Narrator and point of view

The events described in the short story “Beautiful Things” by Kate Vine are told by a first-person narrator who is also the main character. 

Throughout the narrative, many things are stated indirectly or kept between the lines. A good example is the narrator’s account of her sexual encounter with the estate agent:

On the way home, I grip the steering wheel and remember the agent’s hands gripping my thighs. His tongue tasted of menthol cigarettes and I’d leaned away, preferring his lips on my cheek, my shoulder blades. He was rougher than I’d imagined, and methodical. (ll. 144-146)

We never get a direct account of the event, but only glimpses of the feelings the narrator has in relation to it.

The narrator often describes her feelings in an indirect or symbolic way. For example, she talks about being afraid Tom migh...