I get the sense that the forward and first chapter of Lolita exist largely to set up Humbert Humbert as an extremely unreliable narrator. We find out immediately that Humbert was imprisoned, so we know to expect the usual charms one gets from an "intelligent criminal." This comes through later in the forward too, when John Ray Jr. comments on the text's lack of profanities and "how magically [Humbert's] singing violin can conjure up a tendresse." In these moments, it becomes very clear how Humbert is going to portray himself to us: guilty but not too guilty, and linguistically smooth even when describing his inner turmoil.
Humbert wastes no time painting this picture for us himself. After poetically and passionately describing his obsession with Lolita, he addresses his audience as "ladies and gentlemen of the jury" and refers to the story to come as a "tangle of thorns." Humbert knows very well that he's about to be judged, so he must be quick to get us at least partially on his side. He wants us to see Lolita as an enchantress and the situation as complicated.
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