Identity In Eleanor Oliphant By Gail Fine

The most valuable thing any person can possess is their identity. The reason being is quite simple: your identity is completely unique, and nobody can take it away from you. However, this uniqueness proves to be difficult when trying to pinpoint how an individual's identity was formed to begin with. Gail Honeyman’s Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is a novel that delves heavily into themes of identity and self discovery. The novel follows a young woman named Eleanor, as she deals with her social incapability and suppressed past all while trying to find purpose in her seemingly mundane life. Through the character of Eleanor, Honeyman is able to project the notion that personal experiences, social connections, and self acceptance are the

People are not born with any sort of personality or distinguishing traits beyond physical ones, which means a majority of identity growth is done through childhood experiences as the person grows up. This can be seen through Eleanor, as her identity was almost entirely molded by her traumatic childhood. During the novel, Eleanor explains why she isn't good at exaggerating in social situations, saying that “After what had happened in that burning house, given what went on there, I could see no point in being anything other than truthful with the world.” (Honeyman, 198). Her inability to say anything but the truth is a core part of her identity, and it stems from the trauma she experienced as a child. And while Eleanor claims to feel indifferent about this, it truly does end up hurting her in the long run, as it becomes harder for her to make social connections. Ultimately, Honeyman is able to cleverly express how personal experiences are a major player in the shaping of someone's identity, through the use of Eleanors traumatic

Self acceptance is crucial not only to keeping a healthy mental state, but also to ensure your identity is fresh and different. People who can't come to terms with who they are often live sad and regretful lives, such as Eleanor. Eleanor often feels as if she is not good enough, namely when she got all dressed up to impress Johnnie Lomond, because she thought that going as herself wouldn't be good enough. Eventually she realized how foolish she had been, as she expresses: “The shame. I had stood right at the front, ridiculously trussed up in new clothes, clownish makeup, tottering on heels.” (Honeyman, 220). Eleanor’s lack of self acceptance ultimately led to her despair, as she looks back and realizes that pretending to be somebody she wasn't did nothing but add to the hurt. By taking on the identity of someone else rather than her own, Eleanor only further expanded the emptiness she felt inside, as she threw out the feelings that made her identity. Thus, self acceptance, along with personal experience and social connections, are the core factors that determine a person's