Point of View

The Dictionary of Lost Words is written from the first person point of view from the perspective of the protagonist, Esme Nicoll. The story tells of Esme’s maturing from childhood through when her husband dies in the war. The story centers around the idea of whose words matter and who gets a voice. As such, it makes sense that it is Esme’s words and Esme’s perceptions that are central to the story, to her story. She comes to believe that a person’s story should be told in his or her own words, and her story is told as such.

The reader learns about other people’s ideas and perspectives in multiple ways. One of these is through Esme’s conversations with other people. She talks frequently to Lizzie, Mrs. Ballard, and Da as a young child and later to Tilda, Mabel...