Eleanor is the novel’s tragic character. She was much like her daughter Alice as a child. She was a dreamer who loved to be outdoors. She meets her husband Anthony in London when he saves her from an oncoming bus. They fall quickly and deeply in love. She is a loving and care-free mother before Anthony returns home from World War I. From then on she assumes the “Mother” role as a serious, punctilious killjoy. She must balance her love for her children and the promise she made to Anthony to keep his problem of shell shock a secret from their children and everyone else.

At times this promise to Anthony forces her to remove the girls from his presence. During one of these excursions she meets Benjamin Munro, with whom she falls in love. The theme of love is explored through Eleanor, specifically polyamory, because even though she loves and has a child with Ben, she never stops loving or being loyal to Anthony. In fact, her love for her children and her love for Anthony and Ben come into direct confrontation when baby Theo’s cries trigger Anthony’s shell shock syndrome. Eleanor feels driven to protect Theo from Anthony, and the only way she believes she can do that is to have Ben take Theo and place him in the care of others.