Point of View

The Island of Sea Women is told from two points of view. In the 2008 sections of the book, the story is narrated from a limited third person perspective. The narrator in these sections aligns itself closely with Young-sook’s emotions, enabling the reader to see the discrepancy between what Young-sook thinks and what Young-sook says and does. The reader feels tension in these sections because he or she is can infer Young-sook’s internal conflict, that is, Young-sook’s inability to discuss the past and her unresolved feelings toward Mi-ja. The third person narrator also provides Young-sook’s memories while describing the action and events of the days in 2008. This interweaving of past and present imbues the 2008 sections with a melancholy feel.

In contrast to the 2008 sections, the first person narrator of the twentieth century chapters (April 1938 - 1975) is fact-driven and objective. While this narrator...