Ottessa Moshfegh's Character Analysis

Young Eileen thinks that she appears to be invisible which allows her to be unsanitary and unpresentable. Ottessa Moshfegh, the author of Eileen, constantly incorporated many uncomfortable descriptions that describe Eileen’s body features and unhygienic habits. Throughout the novel, there is a parallelism between Eileen’s life and the way she treats herself. Her character, which is built from her poor childhood experience and by cruel parents, correlate to her thoughts on her life, which she puts minimal effort into changing. However, as the story progresses, Eileen does change and find a reason for her to put effort into altering her life. As she becomes acquainted with Rebecca, her first “real” friend, she starts to put effort into cleaning herself and dressing herself up. Initially, there is no meaning in her life because she does not feel the love from anyone. Once she found a purpose she …show more content…
Because Rebecca notices Eileen and initiates a conversation with her, which leaves her a huge impression, she becomes the purpose for Eileen to change and love herself more than she ever does. Before meeting up with Rebecca for a drink, Eileen narrates, “I brushed my hair, which was still wet, put on my new shade of lipstick, pulled on a fresh pair of stolen stockings, then stood perplexed at my mother’s closet full of shoes,” (140). Because she is invited by a person she looks up to, her death mask melts and she shows excitement by cleaning herself and putting effort into making herself look presentable. She treats herself with more care because she finds a purpose to live and a life she looks forward to having. Through Eileen’s dramatic change in behavior, Moshfegh conveys the value of life. Readers notices the parallelism between one’s action and his life, which allows readers to reflect on the various personalities they