Narrator and point of view

The short story “Some Are Born to Sweet Delight” by Nadine Gordimer is narrated in the past tense by a third-person narrator.

The narrator has a limited point of view. The narrator possesses knowledge of some characters, places, and events of the story, but not all, and the narrator never displays the omnipotent overview of an omniscient narrator.

For example, the narrator shares knowledge from both Vera and her mother, using their points of view: “She didn’t hope to conceal from her mother what they were doing; she knew her mother knew. Her mother felt her gliding silently from her room down the passage to the lodger’s room” (ll. 267-269). However, the narrator never reveals any of Rad’s thoughts and feelings. Instead, these are interpreted mostly by Vera who watches his actions...