Point of View

Heartless is told in the third person from Catherine’s point of view. The author’s telling of the story from Catherine’s point of view allows her to keep the truth about Jest’s mission and true feelings a mystery. The story is told in past tense, which is the logical choice since it is the backstory of a character made famous by Lewis Carroll in Alice in Wonderland. To bring in events that occur when Catherine is not present, such as the first Jabberwock attack, Meyer uses the character of Cheshire. Cheshire is a magical cat who can appear and disappear at will, so he is able to be anywhere. He is also a gossip, so he is informed about all of the goings on in Hearts and likes to share them.

Language and Meaning

Heartless is a novel written for young adults...