Point of View

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is written in a third-person omniscient point of view. The author utilizes the third-person omniscient lens in order to provide access to the protagonist’s internal experience as well as the internal experience of supporting characters. By granting the reader access to all the characters’ internal thoughts, the author asserts that emotions such as loneliness, desire, and disappointment are universal and defy social or economic barriers. Madame Colbert is “almost fanatic with unhappiness” because of her husband’s difficult work scenario while Natasha “[feels] lost and unhappy” because of the superficial social scene her job facilitates (59). Both women come from different socioeconomic backgrounds and lead different day to day lives but experience unhappiness and disappointment.

The author develops an intimate relationship between the reader and the characters Mrs. Harris meets in France in order to disrupt the main character’s...