Eleanor and Park: Chapter 37 Summary & Analysis

Eleanor, too, is beginning to feel like she never gets any alone time with Park. She has considered sneaking out to meet him, but knows her mother would find out—Sabrina has already discovered the makeup products Mindy gave Eleanor, and Eleanor has had to lie and say they came from Tina. Eleanor, however, isn’t the one who’s been wearing makeup lately—it’s Park who has been showing up to school in eyeliner. Eleanor thinks the makeup makes Park look even cooler and cuter—like himself “with the volume turned way up”—and DeNice and Beebi agree.

The narrative switches to Park’s point of view. Lately, he has been scheming of ways to make his rare alone time with Eleanor last longer, but is hopeless when he thinks of how they can secure more of it—Park knows that with his father giving him the silent treatment lately, he won’t be getting his driver’s license anytime soon. Eleanor has tried to talk to Park about the tension with his dad, but Park is reluctant to discuss their relationship, insisting that his dad only loves him “because he has to.”

The narrative switches to Eleanor’s point of view. Though she was initially embarrassed by Mindy’s makeover and beauty tips, she has actually been using the products and information Mindy gave her—using conditioner, sleeping on a satin pillowcase, and allowing Mindy to try out new Avon products on her when she’s over at the Sheridans’ house. One evening, as Mindy applies eyeshadow to Eleanor’s lids, she says she wishes she’d had a daughter; Eleanor secretly thinks how badly she wishes she’d been born into “a family like this.”