Englisches Seminar

Aufbaumodul 3: Literaturwissenschaft

“The Poetics in the Works of Jeffrey

Eugenides”

Patrick Ploschnitzki

Heiliggeiststr. 3

31785 Hameln

pploschn@smail.uni-koeln.de

Matrikelnummer: 4839048

Zwei-Fach-Bachelor:

English Studies

Linguistik und Phonetik

Achtes Fachsemester

Prof. Dr. Hanjo Berressem

Universität zu Köln

Sommersemester 2013

12. Juni 2013

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Table of contents

1.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 2

2.0 The Virgin Suicides ................................................................................................ 3

2.1 The Lisbon House as a Metaphor for the Lisbon Family ......................................... 4

2.2 The Fish Flies as a Metaphor of Death ................................................................... 8

2.3 The Elm Trees as a Metaphor of Death and the Lisbon Girls ................................11

2.4 The Cemetery Strike as a Metaphor for the Deaths of the Lisbon Girls .................14

2.5 The purpose of symbolism in The Virgin Suicides .................................................15

3.0 Middlesex (and its hybridity) ..................................................................................18

3.1 The Hybridity of Middlesex in Terms of Genre .......................................................19

3.2 The Hybridity of Calliope / Cal Stephanides ..........................................................23

3.3 The Correlation of Hybridity in Genre and the Protagonist in Middlesex ................25

4.0 The Marriage Plot ..................................................................................................26

4.1 Disappointment as a Theme in The Marriage Plot .................................................26

4.2 Uncertainty as a Theme in The Marriage Plot........................................................31

4.3 Possible Reasons for the Choice of Disappointment and Uncertainty as

Themes in The Marriage Plot ................................................................................34

5.0 The Purpose of Linking the “World of the Narrative” to the “World of The

Reader” in the Works of Jeffrey Eugenides ...........................................................35

6.0 Conclusion ............................................................................................................39

7.0 References ............................................................................................................41

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1.0 Introduction

In his career as a professional writer, so far, Jeffrey Eugenides has accomplished

to write and publish three major novels, all of which were critically acclaimed. His

second and most successful novel to date, Middlesex, was awarded with the

Pulitzer Prize (cp. Graham 2009:17).

The author’s novels cover a wide range of narrative topics as well as highly

diverse characters. Among other traits, they differ in social backgrounds,

personality, ethnicity, or nationality. However, as diverse as Eugenides’s novels

and his characters may appear at first, there seems to be a common denominator

that can be found in each of the author’s works published to date: Upon further

examination, some of the characters in his novels apparently share certain

properties with the novel as a whole. It seems plausible to hypothesize that the

author uses a coherence between his characters and the entirety of the respective

novels as a constant stylistic device. What’s more, there are significant parallels

between the author’s characters and the author himself to be found. As a result,

Eugenides creates a considerable link between the hypothetical world the

characters live in and the real world that the reader is part of. If and to what extent

this hypothesis is a valid, justifiable statement and if yes, what the author’s interest

could be in doing so, will be the main topic of this thesis.

In order to make this statement, the following chapters will be dedicated to,

first giving the necessary information about the novels as well as the individual

theses assigned to them and how they tie in with this thesis’s hypothesis. Later,

the connections that can be made between the novel and its characters,

respectively the plots and their characters, will be shown. The novels that will be

examined are Eugenides’s major works of writing, namely The Virgin Suicides,

Middlesex and The Marriage Plot. These pieces of work will be analyzed by

dedicating a chapter (and corresponding subchapters) of this thesis to each novel,

explaining the different characteristics of the stories and characters and how they

are linked to each other. This will happen in chronological order by release date of

the novels, that is in the order mentioned above. Accordingly, the following

chapters and their subchapters will highlight the extensive use of metaphors and

other devices utilized to create the presumed link described in the last paragraph.

Following the analysis of Eugenides’s novels, the supposed purpose of the

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author’s intentions will be explained. This will be of substantial importance in

answering the main question of this thesis, namely whether a link as proposed

above exists and what its alleged purpose is. Before doing so, an overview and

the analysis of the author’s work are needed. Consequently, the following chapter

will be dedicated to the analysis of Jeffrey Eugenides’ first novel.

2.0 The Virgin Suicides

The Virgin Suicides is mainly shaped by its first-person plural narrator(s), in fact a

group of boys that was and still is fascinated by the Lisbon girls, that has

witnessed the events in the novel and is now retelling them. The narrative

perspective should be kept in mind, as it will be of importance later in this thesis.

On an analytical level, the novel is first and foremost characterized by the

omnipresence of a number of metaphors that appear throughout the book, all of

which are used to comment on or explain the events taking place in the story at

the time. Interestingly, the most important motifs, namely the Lisbon house, the

fish flies, the elm trees, and the cemetery strike, can be found within the first few

pages of the novel (page 4, 3, 7, 15 respectively). In this chapter, it will be argued

that the author makes use of these metaphors to create a correlation between the

novel’s main characters and the novel’s various symbols. It is hypothesized that

the author does so to create a certain atmosphere to capture and affect the reader

and to thereby establish a link between the reader and the protagonists.

Accordingly, this chapter will be dedicated to an in-depth analysis of the

author’s use of symbolism in The Virgin Suicides, what the aforementioned

metaphors are, how they are used and how they can be linked to this thesis’s

hypothesis. The following subchapters will highlight one of the main symbols used

in The Virgin Suicides each and, eventually, the purpose of these symbols. It will

be argued that the metaphors described in this chapter, all of which have a

ubiquitous presence in the book, serve as a means to describe the Lisbon girls

and are imperative in creating a link between the world of the reader and that of

the novel.

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2.1 The Lisbon House as a Metaphor for the Lisbon Family

One of the most striking examples of symbolism in The Virgin Suicides is the

condition of the Lisbon house and its increasing deterioration, which happens

parallel to the decay of the Lisbon family inside the house (cp. Szymanski 2008:

37). The narrator at great length pays attention to the various states the house

passes. What these states are and how they correspond to the Lisbon family and

the Lisbon girls in particular will be the main focus of this chapter1.

In the very beginning of the novel, before Cecilia’s first attempt at

committing suicide, the narrators name the signs of deterioration that have not yet

happened to the house and refer to it as a “comfortable suburban home” (p. 5)2.

However, upon Cecilia’s return after her first suicide attempt, “the house beg[ins]

to change” (p. 22), as the “front door [is] always open” (ibid.) now and the girls

spend a lot of time in front of the house. Other, “miraculous” (p.22) changes

include Mrs. Lisbon allowing strange men into the house, another sign of freedom

and a willingness to communicate with the outside world, as well as the Lisbon’s

having a party for Cecilia. All of these first changes in the house are still positive,

as they symbolize the girls’ freedom. However, they will remain the only positive

change before the imminent downfall of the house and the family. Already for

Cecilia’s party, the house will show no “signs of decorating or other preparations”

(p. 24).

Rather, the house is described to look like a “church-run orphanage” (ibid.)

and that “the silence of the lawn [is] absolute” (ibid.). As most of Mrs. Lisbon’s

decisions, which are proposed to later lead to the girl’s decisions to take their lives,

are based on her religious belief - she makes Lux “destroy her rock records” (p.

143) after “a spirited church sermon” (ibid.) -, the first description is of particular

interest: From the narrator’s perspective, the house is not a home to the girls, as it

should be, but an “orphanage” (p. 24), a makeshift home. Szymanski (2008) even

describes Mrs. Lisbon as “the key guardian of her daughters’ sexualities” (p. 39).

1 The elm tree in front of the house acts as part of the house, but as the next chapter will deal with the

image of the elm trees in the novel in general, it will not be discussed in detail in this chapter. 2 Page numbers with regard to The Virgin Suicides refer to the 2002 edition as noted in the references

section of this paper.

