Adolescence and Shame
Though Eleanor Douglas and Park Sheridan, the two teen protagonists of Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor and Park, couldn’t seem more different on the outside, they’re connected deeply on the inside—both Eleanor and Park share a profound sense of loneliness and social isolation. As the two misfits navigate their emotionally and socially fraught sophomore year, they find refuge in one another, and are able to mitigate some of the solitude they feel. Ultimately, though, Rowell suggests…
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Love and Intimacy
Eleanor and Park—like Romeo and Juliet, the play the novel’s titular characters are studying in their sophomore English class—is a story about first love in all its overwhelming, all-consuming glory. As the spiny, self-contained Eleanor Douglas and the starry-eyed Park Sheridan embark on their first real foray into romance, they learn a lot about how to best love and care for one another—and for themselves. Through their journey, Rowell argues that true love…
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Poverty and Class
Eleanor and Park live in the same Omaha neighborhood, but in terms of socioeconomic class, they are a world apart. Eleanor, her mother, and her siblings live in extreme poverty, made worse by her stepfather Richie’s physical, emotional, and financial abuse. Park and his family enjoy a solidly middle-class lifestyle which, when seen through Eleanor’s yearning eyes, seems sparkling and luxurious. As Eleanor and Park navigate their burgeoning romantic relationship, they also each see…
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Family and Abuse
The differences between Eleanor and Park’s respective families aren’t just socioeconomic—while Park comes from a stable home, Eleanor’s family life is in shambles, and she, her mother Sabrina, and her siblings are subjected daily to fear, manipulation, and abuse at the hands of her stepfather Richie. As Eleanor and her family descend deeper into a spiral of abuse, she seeks refuge increasingly often at Park’s house, which becomes a safe haven for…
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