Third-person narrator

A narrator who describes characters as ‘he’, ‘she’ or ‘they’ rather than telling the story as a participant using ‘I’.

A narrator outside the story who refers to characters by names and pronouns such as ‘he’ and ‘they’.

These chapters use a third-person narrator, but events are mainly presented through Utterson’s experience. We can follow his thoughts and investigations without entering Jekyll’s mind. Stevenson therefore gives readers clues while withholding the knowledge needed to explain them.

A voice that describes characters as ‘he’, ‘she’ or ‘they’, rather than speaking as ‘I’. In ‘War Photographer’, this voice reveals the photographer’s memories while maintaining some distance from him.

Call Utterson the main viewpoint character, not the narrator: a third-person narrator tells these chapters.

Distinguish Duffy, the third-person narrator and the photographer: the photographer is not speaking directly throughout the poem.

A narrator who refers to characters as ‘he’, ‘she’ or ‘they’, rather than telling the story as a participant using ‘I’.

For the first eight chapters, a third-person narrator largely follows Utterson’s investigation. We encounter clues, witnesses and suspicious documents, but do not enter Jekyll’s private thoughts. This makes it possible to mistake Jekyll for Hyde’s victim rather than the man who deliberately created him.

A narrator who describes characters as ‘he’, ‘she’ or ‘they’, rather than telling events as a participant using ‘I’.

The voice that tells a story, referring to characters as ‘he’, ‘she’ or ‘they’ rather than telling it as their own first-person account.

For much of the story, readers discover events through Utterson’s observations and thoughts. This does not make him the narrator: Stevenson uses a third-person narrator, often making Utterson the focaliser, the character through whose perceptions we experience events. His professional caution makes him seem trustworthy, but trustworthy is not the same as fully informed.

The third-person narrator begins Chapter 1: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” The sweeping phrase “universally acknowledged” makes this sound like an unquestionable rule. Yet the next paragraph reveals that the surrounding families claim the wealthy man for their daughters without knowing his feelings.

Definition

How each exam board covers it

AQA GCSE English Literature · 8702

Exam tips

Get more free notes every week

Edexcel GCSE English Literature · 1ET0

OCR GCSE English Literature · J352

Eduqas GCSE English Literature · C720