Point of View

The novel is told from the perspective of an omniscient narrator. The narrator only uses his powers of omniscience on special occasions. For most of the novel, he stays quite close to the protagonist. And, while the narrator is not unreliable in the traditional sense, his close connection with Lucy makes many of his statements and observations biased to the point where the reader is unsure what to believe and what to disregard as nonsense.

Language and Meaning

There is nothing modern about the language of Undermajordomo Minor. The unnamed, omniscient narrator delights in old-fashioned phrases and outdated vocabulary. Characters live in “shanties” rather than houses, “villages” instead of cities, and “castles” instead of mansions. This sort of language is essential to the atmosphere of the novel, which is meant to be timeless and have the overall feel of a fairytale.

DeWitt also uses language...