The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2021

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Download PDF

Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapters 1-11

Part 1, Chapters 12-28

Part 2, Chapters 29-38

Part 2, Chapters 39-51

Part 3, Chapters 52-66

Part 3, Chapters 67-75

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Book Club Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Lenni and Margot’s Paintings

The 100 paintings that Lenni and Margot create to celebrate their collective years of life are a motif that develops the theme of The Importance of Sharing Stories. The act of storytelling is integral to the two protagonists’ friendship. Lenni and Margot have very different lives, but they understand one another deeply because they spend most of their time together creating art and sharing the memories that the paintings depict. Many of these memories are painful. For example, to commemorate the day she received her terminal diagnosis, Lenni paints “a row of cars, small and like dots. Red, silver, blue, white” (152), and Margot paints the beach where Johnny told her he was leaving. Sharing these difficult memories with a dear friend brings Lenni and Margot comfort and hope. In addition, the “deliciously real” (164) paintings help Lenni gain the sense of permanence she desperately wants. Lenni and Margot’s paintings and stories draw others to them as well. As the novel progresses, Pippa and her art students help Lenni and Margot reach their goal. After Lenni is placed on bedrest and can no longer come to the Rose Room, Margot sketches the remaining pieces, and their friends in the art class “split into teams to take on each painting” (295). This shows that the other members of the art class see the importance of Lenni and Margot’s experiences and become part of their story as well. Near the novel’s end, Pippa finds a gallery to exhibit Lenni and Margot’s 100 paintings, allowing their stories to live on and touch others’ lives. The paintings guide the plot and ultimately ensure that the protagonists’ stories will live on even after their lives are over.

Lenni’s Diary

Like the paintings she creates with Margot, Lenni‘s diary is a motif that supports and develops the theme of The Importance of Sharing Stories. Lenni wrote her life story down in a notebook even before she met her octogenarian friend, and she records Margot’s memories as well as her own after they set their goal of creating 100 paintings. Lenni considers her art skills inferior to Margot’s, and she decides to write down their stories in her diary so that the meaning and memories behind the art are preserved. Additionally, Lenni’s diary plays an important role in the resolution as it contains Lenni and Margot’s farewells to one another. Likewise, Margot’s goodbye letter to Lenni allows Margot to thank her friend for changing her life and to remain in control of her own narrative even as a potentially deadly surgery approaches. In Lenni’s last diary entry, she uses her imagination to revisit the metaphor of the airport terminal. This time, she likens death to an airplane that she no longer finds frightening, revealing that she conquered her fear of mortality. Lenni’s diary thus plays a vital role in the novel’s resolution.

The Number 100

The number 100 occupied Lenni’s thoughts from a young age. The Swedish birthday song ends with the words, “Of course she will live for a hundred years!” (62). Thus, the number 100 symbolizes completeness and a long, fulfilling life. Once Lenni was old enough to understand the birthday song’s meaning, it instilled in her a fear of mortality and a feeling that death would make her a failure. Combining her and Margot’s ages allows Lenni to symbolically reach the age of 100 and gives the novel its title. The epiphany about their ages, in turn, inspires Lenni to create 100 paintings with Margot that represent their 100 years of lived experience. The 100th birthday party represents the culmination of Lenni and Margot’s goal and celebrates the number’s significance. The author’s use of number symbolism illustrates that even though Lenni dies at 17, she lives a full, fulfilling life.

Stars

As literal lights shining through the darkness of night, stars represent finding joy amid difficulty. The first paintings Lenni and Margot create together depict stars, which is fitting because their friendship brings them great happiness amid the experience of living with terminal conditions. As Margot observes in her farewell letter to Lenni, her young friend makes “dying much more fun than it should be” (322). Stars feature prominently in Margot’s memories too. Meena took the last name Star and helped Margot find joy and love after she lost Davey and Johnny. After Margot’s time in London with Meena ended in heartbreak, Humphrey the astronomer showed her how to find happiness again. Humphrey and Margot first met when he was stargazing in the middle of the road. He literally and figuratively helped Margot recognize and appreciate the light in the darkness. Years later, Margot lovingly remembers Humphrey as “that funny, starry man who took [the] pieces of a life and helped [her] make a whole one” (312). The last time Lenni leaves the hospital, Margot takes her stargazing. This scene adds another layer of meaning to the symbol when the 83-year-old tells Lenni that the clearest stars are already dead. This brings Lenni hope and comfort because she longs for a permanence beyond death. Likewise, the Sarah Williams poem “The Old Astronomer to His Pupil” contributes to the symbol’s significance. The poem’s final line is “I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night” (227). These words apply to both protagonists: Lenni and Margot find such joy and light in their lives that they can ultimately face death without fear. As symbols of joy amid difficulty, stars weave together the protagonists’ past and present and contribute to their character development.