Point of View

The story is written in the third person and the past tense. Although the narration is written in the third person, it is always limited to the perspective of one given character at a time. For example, the first scene is written from the perspective of the station agent, whose thoughts and internal observations regarding Johanna are conveyed via narration to the reader. The second scene—the dress shop—is told from Johanna’s perspective. The perspective then switches to Mr. McCauley to follow his actions and thoughts following Johanna’s departure. The events of the letters are then narrated via an amalgam of Sabitha and Edith’s perspectives, and the events in Gdynia are written through Johanna’s perspective before switching to Ken’s perspective. The final pages are narrated through Edith’s perspective.

One of the primary effects of this shifting perspective is...