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Special attention should be paid to the terminology: The word guardian naturally

bears ties to the term orphanage, meaning that children in an orphanage ideally

are given into a guardian’s custody. On the other hand, it also indicates a certain

distance between orphan and guardian, namely that they are not related. This

choice of words suggests that the house’s exterior mirrors the relationship

between Mrs. Lisbon and her daughters as well as her protectiveness of them, but

also the distance between them. Furthermore, the character of Mrs. Lisbon

“functions as the repressive guardian over her daughters' sexualities by containing

both their desires and their bodies under suffocating levels of surveillance”

(Szymanski 2008:37). Using the motif of the house, this idea is supported when

the narrators observe that “Mrs. Lisbon once more took charge of the house while

Mr. Lisbon receded into a mist” (p. 62) and “the house receded behind its mist of

youth being choked off” (p. 145). Interestingly, the author uses the same term to

describe Mr. Lisbon’s and the house’s fading disappearance (receding into a mist)

in different parts of the novel. This recession into a mist, i.e. a slow, fading

disappearance, could be interpreted as the family’s and the house’s withdrawal

from the world.

Following Cecilia’s death, the house “already [...] show[s] signs of

uncleanliness, though they were nothing compared to what was to come later” (p.

50), suggesting initial signs of decay in correspondence to the first suicide. The

house, like the rest of the neighborhood, is cleaned of the fish flies3 that coat the

area not by the Lisbon family itself, but with the help of the neighborhood’s kids.

Even though there has not been a request to do so, the kids clean the house as a

sign of good neighborliness. This symbolizes the neighbors’ attempt at keeping the

house, and thereby the Lisbon family inside, “clean” of death. After the house’s

cleaning, the lights “[come] on down the block, but not in the Lisbon house.” (p.

58). This observation hints at the fact that a cleansing of the house from death was

not successful or maybe even that it is impossible. It also highlights the family’s

retreat from the neighborhood and the outside world and the subsequent

separation from it. Wandland (2011) points out that “the [narrating] boys choose to

see the sisters as otherworldly” (p. 18). This otherworldliness is suggested here as

well, as the observation that the Lisbon house stays dark reflects the stark contrast

3 note the assumption of fish flies as a symbol of death as described in chapter 2.2

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between it and the other houses in the neighborhood and the people living in

them.

“Other signs of creeping desolation” (p. 89) that make the house look “less

cheerful” (p. 88) are the lawn, “unmown since Cecilia died” (p. 85), the darkening

of the house’s blue slate roof and its yellow bricks, the light of the doorbell going

out and not being repaired, as well as the bird feeder that is “left on the ground”

(ibid.). These images coincide with Lux’s being grounded and “forbidden any

future visits” from high school heartthrob Trip (p. 87), one of the first instances of

Mrs. Lisbon’s shutting the girls in. The last image in particular, the bird feeder on

the ground, symbolizes the sisters’ restriction. Birds, generally regarded as a

symbol of freedom, no longer have a designated place near the Lisbon house and

therefore, it loses its symbol of freedom. A little later, the leaves that grow “soggy

and brown, making the Lisbon lawn look like a field of mud” (p. 93), symbolically

impede and contaminate the access to the house. This further feeds into its

“growing disrepair” (p. 94) and the “increasingly dreary exterior” (p. 97) that is one

of the few remaining traces of Cecilia’s death in the neighborhood For the

narrators, it remains as a reminder “of the trouble within” (p. 94). Eventually,

raccoons are “attracted by the miasmic vapors” (p. 145) of the house and once

more, the house becomes linked to death, as “it wasn’t unusual to find a dead one

[raccoon] squashed by a car” (ibid.). At this point, the house receives yet another

role in the novel (almost as if it was a character): When Lux starts “copulating on

the roof with faceless boys and men” (p. 145), the house becomes the stage of her

adolescent rebellion.

After Lux pretends to have a burst appendix in order to be able to take a

pregnancy test without her mother knowing, a certain carelessness that indicates a

disconnection between Mrs. Lisbon and her daughters becomes noticeable: “Mrs.

Lisbon didn’t jump into the [ambulance] truck as she had previously, but remained

on the lawn, waving [...]. Neither Mary, Bonnie, nor Therese came outside” (p.

152). The same lack of care becomes visible in the decay of the house that now

includes (the already discolored) slate tiles falling off the roof. They remain

unrepaired, resulting in a number of leaks in the Lisbon’s living room. Apparently

because they can “no longer bear anyone intruding their house” (p. 159) who

could fix them, the family “[endures] their leaks on their own” (ibid.). Around the

same time, with “the chorus of disapproval [...] [growing] steadily louder” (p. 162),

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their neighbors, too, begin to stop caring. While groceries are no longer delivered

to the family as well, these facts further contribute to the house’s, and with it, the

family’s abandonment and disconnection from the outside world. “[A]n invisible

barrier” (p. 205) begins to form. As a result, the house’s “soft decay beg[ins] to

show more clearly” (p. 160): The windows, a means of visual communication with

the outside, contain a thick “film of dirt, with spy holes wiped clean” (ibid.),

suggesting an attempt of its residents’ reaching out. Upon his dismissal from work,

Mr. Lisbon, who had been the only one still leaving the house on a regular basis,

now returns “to a house where, some nights, lights never went on, [...] nor did the

front door open” (p. 162). This is in stark contrast to its earlier state right after

Cecilia’s first suicide attempt. As already mentioned, at that point, “the front door

was always open” (p. 22). Most fittingly for the metaphor of the house in general, it

is now described as “one big coffin” (p. 163): a closed, confined, inescapable

space associated with death.

After the death of the Lisbon sisters, the house is dismantled. Mr. Lisbon

hires a former colleague to take “charge of the house” (p. 226). This phrase bears

special importance as it is no longer Mrs. Lisbon who, as described earlier in this

chapter, is in charge. This change marks a turning point in the novel and implies

that by their suicides the girls not only accomplished the escape from the house,

but also from their mother. As the house is torn apart and stripped of its contents,

most of which are destroyed, so is the Lisbon family, with their daughters gone or

in hospital and Mrs. And Mr. Lisbon staying at a motel. The house’s downfall is

further represented by the “furniture tainted with death” (p. 230) that none of the

neighbors wants to buy and the “carting away of the contents of the house bit by

bit” (p. 230) by “others” (ibid.). Again the house serves as a marker when, with its

sale, the narrators begin “the impossible process of trying to forget them [the

Lisbon girls]” (p. 231). At this point of the story, the house’s condition serves as a

metaphor of the family’s falling apart: When the house is sold, the exterior, which

so far has served as a measuring device for the family’s state, remains “in

disrepair” (p. 230). The remaining family (that is Mrs. and Mr. Lisbon as well as

Mary), returns to it, now as taken apart as the house itself. Eventually, Mary also

takes her life and after her funeral, her parents return from the cemetery and

“pick[...] their way amid the broken pieces of slate” (p. 240). As they have before,

these pieces stand for the house’s decay and the family’s falling apart. Now, they

8

also each serve as reminders of it. The next day, the house looks “even more run-

down than ever” (p. 241) to the narrators and it “seem[s] to have collapsed from

the inside” (ibid.), another parallel to the Lisbon family. Correspondingly,

Szymanski points out that “exterior maintenance of the suburban home reflects

upon the stability of those who inhabit it. In other words, a deteriorating home

evidences a crumbling moral standard within it” (2008:42), further supporting the

idea of a link between the Lisbon family’s and their house’s condition.

