25 pages • 50 minutes read
Éric-Emmanuel SchmittOscar and the Lady in Pink
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2002A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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The Power of Influence
Characters constantly influence one another directly and indirectly throughout the story. Oscar starts as someone heavily influenced by the negative moods and lack of faith of those around him, but he develops into someone who positively influences others. His parents don’t believe in God, so Oscar’s faith journey is guided by Granny Rose instead. This journey guides Oscar in helping others come to accept his death. He understands that Dr. Dusseldorf feels guilty and sad around him, and he also recognizes that “what the doctor thinks is contagious” (3) because none of the adults at the hospital can look him in the eye happily anymore. When Oscar finally tells Dr. Dusseldorf not to feel so much responsibility for the situation, the tension between them eases.
Oscar has a similar effect on Granny Rose. Throughout most of the story, it appears that Granny Rose is the one influencing Oscar. She encourages him to write to God, takes him to visit the hospital chapel, and guides him in building and repairing his personal relationships. At the end of the story, it’s Oscar who has positively influenced Granny Rose because their relationship brings her closer to God.
Granny Rose’s Wrestling Anecdotes
Although Granny Rose’s wrestling stories turn out to be fictional, they serve the purpose of cheering up Oscar and offering a different perspective to each difficult situation he faces. Her wrestling stories correlate with whatever challenge or difficult question Oscar is facing at the moment.
One of Granny Rose’s early wrestling stories, shared when Oscar is trying to articulate the changes and tension around him, wraps up with a simple message: “There’s always a solution, Oscar” (21). Granny Rose packages her simple message in an entertaining story about defeating an oily opponent using flour, capturing Oscar’s attention and guiding him towards considering his situation from another perspective.
The story of Plum Pudding—Granny Rose’s wrestling opponent whose attempts to avoid death prevent her from enjoying life—shows Oscar that nobody can avoid death forever, and that obsessing over it can ruin a person’s life.
These wrestling stories distract Oscar—and the reader—from the immediate issue of his death and lighten the mood with outrageous comedic details. They also offer Oscar the chance to reconsider his predicaments and extend the imagery of someone fighting—in this case, literally wrestling—against cancer.
Nicknames
Oscar refers to himself and others at the hospital with nicknames, with the exception of minor adult characters such as Dr. Dusseldorf and his parents. The nicknames reduce characters to their symptoms and appearances, demonstrating a satirical acceptance of their conditions.
Oscar is nicknamed Egghead for his baldness. Although he is self-deprecating about his appearance, Oscar doesn’t complain about the cause of his baldness. Instead, he accepts his appearance and makes fun of himself for it, allowing him to fit in with the other ill children in the hospital.
Peggy Blue earns her nickname for the blue tone to her skin, which Oscar adores. Oscar admires Peggy when she’s still Peggy Blue and considers her beautiful because of her illness rather than in spite of it.
Einstein’s nickname is not a badge of intelligence but rather a joke at his large head, Popcorn is obese, and Bacon’s nickname comes from the severe burns covering his body. None of the children take offense to their nicknames; they refer to one another’s illnesses and symptoms with casual acceptance.
Granny Rose gets her nickname from being an old woman who wears pink, but she reveals in her letter to God that Oscar is the only person to call her this. It raises the question of whether Oscar was the influence behind everyone’s nicknames from the beginning, a question left unanswered at the end of the story.
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By Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt
