Oscar and the Lady in Pink

“Every time you believe in him, he’ll exist a bit more. If you keep at it, he’ll exist completely. Then, he’ll do you good.”

Granny Rose explains the progression of Christian faith in simple, clear steps. She understands that Oscar is skeptical of God’s existence and does not force belief upon him. Instead, she maps a path for Oscar to develop his faith in small steps, promising good returns for his eventual belief.

“Let him know what you’re thinking. The things you don’t say - they’re the things that weigh on you, they take a hold, ear you down, paralyse you.” 

Granny Rose introduces Oscar to the power of prayer. She understands why the adults avoid talking to Oscar openly about his diagnosis, but she also understands the weight this places upon him as he carries the burden of his death alone.

“If I worried about what stupid people think, I wouldn’t have time for what intelligent people think.” 

Oscar initially resists believing in God on the grounds that believing in God is as stupid as believing in Father Christmas, who he knows doesn’t exist. Granny Rose uses Oscar’s argument about his parents’ stupidity to convince him to give God a try. If his parents are stupid and don’t believe in God, Granny Rose rations, then Oscar has nothing to lose in asking God to come visit him.

“I could tell they wanted to say something to me but they couldn’t manage it. It was good seeing them suffering, them too.” 

Oscar’s relationship with his parents has become awkward and full of tension since he’s started living at the hospital full time. The distance from home, plus his parents’ work schedules, keep visits to just once every week on Sundays, and the visits are uncomfortably awkward as his parents try to express their love without revealing their worry and sadness. Early in the story, Oscar takes pleasure in his parents’ discomfort because it’s the closest he sees to them sharing his suffering.

“Who do you feel closer to? A God who doesn’t feel anything or a God who suffers?”

Pillars of Christianity, such as a God who suffers for his followers rather than a God who rules over people with authority, are touched on throughout the novel. Recognizing God’s suffering for mankind is an essential step in accepting Christian faith. Oscar’s visit to the hospital chapel is a benchmark in his developing faith because it allows him to recognize himself as an image of God, even if subtly. Oscar connects to the image of Jesus on the cross, paving the way for him to strengthen his faith and gain acceptance regarding his own nearing death.

“You’ve got to distinguish between two different kinds of pain, Oscar, my little man, physical suffering and moral suffering. With physical suffering, we just have to take it, but we choose moral suffering.” 

Granny Rose speaks to Oscar directly but with affection, making her Oscar’s greatest confidant in the story. She is patient and tolerant, answering Oscar’s questions and directing him to God when she herself doesn’t have an answer. She doesn’t avoid talking to him about difficult topics like death, God, and suffering. Her direct manner helps Oscar understand foundational ideas of Christian faith, such as the universality of suffering and the power of faith to ease that suffering.

“But that’s just it, what is the unknown? I don’t think you should be frightened, Oscar, you should have faith in it.” 

Granny Rose turns the fear of the unknown on its head and offers the perspective that the unknown is something to look forward to and embrace. Faith is the bridge that makes the unknown approachable. She points to Jesus on the cross and the expression on his face as evidence that, even in tough times, faith gives people hope in what’s to come eventually. If death is the end, then it’s something to be feared. But if death is part of life, and there is an ease to suffering beyond this world, it’s no longer something to be feared.

“Why does God let us be ill? Either he’s nasty, or he’s not brilliant at what he does.” 

In the early stages of his faith, Oscar misunderstands illness and death and believe they are a punishment or God’s mistakes. By the end of the story, Oscar comes to understand that moments of joy and appreciation are born from moments of suffering and loss. He also recognizes God’s brilliant indefatigability and looks not at what God might have gotten wrong, but at the beauty in God’s constant presence (82).

“Right, OK, so I’m normal but I’m also pretty stupid, aren’t I?” 

Oscar is self-deprecating but realistic and humble. With Granny Rose’s guidance, he’s able to recognize when he judges others too harshly or draws conclusions too quickly. He’s also capable of reflecting on his own actions and admitting his mistakes, such as when he reflects on the drama among the three girls he’s kissed at the hospital and admits the role his own stupidity plays.

“Tomorrow is Christmas, God. I’d never realised before that it’s your birthday.” 

Oscar already knew that Father Christmas is fictional, but this is the first time he considers the true meaning behind the holiday. With his understanding of Christmas centered around the fictional Father Christmas, Oscar felt detached from the original meaning of the holiday as a celebration of Christ’s birth. Oscar’s realization that Christmas is God’s birthday, and his subsequent offer to get God a gift, demonstrates Oscar’s growing understanding of Christian faith.

“The most interesting questions will always be questions. They contain mysteries. For every reply there has to be a ‘maybe’. Only boring questions have definitive answers.” 

Oscar reflects on life, death, faith, and God as he gets closer to death and continues asking deep philosophical questions, such as whether there is a solution to life. Granny Rose understands that not every question has a definitive answer, but Oscar is not yet mature enough to understand this and still expects even the most difficult questions to have answers. Oscar is learning that specific problems may have specific answers, but larger questions of life may have multiple answers—or even none at all.

“Well, this is what I think, Granny Rose, there’s no solution to life except to live it.” 

Oscar has reached a level of understanding and acceptance that allows him to look at life differently. Life is not something listed in the Medical Dictionary that Oscar and Peggy read, so there are no specific instructions for how to diagnose or treat life. Oscar’s approach has become to simply push forward and question along the way, no longer becoming distracted or held back by seeking answers to everything.

“I knew you were there. That you were telling me your secret: look at the world every day as if it were the first time.” 

God finally visits Oscar the morning after Peggy leaves the hospital. God’s visit is in the form of the emerging dawn, letting Oscar know and appreciate his presence through the constant renewal of beauty in life. Oscar takes the time to appreciate the changing colors of the dawn and is overwhelmed by the beauty and presence of God before him. He finally understands what a mind visit from God really means: rather than a social visit to a friend’s hospital room, it’s a resetting of a mindset when needed most.