In summary, it can be argued that the state of the house and its increasing

deterioration happens in a parallel manner to that of its residents, the Lisbon

family. In many respects, the house is represented as an analogy to the

“mysterious suffering” (p. 52) of the Lisbon girls. Now that the symbolism of the

Lisbon house in The Virgin Suicides has been discussed, the next subchapter will

focus on the meaning of the fish flies in the novel.

2.2 The Fish Flies as a Metaphor of Death

Another recurring theme in The Virgin Suicides is that of the fish flies which the

suburban city the novel is set in is plagued by every summer. Even though the

insects’ appearance is an event that takes place only once a year, its coincidence

with the Lisbon girls’ deaths and their repeated appearances in the novel make it a

very important and characteristic trait of the story in general. Thus, the fish flies

and their symbolism will be the topic of this chapter.

The symbol of the fish flies makes its first appearance very early in the

novel (i.e. on page 4). Here, their perpetual presence is pointed out when the

narrators explain that “each year our town is covered by the flotsam of those

ephemeral insects” (p. 4). Particular attention should be paid to the use and

meaning of the term ephemeral, as it serves as an indicator of death,

hopelessness and despair. “Rising in clouds from the algae in the polluted lake,

they blacken windows, coat cars and street lamps, plaster the municipal docks and

festoon the rigging of sailboats, always in the same brown ubiquity of brown scum”

9

(ibid.). In this quote, especially the verbs illustrate the symbolism at hand: Just like

the fish flies and their death, the suicide of Cecilia, the Lisbon sister’s being shut-in

and their eventual death blacken, coat, and plaster the neighborhood. The

connection between Cecilia, respectively the other Lisbon girls, will be discussed

later in this chapter. First, however, there will be a focus on the fish flies’ ubiquity.

Their connection to the girls should be kept in mind, though.

In a different scene, after the neighborhood seems to have gained closure

over Cecilia’s suicide by removing the fence that killed her, the fish flies die and

disappear, just like Cecilia did. Again, the undeniable presence of the fish flies is

described: “Using kitchen brooms, we swept bugs from poles and windows and

electrical lines. We stuffed them into bags, thousands upon thousands of insect

bodies.” (p. 56). The boys describe the insects to be “carpeting our swimming

pools, filling our mailboxes, blotting out stars on our flags” (ibid.). The removal of

the fence that caused Cecilia’s death did not change the fact that the fence (and

Cecilia) existed, and neither does the death of the fish flies affect their existence

and that they leave something behind. The fact that Cecilia took her life is

irreversible, just like it seems impossible to dispose of the fish flies. They cannot

be set on fire, and even if the narrators try as hard as to “stuff them down with

sticks” (p. 57) because they clog sewer grates, the boys don’t succeed in

disposing of the insects.

In the scene mentioned in the first paragraph of this chapter, the fish flies’

meaning in the novel is already construed when they are directly linked to the

character of Cecilia. For her, they represent the meaningless and hopelessness

life seems to have for her right before her first attempt at suicide: “’They [the fish

flies]’re dead,” she said. “They only live twenty-four hours. They hatch, they

reproduce, and then they croak. They don’t even get to eat.’” (p. 4). This quote is

not only the first thing the reader hears Cecilia say, but also the first time the fish

flies are mentioned, suggesting a direct link. Another direct connection between

the girls and the fish flies can be found on page 10. Upon one of the boys’

discovery that Lux has her period, which causes a miraculous fascination in him,

he “hurrie[s] off to tell that Lux Lisbon was bleeding between the legs that very

instant, while the fish flies made the sky filthy” (p. 10). It is also possible to claim

that the outdated notions of the dirtiness of menstruation, which might still apply to

the boys here, is referenced to by the described “filthiness” of the fish flies. In

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addition, Wandland makes another connection between the Lisbon girls and the

insects using the evening of their school’s homecoming dance. She writes that

when they are allowed to be taken out on dates and get to enjoy the ball, “the

sisters do live for a brief moment, like the fish flies” (2011:12).

Another connection that assists with associating the fish flies with death, right

before the Lisbon sisters’ collective suicide, the insects return in “a senseless

pattern of madness and ecstasy” (p. 187), a pattern comparable to the upcoming

deaths of the girls. When the story climaxes, at the point of the first planned

meeting of the girls and the narrators, the flies’ return foreshadows the girls’

suicides: “fish flies coated out windows, making it difficult to see out” (p. 201).

They once again blacken the view and just like the boys can’t anticipate, can’t see

the girls’ plan, the fish flies make it hard to see (the girls) as well. Moreover, a

window of the Lisbon house has a “seal of fish flies” (p. 206), symbolizing the

inescapable presence of death that the narrators will soon find out about. In the

following scene, as the narrators sneak up to the Lisbon house to meet the girls,

the fish flies seem to act almost like a warning or an introduction to what is about

to happen when they start “streaming through the window” (p. 203), forcing the

boys to proceed in darkness, just like the Lisbon girls are about to enter their

unknown fate in their impending deaths. Eventually, at the time of Mary’s, the last

suicide, “the fish flies had hatched during the night” (p. 237) and are “quivering on

trees and streetlights” (ibid.). The latest occurrence of death and its notion of

finality that now affects the neighborhood does exactly that (quivering),

symbolizing once more the presence of death.

In this chapter, the role of the fish flies in The Virgin Suicides has been

analyzed. It has been pointed out how the motif is connected to the novel’s

protagonists, the narrators and that they symbolize death. The following chapter

will focus on another motif to be found in the novel, namely that of the elm trees.

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2.3 The Elm Trees as a Metaphor of Death and the Lisbon Girls

Among the metaphors that have already been discussed in the previous

subchapters, another element, the elm trees, stands out. Referring to the movie of

the novel, Cardullo (2004)4 writes that

“The Virgin Suicides whose deaths are equivalent to the destruction of the elm

trees that line their street: they are lovely and it may be sad to lose them, but

since these five girls (like their parents) have no inner life or spiritual depth-at the

same time as they are paradoxically self-absorbed-they cannot have any

emotional or intellectual connection to the external, wider world around them

[...].” (p. 464).

Whether this is a verifiable statement, in particular with respect to the novel, and if

there are other indicators of a connection between the protagonists and the elm

trees will be the subject of this chapter.

Just like the Lisbon house, and the elm tree in front of it, which is to some

extent part of the house, the elm trees mentioned in the story in general bear

strong ties to the events of the novel and to the theme of death in particular. Just

like the other notable elements of symbolism in the novel that have already been

discussed in the previous chapters, the metaphor of the elm trees is mentioned

very early in the novel (cp. p. 7). It should also be pointed out that the Lisbon’s elm

tree is mentioned in the same breath as the ambulance’s leaving after Cecilia’s

first suicide attempt, suggesting a link to death: “When it was gone, [the botanist

and his crew] began spraying again. The stately elm tree [...] has since

succumbed to the fungus spread by Dutch elm beetles, and has been cut down”

(p. 7). Interestingly, at a very early point of the novel, a connection is made. In this

scene, the tree’s being cut down can be interpreted as a means of foreshadowing

Cecilia’s eventual successful suicide, tying it the motif of death. Keeping in mind

what has been said in the last chapter about the fish flies, it is noteworthy that in

this case another insect, the Dutch elm beetle, is responsible for the occurrence of

death. Another link to death: The town’s cemetery is characterized by “its many

4 While Cardullo refers to the movie The Virgin Suicides, this is a valid statement for the novel as well. Due

to its highly interesting content in the context of this paper, it should not be neglected.

12

trees nourished by well-fed carcasses” (p. 36). While the trees mentioned here are

not specifically identified as elm trees, this is a likely possibility and the basis of an

important notion; the one that the trees are not only linked to death, but that they

even thrive from it. It is later pointed out that the infested trees are “already dead”

(p. 181). As the Parks Department cuts down trees in the area, away from the

narrators’ street, still “the incessant whine of their chain saws never let us, or the

girls, forget about them” (p. 185). This observation further contributes to the

constant presence of death in the novel in general.

