Question

What does the narrator's use of the third-person limited omniscient point of view tell the reader about Richards?A.Richards had been Brently's best friend for many years.B.Richards felt he had to be the first person to tell Mrs. Mallard.C.Richards heard about Brently's death at the newspaper office.D.Richards knew Mrs. Mallard would collapse upon hearing the news.

Answer 1

Answer:

The correct answer is B. Richards felt he had to be the first person to tell Mrs. Mallard.

Explanation:

A third-person omniscient point of view narration allows readers to know things that the characters in the story themselves don't know. Readers get to know what characters think and how they feel about something, even if the characters don't talk about it with one another. In Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour", Brently's friend Richard felt he needed to haste to Mrs. Mallard's house and be the first to tell the news because he knew of her heart condition. He was afraid someone else might be careless and end up breaking the news in the wrong manner, causing Mrs. Mallard to collapse and even die. We only get to know that due to the narrator's omniscience:

Her husband's friend Richards was there, too, near her. It was he who had been in the newspaper office when intelligence of the railroad disaster was received, with Brently Mallard's name leading the list of "killed." He had only taken the time to assure himself of its truth by a second telegram, and had hastened to forestall any less careful, less tender friend in bearing the sad message.