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 is finally ready to talk about Marianne with Maria Temple. Eleanor tells Maria that Mummy is “a bad person.” She also expresses a concern that she people can “inherit badness,” and that she might be as bad as Mummy. Maria consoles Eleanor, assuring her that she isn’t her mother—that she’s “a completely separate person.”
Eleanor tells Maria that she’s still talking to Mummy but finally believes it’s time to sever contact with her. Maria thinks this is a good idea. Eleanor tells Maria that the reason she hasn’t cut Mummy out of her life sooner is that Mummy was the only person she had left after the fire and she feared loneliness.
By helping Eleanor recover and unpack memories from her past, Dr. Temple shows Eleanor that she is capable of moving forward with her life and, as a result, Eleanor is finally able to realize the full extent of Mummy’s abuse.
Themes
Eleanor tells Maria that she’s always known something was “very, very wrong” with Mummy, but she kept it bottled up inside, even though “people died.” With difficulty, Eleanor finally tells Maria that Marianne died in the fire Mummy set to kill her two children. They sit in silence, and Eleanor tells Maria that she feels horrible guilt for surviving the fire that killed her little sister. she thinks she should have been able to protect Marianne.
Eleanor had always known that something was “very, very wrong” with Mummy, but she had repressed the full truth. She now remembers Marianne’s death and sees the full picture, which helps her understand the root of her current feelings of shame and guilt.
Themes
Maria tells Eleanor that her guilt is a normal, healthy reaction. It was Mummy who neglected and harmed her children, and Eleanor needs to forgive herself. Eleanor decides it’s finally time to say goodbye to Mummy.
Thus far, Eleanor has taken on the guilt and shame that she should have directed at Mummy. Maria’s reassurance that Mummy is to blame and that Eleanor should forgive herself is likely the first time anyone has expressed such a sentiment to Eleanor.
Themes
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