Point of View

The art of the short story employs the techniques of point of view, style, plot and structure, and a wide range of devices that stimulate emotional, imaginative, and intellectual responses in the reader. The writer’s choice and control of these techniques determines the reader’s overall experience.

The three basic point-of-view techniques are omniscient (the all-knowing author narrates), first person (the author lets one of his characters narrate), and central intelligence (the author filters the narrative through the perceptions of a single character).

A seldom-used point-of-view technique is the objective (the author poses as a purely objective observer, never giving the reader access to a character’s thoughts), as in “The Secret Room” (1962) by French writer Alain Robbe-Grillet, in which the author grimly describes a painting that depicts a murder.

American author Henry James moved to Europe while in his thirties, settling in England in 1875. As a result many of his novels, shorter fiction, and essays probe the contrasts between America and Europe. His style of writing became more and more complex throughout his career, and is distinguished by its rich psychological characterization and deceptively uncomplicated plots.

James insisted that writers in Great Britain and America should be allowed the greatest freedom possible in presenting their view of the world, as French authors were. His imaginative use of point of view, interior monologue and unreliable narrators in his own novels and tales brought a new depth and interest to realistic fiction, and foreshadowed the modernist work of the twentieth century. An extraordinarily productive writer, in addition to his voluminous works of fiction he published articles and books of travel writing, biography, autobiography, and criticism, and wrote plays, some of which were performed during his lifetime with moderate success. His theatrical work is thought to have profoundly influenced his later novels and tales.