44 pages • 1 hour read
Graeme SimsionThe Rosie Project
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2013A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Power to Change
In many ways, this novel speaks to the power of the human spirit to generate and create change. Simsion renders a character, Don, who grows profoundly, by means of his own determination and insights, with a little additional help from his friends. At the beginning of the novel, Don studies the behavior of others with great attention and detail. His observations lead him to insights about human nature and behavior, eventually enabling him to apply that observational knowledge to his own life.
The only way that human beings can change is through their ability to be self-aware and use their intellect for self-analysis and reflection. A secondary theme in the novel, related to the power to change is expressed by the notion that people are generally blind when it comes to their own behavior and situations. Early in the novel, Don says, “Humans often fail to see what is close to them and obvious to others” (82).
At the time Don makes that comment, it is ironical, because he is completely oblivious to many of his own violations of social conventions that result in painful situations for him. Later, this statement takes on an additional ironic twist because he cannot see, though it is obvious to his friends and to the reader, that he is developing serious feelings for Rosie. However, through the maturity that comes through his relationships—with Daphne, Gene, Claudia, and Rosie—he is eventually able to gain the self-awareness required for him to change for the better. Don’s increased maturity leads him to develop deeper and more meaningful relationships.
Search for Love
A significant theme in the novel, expressed through the lives of several characters, is the search for love. The Father Project and the Wife Project both originate in a search for love: Rosie searches for a father’s love, while Don searches for a wife’s love. Underlying this search is the idea that it is important to go after what you want, despite great challenges. Simsion implies that the journey toward love is worth the sacrifices made along the way. Through the traditional romantic comedy plot—Boy Meets Girl, Boy Loses Girl, Boy Gets Girl Back Again—Simsion tells the love story of untraditional main characters, reinforcing the universal nature of the human desires for love and connection.
Intellect versus Emotions
Don constantly uses his intellect to conquer and manage his emotions, which threaten to overwhelm him at several points in the novel. Depression hovers over Don at three points in his life: on his 21st birthday when his uncle unsparingly and cruelly reveals how much pain and embarrassment Don has unwittingly caused his family through his odd behavior; when his sister dies; and when Rosie rejects him. At each of these difficult points, Don must choose how to respond. Don chooses to study his emotions like they are problem to be solved, using his intellect to understand and cope with his feelings.
However, working through these crisis points also teaches Don to manage his feelings when he’s not in crisis. Through practice, he gains confidence in his ability to handle himself in social interactions and friendships on a daily basis. Don’s friendship with Daphne is particularly helpful in this way.
It is particularly distressing for him when he realizes that his intellect is in conflict with his feelings, specifically concerning Rosie. Don’s intellect tells him that she is all wrong for him, but his feelings obviously do not agree. Despite his investment in his questionnaire and trust in his scientific methods to find a spouse, his feelings end up choosing instead. Alternately, as Don explains it, his instincts or biology choose for him.
Neither intellect and rationality or emotion and instinct triumph in this novel. Simsion seems to suggest that both intellect and emotion are required for a balanced and happy life.
For example, Don uses the power of his intellect to help him learn to be more connected and emotionally available to—and empathetic with—the people he loves. The improvement of his ability to deal with emotion, and bring it more into balance with his intellectual powers, enables him to have happier and more fulfilling relationships. He even opens up more to his family by the end of the novel: where he once found his mother emotionally “stifling,” by the end of the novel he honors her desire for a closer relationship when he reveals his relationship with Rosie (182). The use of his intellect to understand his feelings actually allows Don to be more emotional and intimate with others.
