What is the narrator point of view in Old Babes in the Wood?

Each of the 15 short stories collected in Old Babes in the Wood is written from a distinct narrative vantage point. Because some of the stories trace episodes from the lives of recurring characters, some narrative vantages resurface more than once. For example, “First Aid,” “Morte de Smudgie,” “A Dusty Lunch,” and “Wooden Box” are all written from a third person limited point of view. These stories all feature scenes and experiences from the character Nell’s life. In all four of these stories the third person narrator has sole access to Nell’s consciousness. This means that the narrator inhabits her psyche and presents her thoughts and feelings on the page as narrative fact. In “First Aid” for example, when the narrator remarks at the story's end, “Better to preserve the illusion of safety. Better to improvise,” she is conveying Nell’s perspective (15). These notions are not representative of the narrator’s opinions, but belong to Nell. The third person limited point of view enacts her feelings of alienation or detachment from herself, particularly in the wake of her partner's death.

The stories “Two Scorched Men,” “Widows,” and “Old Babes in the Wood” are all written from Nell’s first person point of view. “Widows” is distinct, in that the reader experiences Nell's first person voice within the context of the letter she is writing to her friend Stevie.

The stories presented in Part II, “My Evil Mother,” are written from another series of distinct narrative perspectives. “My Evil Mother” is written from the first person point of view of an unnamed narrator, whose mother believes she is a witch. “The Dead Interview” is presented as an interview, and thus lacks a traditional narrative voiceover. “Impatient Griselda is written from the first person point of view of an unnamed, seemingly alien storyteller. “Bad Teeth” is written from the third person point of view, and is limited to Lynne’s consciousness. “Death by Clamshell” is written from Hypatia’s first person point of view. “Freeforall” is written from a third person point of view, and is limited to Sharmayne’s perspective. “Metempsychosis” is written from Amber’s first person perspective and “Airborne” is written from the third person point of view, but is limited to Myrna’s consciousness.