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
It’s finally Friday. Eleanor’s coworkers are socializing, but Eleanor hasn’t tried to initiate conversation with any of them in quite some time. She hasn’t slept well since her phone call with Mummy. Eleanor hears giggling as she walks past the others to make a cup of tea. Billy teases Eleanor about the white gloves she’s wearing, and Eleanor bluntly tells him that they are for her eczema, which makes everyone feel uncomfortable.
Mummy’s phone calls—the only socialization Eleanor regularly engages in—make Eleanor feel insecure. Her insecurity causes her to isolate herself, which makes it difficult to initiate social interactions with others. Again, Honeyman reinforces how Eleanor’s insecurity leads to her social isolation, how isolation perpetuates her loneliness, and how loneliness reinforces her insecurities—Eleanor’s social awkwardness is part of a vicious cycle. Billy’s choice to make fun of Eleanor because of the gloves she wears for her eczema shows that people can be socially ostracized for elements that are beyond their ability to control. In this case, Eleanor’s eczema—a medical condition that can give the skin a red, inflamed appearance—exacerbates her inability to connect to her coworkers.
Themes
Eleanor mentions the concert to Billy to try to learn more about the musician. Bernadette chimes in that her brother knows the singer, Johnnie Lomond, from school. To Eleanor’s immense delight, Bernadette also reveals that Johnnie is single.
Eleanor’s rare attempt at workplace socialization isn’t motivated by a longing to connect with others, but by her delusional “project” of pursuing the musician. Additionally, Mummy’s support of Eleanor’s “project” seems to fuel the zeal with which Eleanor pursues it, which suggests that Mummy’s approval is a significant factor in whether Eleanor socializes, and with whom.
Themes
The office collects money to present to Janey, the secretary, as an engagement gift. Eleanor contributes very little to the gift fund, as she hardly knows Janey and rarely gets anything in return for contributions like these. Eleanor scoffs inwardly about the formality of engagements and wedding registries. She remembers going to Loretta’s reception and finding the event boring and the food and drink unremarkable.
Eleanor’s stingy contribution to the engagement gift fund reflects her ignorance and rejection of social niceties. Her remarks on engagement presents and wedding receptions are meant to be funny: as strange and blunt as Eleanor can be, her observations are honest and likely relatable to the reader. Honeyman makes Eleanor relatable to encourage the reader not to pass judgment on people who are stereotypically quirky or awkward—one might have more in common with these seemingly odd people than one initially thinks.
Themes
After the office gives Janey her gift, Eleanor leaves work. Although she tries her best to avoid talking to anyone on her way out, she runs into Raymond in the elevator and they exit the office building together. With horror, Eleanor realizes that they are heading the same direction. Raymond lights a cigarette, which Eleanor finds repulsive. She tells him so.
Eleanor’s disgusted response to Raymond’s cigarette smoke goes beyond what one would consider to be a normal disapproval of smoking. This implies that her dislike of smoking could be rooted in a traumatic event related to smoking, or to fire more generally.
Themes
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Eleanor lies about needing to go to a doctor’s appointment to cut her walk with Raymond short, as she needs to back to her apartment for a meeting with a social worker. As they wait to cross the street, they see an old, overweight man wearing a red sweater and carrying shopping bags wobble, shake, and fall to the ground. Eleanor makes a crass remark about the man being a drunk, which disgusts Raymond, who insists that they should help the man. Eleanor and Raymond approach the man, who is now unconscious. Eleanor doesn’t smell alcohol on the man’s breath and she realizes that he isn’t actually drunk.
Eleanor frequently says whatever is on her mind because she doesn’t consider how her thoughts will affect others. In this instance, Raymond finds her remark about the old man being a drunk rude and insensitive. However, this incident shows that once Eleanor starts reaching out to others, she becomes better able to understand them. Eleanor’s cruel remark about the old man is hypocritical because she herself has a drinking problem, and her disgust with him might be seen as a projection of her disgust toward herself. Lastly, Eleanor’s cruel, judgmental attitude mirrors Mummy’s treatment of Eleanor, illustrating the “unbreakable” bond that Mummy spoke about on the phone earlier: Eleanor demonstrates how connected she is to Mummy when she unwittingly embodies Mummy’s cruelty toward others.
Themes
Raymond calls for an ambulance and tells Eleanor to talk to the man. Eleanor realizes that she is genuinely concerned for the man, which surprises her because she rarely feels sympathy for others. The ambulance arrives, and Raymond decides to accompany the man to the hospital. He gives Eleanor his phone number so that she can drop by after her doctor’s appointment to bring the man his shopping bags.
Eleanor’s concern for the man shows that she is capable of kindness and understanding, despite supposedly rarely feeling sympathy toward others and insisting that she is “fine” being alone. Eleanor seems committed to regarding herself as a loner despite clearly caring about others, which raises the question of whether something happened to her in the past that caused her to cut herself off. Given Eleanor’s status as an unreliable narrator, it’s plausible that she is hiding something beneath her façade of self-sufficiency.
Themes