Beside their link to death, the elm trees also seem to act as a symbol for the

Lisbon sisters. As already mentioned, the character of Cecilia in particular is linked

to the elm tree in front of the Lisbon house. Not only is Cecilia’s love for trees a

crucial part of her diary that the boys obtain, but also is the tree in front of the

house a trigger for one of the few instances of the Lisbon girls actually leaving the

house. As part of Cecilia’s diary’s last section, “[i]n romantic passages, Cecilia

despairs over the demise of [their] elm trees. In cynical entries she suggests the

trees aren’t sick at all and that the deforesting is a plot ‘to make everything flat’” (p.

44), proving her special involvement with the trees. Later in the novel, when the

tree in front of the Lisbon house is about to be cut down, the girls emerge from the

house and guard it with their bodies “in memory of Cecilia” (p. 184). Just like the

remaining Lisbon daughters, “[t]he tree survived, temporarily” (ibid.). This parallel

shows that the trees are not only generally linked to Cecilia as well as death, but

also to the other sisters. When the narrators describe the way the Parks

Department works when taking down a tree, they state that “the trees stood

blighted, [...] a creature clubbed mute, only its sudden voicelessness making us

realize it had been speaking all along” (p. 178 f.). Just like the trees in this

description, the Lisbon girls have been silenced, clubbed mute, by their mother’s

sanctions. In addition, it is the girls’ voicelessness, that is the inability to contact

them in a regular fashion, which makes them so interesting to the narrators.

Furthermore, the use of the term sudden voicelessness may even suggest a

foreshadowing of the girls’ suicide, which takes everyone by surprise and makes

the girls as silent as possible. It even seems like an explanation for their act is

given: Transferring the debranched tree’s “sudden voicelessness [that is] making

[the boys] realize it had been speaking all along” (ibid.) is just as applicable to the

suicides of the Lisbon girls, as their deaths may have served as a means to finally

13

make the neighborhood pay attention to their suffering. In another example of

foreshadowing, it is explained that “the trees had been there when they’d [the

respective houses’ residents] moved in, and had promised to be there when they

moved out” (p. 179). It is suggested that the trees - that are a part of everyday life -

are taken for granted just like the girls’ existence and their lives due to their youth,

and that the need to rip the trees out of the neighborhood is a very surprising,

unsuspected event, as will the girl’s suicides be later. Correspondingly, the boys’

narration of the trees “concealing the house” (p. 141) establishes another link

between the novel’s characters and the motif of the elm trees, as Mrs. Lisbon does

the same by “shut[ting] the house in maximum–security isolation” (ibid.) and taking

the girls out of school (cp. ibid.). Keeping in mind the links made between the

Lisbon house and its residents in chapter 2.1, here the trees act as a means of

detaching the Lisbon family from the outside world and serve as an agent to

further disconnect the Lisbons from their neighborhood. Correspondingly, as Mrs.

Lisbon shuts in her daughters and thereby disconnects them from the outside, so

do the trees shut in the family and disconnect it from the neighborhood.

In this chapter, the meaning of trees and that of the elm trees in particular as

described in The Virgin Suicides have been examined. It has been shown that

they do not only symbolize death, but that there are also considerable parallels to

be found between the Lisbon girls and the trees throughout the novel. This

confirms the Cardullo statement as mentioned in the introductory section of this

chapter that points out considerable similarities between the Lisbon girls and the

use of the elm trees in the novel. Therefore, as in the previous subchapters, the

elm trees play a highly important role. Before continuing to the last segment of the

portion of this thesis dealing with The Virgin Suicides, which will highlight the

purpose of symbolism in the novel, one more aspect of the story will be looked at

more closely in the next subchapter.

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2.4 The Cemetery Strike as a Metaphor for the Deaths of the

Lisbon Girls

One more notable motif in The Virgin Suicides is that of the cemetery strike. While

its presence in the novel is not as ubiquitous as that of the other symbols

discussed so far in terms of its number of mentions throughout the novel, it is still

of considerable importance, as its duration spans over a significant time in the

story. Because it is of significant interest nonetheless, it will be the main subject of

this chapter.

The cemetery strike, just like the other important motifs, is mentioned in the

very beginning of the novel, right after Cecilia’s first suicide attempt, suggesting an

initial connection. At this point, the strike has already been going on for several

weeks. Until Cecilia’s suicide, “[n]obody had given much thought to the strike” (p.

35) and it has been mostly unnoticed because “[t]here had never been a funeral in

our town before, at least not during our lifetimes” (ibid). These statements highlight

how highly unusual and disturbing Cecilia’s death is for the suburb’s residents5. As

a result of the strike, it is explained that “[f]unerals continued, but without the

consummation of burial” (p. 36) and that the “caskets were taken back to the deep

freeze of the mortuary to await settlement” (ibid.). This is likely to point at a

metaphorical holding, a not-dealing with the occurrence of death, Cecilia’s death in

particular. As the burial(s) cannot take place or be finished in a proper, usual

manner, there is no real closure, comparable to the lingering question of why

Cecilia took her life. Furthermore, there will not be an end to the strike, and the

unfinished burial(s) will not be completed until all of the girls have taken their lives.

Coincidentally, the strike ends on the day of the last suicide, that of Mary. At this

point, “both girls and workers give up the fight” (SparkNotes Editors)6, meaning

that the girl’s lives and the worker’s fight is over. Thus, yet another parallel

between the Lisbon sisters and the strike is created.

At one point in the novel, as the strike not only continues, but is stuck in a

“deadlock” (p. 93), bodies are not just frozen anymore, but have to be shipped out

5 cp. the “Analysis” section of Chapter 2 of the novel to be found under

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/virginsuicides/section2.rhtml 6 cp. ibid.

15

of state. This method of dealing with an unsolved problem by avoiding its cause

may signal a refusal of the suburb’s residents to deal with the inexplicable,

unexpected, unusual suicide. The choice of the word deadlock in this context is

noteworthy as well: Because of the strike, the dead are locked away. After the

strike has ended (as already mentioned, coinciding with the last suicide), the girls,

including Cecilia, can finally be buried. The shipped out bodies come back and it

seems like closure eventually becomes possible. However, it also means that the

Lisbon girls cannot be saved anymore. While it is not mentioned in whose favor

the strike ends, it seems possible that one side admitted defeat, at least to some

extent. The same admission of defeat applies to the Lisbon family’s neighbors that

now could not help the sisters even if they wanted to. They have to face the fact

that the lives of the girls are irrevocably lost. This similarity suggests another link

between the cemetery strike and the girl’s, respectively their neighbors’, situation.

Like the other subchapters before, this part of this thesis was dedicated to one

particular example of the use of metaphors in The Virgin Suicides. It was

highlighted how the course of the cemetery strike shows significant parallels to the

way the residents of the Lisbon’s neighborhood cope with the sisters’ deaths as

well as how they are linked to the strike. Following the analysis of the major motifs

in the novel, the next chapter will focus on their purpose and its meaning in the

context of the novel and this thesis.

2.5 The purpose of symbolism in The Virgin Suicides

The preceding subchapters gave an overview of the main metaphors used by

Jeffrey Eugenides in The Virgin Suicides. They dealt with the major motifs in the

novel, namely the Lisbon house, the fish flies, the elm trees and the cemetery

strike. In order to conclude the part of this thesis dealing with the author’s first

novel, an explanation of the purpose of the symbolism used will be given in this

chapter.

