04_Biblica_1_A_Ossandon_Layout 1 05/11/12 12:18 Pagina 401 401 BARTIMAEUS’ FAITH was explained before: he follows his master on the way that will lead him to the passion and death. Now it can be added that fol- lowing Jesus appears as the practical consequence of putting one- self under his ideological point of view. The narrator does not accept Jesus’ point of view; he rather puts himself under it. This is a strange phenomenon in narratives, where the most authorized voice is usually that of the narrator. Here, a character knows more than the narrator, and his point of view, about himself and also about the other characters, works as normative for the narrator himself, because it is in line with God’s point of view. On the ideological plane, the narrator finally seems to approve Bartimaeus’ behavior ― after Jesus’ statement, he no longer needs to hide. * * * Methodologically, the most helpful contribution of the analysis of point of view is not to be sought in the hypotheses about the text’s effects on the readers, but in the interpretation of the narrative itself. In fact, it has reinforced some conclusions of the plot’s analy- sis, especially that it is Jesus who interprets Bartimaeus’ behavior in terms of faith. In other words, the interrelationship between a plot of resolution and a plot of revelation is better understood when one considers the interplay among the points of view of the narrator, of Bartimaeus, and of Jesus. The peak of the dramatic action, con- sidered as a plot of revelation, coincides with the manifestation of the most authorized point of view on the ideological plane. The analysis of point of view helps to perceive how the narrator de- scribes Bartimaeus’ behavior very closely, but avoids expressing any judgment, so that the whole responsibility of the interpretation falls on Jesus’ final statement. What does the Bartimaeus episode mean in this context? We have already seen the contrast of Bartimaeus with other characters in the section on the way. Now, this contrast can be studied from a new perspective. Bartimaeus is the only character who follows Jesus unconditionally. Jesus is not alone any more, because his point of view has been fully accepted by a character. Therefore, the disciples (and the reader) can establish that Jesus’ requirements are not utopian. If Mark 8:22-26 meant that the disciples’ blindness