The Leavers

by

Lisa Ko

Elaine Hennings Character Analysis

Angel’s adoptive mother, and Jim Hennings’s wife. Elaine is one of Peter and Kay Wilkinson’s best friends. She lives in New York City and is adamant about helping Angel connect to Chinese culture. Despite her worldly posturing, though, Deming finds her phony and annoying when she takes him and the Wilkinsons to a Chinese restaurant she claims is quite good. Deming can tell the food is very bad, but he nevertheless decides to order for the table in Fuzhounese. When he does this, Elaine makes a remark about his fluency in Mandarin, and Deming corrects her, eventually calling her stupid for misidentifying the language.
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Elaine Hennings Character Timeline in The Leavers

The timeline below shows where the character Elaine Hennings appears in The Leavers. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
Cultural Identity and Belonging Theme Icon
Parenthood, Support, and Expectations Theme Icon
...course,” Kay says. This information puts Daniel on edge, as he realizes that Angel—Jim and Elaine Hennings’s adopted Chinese-American daughter—hasn’t gone to Nepal, as she originally planned. Ko doesn’t reveal why... (full context)
Chapter 4
Cultural Identity and Belonging Theme Icon
Racism, Cultural Insensitivity, and Implicit Bias Theme Icon
Parenthood, Support, and Expectations Theme Icon
...we doing with this twelve-year-old Chinese boy? In Ridgeborough?” he hears Kay say. “Jim and Elaine, at least they’re in New York City.” She goes on to explain that Deming told... (full context)
Cultural Identity and Belonging Theme Icon
...Bronx so he can reconnect with Vivian and Michael. When they arrive at Jim and Elaine’s house, they settle in, and Deming meets Angel, who is also of Chinese descent, though... (full context)
Cultural Identity and Belonging Theme Icon
Racism, Cultural Insensitivity, and Implicit Bias Theme Icon
Parenthood, Support, and Expectations Theme Icon
For dinner, Jim and Elaine take everyone to a Chinese restaurant they claim is fantastic, but Deming knows the food... (full context)
Chapter 5
Cultural Identity and Belonging Theme Icon
Parenthood, Support, and Expectations Theme Icon
...telling him about the time she tried to overdose on sleeping pills and Jim and Elaine sent her to a therapist. Remembering these conversations, Daniel takes out his phone and texts... (full context)
Chapter 8
Parenthood, Support, and Expectations Theme Icon
...“I’m sorry about everything.” He then asks her not to tell Kay, Peter, Jim, or Elaine about the $10,000, assuring her that he’s “working on fixing things.” Still angry, she says,... (full context)
Cultural Identity and Belonging Theme Icon
Self-Deception and Rationalization Theme Icon
Parenthood, Support, and Expectations Theme Icon
...and deletes the note, leaving the bar and telling himself he’s going to Jim and Elaine’s apartment to deliver the correct essay to his parents, even though he doesn’t know Jim... (full context)
Chapter 14
Parenthood, Support, and Expectations Theme Icon
...me to stay?” he says, and she shakes her head. “I got an e-mail from Elaine,” she replies. (full context)