Margaret's Perception of Time and Its Impact on Storytelling

     In Margaret the First, the concept of time plays an important role in the narration style and developing themes in the novel. Dutton has a unique way of storytelling, in which the book feels both rushed and detailed at the same time. This technique embodies the way in which humans remember stories. Certain chunks of memories are shared in depth, and then Margaret will say, “so passed two or three years,” completely leaving out years of her life (15). Phrases such as these create a sense of fluidity that feels more raw than other stories. After she releases one of her works, “Poems and Fantasies”, she recalls receiving feedback and gossip. In the midst of this memory, she says, ‘January, February, March,” as if time becomes arbitrary (69). 

As the novel continues and years pass in this manner, Margaret begins to notice the effects of aging on herself. She thinks, “how odd that I could still look like a girl, be made to feel it…yet my neck was beginning to sag, the skin grown soft and loose” (78). Her comment shows a disconnect between how she feels inwardly and outwardly about herself, as if she does not notice how much time has truly passed. This technique makes it feel as though Margaret is giving the highlights of her life rather than a full synopsis based on the memories and feelings that she has. Another piece of commentary that Dutton uses is the blurring of seasons within a year. As she describes her time after publishing “Orations”, she says that “it is early spring. Or is it early winter” (119)? Her consistent confusion over time reveals details about Margaret as a narrator. 

Between skipping large periods of time, recognizing her physical aging, and ambiguous details about the seasons creates a fluidity while also describing defining moments within her life. These three mechanisms weave together different aspects of time and aging that create an authenticity to Margaret’s storytelling. The fusing of seasons, years, and months reflects how humans grapple with the passage of time and growing old. It is evident that although Margaret does not always keep track of time, she is simultaneously aware of her own aging process.