Point of View

Brown deploys third person narration in Black Candle Women in 43 chapters, alternating which Montrose woman's perspective the section follows. In the prologue, the third person narration follows Augusta, the matriarch of the family. Because Augusta suffered a stroke, she no longer talks, making her an internal, reflective and nostalgic perspective. She holds the most family history in her memory, making her an important link in the novel to identity and power. Chapter 1 of the novel sticks close to Victoria's perspective, a rational, good-girl point of view.

Chapters named after Willow and Nickie have their own styles of narration and perspective. Nickie's sections contain more vernacular speech relevant to teenagers, and her love life, specifically a boy named Felix, is her primary concern. Willow's sections contain more secrecy, as well as much of the knowledge about hoodoo in the novel. "She settled on the Bring Back...