Blog 6: POV
"Tandolfo the Great" by Richard Bausch is written in third person omniscient, which allows an all-knowing narrator to present a story from a distance while incorporating a single character's thoughts and feelings. In this story, we can see Tandolfo's point of view while maintaining a slightly objective distance. Automatically the reader can see that his love isn't reciprocated while also being privy to his innermost feelings. For example,
"He thought she felt it, too. He interpreted gestures-her hand lingering on her shoulder when he made her laugh; her endearments, tinged as they seemed to be with a kind of sadness, as if she were afraid for what the world might do to someone so romantic."
In just a few sentences, the audience knows what Tandolfo is thinking and feeling while also being in on the secret that he's a tad off base in his thinking. As readers, we know that the object of Tandolfo's love "didn't hear him" with all of his words going "right through her, like white noise on the radio." Considering Tandolfo's mental state, without the addition of the omniscient viewpoint, we, as readers, may have completely missed some of these pertinent details.
Other classmates have pointed out similarities between Tandolfo and the Joker due to their disconnect with the world. Both characters seem determined to insert themselves within typical social constructs, but each one fails and faces the cruelty of those who fit within the world easily. The scene with the boys on p. 207 and their poor treatment of Tandolfo made this feel very similar to the movie The Joker.
Pablo Picasso, Family of Saltimanques, 1905, Oil on Canvas, National Gallery of Art
I connected this story to some of Picasso's artwork containing clowns in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. The clowns in the art wear whimsical clothing in muted colors along a bleak landscape. Unlike most of Picasso's pieces, it lacks the dominance of color and shapes. Like the narrator from Tandolfo, we are shown our characters as they really are and not how they hope to be seen. The façade of the happy clown is stripped away, and we see life from the narrator's perspective. As the people from the party, it's easy to see Tandolfo and the clowns in Picasso's art as "inanimate object(s)." Most art is omnipresent because we (the audience) see the people through the lens of the artist or "god like" creator of the piece. Unlike "Tandolfo the Great," we are not privy to the thoughts of the characters on the canvas. Thus, this POV allows us to read a story like we view paintings with the added advantage of knowing the characters' thoughts, feelings, and pursuits.
During my reading, I decided to research this POV more for a better understanding of why a writer would choose this POV for their story. This website and video were helpful.
https://blog.reedsy.com/guide/point-of-view/third-person-limited-omniscient/
My story "Fear of Falling" is written from the limited third-person POV because it naturally fits the rhythm of the piece. I want us to know what Mabel Jackson is thinking while maintaining some "psychological distance" for the reader. The reader is privy to Mabel's thoughts, hopes, and fears while also realizing the futility of her struggle. We all age, and we all will eventually fall to the hands of time. Falling becomes the line in the sand that separates Mabel from her distorted reality.