Point of View

Colm Toibin tells his novel “Nora Webster” from the third-person limited-omniscient point of view. This is done for at least two reasons. First, the third-person point of view allows Toibin not only to tell a story to the reader, but allows him to expand on events and people in the novel in various places. For example, in Chapter 13, the author is able to fill in the reader on Fiona’s entry into the field of teaching as background information, rather than forcing characters themselves to reveal what the reader needs to know. Secondly, the limited-omniscient aspect of the novel lends a sense of both drama, mystery, and faith to the novel. When Aine is unable to be contacted in Dublin during the protests and riots, the family panics. Only as the characters themselves learn that Aine is safe does the reader learn that Aine is...