Narration: third person

Third-person narrations are more common than

narratives in the first-person.
Some narrators call attention to themselves as the
narrators.
Some novels have narrators who are invisible
present everywhere but visible nowhere . It is
always worth asking : How evident is the third-
person narrator? (see examples on page 111 and
112)
 The intrusive narrator
Sometimes a narrator can be intrusive. This is not
necessarily a criticism. It is merely a way of
pointing out that they enter their narratives,
usually to tell the readers what they think.
In the first case, this is one of the challenges of
literature . Authors often write because they want
to present life in a particular light.
In the second case, it may be a mistake to expect
an author to be consistent.
 Degrees of knowledge
One of the opportunities third-person narration offers
a novelist is degree s of knowledge . You can always
ask:
What does the narrator choose to know about the
minds of his or her characters?
This is a very different situation from that of the first-
person narrator. With first-person narration, it is only
the narrator's mind that can be directly known; in
third-person narration the novelist has a choice .
Some novelists don't choose to know very much.
Sometimes a narrator chooses to have access to
the mind of a single character. This is a way of
combining the privilege of first-person narration
with the scope that is characteristic of third-
person writing.
When novelists choose to know everything
about all the characters, they are called
omniscient.
 Multiple narration
In some novels there are multiple narrators. For instance, in Emily
Bronte's Wuthering Heights the whole of the book is narrated by
Lockwood, a visitor who knows very little about the customs of the
wild part of England in which the novel is set. He is the primary
narrator. However, for much of the time the secondary narrator,
Nelly, relates the incidents . She has known most of the main
characters from their childhood, so is able to give Lockwood a broad
view of events . But because she was not present when some of the
incidents took place, she has to depend upon tertiary narrators -
Cathy, Heathcliff and Isabella among others. Some are very minor
figures - servants in the house - yet they all contribute
something.
It's important to ask what are the effects of this .
One effect is that we see the world of Wuthering
Heights as a community. The characters in it owe
their identity in part to the fact that other
characters know who they are and what has
happened to them. This is an important antidote
to the view that Wuthering Heights is a book of
rampant individualism.
The other point about multiple narration in
Wuthering Heights is that it opens up an issue
that is often present in books that employ this
narrative mode. This issue is that of the relativity
of viewpoint. Because characters are different
and because they see different parts of the story ,
the issue is raised as to how trustworthy are the
various narrations.
 Issues in narration
Because narration is the basis of novels (and
other forms of literary art) it's not surprising that
there are many aspects to it. This section deals
with some of them. We shall start with issues
that are related to what has already been said
about the art of narrative.
 Retrospection
Most first-person narrations are presented as a
looking back upon what has happened. This is
usually called retrospective narration.
What retrospective narration allows a novelist to do
is exploit the distance between the event narrated
and the act of narration. Because the narrator looks
back, there is a distance in time between the 'then'
of the event and the 'now' of
the narration. This allows narrators to think about
the significance of the past that is being recalled. It
also allows readers to think about the differences
between the two times.
Sometimes, a retrospective narration is problematic.
 Knowledge
What a consideration of retrospective
narration shows is that narrative deals
with knowledge.
 Knowledge in first-person narration

