1. Intimacy and Immersion:
* Limited Perspective: The reader is restricted to the thoughts, feelings, and perceptions of a single character. This creates a sense of closeness and intimacy as the reader experiences the story through the eyes of one individual.
* Empathy and Identification: By focusing on one character, the reader is more likely to empathize and identify with their struggles, motivations, and experiences. This fosters a deeper connection and emotional investment in the story.
* Internal World: The reader gains access to the character's internal world, including their thoughts, memories, and biases. This allows for a more nuanced and complex understanding of the character's motivations and actions.
2. Control and Manipulation:
* Selective Information: The reader only receives information that the chosen character is aware of or chooses to reveal. This creates a sense of mystery and suspense as the reader is left to piece together the story based on limited information.
* Guiding the Reader: The author can manipulate the reader's perception of events by controlling the character's perspective. This can create dramatic irony and tension as the reader knows more than the character or is led to believe something that turns out to be false.
* Focus and Emphasis: The author can choose to highlight certain aspects of the story and downplay others based on the character's perspective. This allows for a more focused and thematic exploration of the story's central themes.
3. Unreliable Narrator:
* Bias and Subjectivity: The character's perspective is subjective and influenced by their own biases, experiences, and limitations. This can create an unreliable narrator, where the reader must question the accuracy and completeness of the information presented.
* Complexity and Depth: An unreliable narrator can add complexity and depth to the story by challenging the reader's assumptions and forcing them to question the truth of the events unfolding.
* Psychological Realism: Unreliable narrators can create a more realistic and psychologically complex portrayal of human experience by showcasing the fallibility and subjectivity of human perception.
Impact on the Reader:
* Emotional Investment: The reader feels deeply connected to the character and experiences their emotions more intensely.
* Intriguing and Suspenseful: The limited perspective creates a sense of mystery and suspense as the reader is constantly trying to piece together the story.
* Unforgettable Characters: The reader develops a deeper understanding and appreciation for the character's complexities, motivations, and inner conflicts.
* Thought-Provoking and Challenging: The story can challenge the reader's assumptions about the world and human nature.
Overall, using third person limited point of view can create a powerful and immersive reading experience for the reader. It allows for a deep exploration of a character's inner world, while simultaneously creating a sense of mystery and suspense. The impact of this perspective ultimately depends on the skill of the author in using it to create a compelling and engaging narrative.