Point of View

The point of view of The Other Typist is a first person narration. The novel is narrated by Rose, who proves to be an unreliable narrator. While the unreliable narrator is a common literary device, it is often left to the reader to determine the narrator’s reliability. Rose presents herself as reliable, comparing herself to the typewriter, “simply there to report with accuracy” (8). As the novel progresses, Rose begins to recognize that she is not: “My recollection of the night’s events became significantly less reliable at some point” (115). Rose knows she is not reliable, but attempts to demonstrate that she is by allowing the reader to see that she is aware of the times when she is unreliable.

The novel is told through the perspective of a young, single woman in 1925. She identifies as a prude and often takes a tone of self-righteousness...