Point of View

The short story is told in the third person, past tense, from the perspective of Margot. The use of point of view is one of the defining features of the story. The intense and detailed access given to Margot’s internal monologue during the course of the story is contrasted with a total lack of information about how Robert views the events and what motivates him to behave the way that he behaves. In the absence of access to Robert’s point of view, the reader is dependent on Margot’s interpretations of Robert’s behavior as the only way of gaining an impression of his character. However, Margot’s point of view when it comes to Robert is deeply flawed because she is so insistent on seeing everything he does in the most flattering light and blaming herself for anything he does that displeases...