Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Even before Honeyman introduces the pivotal fire in Eleanor’s childhood, the writer weaves in references to fire throughout the novel. Eleanor repeatedly criticizes Raymond’s smoking habit and hears her Mummy smoking over the phone during one of their phone calls. The Social Services note that escapes the social worker’s file states that “‘Eleanor refuses point-blank to assist with simple household chores, such as lighting the fire or clearing out the ashes’” (54). Figurative references to fire include Eleanor comparing herself to a phoenix and using a similar metaphor for Johnnie Lomond: “He was light and heat. He blazed” (11). These references become more direct as the source of Eleanor’s trauma is revealed. At Johnnie’s concert, dry ice-generated smoke fills the venue and causes Eleanor to cower, run from the venue, and vomit. She has a similar reaction when Raymond tells her that Glen the cat was set on fire. Finally, Eleanor declares that she is a survivor of this traumatic event and references the saying “‘fire tests gold.’ [...] ‘and adversity tests the brave’” (308).