POV and other character’s emotions
Asked by Matthew Ward on May 26, 2020
In discussions of POV, I often hear that a non-POV character must "seem" to be experiencing a certain emotion because the POV character cannot unequivocally know what they are feeling.
Regarding enthusiasm, for example, when I consider my own thoughts, I don't find myself thinking, "They seem to be enthusiastic." Indeed, if those were my thoughts, there would be an implication that they only appeared to be enthusiastic when, in fact, they were not.
So, if I have a non-POV character "run enthusiastically" within the view of the POV character, would you allow me to argue that the POV character views them as running enthusiastically? The POV character does not consider the truth that they do not know that fact for certain. They may be wrong. But as far as their POV is concerned, they are certain that the other character is experiencing enthusiasm.
Jerry's Answer
I get your point, Matthew, but that would be telling rather than showing anyway. Better to show what the perspective character sees, so nobody has to "seem" to be anything. :)
Bob came bounding in, grinning ear to ear. "I'm ready!" he shouted. "Are you?"