In this excerpt from Vladimir Nabokov's "Lolita," the narrator reflects on the gesture of wringing one's hands, initially considering it a fictional or outdated act. However, during a moment of deep despair and contemplation in the woods, he finds that this gesture symbolically represents the heaviness of his emotions and his feelings of being trapped.

The phrase "look, Lord, at these chains" underscores the narrator's sense of entrapment and anguish. This poignant imagery conveys not only his sorrow but also a longing for divine acknowledgment of his plight, revealing the depth of his internal struggle and the weight of his circumstances.