Point of View

As perhaps goes without saying, given the book's title, "The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer" is narrated from the first person subjective point of view ... in this case, the point of view of a young woman going through an intense period of physical transformation, emotional uncertainty, sexual awakening, and spiritual trauma.

What is particularly noteworthy about the book is the way its point of view evolves and matures as its character does. This is, in general, a result of how language is used (see "Language and Meaning", below). The writing in the earlier diary entries reflects Laura's youth, innocence, curiosity and joy, tempered as it is by the occasional glimpses of her fears of BOB (although these are also expressed in a relatively naïve, childlike fashion). In other words, her words and ideas are those of a girl. As her awareness grows, however, as her...