First of all, the use of the aforementioned symbols contributes to the book’s

melancholic and mournful atmosphere: The Lisbon house’s decay and eventual

16

dismantling, the fish flies’ meaningless life and death, the elm trees’ disease and

being cut down in an hopeless effort to save as many as possible, and the

cemetery strike that forbids closure are already lamentable in themselves, but, as

discussed in the previous subchapters, they foremost serve as a symbol of tragic

notions like death, despair and disconnection. These motifs are hypothesized to

have the purpose of causing a feeling of melancholy in the reader as he consumes

the novel, not unlike the one that the girls supposedly feel. This sympathy links the

reader directly to the Lisbon sisters. Moreover, the reader, who is following the

novel’s events as they are reported, is very likely to try to make sense of them, just

like the narrators do. Thereby, yet another connection is made between the reader

and the novel’s main characters. Moreover, the items of symbolism are an

important device to help give the reader more detailed information about the

novel’s protagonists, who, by the nature of the novel’s narrative perspective, are

not as present as protagonists usually are. In that regard, Wandland explains that

“the reader must resist the norms conveyed by the boys and instead try to find the

voice of the sisters” (2011:11). This voice, despite the girls’ importance in the

novel, is almost non-existent. Mostly due to the story’s third person plural narrator,

throughout the novel, the sisters are barely heard and mostly written about – as

they mostly only exist in their own world.

The author further creates a link between the protagonists and the reader by

having the third person narrator(s) tell the story as if the novel were a kind of

manual that could belong to and be an integral part of the boys’ (hypothetical)

collection of Lisbon girl items. For example, particular items, such as pictures or

the family’s former possessions, are often referenced to as “Exhibit # [number]”

(cp. p. 5, 70, 89 etc.), as it is common in an official context, like, for example, in

court. Eugenides thereby turns the novel into a (hypothetical) report, at least

partially lifting it up to different, higher level in a way, in terms of reality: The novel

doesn’t seem to be just a novel anymore, but in its very nature, it becomes aware

of the reader and his existence. It also seems to acknowledge its own purpose,

maybe not as a novel, but as a report that can coexist and be read as a novel (and

not just a report) in both the reader’s and the narrators’ worlds: A hypothetical

member of the narrators’s world, just like the actual reader, could theoretically pick

up a copy of the boys’ writings and read them as a novel. This idea seems to be

confirmed by the sophisticated writing style exhibited here. Examples of this style

17

of writing are numerous lengthy descriptions (for example that of the paramedics’

and their movements, to be found on page 3 and 5) and the display of emotions:

“It didn’t matter in the end how old they had been, or that they were girls, but only

that we had loved them” (cp. p.248 f.). Such a display is highly unlikely for a report.

It has been pointed out that “[b]ecause the plural narrative voice is so uncertain, it

leaves the reader with an obvious awareness of the unreliability of the narrators”.

(Wandland 2011:10). As a result, in the novel, “actual experiences blur together

with the distortions of nostalgia; events are re-imagined, extrapolated and

heightened in an effort to memorialize and make sense of the past.” (Kakutani

1993). This further adds to the notion of The Virgin Suicides being a novelized

report or, vice versa, a report-like novel, told by unreliable narrators. Adding this

extra level to the novel in order to create an in-between-reality serves as a means

to further connect the reader to the world of the novel. The creation of this link

suggests the possibility that the described events could possibly happen or have

happened in the reader’s reality.

In summary, the metaphors described in this chapter are the main asset in the

novel to make the reader feel the Lisbon girls’ melancholy and despair, as these

notions cannot be expressed by the protagonists. They also incorporate the

reader in the narrators’ speculations and lead her / him to ask her-/himself the

same questions the boys do. Thereby, the reader is emotionally tied not only to

the protagonists, but also to the narrators by the use of symbolism and

metaphors. As shown in the previous subchapters, these devices play a major

role in The Virgin Suicides. Moreover, they seem to monopolize the novel in its

entirety, creating a ubiquitous parallel to the sisters’ alleged feelings that is

intended to leave a mark on the reader. By doing so, the novel is linked to the

reader and his reality. This notion is further supported by the report-like qualities

of the novel which also connects the reader to the novel by suggesting that the

narrated events could easily be part of his own world. Or, as Shostak (2009) puts

it, albeit in a different context: “The Virgin Suicides [...] provides a special

opportunity for thinking about the relationship between narrative voice and the

reader's response”.

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3.0 Middlesex (and its hybridity)

Jeffrey Eugenides’s second novel, Middlesex, is in many respects probably the

author’s most important piece of work to date. May that be because of its sheer

length or because of the fact that it was awarded with the Pulitzer Prize. Also, with

regard to this thesis’s topic, Middlesex seems to make a very clear statement in

terms of a connection between the story’s characters and the novel in general.

This chapter (and its subchapters) are dedicated to the theory that the hybridity of

the main character and narrator of the story, Calliope / Cal Stephanides7, is

coherent with the novel’s hybridity in terms of genre8. In order to be able to

analyze this connection, the following subchapters will deal with the hybridity of

genre in the novel and that of the main character respectively. Later, other

apparent links between Calliope / Cal and Middlesex will be discussed. In addition,

further connections between the world of Middlesex and the reader’s reality will be

of particular interest, as well as how the author hints at them.

The notion of hybridity and the novel’s dealing with it are already the subject

of considerable academic discourse (cp. Collado-Rodriguez 2006, Shostak 2008,

Götje 2005, Graham 2009). Because of that, a brief overview of other aspects of

hybridity in Middlesex that are currently discussed should be given at this point.

First of all, Collado-Rodriguez (2006)9 points out that “Middlesex has a dual plot”:

While Cal tells the story of his family, many chapters start with the report of current

events before the narrative returns to the plot that is set in the past (cp. ibid.). The

author also notes that Cal is now living in Berlin, “a formerly divided city” (ibid.) and

that he “is trying to establish a relationship [...] with a Japanese-American woman,

another example of race hybridity” (ibid.). Moreover, Graham (2009:1) writes about

“the hybridity implied by Eugenides’s title” (ibid.), i.e. Middlesex, and its

“contrastingly boundary-conscious first line10 [that] points to a contradiction at the

heart of the narrative” (ibid.). She goes on to explain that hybridity is further

represented in Middlesex, for example, by the fact that Cal’s Greek grandparents

7 Due to the fact that the protagonist is a hermaphrodite, the further choice of pronouns will vary on

Calliope / Cal’s gender identity at the respective time. 8 as indicated by, for example, Götje 2005:3.

9 As the original publication is unavailable, the online source given in the reference section of this paper will

be used and therefore, no page numbers can be given for quotations from Collado-Rodriguez 2006. 10

“I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smog-less Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of 1974.” (Eugenides 2002:1)

19

“escape civil war in their home nation of Turkey and become American by

pretending to be French” (ibid. p. 4). Graham also explains that “[h]ybridity is

reflected in the novel’s narrative strategy” (2009:4), that is, a recurring switch

“between first- and third-person narration” (2009:4). Especially the last point will be

of interest in chapter 3.2. Keeping these notions of the concept in mind, the

following two subchapters will examine in depth two aspects of hybridity in

Middlesex in particular, namely that of genre and that of the character of Cal /

Callie Stephanides.

3.1 The Hybridity of Middlesex in Terms of Genre

Having already established other forms of hybridity in the Middlesex, it is also

Graham who writes that Middlesex “defies categorization” (2009:4), and who

points out that the author of the book himself calls his work a “’hybrid’” (ibid.).

Götje (2005) writes that “Middlesex is many genres in one” (p. 3). Following the

Stephanides family over three generations and as the novel takes course, it

switches genre a number of times11. Which genres the novel traverses and how

these different literary categories become evident throughout the novel will be the

subject of this chapter.

