Point of View

The novel is told in the third-person limited point-of-view and primarily follows Ruth Emeraldine, the daughter of Bernard and wife of Robert Apter. However, there are some chapters that focus on the thoughts of Margaret in order to show the reader the decline of her mental health and the desperation to feel better. There are also a few chapters that focus on other characters, such as Robert, but these are generally short and spread out throughout the entire novel. While the narrative voice is somewhat consistent between the different viewpoints, there is a very distinct difference in tone between Ruth and Margaret in particular. As the main protagonist, Ruth's narration focuses on the broader story as well as the clinical information needed to understand the procedures and Robert's progress. Her emotions vary from scene to scene and the reader gets to see her sense of...