In one sense this issue is simple: we know what

the narrator thinks but, like the narrator, do not
have the same assurance about other
characters. If, however, some thing important
hangs on what another character (a character to
whom we do not have privileged access) is up
to, then the issue of knowledge becomes crucial.
 Knowledge in third-person narratives
The problems here are different. The responsibility
usually rests upon the reader to remember who
know s what. In much literature knowledge is
power, so disparities(a useful word when talking
about different levels of knowledge among
characters) in knowledge are the condition of very
important effects.
In matters such as this it is a good idea to remind
yourself what, as a reader, you know and what the
other characters know. In doing this you will
become aware of those disparities which form the
basis of many of the important effects in a
novel. As a guide , you can ask the following
question s:
• What do I know ?
• What do the character s know ?
• What are the effects of these difference s in
knowledge?
 Reliability
The most difficult area of knowledge is when
there is a narrator whom the reader cannot
wholly trust. Such a narrator (usually a first-
person one) is called unreliable. Reliability is
always a matter of degrees; if a reader did not
believe anything that he or she was being told,
the novel would not at any point make sense.
What is more usual is a narrator who is so
involved in the events of the novel that the
reader wonders whether at some point s the
narrator' s judgement has been affected and
that, consequently, things are not quite as they
are presented.
 Perspective
Issue s of retrospection, knowledge and
reliability all turn on perspective. This is a word
that comes from painting. It means what
something looks like from a particular point of
view . It' s not difficult to see how this can apply
to literature ; all first-person narrative s are from
the perspective of the narrator.
When it comes to third-person narrations, the
issue is usually the perspective adopted by the
narrator. There are two closely related questions
that you can ask.
• From what perspective are the events viewed?
• What thinking about the events is implied in
the chosen perspective? (See examples on page
119 and 120)
 Authors' attitudes, and irony
Authors' attitudes
It is one of the principles of literary study that
what we call form and content cannot be
separated. This is as true in novels as it is in
poetry. You can't split off the sounds and
rhythms of a poem from its meaning, and nor
can you talk about the way a novel is written in
isolation from what it is about.
In fact, the indivisibility of these two things is
present in the language we use about novels .
The word 'viewpoint' can mean both the angle
from which something is looked at and the
attitude of the one who does the looking.
Therefore, whenever you think about how a
novel is narrated, you will also be thinking about
the attitude the author (and the reader) is taking
up toward s the characters and events. All you
have to remember is that the attitude will
emerge in and through the narration.
The point may be made in the following way.
The reader thinks something about a character
because the mode of narration has made such
thinking possible.
An author can take up virtually any attitude that he
or she wants.
There is no point in going through all the attitudes
authors and readers can take. But there is one
particular attitude that is very important in
narrative - irony.
 Irony
Irony occurs when a reader sees that the author is
showing that there is a gap between what is
thought to be true and what actually is true.
Whenever there is a gap (or discrepancy) of this
kind, you can say that the writing is ironic. Because
irony is about seeing the different kinds of gaps
between what is thought and what really is so,
there are many different kinds. Of these there are
four with which you should be familiar.
( I) A character can say something that the
reader sees is mistaken . Here the gap is
between words and truth .
(2) A character may say something, the real
meaning or implication of which is different
from what the character supposes. Here the gap
is between words, and meaning.
(3) A character can expect certain events to
happen or can set out to achieve something, but
the reader can see that things won't work out as
expected.
Here the gap is between intention and outcome.
This is sometimes called 'dramatic' irony.
(4) A character can interpret the world in one way,
but the reader will see that this interpretation is
wrong. Here the gap is between appearance and
reality.
What you should never overlook is the point of
the irony. Because, as stated above, form and
content are inseparable, there is always a
meaning or a significance to irony. There is a
gap between words and truth, a gap between
words and meaning, a gap between intention
and outcome, and a gap between appearance
and reality.
 Some features of irony
We can point out some of the feature s of irony .
• Irony is about seeing and not seeing.
The reader must be percipient (able to see) and
the character who is exposed must be
impercipient (unable to see). Irony, therefore is
about awareness and knowledge. When a
reader sees and knows more than a character,
irony is possible.
• Irony is always against someone.
It is, therefore , related to power. The one who is
percipient is in a superior position to the one who is
impercipient.
• Irony is often a kind of alliance between author and
reader.
The author has led the reader to see what a character
can't see. The reader , therefore, is close to the author
and distant from the character.
• Sometimes one irony undercuts another.
This is sometimes called double irony. In this case the
reader' s position can be subverted.
• Irony is not always immediately apparent to
the reader.
The example above also brings out this feature of
irony . The idea that in spite of everything, Tess
is, as the sub-title indicates, a 'pure woman', is
one that gradually emerges.
• Ironies are often enjoyable when they are
hinted at rather than baldly stated.
If ironies are too obvious or heavy, the reader is
likely to feel that he or she is being treated as a
child .
Finally, because many ironies are subtle , it is not
surprising that many readers (particularly new
readers) are blind to them . All you can do is to ask
yourself some questions. These may prove useful.
• Is what this character is saying true?
• Can I see more than the characters?
• Do these words mean more than the speakers
think?
• Might events turn out differently from what the
characters expect?