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Foreshadowing
Frame Story
Explanation and Analysis—Strickland's Story:
The fictional biography of Charles Strickland is told through the eyes of a narrator, who creates a frame story of Strickland's life in the past: "When so much has been written about Charles Strickland," he says at the beginning of Chapter 2, "it may seem unnecessary that I should write more. A painter’s monument is his work."
Yet the narrator does write more about Strickland, if only to boost his own career as a writer. The Moon and Sixpence is a unique Künstlerroman (artist's novel) in that the story is not told from the artist's perspective. Instead, Charles Strickland's artistic journey is narrated by a writer who once befriended Strickland. Fifteen years after last seeing Strickland, the narrator becomes curious and traces Strickland's footsteps. The narrator consciously recalls conversations and events throughout the novel in an attempt to reconstruct the past. He tells the story of Strickland within his own artistic story as a writer.
The narrator is consciously using the frame story not only to make himself known as a writer but also to increase the impact of Strickland as a character. Having the frame story, as opposed to simply narrating the story from the past, creates that sense of awe about Strickland and makes him seem like a real celebrity in the reader's mind.
