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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/39723
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/39723
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

There are many ways you can tackle this question. Some considerations would be how close your narration is to the MC, how the MC thinks of themselves, and how you want the reader to think of her. Let me give you some examples of how different authors treated the question, and you can see which approach fits your story best.

- One famous example of the MC changing names and identities is _Les Misérables_. The narration leaves Jean Valjean in Digne. Some time later, we are introduced to Monsieur Madeleine, the mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer. I don't know if readers in Hugo's time knew in advance that Monsieur Madeleine was Jean Valjean, or if they had to figure it out. Modern readers certainly do know in advance. Hugo keeps on calling Valjean 'Madeleine', and leave it to the audience to figure it out, right until Valjean's identity is officially revealed. The effect produced is quite interesting: even knowing who Madeleine is, we are allowed to see him from outside, as it were - experience how he is seen at this point of the story by the people around him. It is through this tool that we learn how much he has changed. Even to himself, he is no longer Jean Valjean - it is the name of his past self, of himself-the-criminal; he is no longer that man. But of course his past identity catches up with him, and he must carry it.

- In Diana Wynne Jones's book _Dogsbody_, Sirius (the star) is transformed into a dog, and his new human owners call him Leo. The narration alternates between 'Sirius' and 'Leo', depending on the focus of each scene.

- In David Eddings's _Belgariad_, the main character Garion earns the prefix 'Bel-', signifying he is a sorcerer. Other characters start calling him 'Belgarion', but he calls himself 'Garion', and so does the narration. The narration is close to the MC, so it follows the way he thinks of himself, and he thinks of himself humbly - he's not used to the whole 'sorcerer' thing yet.

- In Terry Pratchett's _Reaper Man_, Death gets fired, and for a while finds a new identity as Bill Door. The narration switches to calling him Bill Door the moment he gets the new name:

Personally, I feel that changing the MC's name in the narration many times might be a bit confusing to the reader. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't do it, if you think this is what suits your story best. It does mean you should maybe give some extra thought to how to keep the reader not confused.

Original score: 15