Earnest Hemingway's Use of Outer Limited Point of View

In my last blog post, I discussed the use of the outer limited point of view by French novelist Alain Robbe-Grillet. I gave examples from his famous novel Jealousy as well as another one of his works. But America has its own master of the outer limited point of view too—Ernest Hemingway. He also used outer limited point of view, also called dramatic or objective point of view by some, in many of his short stories and novels, although he often combined it with other points of view such as the unlimited point of view or first person.  Here is an excerpt from his short story “Hills Like White Elephants”: 

The hills across the Valley of the Ebro were long and white. On this side there was no shade and no trees and the station was between two lines of rails in the sun. Close against the side of the station there was the warm shade of the building and a curtain, made of strings of bamboo beads, hung across the open door into the bar, to keep out flies. The American and the girl with him sat at a table in the shade, outside the building.

In this passage, Hemingway is showing what can only be seen. We can only observe the American and the girl. He does not allow us into their heads. And so it goes with the outer limited point of view. We can only observe actions, listen to the dialogue and interpret the author's description of the scene.

Hemingway was particularly skilled at writing dialogue in the outer limited point of view. Take, for instance, this scene from his short story “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”:

The waiter took the brandy bottle and another saucer from the counter inside the café and marched out to the old man’s table. He put down the saucer and poured the glass of brandy.

“You should have killed yourself last week,” he said to the deaf man. The old man motioned with his finger. “A little more,” he said. The waiter poured on into the glass so that the brandy slopped over and ran down the stem into the top saucer of the pile. “Thank you,” the old man said. The waiter took the bottle back inside the café. He sat down at the table with his colleague again.

“He’s drunk now,” he said.

“He’s drunk every night.”

“What did he want to kill himself for?”

“How should I know?”

“How did he do it?”

“He hung himself with a rope.”

“Who cut him down?”

“His niece.”

“Why did they do it?”

“Fear for his soul.”

“How much money has he got?”

“He’s got plenty.”

“He must be eighty years old.”

“Anyway I should say he was eighty.”

“I wish he would go home. I never get to bed before three o’clock. What kind of hour is that to go to bed?”

 *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

“Another,” said the old man.

“No. Finished.” The waiter wiped the edge of the table with a towel and shook his head.

The old man stood up, slowly counted the saucers, took a leather coin purse from his pocket and paid for the drinks, leaving half a peseta tip.

Although Hemingway never tells us directly how these waiters feel about the old man, we have a good idea based on their conversation. Here the dialogue tells the story. We also get a clue about how one of the waiters feels or what he must be thinking when he shakes his head while wiping the table and trying to tell the old man that he will serve him no more drinks. 

Dialogue, action and scene description all work together to convey the story written in the outer limited point of view.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Writing in the Outer Limited Point of View

I wrote in my blog titled, “What is Outer Limited Point of View,” that the outer limited viewpoint was the most difficult to write because you, the author, were not allowed inside the minds of your characters. You could only reveal the story through the actions and dialogue of your characters. But, as with any point of view, there are both advantages and disadvantages to using the outer limited point of view.

Advantages of Using the Outer Limited Point of View

One major advantage of writing in the outer limited point of view is the intellectual stimulation that comes from its complexity and challenge. Writers enjoy the sense of accomplishment that comes with writing a novel in the outer limited point of view because they know few have tried and few have truly succeeded.

Another advantage of writing in this point of view comes from the very nature of the outer limited point of view itself. Because connecting emotionally with characters in the outer limited point of view is much more difficult than with many of the other points of view, the outer limited point of view lends itself to novels with themes of isolation or spiritual alienation. So, the author wishing to symbolize the isolation of the human condition may find the outer limited point of view helpful.

Stories written in outer limited point of view sometimes require the reader to reread sections more than once to pick up on what is going on because it forces the reader to interpret what is going on on his or her own. This rereading in some cases may result in the reader becoming more invested in the story, giving the outer limited point of view another advantage.

Disadvantages of Outer Limited Point of View

The first disadvantage of the outer limited point of view stems again from its very nature. Outer limited requires the reader to do all the interpreting, something many readers don’t have the patience to do. And even if they do stick it out, they may not feel any emotional attachment to the characters.

For the writer, the advantage of the intellectual stimulation afforded by the outer limited point of view can quickly turn into a disadvantage of frustration and headache. Maintaining the outer limited point of view throughout an entire novel is indeed tedious and should only be tried by the truly committed.