Point of View

The novel is told from the third person point of view. It is almost exclusively told from the perspective of the protagonist, Helen. This perspective does not frequently change because there are not many characters in Helen’s sphere during the time frame the novel is told in, and the novel is only concerned with an exploration of her internal state.

Helen spends almost all of her time alone with her newborn daughter, Rose, whose thoughts and ideas cannot be shared due to her inability to communicate or engage in advanced cognition. D.W. Winnicott is quoted in the novel as saying that a baby cannot exist on its own. It is always understood in relation to other; it cannot survive without others. Therefore, it is natural that the baby’s perspective is only shown through Helen’s interpretation of that perspective and that the...