As Cal starts to tell the story of his family, the novel follows his

grandparents, Desdemona and Lefty Stephanides, as they fall in love despite

being brother and sister, escape war and flee to the United States. While their

story is told, the novel shows several signs of a classic love story, namely the

discovery of Desdemona’s and Lefty’s affection for each other and their

subsequent quest to start a relationship despite obstacles. As Lefty and

Desdemona try to escape the imminent danger of war, their love story is

interspersed with characteristics of a war story. The narration of their escape and

the surrounding conditions itself is already characteristic of a war story as it is.

However, the partial switch from love story to war story becomes particularly

11

Collado-Rodriguez (2006) gives a very short overview of the novel’s genres. This however, is insufficient for the purpose of this paper, hence the analysis in this chapter.

20

evident when at some points, the narrative focus shifts from Cal’s telling the story

of his grandparents’ escape to a conversation between a general and his second-

in-command on a ship (cp. p. 49 f.12 or 60 f., for example). In these conversations,

further actions and the current state of the ongoing war are discussed. These

dialogues serve as a background for the story of Lefty and Desdemona. They are

not mandatory to understand their story. Rather, they comment on the events that

are primarily told and that are most relevant for the reader. However, they are not

connected and Cal’s grandparents are not even mentioned for a while. In fact, it is

even nearly impossible for Cal to tell this part of the story as he was neither alive

when it happened nor anybody who could have told him about it was present and

could have witnessed the conversation. This important circumstance in terms of

the narrator’s omniscience will be discussed in detail in the next chapter. At this

point, it serves only to point out the harsh contrast between Lefty and

Desdemona’s love story and the switch to a war story.

Later on, as the couple arrives at Ellis Island, the novel becomes an

immigration story and tells about the struggles of adjustment and the hardships of

starting a new life in a strange country (one might call it a melting pot story). As the

novel progresses, Lefty loses his job and starts smuggling alcohol (set in the time

of prohibition, this is illegal). At this point, to some extent, the narration turns into a

gangster story, a tale of Lefty’s “life of crime” (p. 128). This shift becomes evident,

for example, in a nocturnal alcohol handover and especially in an action scene

following a similar situation. This action scene is characterized by a buildup using

predominantly the thin ice of the frozen river that the characters are driving on. In

the scene, the ice’s thinness serves as a permanent danger. This danger creates

suspense, and finally Lefty’s partner Jimmy Zizmo’s sudden acceleration of the car

serves as a climax. Characterized by many short sentences and a shifting of

scenes every paragraph, the author thereby creates the highlight of many classic

gangster stories, a car chase. Another such element is found later, towards the

end of the story, when Calliope’s father Milton is made believe that she has been

kidnapped and he is being blackmailed. This happens through a “mysterious” (p.

562) phone call. When he gives in to the caller’s demands, $25,000 in cash, which

Milton carries in a briefcase, a suspenseful scene arises at the time of delivery.

This scene is characterized by its dubious setting in an old train station at night, “a 12

Page numbers with regard to Middlesex refer to the 2002 edition as noted in the references section of this paper.

21

ransom scene” (p. 565) under a “strange nocturnal sky” (ibid.), with “a noirish

mood” (ibid.). This terminology, especially the word noirish, derived from the term

film noir, confirms the mysterious mood of the scene, which is reminiscent of crime

literature. When Milton decides to not let the kidnapper get away with all of his

savings, another action sequence follows. However, this “[isn’t] like a car chase in

the movies.” (p. 569) because it contains “no swerving, no near collisions” (ibid).

Unlike the action scene described in the last paragraph, this scene entails an

intendedly funny twist: “After all, this was a car chase between a Greek Orthodox

priest and a middle-aged Republican.” (ibid.). The alleged kidnapper’s car is a

“weirdly shaped” (ibid.) Gremlin “that sounded like a sewing machine” (p. 570),

suggesting that it can hardly be taken seriously. As a result, the characters “never

[exceed] the limit by more than ten miles per hour” (p. 569) and the chase, while

being suspenseful, to a large part contains comedic elements.

Earlier, when Desdemona finds herself forced to look for a job, yet another

genre emerges. When she takes a trolley to Detroit’s Black Bottom district, which

is strange and unknown to her, and as she tries to find an address she obtained

from a newspaper, Desdemona enters a narration characteristic of a mystery.

Later, it becomes reminiscent of a detective story, comparable to Paul Auster’s

City of Glass, for example. As Desdemona asks for her stop, the conductor is

incredulous of her request and the later stop and the opening of the trolley’s doors

is “unheard of” (p. 162). Not at all blending into her surroundings, a predominantly

African-American neighborhood that she finds “terrible, terrible” (p. 163) and that is

as unwelcoming of her as she is “appalled” (p. 171) by it, Desdemona finally finds

what she thought would be a silk factory. However, it turns out to be a cult’s

headquarters. As she starts working here, she becomes “intrigued” (p. 173) and

increasingly mesmerized by the cult leader’s preaching as she secretly listens to

his voice through a heating vent. Eventually, it is revealed that the preacher is in

fact her brother-in-law Jimmy Zizmo, whom was believed to be dead. Thereby, a

mystery is revealed and Desdemona’s strange and mysterious situation is

resolved. It no longer needs the protagonist’s investigation, in this case

Desdemona’s contemplations. This eliminates the conditions necessary for a

detective story and lets the plot continue.

At this point, as the story shifts back to another love story, now that of

Desdemona’s and Lefty’s son Milton and his cousin Tessie, it enters a narration

22

reminiscent of a family drama and the story of Lefty and Desdemona. This time,

however, it does so in an American, suburban setting. In addition, there is yet

another love story which is told by present-day Cal, often at or close to the

beginning of most chapters. This story line entails his attempt at a relationship with

a woman he meets, now living in Berlin and working for the US government. One

more, and probably the book’s most important love story constitutes the part of

Middlesex that can easily be categorized as a coming-of-age story13. When the

Stephanides family arrives at the suburb of Grosse Point, Detroit, Calliope’s way

into adulthood is told. Set in her teenage years, the story tells how she begins to

enter puberty, discovers her sexuality, falls in love for the first time and has her

first hetero- and homosexual experiences. It is at that point, during which she

starts to think about her body and her looks, that she starts to realize that she is

different from the girls she knows: “My clothes weren’t right, my face wasn’t right,

but my angularity was” (p. 344). This awareness shapes her on her way to

adulthood, an event that is typical for a coming-of-age story. Furthermore, when

Calliope decides to run away from her parents who want her to undergo an

operation, the novel becomes “a bit of road novel” (Miller 2002). She decides to

live as a boy from now on and hitchhikes to San Francisco. This part of Middlesex

is characterized by many scenes that are set in cars or trucks. Often, these scenes

are mostly conversation-driven. They frequently deal with Cal’s acquaintances,

what influence they have on him and, to a great extent, with the psychological and

physical changes he undergoes during his trip. All of these features are distinctive

for a road novel.

In conclusion, this chapter has shown that Middlesex is characterized to a

great extent by the rich diversity of the genres the novel consists of. While a

considerable amount of the plot can be categorized as one of the several love

stories that the book offers, there is also evidence of many other genres as diverse

as, for example, a war story, a family drama or a coming-of-age story (cp. Graham

2009:4). In addition, according to Frelich Appleton (2005), “the story has many

hallmarks of a Greek tragedy” (p. 392). Graham writes: Hybridity “populates and

shape[s] the novel, both in its content and its form” (p. 4). This statement has been

confirmed in this chapter. Now that the hybridity of genre Middlesex displays has

13

as Götje (2005:3) also points out

23

been pointed out, the next subchapter is dedicated to the hybridity in the character

of the novel’s narrator, Calliope / Cal Stephanides.

