Narrator and point of view

The short story “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs is a third-person account which only follows the characters of Mr and Mrs White. The narrator is outside the action, but he does not know everything about the characters and the action. Instead, the narration is confined to the perspective of the Whites.

For instance, the reader finds out that Herbert has died at the same time as the parents:

'Is he hurt?'  demanded the mother, wildly.
The visitor bowed in assent.  'Badly hurt,' he said, quietly, 'but he is not in any pain.'

More specifically, the narrator mostly follows the perspective of Mr White. This becomes clear at the end of the story, when only his actions are followed, and the actions of Mrs White are presented from his point of view: “...