58 pages • 1 hour read
Mira T. LeeEverything Here Is Beautiful
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2018A 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
The Stigmatization of Mental Health Conditions
The ways in which society interacts with mental illness is one of the main themes within the novel. The stigma surrounding mental illness is harmful to the individuals who have mental illnesses, as it encourages others to view them through narrow, stereotypical lenses. Additionally, stigma discourages open conversation surrounding the reality of mental health conditions, which prevents people from learning and gaining empathy through understanding.
Lucia is diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, a mental health condition that manifests with symptoms of both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. As Lucia attempts to live a fulfilling life, her condition is continuously used as a barrier to prevent her from doing what she wants. In some cases, these choices are made for Lucia’s safety, or the safety of those around her; in others, Lucia’s natural independence is judged or stifled and blamed on her condition. Through Lucia’s experience, the author questions the way that society as a whole perceives and treats people with mental illnesses.
Lucia points out the hypocrisy within the healthcare system, which encourages people to assert their identities outside of their illnesses while focusing solely on treatment. While in Crote Six, the psychiatric ward of a New York hospital, Lucia refuses to take her medication. She is distressed upon seeing a violent outburst from a fellow patient, even though he had taken his own medication. While arguing with a nurse named Bob, she tells him that “[s]chizophrenia doesn’t define me. It’s not who I am. We learned that in Group today, didn’t you hear?” (121). Lucia reminds Bob that she is a person who deserves to be perceived as more than her illness, and that her opinion deserves to hold as much weight as anyone else’s. Regardless of the question of whether Lucia should or should not be given medicine against her will, Lucia’s words call attention to the blatant contrast between what patients with mental health conditions are told and the reality of the stigma they encounter.
The novel also notes the vernacular surrounding mental illness. Nipa, a young mother diagnosed with postpartum depression, states, “In all these years, no one’s ever told me I suffered from cancer. I’m a fighter. A survivor, you know” (153). Lucia thinks about how “no condition covered in the DSM-IV is ever followed by the word “survivor” (153), calling attention to the differences between how society discusses physical and mental illnesses. The DSM-IV is a diagnostic and statistical manual covering almost every known mental illness; in suggesting that no condition in the DSM-IV is spoken of with conscious language, Lucia accuses society of inherent bias regarding all people with mental health conditions. In associating the word “suffer” with mental health conditions, people subconsciously form negative associations with mental health conditions, which leads to biased thinking and preemptive judgment. Such language also reduces the individual to their condition. Lucia later states, “I don’t want to suffer. I want to live” (174), reaffirming just how harmful the stigma against mental illness really is to those who experience it.
When Lucia is diagnosed, she learns that she has “a twenty percent chance of maintaining a full-time job, a twenty-five percent chance of living independently, a forty percent chance of attempting suicide, a ten percent chance of succeeding” (171-72), a barrage of disheartening statistics. While it is important for a patient to be fully informed, Lucia is essentially told, from the moment she is diagnosed, that she has very little chance of leading a long, successful, independent life. These statistics also speak to the lack of support within the healthcare system for people with severe mental health conditions. Because of this, the bulk of caregiving often falls on the shoulders of family members, who, like Manny, are not always equipped for this task.
Lee intentionally leaves the circumstances of Lucia’s death ambiguous. In doing so, she asks readers to examine their own personal biases around mental health and people with schizophrenia or other similar conditions. Miranda acknowledges that it would be easy to assume Lucia, with her history of refusing to take her medication, had an “episode” and went out into the storm—however, with no concrete proof, it is impossible to know if this is a correct judgment call based on past behavior or simply an assumption based on stereotypes. Miranda makes a point of choosing to believe Lucia “simply went out looking for something beautiful” (356), consciously rejecting her own biases. Through this, Lee illustrates the importance of considering people with mental health conditions as individuals—doing so can lessen the stigma surrounding mental health, and in turn, allow for broader education and empathy.
Balancing Self-Care and Family Obligations
The balance between self-care and obligations to loved ones is a deeply complex issue, one that many caregivers encounter. The author calls into question just how much of a person’s time and energy should go to caring for their family, particularly when other personal responsibilities are on the line.
Miranda dedicates much of her life to caring for Lucia. Growing up, she acted as a caretaker for Lucia while her mother worked, sacrificing much of her childhood in favor of her sister. Later, when Lucia is diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, Miranda allows Lucia to live with her so that she can monitor her carefully. Miranda, in her effort to fulfill her obligation to her sister, makes many emotional and monetary sacrifices. She flies across the world several times, even developing a physical illness from the stress. Miranda’s willingness to drop everything and rush to Lucia puts a heavy strain on her relationship with her husband, Stefan; he often encourages her to prioritize her own needs, and he feels hurt that Miranda continuously neglects him and his family for Lucia. Miranda, meanwhile, believes Stefan does not understand familial obligation and thinks he does not care about Lucia and her daughter. Only after Lucia’s death is Miranda able to look back and understand that Stefan’s worry stemmed from love for her—that he saw the immense amounts of stress she was under, when she herself was too focused on Lucia to acknowledge it.
