gd f g fd g df gdf gfd gddgdg d gd gg dg d gd gd g dgg d g g g fg df fd fd f f g df fdgf df gdf gfd g fdg dfg gd dfgd fg dgfd g gdg d gd gd dg gd g df g gf fg gf gf gfgf gf df s ff sd describes characters and relates incidents which happen to them. As the incipit above shows, characters and actions are referred to in the 3 rdperson pronoun singular or plural; at no point in the narrative does the narrator refer to herself; she has no part in the action related, plot-promoting sentences. Following a distinction proposed by Genette (1980), the narrator can, therefore, additionally be described as heterodiegetic. As the narrator is not part of the story, she can, consequently, choose to assume omniscience, which she displays in many instances - she moves in and out of characters’ minds, provides background information, as the quoted passage above, once more, shows, and, at times, subtly foreshadows subsequent events. Yet, it is important to state that she does not actually ever exercise these omniscient capabilities to the fullest. Subsuming these traits of the narrator, we can consequently, though at a basic level, characterize the narrative situation in Emma as an authorial narrative (Jahn 2005). Yet this definition by no means suffices to account for the differentiated reading experience provided in Emma - it is rather more complex. Therefore, we will now reflect upon how Austen employs this authorial narrator.
3. Employing omniscience