Point of View

The point of view is third person limited. Readers are privy to the thoughts and feelings of a single character, Cilka, and it is only Cilka’s knowledge, perceptions, and projections that are told. A reader’s rapport is with the protagonist, and we experience the world through her eyes. In this respect, third person limited allows the intimacy of first person point of view but with the ability to withdraw from this internal world at will. Morris withdraws from Cilka’s thoughts usually to compress time—to reveal the landscape in its changing seasons, for example. This withdrawal is also employed in the moments of physical violence, such as those perpetrated upon the women of the hut by the male prisoners. We do not have Cilka’s internal thoughts of Boris’ first visit, but readers are privy to how she speaks to Josie and...