"James" is a novel by Percival Everett that received a lot of attention when it was published in 2024. It’s a kind of a retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, but told from the perspective of Jim, the runaway slave, rather than Huck.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about the idea of retelling classic novels from the perspectives of other major or even minor characters. Not as replacements, but as complementary stories that might offer new insights. I mean I don't want to mess with the classics. Not gonna say the author was wrong to use this or that character's perspective. I mean there was a time I wondered why Mr Lockwood was telling us the story and not Nelly Dean (Wuthering Heights) but I usually think the author must have had great reasons for doing what they did (or else the book would not have become a classic) and I just have to try to figure out the author's reasons.
Regardless, let me use some examples about stories told from other perspectives.
For example, what if Pride and Prejudice were told from Darcy’s point of view instead of Elizabeth’s? It probably wouldn’t be as straightforward as Everett’s James, since Austen’s novel isn’t that plot-driven. Still, it could provide a different angels on the social misunderstandings and inner conflicts so central to the story, but this time seen through Darcy’s eyes. Similarly, imagine The Great Gatsby narrated by Gatsby himself instead of Nick. It would lose some of the mystery I'm sure, but hearing Gatsby describe his obsessions and delusions himself (probably with little insight) could be fascinating in its own way.
Or consider Moby-Dick from, say, Pip’s point of view. Remember Pip, the African-American cabin boy who goes insane after a traumatic thing that happens to him at sea? Experiencing the story through his eyes could really change the story in so many ways.
I'd like to read that.
What about you? Are there novels or short stories where you’ve wondered what another character might have been thinking, or where a shift in perspective could be illuminating or at least interesting? Maybe it would turn a humorous story tragic (or vice versa), reveal a mystery (or create one), or give voice to perspectives that have historically ignored and oppressed.
Kind of fun to think about…at least for me.
by beastinsideabeast
1 Comment
Dude, Moby-Dick from Pip’s perspective would be absolutely wild – like watching the whole thing unfold through someone who’s already been broken by the sea itself
I’d love to see The Handmaid’s Tale from a Commander’s wife perspective, especially someone like Serena Joy who helped create the system that ended up trapping her too. The cognitive dissonance would be incredible