Even Cowgirls Get the Blues: Second Person Point of View in the Postmodern Novel

The “you” in second person point of view can be handled a number of different ways, especially in postmodernist fiction. It can be used to address one reader or many readers. Some postmodernist authors have taken the second person point of view and turned it into parody like Tom Robbins did in his novel Even Cowgirls Get the Blues.  He writes:

Well, here we are at Chapter 100. This calls for a little celebration. I’m an author and therefore in the same business God is: If I say this page is a bottle of champagne, it’s a bottle of champagne. Reader, will you share a cup of bubbly with me? You prefer French or domestic? OK, I’ll make it French. Cheers!

Here, Robbins is addressing the reader. He even goes so far as to ask the reader which kind of champagne he or she prefers. A little later he writes:

Come on, now, that’s enough champagne. Either give me a kiss or get out of here.

Not only does Robbins ask the reader which kind of champagne he or she wants, but also asks the reader to perform the physical act of kissing him as if to show the absurdity of second person point of view. He even purposely annoys the reader with the very device he is making fun of as in the following example:

The author can sense that chapter 100 displeases you. Not only does it interrupt the story, it says too much and says it too didactically.

Here Robbins tells you, the reader, how to feel and why. As Robbins has illustrated, “you” can have a number of meanings and interpretations regardless of novel type. “You” can be nebulous or quite direct. And, postmodern authors like Robbins have found second person point of view to be a valuable tool in telling their stories with a personal edge.