Point of View

"A Village After Dark" is narrated from Fletcher's first-person point of view. Though Fletcher's narrative tone is matter-of-fact and self-assured, over the course of the short story, his perspective proves unreliable. The reader's impressions of Fletcher, however, mutate gradually. At the start of the story, Fletcher's voice appears honest, and willing to admit fallibility and humanness. He opens his narrative with the lines: "There was a time when I could travel England for weeks on end and remain at my sharpest...But now that I am older I become disoriented more easily" (1). Fletcher speaks to his youthful sharpness and wit, but also informs the reader that the years have changed him. The reader, therefore, sees Fletcher as humble and self-aware. However, the more interactions Fletcher has with the villagers, the more dichotomous and untrustworthy his character, and thus his narration, appears. In his interaction with...