Points of View

The Nice and the Good is written from a third person perspective and focuses on the members of the Trescombe household. This allows Murdoch to explore the thoughts and feelings of many of the characters throughout the novel. We see what the characters think and feel about one another as the novel progresses.

The story is told through a mixture of dialogue, description and the inner thoughts of the characters. Murdoch employs the third person narrative in order to move through the complex story lines and multiple characters. In this way, we are privy to the thoughts and feelings of all the characters, getting all sides of the story. We understand Jessica and Ducane's affair, for example, through both of their eyes. Through the dialog, we can see how the characters interact with one another and the motives behind their actions are shown through their thoughts...