Question #3 Week Four: Sections VIII – IX: Pages 417 – 488

How do the newspaper articles advance the unfolding of the plot? Do they serve as an objective record of the events in the characters' lives?

The articles hint at events that have not yet been discussed and give some additional details. They are more objective, but not totally objective. The writer's perspective is always included.
--BJ

ETA I had forgotten that some of the articles were based on inaccurate information supplied by interested parties.

The articles give society's view of the events in the book, rather than the view of the characters' themselves. It is just one more example of Iris' lack of control over her own life - the press loves her husband and she is portrayed as a dutiful wife who is second to Winnifred. As well, there is the threat of the press several times during the book - when Laura runs away, for example, Richard is very worried that the story will end up in a newspaper, and so his career will be ruined. Not only is Iris controlled by her father, Richard, and Winnifred, but she now has to worry that her life will be written about and examined by society at large.