Narrator and point of view

The short story “Heart is Where the Home is” by Thea Astley is a third-person narration in which the storyteller uses a combined point of view.

The narrator is outside the action, yet his/her presence can be felt through the notes at the end of dialogue lines, describing the way the characters talk and act: " ‘Not that I'm aware of,’ Mag Laffey lied vigorously. Her eyes met theirs with amused candour." (p. 67, ll. 11-12)

We cannot know if the narrator is omniscient because in the story he/she uses the limited perspective of the characters. For instance, in the beginning, we get to know the policemen’s perspective on the Aboriginals’ reaction to their children being taken away:

Even the coppers felt lousy seeing all those yowling gins. They'd have liked the boongs to show a bit of fight, really, then they could have laid about feeling justified. But no. The buggers just took it. Took it and took it. (p. 62, ll. 6-9)

For most of the story, however, ...