: Re: How to refer to a character who doesn't know her name? I am writing a book that begins with the protagonist having amnesia (cliché, I know). At first, I wrote it in the first person jumping

@Steve161

Vote Up Vote Down

One solution, at least at first, is to just use the pronoun:

She woke up in a room she did not recognise. How had she got here? Where was she? Come to think of it, who was she? With a horrible sinking feeling, she realised she couldn't remember her name.

Such a structure emphasises the disorientation of being unable to remember one's name.

However, after a while, using nothing but a pronoun can become tiresome, and also confusing if there are other women present in the scene. Then, maybe someone gives the protagonist some temporary name? After all, it would be as hard for other characters to refer to the nameless MC as it is for you. The protagonist might find it jarring, but use it nonetheless in the absence of anything better.

Depending on your setting and story, Jane Doe (whatever the parallel is in the language you're writing in) is also a possibility, but that would create a distance between the reader and the story. It would cast the MC as a random nobody. I'd use it only if this particular effect was what I wanted to create.

(0)

Login to post a comment!