What impact does a point of view have?

In a traditional novel it is apparent within the first chapter, if not the first page, who that novel will be about, and whose point of view the novel will be in. An example of this type of novel would be Jane Austen’s Emma. The reader is immediately introduced to Emma and from that point on, the rest of the novel is written through “Emma’s eyes”. On the other hand, there are also unconventional novels that feature new and creative writing styles that have never been seen before. Virginia Woolf is a good example of an author who enjoyed writing “outside the box”. Her novel, Mrs. Dalloway, created quite a buzz in the literary world. There are many different aspects of Mrs. Dalloway that make the novel interesting, such as how Woolf continuously and spontaneously changes point of view throughout the novel, while at the same time keeping the main focus on Mrs. Dalloway. The always changing point of views keep the reader on their toes, while Emma, on the other hand, allows the reader to focus on the plot of the novel.

As I read Emma, it never really occurred to me that the novel was written through Emma’s point of view. I never really focused exactly on who was describing a certain event, but more on the details of the event itself. For example when Emma describes her encounter with Mr. Elton, the focus was the actual act of the proposal and not how Emma’s, or for that matter Mr. Elton’s, perception of the event. At the same time the perception of this event from different characters was not necessary. During the time period this novel was written everyone who was educated enough to read this novel would have never had any other reaction than Emma’s. Therefore it is easy to understand why in Jane Austen’s novel there was only ever one point of view, because it would have been scandalous for a person to have any other reaction than the one described in Emma.

Virginia Woolf, on the other hand, was not at all worried about how scandalous her novel may be viewed. Mrs. Dalloway is the total opposite of Emma. While it may not be traditional like Emma, it is for that reason even more thrilling! In Woolf’s novel the focus changes so often between characters, it is at times difficult to distinguish where on character begins and the other ends. It is as if we are reading the mind of an easily distracted person - a random object, word, or event can cause the person to focus on something else. An example of this can be seen when the reader is introduced to a young girl who just moved to London and is walking through a park. She sees Septimus and his wife sitting on a bench nearby and wonders at how odd they are. Suddenly the point of view shifts to the wife’s and she is upset that the girl will not stop looking and has inconveniently asked a question. Woolf does not focus on the plot in her novel. She is more intrigued to show us the inner workings of the mind and how that helps us to better understand and connect with the characters. She allows us to read their inner most thoughts.

Each of these novels provides the reader with a unique experience. With Emma a reader is captivated by an enchanting story of love. Whereas with Mrs. Dalloway, the reader is able to step into a world he or she would otherwise never be able to experience. Both of the novels effectively use their particular writing styles to successfully describe their story. 

Katie Delgado