Eleanor Starling: The Tragic Creator of Starling House and The Underland

Overview of Eleanor Starling

Eleanor Starling is the nineteenth-century author and illustrator of the children's book The Underland, who built the mysterious Starling House over a rift connecting the waking world to a dream-realm called Underland. In Alix E. Harrow's novel, Eleanor exists both as a historical figure—known through town legend and a sparse Wikipedia page—and as a ghostly presence in Underland who has been shaping the house and the town of Eden, Kentucky, for over a century. She is simultaneously a victim of abuse and a creator of monsters, making her one of the most layered characters in the story.

Plot Role in the Novel

Eleanor's actions set the entire plot in motion. After enduring horrific abuse at the hands of her Gravely uncles, she discovered the river of dreams beneath the family's mining land, drank from it, and unleashed the Beasts that killed her tormentors. She then built Starling House as both a sanctuary and a labyrinth to contain the rift. For decades, Wardens (including Arthur) have fought the Beasts. Eleanor herself remains trapped in Underland, nursing her vengeance and poisoning the land with the leaking ash pond. Her presence is felt in every chapter: through the house's sentience, the mist, the nightmares, and the curse that haunts Eden. Opal's final journey into Underland is a direct confrontation with Eleanor, and the resolution requires Opal to help Eleanor let go of her hatred.

Motivations and Traits Shown Through Actions

Eleanor's primary motivation is a quest for justice—or revenge—after being orphaned, sexually abused by her uncles, and forced into a marriage with her uncle John. She builds the house to protect herself and to trap the Beasts, but she also uses them to punish the Gravely family and the town that turned a blind eye. Her actions show a fierce, unyielding will: she refuses to leave Eden even after death, and she refuses to stop the Beasts until Opal offers her a different path. The evidence from the novel reveals that Eleanor is deeply lonely and desperate to be heard. When Opal says, "I'll tell the truth," Eleanor's tears fall, showing her underlying hunger for acknowledgment. She is intelligent (she wrote a book, designed a complex house) but also stubborn and consumed by bitterness. The town legend describes her laughing after the death of her husband, suggesting a kind of wild, manic freedom mixed with grief.

Chronological Arc

1851: Born to a wealthy young woman abandoned by her husband. Mother dies of cancer; Eleanor is sent to live with her father, John Gravely, in Eden.
1869: Forced to marry her uncle John. On the wedding night, John dies (by Beast attack). Eleanor is suspected but not convicted.
1881: Publishes The Underland after much struggle. The book is initially dismissed as unsettling.
1886: Declared dead after she disappears into the mine. In truth, she enters Underland and remains there for over a hundred years.
Throughout the novel's present (2020s): She haunts the house, controls the Beasts, and leaks poisoned water into the river. She is eventually confronted by Opal, who persuades her to release her hold and fall asleep, ending the curse.

Relationships

With the Gravely Family: Eleanor is both a victim and a perpetrator. The Gravely brothers abused her, and she killed them through her Beasts. She holds a generational grudge against all Gravelys, including Opal, who is revealed to be a Gravely descendant. Yet she also shows a flicker of recognition when Opal speaks kindly to her.

With Starling House: The house is an extension of Eleanor's will. It was built to her specifications (four locksmiths, melted molds, a gate from Cincinnati). The house chooses Wardens and protects the rift. After Eleanor enters Underland, the house becomes a dream version of itself, reflecting her decaying, lonely state.

With Arthur Starling: Arthur is the current Warden and sees himself as the last. He never meets Eleanor alive, but he feels her legacy in the Beasts and the house's demands. He is bound by a sense of duty that echoes Eleanor's own tragic commitment.

With Opal: Opal becomes the one who truly understands Eleanor. By listening to her story and promising to tell the truth, Opal breaks the cycle. Their relationship moves from antagonistic (Eleanor tries to drown Opal in dreams) to almost maternal (Eleanor holds Opal's hand, falls asleep).

Key Decisions and Consequences

Drinking from the river of dreams: She unintentionally creates the Beasts from her own nightmares. This gives her power but also traps her in Underland.
Building Starling House over the rift: This decision contains the Beasts but also condemns generations of Wardens to fight them. The house becomes a gilded cage.
Staying in Underland after death: She chooses to remain rather than move on, feeding her hatred and the Beasts with the ash pond's toxic water.
Writing The Underland: She attempts to tell her truth through fiction, but the town dismisses it as a children's book. Only later is it recognized as a work of art.
Finally accepting release: When Opal promises to tell her story and offers her a dream of peace, Eleanor falls asleep, ending the curse and allowing the house and town to heal.

Theme and Symbol Connections

Intergenerational Trauma (/books/starling-house/themes/intergenerational-trauma/)

Eleanor embodies the trauma passed from the Gravely family to herself and then to Eden. Her abuse cycles into violence; the Gravely fortune is built on exploitation. Opal breaks the cycle by choosing to tell a different story.

Dreams and Reality (/books/starling-house/themes/dreams-and-reality/)

Eleanor created the Beasts from her dreams, and Underland is a physical manifestation of nightmares. Her book The Underland blurs the line between fantasy and truth. The novel suggests that dreams can be just as real as waking life when they have consequences.

Home and Belonging (/books/starling-house/themes/home-and-belonging/)

Eleanor built Starling House to belong somewhere, yet she never truly felt at home. She says, "I had a right to be from somewhere." The house becomes a symbol of both shelter and imprisonment. Opal ultimately finds a home in Arthur and in the house's new life.

Family and Sacrifice (/books/starling-house/themes/family-and-sacrifice/)

Eleanor had no real family; the Gravelys only used her. She sacrifices her humanity to protect herself. Arthur and Opal sacrifice their own safety to protect each other, offering a contrast.

The Power of Stories (/books/starling-house/themes/the-power-of-stories/)

Eleanor's book is her only legacy. Opal promises to tell the true story, which gives Eleanor the release she needed. Stories can heal, but they can also be twisted—the town's version of Eleanor's story is a lie.

5 Book-Specific Questions and Answers

What is Eleanor Starling's true relationship to the Gravely family?
She was born out of wedlock to a Gravely father and was raised by her abusive uncles. She was later forced to marry one of them, making her both a Gravely by blood and by marriage.
Why did Eleanor start writing The Underland?
She wrote it to make people see the truth of her suffering. The novel's evidence in Chapter 31 shows her saying, "I wanted them to see. To know." She wanted to expose the family's crimes through a story.
How does Eleanor's view of home differ from Opal's?
Eleanor saw home as a right she had to fight for; she built a fortress that isolated her. Opal, as shown in Chapter 31, recognizes that home can be made from love and people, not just a place. Opal had the backseat of her mother's car, Room 12, and finally Starling House itself.
What are the Beasts, and why did Eleanor create them?
The Beasts are manifestations of Eleanor's own nightmares, given form by the river of dreams. She did not create them deliberately; they emerged from her trauma. The novel states, "The only monsters here are the ones we make."
What finally allows Eleanor to let go and sleep?
Opal listens to her story and promises to tell the truth about what happened. Opal also transforms Underland into a place of her own dreams, showing Eleanor that vengeance is not the only option. Eleanor falls asleep when she feels heard.

For deeper exploration of Eleanor's influence on the ending, see the ending explained page or the questions and answers section. You can also read more about Opal's journey in the main character analysis of the novel.