Point of View

The novel is written mostly in the third person limited point of view. The reader gets to hear Dr. Breuer's thoughts throughout, especially in the dialogue scenes between Nietzsche and Breuer, but we don't get to hear the other characters' thoughts. Using the third person limited point of view allows the author to direct us to the character development of one particular character, Dr. Breuer, in this case. At the beginning of the story it is apparent that he is a very powerful man and not very humble. By the end, however, it is possible for the reader to see intimate details about how he has been humbled and changed by his relationship with Nietzsche.

For much of the book, Nietzsche remains a sort of enigma because of the limited point of view. The author compensates for this, however, by using letters to and from Nietzsche...