Point of View

The point of view is an interesting and at first seemingly complex aspect of A Cure for Dreams. The narrative voice is in first person and comes from one of the daughters that make up the focus of the novel. The entire story consists of Marjorie's retelling of stories told by her mother, Betty. The main topic and focus of most of Betty's stories is her mother Lottie.

Marjorie never has a significant role in the action of the novel and is a mere two years old at the closing of the story. Thus, Betty can be viewed as the narrator.

The point of view is further complicated in that in the opening chapters of the novel Betty is either not yet born or a young child. In this way, the protagonist is Lottie, Betty's mother. In fact, while Betty is the chief narrator, the majority...