comment on structure

The narrative is structured in a generally linear fashion until the story’s conclusion. In addition one of the most prominent and salient aspects of the structure is the use of time skips. The story begins in 1917 and then skips to 1919. The story then skips ahead five years and finally several more decades before shifting back to events that occurred before the narrative’s beginning. The function of these time skips is not only to focus on specific important events but also to provide a sense of retrospection. For example, the conclusion of the first narrative arc is Louisa’s discovery that Jack is already engaged. This could have been conveyed without a significant time skip, but instead, the narrative skips ahead to 1919 and conveys the events via Louisa’s recounting the events to Jim Frarey. This emphasizes the importance of retrospection and personal change in response to these events.