Point of View

This story is written in first-person, from the perspective of Rose, the protagonist. The bulk of the story is in past tense. However, the narrator sometimes transitions into present tense. This is because the story is a conversation between Rose and Lillie, and Rose is the narrator. Therefore, the past tense narration occurs when Rose is recounting stories from her past, and the present tense narration occurs when Rose directly addresses Lillie. This narrative style allows Paley to create a more intimate narrative experience for the reader. Furthermore, the first-person narration gives the reader a more refined understanding of the protagonist’s opinions about love.

Paley uses the shifts between past and present tense in order to make the story seem more like a discourse between two people than a conventional narrative. One example of this occurs in the middle of the story. After Rose...