3.2 The Hybridity of Calliope / Cal Stephanides

As the narrative in Middlesex tells the stories of three generations of the

Stephanides family, it is natural that the novel is characterized by a wide variety of

characters that gain and lose importance during the course of the novel. One

constant character however, is Calliope / Cal Stephanides, the protagonist of the

story. The main focus of this chapter will be about her / his hybridity.

While (s)he also possesses the role of the novel’s narrator as well as its

protagonist (already a form a hybridity in itself), Calliope / Cal’s most significant

trait, also and especially in terms of hybridity, is the fact that (s)he is born as an

intersexual, i.e. with female and male genitalia. Therefore, Graham speaks of

“Cal’s ambiguous body” (2009:11). This fact is one (if not the) most important

element of the novel. Without it, most of the narration would fall apart or become

incoherent. Having stressed the importance of the protagonist’s biological

condition, it is imperative to pay attention to other notions that constitute Calliope /

Cal’s hybridity. Collado-Rodriguez (2006) writes that (s)he “is narrator and

character, Greek and American, woman and man”. Thus, there is not only a

biological hybridity to be found in the protagonist, but also one in regard to her / his

role in the novel’s narrative, as well as her / his ethnicity and gender (cp. Götje

2005:24). All of these traits contribute to Calliope / Cal’s hybridity.

But also in her / his role as a narrator, Calliope / Cal is a hybrid person. As

already mentioned in chapter 3.0, Graham (2009) argues that Calliope / Cal’s

hybridity is represented in her / his narrative style of switching the narrative

perspective throughout out the novel (p. 4). She further explains that “Cal is an

omniscient, sometimes unreliable, first-person narrator who has detailed

knowledge of events that he did not witness, presenting the thoughts and

emotions as well as the actions of the two preceding generations of his family”

24

(Graham 2009:4)14. This idea is supported by Shostak (2009) when she explains

that the narrator is “a hermaphrodite who not only is unstable as to gender but also

bears witness to events that occur before his/her birth”. On the other hand, though,

as Collado-Rodriguez (2006) points out, Calliope / Cal “often recognizes a certain

limitation of her / his omniscience” as well. Consequently, Calliope / Cal’s

unsteady omniscience and her sometimes limited knowledge in contrast to her at

other times unlimited knowledge further suggest the dividedness of her / his

character. This view is also confirmed by her / his recurring switches between

being a first-person and a third-person narrator.

Furthermore, also in terms of character, there is a certain duality to Calliope

/ Cal: In the novel, there are a number of examples of Calliope / Cal’s uncertainty,

the most detailed description of which can be found with respect to the character’s

approach to her first love, The Obscure Object. Especially the way in which the

two approach each other physically is of interest here: At first, Calliope is

extremely shy and hesitant to take the first step. However, as she notices

reciprocation of her attempts, she becomes the one who initiates them every

single night. So, while Calliope is extremely insecure and uncertain in the

beginning, she becomes rather confident after a while. But also present-day Cal is

a rather insecure person. He is hesitant to tell people about his condition and tries

to avoid it. These circumstances not only serve as an indicator of her / his

uncertainty, but of the hybridity of her / his character that is symbolized by

uncertainty. Her / his insecurities can further be interpreted as metaphors (or

signs) of ambiguity which in turn make up the hybridity of the protagonist’s

character. Moreover, as Götje points out, Cal’s journey to San Francisco is a

“search for a fixed identity” (2007:24), another indicator of uncertainty in the

character.

At any rate, the overall statement can be made that the main character in

Middlesex, Calliope / Cal Stephanides, in many respects shows signs of hybridity.

This can either be seen in her / his character and traits like nationality, gender,

biological sex, or - on a different level - in the way (s)he tells the story of the novel.

How this statement ties in with the argument made in this chapter will be

14

This notion was illustrated in the last subchapter, using the example of a switch to a war story in the beginning of Middlesex.

25

discussed in the following chapter, which will deal with the correlation of hybridity

in the novel’s genre and its main character.

3.3 The Correlation of Hybridity in Genre and the Protagonist in

Middlesex

As the previous subchapters have shown, the concept of hybridity plays a major

role in Middlesex. As chapter 3.1 conveyed, the novel is made up of many, highly

diverse genres resulting in it being a hybrid. The same can be said, as it was

discussed in chapter 3.2, about the story’s protagonist. Calliope / Cal shows traces

of diversity in her-/himself with respect to several personal traits and in the way

(s)he tells the story. As a consequence, it can be argued that there is a strong

correlation between the hybridity the story displays in its wide variety of genres as

well as in its main character and narrator. The novel’s overall diversity of genre is

argued to serve as a metaphor for the diversity of the protagonist (and vice versa),

which becomes evident in her / his hybridity in terms of gender, sex, omniscience,

ethnicity, and character as well as the narrative styles (s)he chooses.

What’s more, the author describes Calliope as “a girl who talked for two,

who babbled so fluently that her father the ex-clarinet man liked to joke she knew

circular breathing” (p. 296). This affinity of being talkative is reflected in the novel

itself as well, as it is a comparatively long work of literature, consisting of roughly

six hundred pages. In addition to the argument made above, this fact results in

appearance of a strong link between the protagonist and the novel as a whole.

The (hypothetical) diverse traits of the main character are directly mirrored in the

(actual) diversity of genre in the novel. The latter diversity appears on a different

level, as it occurs in the world of the reader and her / his reality. That being the

case, Jeffrey Eugenides once more creates a link, transgressing the boundaries of

the novel’s and the reader’s realities. How he also does so to a great extent in yet

another way will be discussed in detail in chapter 5.0.

This chapter dealt with the extent to which Jeffrey Eugenides’s second

novel Middlesex fits into the hypothesis of this thesis. In the following section, an

analysis of the author’s latest work, namely The Marriage Plot, will follow.

26

4.0 The Marriage Plot

This chapter will focus on The Marriage Plot, Eugenides’s third novel. It is

proposed that, for in a number of instances, the novel deals to a great extent with

the notions of disappointment and uncertainty. Moreover, it is claimed that the

author integrates and thereby mirrors his own fears and problems into the novel. It

will be hypothesized that the author feared not to be able to keep up the high

expectations after his highly critically acclaimed first and second novels.

Supposedly, as a result, he lets the characters in The Marriage Plot deal with

disappointment and uncertainty. It will be argued that this way, yet again, the

author creates a (sub-) level of realness in order to stronger connect his work with

the reader. On that note, autobiographic hints of the author in The Marriage Plot

will be of interest, also with respect to his other novels discussed so far. There are

considerable similarities to be found between the author’s characteristics in real

life and those of some of his characters. This observation will be discussed in

chapter 4.3 and will be of particular interest in chapter 5.0. As these overlaps

become significantly obvious in The Marriage Plot, they will partially be discussed

in the course of this chapter and should be kept in mind. Accordingly, the following

two subchapters will deal with the major themes in Eugenides’s most recent novel

to date, disappointment and uncertainty, and how they become evident in the

novel. Chapter 4.3 will then focus on possible reasons for the author’s choice of

these themes for his third novel and the role of the author’s self-references.

4.1 Disappointment as a Theme in The Marriage Plot

In The Marriage Plot, several examples representing the notion of disappointment

can be found. First and foremost, the relationship between Madeleine and her

parents is shaped by disappointment. So is the relationship between and in

particular the later marriage of Madeleine and Leonard. Another instance of

disappointment is evident in Madeleine’s friendship with Mitchell and their failed

attempt at a relationship. Moreover, disappointment in terms of personal careers

appears in Madeleine’s mother Phyllida’s failed attempt to become a professional

actress, Leonard‘s illness that prohibits him from pursuing his career, as well as

27

Mitchell’s decision not to attend divinity school. A closer look at these examples of

disappointment in The Marriage Plot and how they constitute it as an overall motif

in the novel will be given in this chapter.

