Perspective

Composing a Life is written from the point of view of the author in the first-person narrative. Mary Catherine Bateson is the narrator, interviewer, and also participant in the project.

Ms. Bateson questions her four friends, compiles the information, organizes it into loose categories, and then filters their responses through her own views on composing a life.

The four women who Mary interviews also reveal their points of view in direct quotes that are included throughout the book. However, all of the information is seen through Mary Catherine Bateson's eyes, as she has decided ultimately what quotes to include.

Mary Catherine Bateson's point of view is changed slightly through her interviews with her four friends and gathering research information for this book. She goes into the project with some anger over the discontinuities that women have to deal with in life. However, she emerges from the project looking...