Narrator and point of view

Jay William’s fairy-tale, “Petronella”, is a third-person narration. Like in most fairy-tales, the narrator of the events is outside the plot.

The narrator takes on a limited-knowledge perspective, acting as an outside observer of the action and the characters. For this reason, we do not know what the characters think or feel unless they express it for themselves: “ ‘I was chasing you. You are just the girl I’ve been looking for. You are brave and kind and talented and beautiful as well.” (p. 119, ll. 39-41).

However, the narrator makes various observations about how the characters act and talk which hint towards their attitude and thoughts: “gloomily” (p. 113, l. 14), “promptly” (p. 114, l. 21), “haughtily” (p. 114, l. 5), “boldly” (p. 115, l. 34), “grimly” ...