Point of View

The story is told from the point of view of the author herself, Elizabeth Hardwick. She does not even change her name, but refers to herself as Elizabeth. However, this Elizabeth is a semi-fictional version of Hardwick, as she confesses candidly to the reader. Elizabeth seems to be a middle-aged or old woman, who is looking over her memories like going through old photographs in a drawer. She tells the stories of her life as they come to her, with no regard for actual chronological order, or continuity of storyline. Elizabeth speaks in first person, sometimes even when she is telling a story about other people, as though she is imagining someone else's inner thoughts. Elizabeth tries to honestly examine her own motives at different times in her life, but she is aware that she can never return to the point of view of her younger...