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Animals symbolize the antithesis of social norms and expectations—areas in which Eleanor feels unnatural and incompetent. Animals are a recurring presence in Eleanor’s offkey thoughts and observations. When Eleanor evokes animals in these types of thoughts, she establishes a divide between the mannerly realm of social norms and her own, unique way of thinking about the world. For example, as she and Raymond walk from the crematorium to the hotel for Sammy’s funeral reception, Eleanor thinks to herself that she’d rather be fed to zoo animals than cremated when she dies. This odd, situationally inappropriate aside is characteristic of Eleanor and her offbeat sense of humor. Here, the presence of animals emphasizes Eleanor’s oddness, but it also directs the reader’s attention to a moment where Eleanor embraces her eccentric personality. Eleanor’s trauma and mental suffering repeatedly obliterate her self-confidence and sense of identity. When she mentions or compares herself to animals, it seems to be a way for her to indirectly assert her strength or presence. For example, Eleanor looks in the mirror, examining her scar, and compares herself to a phoenix, “emerged from the flames.” Usually, Eleanor associates her survival with guilt; in this case, however, she associates survival with the positive possibility of her rebirth.
Animals Quotes in Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
The Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine quotes below all refer to the symbol of Animals . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Good Days: Chapter 2
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Should I make myself over from the inside out, or work from the outside in? […] Eventually, I decided to start from the outside and work my way in—that’s what often happens in nature, after all. The shedding of skin, rebirth. Animal, birds and insects can provide such useful insights.
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Good Days: Chapter 8
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Even the circus freak side of my face—my damaged half—was better than the alternative, which would have meant death by fire. I didn’t burn to ashes. I emerged from the flames like a little phoenix. I ran my fingers over the scar tissue, caressing the contours. I didn’t burn, Mummy, I thought. I walked through the fire and I lived. There are scars on my heart, just as thick, as disfiguring as those on my face. I know they’re there. I hope some undamaged tissue remains, a patch through which love can come in and flow out. I hope.
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Bad Days: Chapter 34
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It isn’t annoying, her need—it isn’t a burden. It’s a privilege. I’m responsible. I chose to put myself in a situation where I’m responsible. Wanting to look after her, a small, dependent, vulnerable creature, is innate, and I don’t even have to think about it.
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Bad Days: Chapter 40
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“Good- bye, Mummy,” I said. The last word. My voice was firm, measured, certain. I wasn’t sad. I was sure. And, underneath it all, like an embryo forming—tiny, so tiny, barely a cluster of cells, the heartbeat as small as the head of a pin, there I was. Eleanor Oliphant. And, just like that, Mummy was gone.
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Animals Symbol Timeline in Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
The timeline below shows where the symbol Animals appears in Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Good Days: Chapter 2
Eleanor often turns to nature and animals to provide insight into life. Thinking about how some animals shed their skin in an...
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Good Days: Chapter 8
...to be upset about, as the alternative would’ve been death. Eleanor compares herself to a phoenix rising out of the ashes. She touches her scars and thinks: “I didn’t burn, Mummy...
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Good Days: Chapter 12
...have to do with painting nails, but she decides to find out and resume her “animal grooming regime.” Her new social events have distracted her somewhat, and she resolves to return...
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Good Days: Chapter 13
...of an Emily Dickinson verse written in a card that features a drawing of a hare.
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...tells the makeup artist that the look is charming and makes her look like a racoon. Eleanor leaves the store and heads to The Cuttings.
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Good Days: Chapter 23
...Raymond make their way over, she thinks to herself that she’d rather be fed to animals than burned when she dies. She wonders if it’s possible to make such an arrangement.
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Bad Days: Chapter 31
...With some difficulty, Eleanor says there was someone, with “pale brown eyes.” She remembers a dog, though she never had one.
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Bad Days: Chapter 32
...plastic bag in the other. Raymond opens the carboard box to reveal a fat black cat with green eyes and covered in bald patches. Eleanor picks up the cat and buries...
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Glen is lying next to Eleanor when she wakes up the next day, and the cat continues to follow her around throughout the house. Eleanor runs out and buys more supplies...
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Bad Days: Chapter 39
...buildings and weeds in the gutters. As she approaches the bus stop, she sees a fox drinking from a discarded coffee cup, which makes her laugh.
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Better Days: Chapter 41
...Eleanor tells Raymond that she’s fine, and she finally means it. A woman with a dog jog past their table, and Eleanor remembers that Marianne loved dogs.
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