Point of View

The Midnight Bargain is told through a third-person limited narrator. The narrator focuses on conveying Beatrice’s thoughts and feelings. This has the effect of fully immersing the reader in Beatrice’s plight. It is also an especially useful style of narration given the fact that Beatrice’s role as a woman in high society does not often encourage her to speak her mind.

This narration style remains consistent throughout the novel. Its perspective never changes. This allows the reader to become fully acquainted with Beatrice’s hopes and fears. It also provides a challenge to the reader, as they have to critically evaluate each of the secondary characters in search of clues to indicate their motivations. In the world of bargaining season, tensions run high and polite tones often conceal cruel intentions. This duplicity can be seen in the character Danton Maisonette. When Danton...