Point of View

This novel is told by three different first-person narrators — Nella, Eliza, and Caroline. Their points of view are biased and limited to what they see and hear. The first words of narration from each of these women sum up the stage of life in which they are living. For instance, consider the opening of the first chapter narrated by Nella: “She would come at daybreak — the woman whose letter I held in my hands …” (9). Nella describes the secretive nature of her job as a woman who provides poisons to women wanting to kill their unfaithful husbands. Caroline’s first words of narration: “I wasn’t supposed to be in London alone” (12). Caroline admits her heartbreak and frustration at her situation, she is in London alone because she has learned that her husband was cheating on her. Eliza, meanwhile, admits: “I woke to a pain in...