love of Dolores Haze, but also through the continual interchangeability of sexualised setting and sexualised adolescent. The narrator personifies America, and in almost exact parallel with Lolita, attempts to seduce her. The phrase ‘wiggles and whorls’ when describing their path across America parallels Humbert’s first sexual encounter with Lolita, where he achieves orgasm by rubbing against her. Humbert says that ‘she wiggled, and squirmed, and threw her head back’ and the parallel between the two uses of ‘wiggle’ shows that it is clearly explicit for him. Subsequently, use of this verb to describe both his journey and his sexual intimacy with Lolita demonstrates how Humbert views his journey across America as a form of sexual access to the country. Jonathan Sawday, in fact, observes that erotic poems in 17th Century frequently compare a conquest of America to that of a woman’s body. Compare Humbert’s travels to >