Point of View

The Wise Man’s Fear begins with a third person narrator describing events in the Waystone Inn. The sections that use this point of view include the Prologue, Epilogue, and chapters labeled Interlude throughout the novel. This distant narrator describes Kvothe in the present day along with those with whom he interacts. For instance, Rothfuss writes, “the man who called himself Kote went through his usual routine at the Waystone Inn. He moved like clockwork, like a wagon rolling down the road in well-worn ruts” (6). This description captures Kvothe’s demeanor in the present day. This unbiased view offers a contrast to Kvothe’s retelling of his younger self in his story.

The majority of the novel is in Kvothe’s first person point of view. Kvothe tells the story of his life to the Chronicler, so most chapters serve as a detailed dialogue as...