Point of View

The novel is written in third person from various perspectives. This is necessary because no character is present in every scene. The reader tends to see most scenes from one character's point of view over the other characters, meaning the reader does not know what every character is thinking. For example, Kitty and Cecily have a heartfelt conversation after Cecily's failed elopement. From what Cecily has observed that night, she believes that Cecily is in love with Archie. She does not express that to Kitty, meaning Kitty does not know about Cecily's mistake. Archie also comes to believe that Kitty is still in love with him. He also does not say that aloud until he is able to express relief that James and Kitty are engaged. The reader is aware of Cecily's and Archie's mistakes, but Kitty and James are not.

There are some characters...