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
On Monday morning, Eleanor contemplates her love some more, ultimately deciding that she can’t explain “fate.” She’s happy she’s found love because it will please Mummy, though she’s concerned that the musician won’t be interested in her because she is less attractive than him. The right side of Eleanor’s face is covered in scar tissue, which frequently causes people to stare at her.
“Fate” is a convenient concept for Eleanor because it is the absence of free will: the presence of fate means that everything that happens to Eleanor is merely accidental, rather than the consequence of her own personal failings. Fate allows good things to happen to Eleanor, such as meeting her soul mate; on the other hand, it allows her to deny ownership of the negative parts of her life, such as her loneliness or the way people make fun of her. The fact that Eleanor’s face is covered in scars further alludes to some kind of trauma in her past—it’s unclear who or what caused this injury, but it was clearly severe enough to permanently disfigure Eleanor.
Themes
Today, Eleanor buys women’s magazines instead of the Telegraph to learn how to dress herself and style her hair to attract the musician. Eleanor knows she needs to improve her appearance because Mummy has always told her that she is an ugly freak.
Eleanor continues to focus on superficial self-improvements because they distract her from thinking about the psychological changes that will actually improve her life. Meanwhile, Mummy’s cruelty toward Eleanor is telling, as it shows that Eleanor has sustained emotional injuries as well as physical. It also potentially gives the reader insight as to why Eleanor isolates herself and assumes the worst of others.
Themes
At home that night, Eleanor looks in the mirror, observing her long, straight brown hair, damaged hands, pale skin, and scarred face. Her nose is too small, and her eyes are too big. She is of average height and weight. Eleanor rarely looks in the mirror because she hates seeing her mother’s features in her face. She can’t tell which are her father’s features, because she’s never met him. When Eleanor was a child, Mummy insinuated that Eleanor was either an accident or the result of a sexual assault. Mummy promises Eleanor that Eleanor’s father was a horrible person.
Eleanor hates seeing Mummy’s features because she views them as a symbol of Mummy’s character traits. Eleanor’s disgust toward her mother’s physical traits mirrors her disgust toward her mother’s abusive personality. One of Eleanor’s greatest fears, then, seems to be that she has inherited her mother’s cruelty. The fact that Mummy decries Eleanor’s absent father as a terrible person is ironic, since Mummy herself blatantly mistreats Eleanor. While Eleanor has been established as an unreliable narrator, it’s clear that the reader can’t trust Mummy’s character judgment either.
Themes
