Point of View

The novel is written in first-person, from the limited perspective of a woman named Belle. Belle has two identities because she is actually a Black woman named Belle Marion Greener, but she is living as a white woman named Belle da Costa Greene. Both identities play a role in her perspective because she is constantly conscious of how radically her life would change if she were publicly revealed as a Black woman. Belle's struggles with her identity also play a role in her perspective. At a party one night, she locks eyes with a servant though her mother has taught her never to do that. She knows the whites who patronize these parties would not even notice the Black servants, but she is very aware of their presence.

The two different sides of her personality also impact how she feels about herself. There is a...