Point of View

The story is written in first person from the limited perspective of Susan Barton. In this story, the limited perspective is very strictly adhered to in that the reader gets only the information Susan wishes to impart rather than knowing everything Susan knows. For example, Susan says she has a daughter who was taken to the New World. It's never explained whether the daughter was truly taken against her will or if she perhaps willingly left with a husband, lover or even her father. The father of this daughter is never mentioned. This lack of detail and later the question posed as to whether the daughter is "substantial" at all, leads the reader to question whether the daughter is even real. This question, along with many others, is left to the imagination of the reader because Susan never offers up the answer. Another point exemplifying this...