Narrators

So my sister pointed out that JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, calls Cassandra Mortmain (narrator of I Capture the Castle) "one of the most charismatic narrators I've ever met." I agree that as a narrator, her voice is light, witty and appealing. She makes the book fun to read, to be sure, and is definitely a narrator one would like to hear more from.

My sister incorrectly stated that Rowling called her one of the most important narrators in modern literature. That I would disagree with. Cassandra is an enjoyable character, but she is not a narrator that changed the book or the world. This has gotten me thinking--who are some of the great narrators? Is Nelly Dean in Wuthering Heights a significant enough narrator. Perhaps, but certainly not the most important in modern literature. Humbert Humbert from Lolita? We're getting there. Any narrator who can nearly convince the reader that his peculiar case of pedophilia is love has to be considered important. Nick Carraway? The Gatsby narrator is remarkable in my personal literary history. The clearly skewed narration was the first time I realized I'd have to question what I read from first person narrators. But the most important in literary history? Holden Caulfield has to be considered. The voice that moved generations of angst ridden teenagers must be included on this kind of list. Or Ellis' Invisible Man? Surely his hard-edged, underground story would not be the same through someone else's eyes.

Then there are the important third person narrators. Joyce's shifting perspectives in Portrait of the Artist make his omniscient third person a narrator to be reckoned with. Consider Austen's satiric, snarky drawing room comedies. Her third person narrator had voice, something that cannot be said of many third person narrations of the time.

So I'm not sure who I find to be the most important narrator of modern literature. Or, really, what modern literature includes. But thank you, Kat, for giving me this to ponder. What do you think? Who are your most important and influential narrators?