Point of View

Gail Honeyman narrates Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine using Eleanor’s first person point of view. This perspective is significant because Eleanor proves herself to be an unreliable narrator by the end of the novel. At times, Eleanor is dishonest with those around her and has a more blunt commentary in her own narration that she does not say out loud. Often, though, Eleanor illustrates her unfamiliarity with social conventions and will say whatever is on her mind frankly. Then, she uses the overly polite manners that Mummy taught her even if the conversation she is having does not warrant it and the presence of such etiquette is socially inappropriate. The most notable aspect of Eleanor’s perspective surfaces when she is dishonest with herself, therefore distorting the truthfulness of the information that she relays to the reader.

The most prominent example of Eleanor’s...