Point of View

Carter uses present tense narration for most of the story, and she shifts to past tense narration at the end of the story. The narration is in first-person, but the narrator rarely refers to herself. The only occasions in which the narrator uses pronouns include first-person plural pronouns, such as in the sentence, “we are in Samarkand” (245). The use of the first-person gives the narrator an enigmatic quality. This adds to the complex dichotomy of fantasy and reality in the story, because it supplements the uncertainty and instability created by this balance. The only exception to the predominant use of first-person plural pronouns is when the narrator says, “they do not know what I know about them” (246). This sole use of the first-person singular pronoun creates a more personal atmosphere between the narrator and the reader, so it intensifies the scene.

While describing the city...