Point of View

This story is written in past tense, from a third-person perspective. The narrator appears to be omniscient at the beginning of the story, but there are instances that suggest that the narrator might be limited to the girl’s perspective. For example, when the girl lights the match, the narration is as follows: “R-r-sh-sh! How it sputtered and blazed!” (14). The sense of wonder implicit in this narration is not consistent with a neutral narrator, so this suggests that the narrator is at least in part from the perspective of the little girl.

Further evidence that the narrator is limited arises later in the story. When the girl is experiencing her first vision, the narration is as follows: “There was a splendid fire blazing in it and warming her so beautifully, but—what happened?” (16). The question at the end of the narration makes the reader follow...