A Girl like Phyl | Style
Selective Omniscience
Selective omniscience is a type of third-person narration. Stories told from this point of view come from a nonparticipant in the action who focuses on the thoughts of one of the characters. Highsmith employs this device in “A Girl like Phyl” to help provide insight into Jeff’s troubled psyche. The narrator does not need to spend time digging into Eileen’s or Phyl’s thoughts since the focus of the story is on the fictive world that Jeff has created and the devastating consequences when that world is shattered. This point of view also...
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