Point of View

Flight Behavior is told from the perspective of a limited third person narrator. Readers are given complete access to the inner thoughts and feelings of Dellarobia herself, but can only learn what other characters are thinking when they specifically articulate their thoughts to Dellarobia. For example, Dellarobia always feels a tension between herself and Hester but doesn't understand why Hester likes her so little until Hester explicitly tells her that she has constantly expected Dellarobia to walk away from her marriage ever since the loss of the baby that engendered it. Similarly, Dellarobia does not understand the relationship between Ovid and his wife because Ovid never speaks of her, and what he does say is negative (albeit gently). This feeds her self-delusion about their potential for a romantic relationship, until Juliet, Ovid's wife, appears on the farm and by observing their behavior as a couple, Dellarobia...