Deenie

“My mother named me Deenie because right before I was born she saw a movie about a beautiful girl named Wilmadeene, who everybody called Deenie for short. Ma says the first time she held me she knew right away that if she named me Deenie I would turn out the same way—beautiful, that is. I was only four hours old then. And it took me almost thirteen years to find out what really happened to the Deenie in the movie. She went crazy and wound up on the funny farm. Ma says I should just forget about that part of the story.”

The novel’s opening paragraph introduces Deenie’s characteristic narrating voice and hints at some thematic elements that will be developed over the course of the story. Thelma’s ambitions for her youngest daughter are illustrated through the character she named Deenie after, a detail that highlights the importance of her own appearance to young Deenie’s self-image and The Negative Impact of Parental Ambition on Self-Identity. This hints at Deenie’s upcoming emotional struggle, which is foreshadowed by the fictional Deanie’s struggles.

“I try not to look at Old Lady Murray because she’s so ugly she makes me want to vomit. She has a big bump on her back and she can’t stand up straight. You can see the bump right through her clothes. Even in winter, when she wears an old black coat, you can see it.”

At the beginning of the novel, Deenie’s prejudice toward people with disabilities is made especially evident through her interactions with Old Lady Murray. Her language, with words like “vomit” and “ugly,” underscores the virulence of her initial bigotry. Deenie feels afraid and disgusted by the woman due solely to her appearance, which illustrates the societal stigma around disability in the novel’s world. It also establishes the status quo of Deenie’s attitude and mindset, setting up her journey of emotional growth.

“Most times I don’t even think about the way I look but on special occasions, like today, being good-looking really comes in handy. Not that a person has any choice about it. I’m just lucky.”

Although Deenie states that she is not obsessed with her appearance, she implicitly recognizes her privilege as a conventionally beautiful person. She considers herself “lucky” to be good-looking, which suggests that she also views people with disabilities as unlucky.