Point of View

The story is written in third person from a limited point of view. The story moves to the perspective of the character who is the focus of that section. This perspective begins with Suzette, who is a child slave in the household of her owners. This perspective remains with Suzette throughout the early section, though the reader learns about Suzette's family, including her siblings and her parents, specifically focusing on her mother, Elisabeth. The story's focus then switches to Philomene and the perspective also changes at that point so that the reader sees the events from Philomene's perspective though her mother, Suzette, is still among the main characters. The reader then learns that Suzette had implored her owner to buy Philomene's future husband but learns it from Philomene's words rather than the event itself. The story switches to Emily, with the same journalistic tactics. The perspective...