Point of View

The short story is written from the third person point of view. In the story's opening pages, this third person narration is limited to Dr. Franz-Josef von Leinsdorf's perspective. The narrative opens with detailed descriptions of the man's background, his familial and vocational history, and his "private preoccupation-within-the-preoccupation of his work" since moving to Johannesburg, South Africa (48). The more the narrator describes Dr. von Leinsdorf's life, the more she absorbs his thoughts, feelings, and opinions, presenting them as overarching truths within the narrative world. For example, when interacting with the girl in the checkout line at the supermarket, the narrator says: "These young colored girls are usually pretty helpful, taking money and punching their machines in a manner that asserts with the time-serving obstinacy of the half-literate the limit of any responsibility towards customers, but this one ran an alert glance over the selection of...