Miranda, as a consequence of being forced to help raise her sister, does not know if she wants children. When Stefan asks, Miranda “[does] not know what to say. […] That any maternal instinct [she] possesse[s] [does] not come naturally, though responsibility had been sown in [her] from an early age?” (40). This illustrates how deeply her obligations to Lucia have impacted her. Caring for Lucia for so long has drained Miranda of the desire to care for her own child; even so, Miranda does not know what to do when Lucia does not seem to need her. When Lucia marries Yonah, Miranda feels at a loss for what to do with her life, which had, until then, been defined by her sister. Later, Miranda decides to move to Switzerland with Stefan without consulting Lucia—in this way, Miranda attempts to prioritize herself.
Manny is similarly bound by familial obligation, as he feels immense pressure from his family to marry Lucia. As an undocumented immigrant, Manny has few options to help his sickly younger brother in Ecuador receive the treatment that he needs. After Lucia becomes pregnant, his mother tasks him with marrying her. He describes it as being his “family’s only ticket. Fredy’s ticket. Marriage to an Americana” (59). Manny, however, does not want to marry Lucia. This issue is exacerbated when he discovers Lucia’s condition, as Manny is unprepared to be Lucia’s caregiver. He does not know how to handle the sudden responsibility of Lucia’s care, particularly when he also has a newborn daughter to look out for. As Manny’s obligations pile up and he finds himself further bound to Lucia, his feelings toward her grow even more complicated.
Manny, in frustration and hopelessness, has sexual relationships with several other women while forcing himself to remain with Lucia. He fantasizes about being with Susi, a woman he’d formed a sexual relationship with while in New York. Manny’s family obligations keep him from pursuing happiness with a different partner, so he prioritizes himself through sexual gratification with other women. Eventually, however, Manny decides he wants to prioritize his and Lucia’s daughter, Essy; although this is also a family obligation, Manny chooses to dedicate himself to Essy out of love for her, and he does not feel the same stress that comes with caring for Lucia.
After Lucia’s death, both Manny and Miranda are plagued with immense guilt. They are unable to rid themselves of the thought that they failed their duty and were unable to protect Lucia. However, once they are able to move on from Lucia’s death, they are finally able to pursue their own happiness outside of their obligations: Manny marries a young woman in Ecuador and Miranda works on her marriage with Stefan. As they find closure, they are able to flourish, living happier, more fulfilled lives. Lee does not claim that caregiving or familial obligations are inherently bad or overwhelmingly negative; however, she emphasizes the importance of balancing self-care and responsibility, warning against the dangers of failing to care for one’s own needs in addition to looking out for another.
Perception Versus Reality
The theme of perception and how it differs from reality works in two ways throughout the novel. First, it questions how perception may differ from reality: the truth of a person versus how they seem, for instance, or the way a situation might seem different from multiple angles. Second, it fosters a more empathetic understanding of how individuals with mental illnesses like schizophrenia may perceive the world around them.
Miranda’s perceptions of Yonah shift as she learns more about them and gets to know them better. Miranda initially perceives Yonah as arrogant and ignorant, feeling that he doesn’t understand the extent of Lucia’s mental illness and can’t properly care for her. Miranda’s perception of Yonah gradually shifts when she learns that “Yonah […] lost his arm when he tried to remove a Palestinian boy’s body from the path of an IDF tank” (19). As the two navigate helping Lucia with her treatment, Miranda realizes that Yonah is actually a good person, which leads her to accept him as part of her family.
Miranda also learns that her perception of a situation is not necessarily the reality of it. Miranda believes she is doing everything she can to help Lucia. She feels that ensuring Lucia takes her medication is the best way to help Lucia live a long, happy life. Lucia, however, feels that Miranda only cares about her condition. Despite the advice of others, it takes Miranda a long time to realize that, in her attempts to care for Lucia, she had ultimately driven a wedge between them.
The differences between perception and reality emerge in a literal sense when Lucia talks about her condition. She describes the “serpents” that urge her to act in various ways or tell her impossible things, such as when they claimed she had a baby trapped in her ovaries. Lucia comments that “[b]y the time it became obvious” that she was having an “episode” the first time, “[she’d] […] lost all capacity to distinguish what was real from what was not” (171). This defines much of Lucia’s behavior when she is experiencing a mental health crisis; she becomes convinced of her reality, and she gets agitated, sometimes violent, when that reality is threatened. When Miranda refuses to let Lucia take Essy to Yonah, Lucia lashes out, as she cannot look at the situation from Miranda’s point of view.
Lee uses the theme of perception and reality to examine schizoaffective disorder from a more empathetic angle. This is illustrated in the scene in Chapter 3, where Nurse Bob tries to explain why Lucia is refusing to take her pills. He tells Miranda that to Lucia, the reality is that she does not need medication. He equates it to suddenly finding new people living in your home and being told that you’d never lived there in the first place. When Miranda doubles down, claiming that Lucia “can’t even function” (109), Nurse Bob counters with, “That may be our opinion, but what if she doesn’t see it that way?” (109). Nurse Bob repeatedly urges Miranda to consider the world from Lucia’s perspective, because even though Lucia’s reality clashes with their own, attempting to tear it down will accomplish nothing. In this way, Lee urges empathy and patience when considering other people and their perceptions of the world.
