Point of View

The Covenant of Water is written from the third person point of view. Although the narrative spans over 70 years and traces the lives of a diverse network of characters, this third person omniscient narration remains consistent throughout. By allowing the same narrative entity to trace and guide the storylines of all his characters, the author is able to formally enact his overarching thematic notion that all lives are interconnected. Just as "the English Channel, the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and the Indian Ocean, despite their individual personalties, are one," so too are the stories of Verghese's characters (90). Indeed, they are all connected by the overlaps in their human experiences. However, they are also consistently connected by the common narrative voice. "This is," as Mariamma notices in the final chapter of the novel, Chapter 84, "The Known World, 1977, Saint Bridget's, "the covenant of water: that they're all...