Lolita begins with an earnest foreword, purportedly written by one John Ray, Jr., Ph.D., author of Do the Senses Make Sense? (whose initials–“J.R., Jr.”–echo as suspiciously as “Humbert Humbert”). Why might Nabokov have chosen to frame his novel in this fashion? What is the effect of knowing that the narrative’s three main characters are already dead–and, in a sense, nonexistent, since their names have been changed?
The foreword creates distance and shifts the focus from plot to the way it’s told. It establishes the existence of an unreliable narrator. It prepares the reader to evaluate Humbert rather than to be seduced by him. It introduces a negative tone by revealing the deaths and fictionalized names.
Karen M summed up my own thoughts exactly. Without the introduction by a different person, the entire book would appear to be a truly creepy representation, and we would miss some of the brilliance of Nabokov’s writing. Though I must admit the amount of French was likely more successful when he wrote than now when fluent French is less common. I followed much of it, but some French just eluded me (I only studied it for two years and haven’t been to the continent). This is also a book I’ll want to read again for even more appreciation.
I don’t know. I found it confusing, and I think it’s meant to be that way. We are meant to feel confused, uncomfortable, and wary.
I agree with he previous commenters that said the forward gave me distance. It allows the reader to be an observer. My qualifier is that I found this distance difficult to maintain as I read and grappled with the reality of Humbert’s actions and predations.