Point of View

The point of view in "Excellent Women" is in the first person, through the eyes of the main character, Mildred Lathbury. Mildred has a unique point of view regarding the workings of relationships in the church and between members of polite society. Conversely, Mildred has an extremely limited scope in regards to romantic relationships so that it may not be clear to her what kind of behavior takes place in such a relationship or in a marriage.

Mildred's point of view may be limited in some ways yet the other characters fill in where Mildred's voice is lacking clarity.

The first person point of view works well in the book except for those instances when Mildred's naivete colors the story. Although the innocence lends charm to the story, the reader may be better served through a third person omniscient point of view in order to develop...