The Narrator / Maria

The narrator appears at only two points in the book, in its introduction and its epilogue. In the introduction, the narrator isn't given an identity; the narrative is written in first person past tense, but there is no sense of gender, age, relationship, nothing. Only in the epilogue, which maintains this neutrality until its very last lines, is it made clear that the narrator is in fact the central character's long estranged daughter, Maria.

Maria is referred to throughout the narrative, but always in her capacity as Chick's daughter - her perspective as narrator seems never to intrude upon Chick's narrative voice. Nevertheless, the introduction indicates that the narrative has been shaped by the narrator - in other words that the narrator is also an editor, someone who defines the narrative through addition, subtraction, juxtaposition, etc. Maria, therefore, as daughter, editor and narrator, clearly has a...