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 isn’t surprised that Raymond doesn’t own a car, as he already seems somewhat “adolescent” to her, with his bumbling personality, doughy physique, and childish graphic T-shirts. Their bus arrives, and Eleanor and Raymond ride 20 minutes to a neighborhood of identical, square, white homes. The streets are named after poets, and Eleanor remarks that “based on past experience,” she’d likely live on “Dante Lane or Poe Crescent.” Raymond’s mother’s house lies beyond these pristine, new-looking homes, in social housing.
There’s a sharp divide between the benefit of the doubt that Eleanor gives the musician, whom she doesn’t know, and the lack of understanding she extends to Raymond, who is actually in her life. This asymmetry reflects how invested Eleanor is in her fantasies compared to her relative disengagement with the world. Eleanor’s comment that she’d likely live on “Dante Lane or Poe Crescent” hints at her traumatic past—“Dante” evokes Dante’s Inferno, the hellish subject matter of which evokes fire, and “Poe”(Edgar Allen Poe) evokes Gothic literature, which deals with the sinister and the macabre. These associations support the idea that Eleanor’s traumatic past is centered around a sinister fire.
Themes
Raymond walks inside without knocking. The house is very clean. Raymond introduces Eleanor to his mother, who appears genuinely pleased to meet a new person. He leaves to prepare tea for the three of them, and Mrs. Gibbons asks Eleanor about her work and where she’s from. Mrs. Gibbons notes Eleanor’s lack of an accent, and Eleanor explains that she lived “down south” before moving to Scotland when she was 10.
Eleanor observes the extreme tidiness and the joy with which Mrs. Gibbons responds to having a new person in her house, and she seems to sense that the old woman is lonely. Mrs. Gibbons likely cleans because she doesn’t have much else to occupy her time, and she is excited to have visitors because she is so often alone.
Themes
Raymond returns with biscuits, and he and his mother engage in light conversation. Eleanor spots a photograph next to the clock of a man holding a flute of champagne, and Mrs. Gibbons tells her that the man in the photo is Raymond’s father, who died of a heart attack shortly after Raymond started college. At least he got to see Denise get married, though, Mrs. Gibbons says. Raymond explains to Eleanor that Denise is his sister, and Mrs. Gibbons chides Raymond for forgetting to mention her to Eleanor. Eleanor can’t imagine forgetting a sibling, as she doesn’t have one.
This is the second time Eleanor has overtly claimed that she doesn’t have a sibling. Given her tendency to repress the past and her unreliable narration, the reader should start to wonder whether Eleanor is telling the truth: perhaps she does—or did—have a sibling who, for unknown reasons, she feels compelled to forget.
Themes
Mrs. Gibbons insists that Eleanor stay longer. Eleanor accepts her invitation and stays for dinner. Mrs. Gibbons and Raymond tease each other affectionately during the meal. Raymond and Eleanor clean up afterward to help Mrs. Gibbons, who has debilitating arthritis. Mrs. Gibbons asks Eleanor if she’s dating, and she says no, though she’s interested in someone, causing Raymond to drop the ladle he’s been washing. Mrs. Gibbons asks about Eleanor’s family, and she reveals that she has no siblings, nor is she close with her mother. Eleanor starts to cry. Mrs. Gibbons feels horrible.
Eleanor’s emotional response to Mrs. Gibbons’s seemingly harmless question about family and siblings suggests that Eleanor is withholding significant information about her family life, and her childhood more generally. It also seems important that Mrs. Gibbons’s specific mention of siblings makes Eleanor upset. Meanwhile, Raymond drops the ladle because he thinks that he is the person to whom Eleanor is referring.
Themes
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Eleanor apologizes for reacting so strongly. She explains that she never knew her father and that Mummy lives in an “inaccessible” place. Mrs. Gibbons tells Eleanor that everyone needs their mother. Eleanor disagrees but doesn’t explain her reasoning. Sensing some tension, Raymond suggests Eleanor give him a hand with some other chores around the house. As Eleanor brings in laundry that had been drying on the line outside, she reflects on how different Raymond’s life is from her own. Raymond’s mother, for example, is kind, caring, and normal. Eleanor realizes it’s already after eight p.m. and tells Raymond she must leave. He offers to catch a bus with her if she’ll stay an hour longer, but she declines.
Eleanor’s comment that Mummy is in an “inaccessible” place supports her earlier insinuation that Mummy is in prison; still, given Eleanor’s propensity to conceal the truth, it should strike the reader as odd that Eleanor uses such vague language to describe Mummy’s whereabouts, suggesting that there’s more to know about what makes Mummy’s whereabouts so “inaccessible.” Eleanor sees Mrs. Gibbons’s kindness as a definitive difference between her life and Raymond’s, which speaks to how heavily Mummy’s cruelty affects Eleanor’s life.
Themes
Eleanor walks downstairs and says goodbye to Mrs. Gibbons, who thanks her for her company and tells her to come back anytime. This pleases Eleanor immensely, and she leans forward and brushes the old woman’s cheek against her own. Eleanor catches the bus. She’s exhausted by the day but happy about meeting new people and having new adventures, both of which have made her more prepared to approach the musician.
Eleanor’s inability to kiss Mrs. Gibbons on the cheek—despite wanting to—suggests that there is something psychological that prevents her from being affectionate with others, perhaps stemming from her traumatic childhood. Still, Eleanor shows that she wants to be friendly and loving despite whatever psychological baggage prevents her from being more overtly affectionate. The way Eleanor frames her happy afternoon with Raymond speaks to how out of touch with reality she is: Eleanor can’t see the real possibilities for relationships right in front of her and can only focus on the hypothetical, unattainable ideal that the musician represents.
Themes
