SOURCE: “The Evolution of Narrative Viewpoint in Robbe-Grillet,” in Novel, Vol. 1, No. 1, Fall, 1967, pp. 24-33.

In the following essay, Morrissette examines the development of narrative perspective in Robbe-Grillet's fiction and films. According to Morrissette, Robbe-Grillet's “ingenious and constantly varying narrative modes cover almost the entire spectrum of current experimentation and practice.”

1. Gi; 1. emergence of Theories of “justified” Viewpoint =~ Semergence of Theories of “justified” Viewpoint

Two decades ago the question of narrative viewpoint seemed quite amenable to critical analysis; yet today it appears one of the most ambiguous and unresolved aspects of fictional structure. The elimination of the omniscient narrator and his replacement by posts of observation within the fictional field are steps in a well-known history: first, in the English tradition of narrative analysis, James and Lubbock argued on esthetic grounds for observers located within the framework of the novel; then, in the French tradition, Sartre offered a...