She's Come Undone Guilt and Blame

Don't blame us if you don't like She's Come Undone. Blame your mom, or Wally Lamb, or Oprah—that's what Dolores would do, anyway. She's notorious for not taking responsibility for any of her actions (if you asked Dolores what her favorite animal was, she'd probably say the scapegoat), and, even worse, for taking the blame for things that are totally not her fault. She has the blame game upside down and backward, and it takes her quite a while to get things straight.

Questions About Guilt and Blame

1. Why does Dolores often blame others for her own mistakes?
2. Why does Dolores insist on taking the blame for things that she is not responsible for?
3. Why does Dolores feel guilty for the deaths of others, like her mom or Rita's baby?
4. Does Dolores overcome these tendencies by the end of the book, or does she still have room to grow?

Chew on This

Dolores often blames men for everything bad that happens to her, and she's right. She's a victim of male oppression in the fifties and sixties.

Dolores blames men for everything bad that happens to her because she can't take responsibility for her own life.