Point of View

Messud's The Emperor's Children is told in first person, with the point of view changing from character to character. The author predominantly shows the reader the view of the main characters: Danielle, Murray, Marina, Julius, and Bootie throughout the novel, with few exceptions. In one chapter, Aurora, the Thwaite's household maid, is featured, and in three other chapters, Bootie's mother Judy is highlighted. Although Ludovic, David, and Annabel's actions are critical to the novel, the reader is never presented a chapter from their points of view.

When the author groups several chapters together under similarly named titles, these chapters bounce from Danielle to Murray to Marina to Julius in short bursts, as if the reader were catching little slices of life from each character.

Setting

The first chapter of the novel is set in Sydney, Australia, but the bulk of the setting is in Manhattan in...