Point of View

Alice Hoffman tells the story of “The Marriage of Opposites” in the first and third-person reflective narrative modes, from the points of view of Rachel, Camille, and an unnamed narrator. The writing assumes a reflective tone as though the novel were being told by Rachel, Camille, and the narrator years after occurring since the novel spans a time of almost seven decades. Likewise, various chapters are told from the first-person point of view of Rachel and Camille. The author gives these characters voices to tell their own stories given the fact that they were real people. This allows the reader a firsthand glimpse into the minds and hearts of Rachel and Camille, learning personally what they think and feel. The third-person narrator fills in various other chapters where events do not primarily concern Rachel or Camille. For example, the third-person narrator handles Chapter 5, where Frederic...