The point of view

[Orual]

I apologize if this has been discussed previously. I didn't see it if it has.

One thing that has always puzzled me about The Brothers Karamazov is the point of view. It's usually third person with loose limitations, but every so often Dostoyevsky uses first person and inserts himself as a sort of historian. Why does he do this? A historian recording reality as a novel certainly wouldn't be privy to the thoughts of the characters, but character analysis through thought is widespread (the part where Alyosha returns to the monestary and listens to the reading of the wedding in Cana comes to mind.) Anyone have any thoughts on this technique?

[bazarov]

Well, sometimes I got the feeling he was somewhere between them and nobody has noticed him. I think he used first person to express his ideas, personal views and feelings about some things, like an objective view on situations, probably trying to get things closer to reader. It's nothing unusual, Tolstoy was using same technique in War and Peace.

[B-Mental]

Is it Omniscient Third Person? Not sure, its been a while.

[Scheherazade]

Here is a short summary of POVs:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/bitesize/higher/other/ask/english/general/general_34.shtml
A 3rd person narrator can move in and out of the minds of different characters, and can be in different places at the same time. It can also comment on the characters by the way in which it describes their actions, appearance, or thoughts eg "When Raymond (wearing his trademark Gucci loafers) walked into a room, everyone else walked out." It is highly 'pass-remarkable' ! A 3rd person narrator like this is called 'omniscient' - all-knowing.

[80k]

I also have found the narrative style very interesting.

I found that the perspective and POV of each character is very important in the story. I heard it described in an article as a polyphonic style, where different voices and worldviews interact with each other throughout the novel, which is the purpose of the omniscient narrator.

However, as you brought up, the narrator occasionally steps in as a character himself. I see this as a way of reminding the reader that you are reading yet another perspective that is no more authoritative than any of the characters in the story.

[Mr. Dr. Ralph]

The point of view was omniscient third person, though I gathered that he was a member of Alyosha's monastery. The point of view was very strange.

[manicmom1]

He also inserts personal asides, talking about "our village" and "our monastery". It's both impersonal and personal, and it's this dichotomy that makes the narration interesting, I think.