The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides – Reflections

The Marriage Plot
by Jeffrey Eugenides
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication Date: October 11, 2011
ISBN: 9780374203054
416 Pages
Fiction

First off, just a brief summary of what’s going on in the book and then I’m going to delve into some thoughts I had as I read.

The three main characters: Madeleine, Mitchell and Leonard, attend the same college in the 1980s – both guys are interested in Madeleine romantically but she seems to only be interested in Leonard. Leonard is a manic-depressive and has many issues that stem from this condition. The story follows the three classmates from college into their post-graduate days and plays with themes of modern romantic relationships vs those traditional love stories ending in marriage from the classics.

I picked this book up on a whim at the library, having made my way through far too many dystopian young adult books and needing to read something more meaty. What struck me right off the bat was that Jeffrey Eugenides writes with great skill. There were points in the story where I don’t think I would have cared what he was writing about – I was relishing the experience as a great contrast to the dumbed-down writing of some less-than-stellar dystopian books for teens. Don’t get me wrong – there are fantastic YA dystopian fiction books out there, but the ones I read immediately prior to picking up The Marriage Plot were not of that sort.

The first theme that I noticed was that of illusion and the role it plays in life.

The only thing that had cheered him up over the summer had been an illusion.  Page 141

People in the story are busy planning, basing their hopes and dreams off of their assumptions of what others are doing and thinking, only to realize after the fact that things weren’t at all what they seemed. We see the theme of illusions again in a different way when it comes to  religions and people needing religious imagery/icons (i.e. illusions) in order to stand as a placeholder for a religious concept. In that respect it gave them something concrete on which to focus.

Some people need a picture. Any great religion has to be inclusive. And to be inclusive you have to accommodate different levels of sophistication.  Page 137

Then there were little gems that made me laugh, especially in respect to the pretension and intellectual snobbery I encountered in some classes at college. Madeleine encounters this in her semiotics class.

Madeleine had a feeling that most semiotic theorists had been unpopular as children, often bullied or overlooked, and so had directed their lingering rage onto literature.  Page 42

I’ve always thought that semiotics was a joyless subject; taking away any of the pure thrill and/or adventure of the imagination in the reading process and replacing it with an over-analytical dissection. Kind of like the difference between enjoying the taste of your favorite restaurant food, and doing a forensic analysis to break down the recipe – some of us would rather forgo the analysis and enjoy the experience of eating the meal.

Finally, there was a section toward the end of the book that was slow, on the dry side, and made me wish the book was over already. It’s filled with Mitchell’s introspective thoughts during his stay in India. Then, when I read the next passage I thought maybe it was done on purpose.

It was like plowing through late James, or the pages of agrarian reform in Anna Karenina, until you suddenly got to a good part again, which kept on getting better and better until you were so enthralled that you were almost grateful for the previous dull stretch because it increased your eventual pleasure.  Page 346

The fact that the previous quote followed a dry section made me think that it was either one lucky coincidence, or more likely, that the author had a definite and skillfully executed plan.

I don’t think that this book is for everyone, in fact I was stunned that I liked it as much as I did. There is quite a bit in the story about Leonard’s mental health issues, and though some might find that depressing, I think it should be considered a credit to the author. He communicated Leonard’s problems with what seemed like great authenticity. The most appealing aspects of the book to me were the account of American college life, and of course the excellent writing in general.

I haven’t read Middlesex by the same author (I tried and gave up after about 100 pages because of the incest scenes). I have heard that most who have read both prefer Middlesex. I guess I’m just the odd one out this time around.

Rating: 4.5/5

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