Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Enduring Impact of Trauma
Shame and the Stigmatization of Pain
Projection and Denial
The Vicious Circle of Isolation and Social Awkwardness
Summary
Analysis
Eleanor starts seeing Maria Temple twice a week and gets used to talking about her childhood, though she still finds it difficult to talk about Marianne. Dr. Temple asks Eleanor to recall her happiest memory of life before the fire. Eleanor pieces together a foggy recollection of a school picnic. The picnic was happy for Eleanor because she and Marianne were both safe.
The picnic was a happy time for Eleanor because she was still under the impression that she could protect Marianne—she could feel love and connection without fearing that it could be taken from her.
Themes
Eleanor remembers school being a safe place for her, because teachers cared and “asked about where you got your cuts and bruises.” After the happy picnic memory, Eleanor recalls, Mummy discovered that a teacher had been curious about her bruises. Mummy homeschooled them after this. Eleanor blames herself for “dragg[ing]” Marianne into this mess.
Eleanor misplaces blame when she takes responsibility for not protecting Marianne from Mummy; in reality, she should blame Mummy for abusing her and her sister. Eleanor will exhibit a similar response to abuse later in life, when she blames herself for Declan’s beatings.
Themes
Dr. Temple observes that Eleanor mentions Marianne a lot in this memory, and Eleanor reveals that Marianne was her sister. Saying this out loud makes the memory real for Eleanor, though she isn’t yet ready to talk about what happened to Marianne. She tells Maria she’ll see her next week as Maria smiles.
The reader finally discovers the identity of the mysterious other person in Eleanor’s memories: her younger sister, Marianne. Telling Dr. Temple that Marianne was her sister fills another gap in Eleanor’s memory.
Themes
Later that day, Eleanor sits on the couch watching an insipid game show with Glen and thinks about how stupid people are. The doorbell rings: it’s Keith, Sammy’s son. Eleanor invites Keith in for tea, and he reveals the reason for his visit. He’d been going through Sammy’s things when he found Sammy’s red sweater, which he offers to Eleanor as a memento. Eleanor is touched and thanks Keith, feeling grateful for the things between them that remain unsaid. After he leaves, she puts on the sweater.
Accepting Sammy’s sweater shows that Eleanor wants to remember him. Although it’s painful to feel his loss, the privilege of remembering his friendship is worth the pain. Eleanor no longer wants to repress the things that hurt her: she wants to feel them as fully as she can.
Themes
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