The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett

Content Warning: This section contains discussions of suicide, mental illness, and bullying.

Eudora Honeysett, the protagonist of the novel, is a dynamic character who drastically changes her perspective over the course of the novel. The past—in particular, her troubled relationships with her mother, Beatrice, and sister, Stella—has heavily influenced her emotional status at the beginning of the novel, when she feels lonely and unloved. Her isolation is partly self-imposed, as she has a dim view of other people: “Everyone is selfish and caught up with themselves these days. They have no time to notice her or others like her” (22). Her standoffishness causes others to respond in kind, contributing to her self-fulfilling prophecy that she will be alone forever. Her unhappiness is so extreme that she seeks assisted suicide as a “solution,” though she insists that she simply wants to exercise control over her death.

Eudora’s transformation over the course of the novel is profound and centers on Reconciling with the Past and Embracing Second Chances. Her neighbors, Rose and Stanley, are the catalyst for her change from a grumpy woman ready to leave the world forever to a content, emotionally involved pseudo-grandmother and friend. The change is gradual, but as Eudora begins to enjoy Rose and Stanley’s presence despite herself, she allows herself to be known and appreciated by her new friends, which in turn encourages her to come further out of her shell. She even overcomes her personal preferences to do activities for the good of others. After initially rejecting the idea of going to any group activities, she embraces them to cheer Stanley: “Eudora had decided that they presented a perfect opportunity to get Stanley out of the house” (192). Her attempts are successful: By the end of the novel, Stanley is doing much better, demonstrating that despite what she might believe, Eudora can still impact people’s lives for the better.

Eudora excels at standing up to bullies, often using her age as a weapon against the person who is causing trouble for one of her friends. Her behavior when confronting people like Jada contrasts sharply with her past interactions with Beatrice and Stella. Stella bullied Eudora throughout their childhood, even going so far as to steal her fiancé, but Eudora largely submitted to her mother’s and sister’s demands. Tellingly, Eudora seeks to change bullies like Jada for the better rather than simply to frighten them into better behavior. Eudora has learned not simply to stand up for herself but also to recognize The Importance of Kindness, which transforms the lives not only of those who receive it but also of those who show it.