The Third Person Narrator in Ottessa Moshfegh's Lapvona

In multiple interviews Moshfegh notes how she explored third person narration as a technique in her novel Lapvona. Compared to her other works that focused primarily on the internal experiences of a single character how did this change in narrative style affect the overall tone of the work and how does the narrative voice develop into a character itself. One could explore how the work contrasts the individual against the collective, moving from the experince of a single character to the experience of Lapvona as a whole not only for the characters but for the reader as well. There is also a tension with the narrative voice’s interpretations and the characters subjective experiences. This can particularly be seen in the moments of miscommunication, where the absence of understanding contrasts with the third person expanded view. This can perhaps be seen as contributing to the dark humor of the story. Moments of humor arise in part by the expanded view of the reader due to the narrative voice where the absurdity of some events becomes clear. Overall the third person narration comes across as a subtle but powerful and permeating influence and an exploration into the direction of this influence can be fruitful for a deeper understanding of the work as a whole.