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
When Eleanor arrives at the hospital, Raymond is standing outside, smoking cigarettes with a woman in a wheelchair hooked up to an IV drip. Eleanor notes the irony of the woman smoking and thus ruining the health that tax payers’ money had been allotted to restore. Raymond tries to hug Eleanor, but she steps away from him because she doesn’t want to smell his smoky clothing. Raymond and Eleanor go inside to visit with Sammy in his ward.
Eleanor’s aversion to all things fire-related outweighs her innate desire for intimacy and human connection, which metaphorically suggests that Eleanor’s past holds her back and represses her ability to form new friendships.
Themes
When they arrive at Ward 7, Sammy is sitting up in bed reading the Sunday Post. He glares at them before pausing to insert his hearing aid. Raymond introduces himself, and Eleanor and tells him they were the ones who called the ambulance for him; Sammy’s demeanor softens instantly. He smiles, thanks them for saving his life, and insists that they meet his family, mistakenly believing that Eleanor and Raymond are a couple. Eleanor clarifies matter-of-factly that it was not they, but the Ambulance Service and hospital staff, that saved Sammy’s life. She then sternly informs him that she and Raymond are only coworkers, and an awkward silence follows.
Eleanor demonstrates her difficulty picking up on social cues with her blunt responses to Sammy. Still, the reader starts to see how the more Eleanor engages—albeit somewhat clumsily—in new social situations, the more opportunities she gains to socialize and learn how to communicate and become close to people.
Themes
Raymond engages Sammy in small talk, and Eleanor struggles to offer anything but blunt, literal answers when she tries to participate. Raymond asks Sammy where he’s from, while Eleanor asks him how long he’ll be in the hospital, as his chances of contracting an infection go up exponentially the longer he stays. Despite her social awkwardness, Eleanor feels good to be helping someone.
Eleanor continues to be her awkward, socially unpolished self—but the fact that she feels good about helping Sammy shows that she is growing more comfortable with unfamiliar people and becoming more open to accepting new people into her life.
Themes
Sammy tells them that his family has things covered: he’s a widower, but he has a two sons, Keith and Gary, and a daughter, Laura, who will help him. Laura is twice-divorced, Sammy explains, and just can’t seem to find the right man. Thinking about the musician, Eleanor tells Sammy that Laura shouldn’t worry, as in her experience, the right man appears when you are least expecting him. Eleanor’s comment catches Raymond off-guard, and he makes a weird noise.
The man Eleanor is talking about is the musician, but Raymond has no way of knowing this and thinks Eleanor is talking about him. Beyond making Raymond uncomfortable, Eleanor’s comment shows how delusional she is: she’s so convinced that the musician (a complete stranger) is her soul mate that she’s willing to insinuate she’s is in a relationship with him.
Themes
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Eleanor and Raymond make plans to visit Sammy later in the week, and Sammy tells them that he considers them family after their act of kindness. As they prepare to leave, Sammy takes Eleanor’s hands in his and thanks her, and Eleanor cherishes this brief moment of human contact. She and Raymond leave the ward, and Sammy waves goodbye.
Eleanor might insist that she’s fine being alone, but her positive response to Sammy’s touch shows that she wants and needs meaningful human contact in her life.
Themes
Outside, Raymond tells Eleanor he’s going to his mum’s house and invites her to come along. Eleanor considers what effect Raymond’s invitation will have on her schedule. She figures she’ll still have time to pick up vodka afterward, so she agrees to tag along. Raymond tells her they’ll have to take the bus.
The more time Eleanor spends around others, the easier and less awkward it is for her to socialize. Eleanor’s positive experience with Sammy gives her the encouragement she needs to feel confident accompanying Raymond to his mother’s house, thereby allowing her to take on a second opportunity for socialization.
Themes
