Destiny vs. Autonomy
The story is narrated from the perspective of 74-year-old Eileen, as she looks back at her life as a 24-year-old girl in the city of X-Ville. Young Eileen spends most of her time dreaming and hoping for a brighter future away from X-Ville. She feels trapped in the house of her alcoholic, abusive father. At the end of the book, Eileen's hopes become reality and she flees the city, leaving her old life behind. Eileen is ultimately able to steer her life in the direction that she chooses.
Every person has a story
Multiple characters in Eileen have stories that aren't apparent at first. When Rebecca Saint John starts working at Moorehead, Eileen adores her. She has and is everything Eileen hopes for: beauty, wisdom, and grace. From Eileen’s perspective, Rebecca is the perfect woman, but when she starts to dig a little deeper, she finds out that not all is as it seems. The same is true of the new inmate, Leonard, who is convicted for killing his police officer father. He looks and acts like a criminal, but he also has a story to tell.
Independance
Young Eileen lives in an era where women don't have the power to steer their own lives or make their own decisions. Since Eileen isn’t married, her father is thought of as the one who should decide things for her, even though she is a grown woman and can think for herself. The story is therefore a story of strength and independence, and ultimately of ripping of the ties with which society tries to hold women down.
Retrospective Memory
There is often a difference between the viewpoint of 24-year-old Eileen, who is the protagonist of the story, and 74-year-old Eileen, who narrates the story. These differences are visible to the reader because the older woman is narrating and commenting on the actions of the younger.
Control and Violence
The theme of control occurs many places in the story. Alongside this theme exists the theme of violence, as both a tool of control and a response to control. Eileen's home is a place where her abusive father attempts to control her. The juvenile prison is an entity that controls the young people incaracerated there (many of whom are subject to abuse from the guards of the prison). Leonard Polk's murder of his father was a response to the control of his father's sexual abuse. Eileen ultimately wrests control of her life from her circumstances.