Beginning with the Hanna family, there are several instances of

disappointment to be found, in particular with respect to its relationship dynamics,

which are strongly characterized by it. Especially Madeleine endures many

instances of this motif in her own life, but also acts as a cause for other characters’

disappointment. Looking back at her life in college in the beginning of the novel,

Madeleine’s dissatisfaction with it is addressed. “It was Madeleine’s last semester

of senior year, a time when she was supposed to have some fun, but she wasn’t

having any” (p. 29)15. “Looking back, Madeleine realize[s] that her college love life

had fallen short of expectations” (ibid.) as well. But she is not only dissatisfied with

her personal life in college, as “it wasn’t long until she’d become bored with [her]

thesis.” (p. 23) as well. Moreover, her thesis itself also deals with the notion of

disappointment and the “demise” (p. 23) of the marriage plot that she is very fond

of: “These novels followed their spirited, intelligent heroines [...] into their

disappointing married lives, and it was here that the marriage plot reached its

greatest artistic expression [paragraph ends]. By 1900 the marriage plot was no

more” (ibid.). Plus, the meetings with her professor while writing her thesis are

described as “dispiriting” (ibid.). In addition, Madeleine is subject to numerous

further instances of disappointment in the course of the novel and its subsequent

events. As she decides to follow Leonard to his fellowship in Cape Cod, she soon

realizes that she is very unhappy with her decision. She starts to feel bored and

rejected by her boyfriend who is not only working a lot, but whose mental illness

also resurfaces more and more often. These problems make her question their

relationship in general and whether she made the right choice moving in and

planning a future with him.

Probably the biggest disappointment Madeleine has to withstand is her

marriage with Leonard. Not only does she disappoint her parents and especially

her mother by deciding to go through with the wedding despite their warnings, but

also is she, in turn, disappointed by her parents when they don’t support her

decision and try to talk her out of it. Later, her parents try to talk her into a divorce

15

The page numbers given with respect to The Marriage Plot refer to those of the edition mentioned in the references section of this paper.

28

as well, which Madeleine perceives as a lack of support. However, her

disappointment in terms of her marriage is mainly caused by her husband. During

their honeymoon, Leonard’s illness once more emerges, to an extent that it had

never before, and Madeleine, helpless, scared, and overwhelmed by the situation,

reluctantly is forced to move back to her parent’s house. Moving back is

particularly disappointing for her as she had been trying to avoid this all along. She

soon realizes that she underestimated her husband’s condition. Madeleine

understands that she cannot live with it after all without having to face serious

constraints in her professional and personal life. This realization is not only

disappointing for her because of her failing marriage, but also for her own future.

Eventually, when Leonard divorces her and Madeleine is once more disappointed,

she has to deal with the fact that she is the one who is left (and not the other way

around). On that note, when meeting her sister Alwyn, it is interesting that Leonard

notices how Madeleine had “clearly suffered from being the less pretty sister all

her life” (p. 272). Being less attractive than her sister is probably another example

of disappointment for Madeleine. In turn, it is Alwyn who disappoints her when she

violates her and Leonard’s privacy. By going through their medicine cabinet, Alwyn

finds out about Leonard’s condition and immediately involves their mother into the

situation. This leads to an argument between Alwyn and her sister, based on

Madeleine’s disappointment with her.

Moving on to the other members of the Hanna family, there are more

instances of disappointment to be found: First of all, there is the fact that Phyllida

had to give up her career as a professional actress because she got married and

had her daughters. As “Phyllida’s inability to realize her dreams ha[s] given

Madeleine her own [dreams]” (p. 32), it seems plausible to assume that Phyllida,

at least to some extent, blames her daughters for having to give up her dream and

is therefore prone to being disappointed in them as well. As already mentioned,

Phyllida herself is further disappointed in Madeleine when she does not obey her

warnings and decides to marry Leonard. She is also disappointed in Alwyn, who

refuses to take her mother’s marriage advice as well and files for a divorce.

Leonard, among Madeleine and Mitchell one of the novel’s three main

characters, is also subject to several instances of disappointment. Most

observably, that is the case with respect to his mental illness. Being diagnosed

with manic depression, he is highly disappointed in himself and his condition due

29

to his illness. In this regard, he is dissatisfied with his treatment and soon becomes

impatient. He eventually starts experimenting with his medication and its doses.

Being a scientist, the positive effect he observes at first rewards him for his idea.

However, it soon turns out that he made a mistake when he ruins his honeymoon

with Madeleine because of his experiments. This is another major disappointment

for him both as a scientist as well as a husband. Leonard is also dissatisfied with

himself with respect to his fellowship. He constantly feels incompetent and not up

to the tasks of his job. As a result, he “count[s] the minutes until he [can] leave

each day” (p. 269), also because he feels “like a secretary” (ibid.), like “hired help”

(ibid.), mostly due to the way he is treated by his supervising professor. As a

result, he doesn’t like him and is disappointed in him. Regarding his relationship

with Madeleine, throughout the novel, Leonard feels to be an inadequate

boyfriend, and later, husband. This eventually leads to his disappearance and his

divorcing her, a decision mostly based on the fact that he is trying to save her from

him and the life he sees she would have with him. However, it could be argued

that he is a little disappointed in Madeleine as well. He is the one who notices, as it

has already been pointed out, that she “had clearly suffered from being the less

pretty sister all her life” (p. 272) when he meets her sister Alwyn.

The remaining important character in The Marriage Plot, Mitchell, also has to

face disappointment. While being successful as a student, he is disappointed in

other ways. Already in the beginning of their commonly planned journey, his friend

Larry starts to show a lack of willingness to commit to their travel plans. When they

arrive at their first stop in Paris and meet Larry’s girlfriend Claire, the two friends

quickly become separated and the idea of their shared trip seems to be

abandoned. Later, when they agree on leaving Paris together, Mitchell is

disappointed by Larry once again. He has now decided not to go to India, their

planned final destination, with him, once more choosing his partner (now a man he

met in Greece) over Mitchell. Larry’s unexpected homosexuality surprises Mitchell

and makes him question their friendship, especially with regard to a hazy drunken

memory he has. This recollection involves Larry molesting him while being half

unconscious. He had dismissed it as a bad dream and therefore acted as if it didn’t

happen, but he starts to wonder again now: “That Larry was sleeping with men

wasn’t a big deal in the larger scheme of things. But it cast a complicating light on

their friendship – and especially the drunken night in Venice – and made them

30

both feel awkward” (p. 297). Having arrived in India, Mitchell is further

disappointed, this time by himself. He finds himself not as committed as he

thought he could and would be to his work at the Home of Dying Destitutes, a

hospice for the terminally ill. Here, he shies away from certain unpleasant tasks

that he cannot bring himself to do. This inability makes him question the purpose

of his trip as well as himself as a person. Mitchell’s biggest disappointment,

however, is the realization that Madeleine, whom he had been trying to get over

and obsessing about for a long time, “[isn’t] so special” (p. 406) after all. He starts

to understand that all of his worries about her, his failed attempt at a relationship

with her as well as the pain this caused him were in vain, and that they were

actually for someone who didn’t turn out to be what he had been hoping for.

Concluding this chapter, it is imperative to take note of one more example of

disappointment in The Marriage Plot, namely the fact that there is no happy

ending. None of the novel’s characters end up together, particularly happy, or at

least where they had hoped to end. The anticipation of a successful relationship at

the end of the story is suggested to the reader not only by the title of the novel, but

also by the discussion of the marriage plot in the novel, which usually entails a

happy marriage in the end. As it has been pointed it in this chapter, the novel ends

in disappointment for all of the three main characters: Leonard divorces Madeleine

and retreats to an unknown location, which is disappointing for both of them.

Conversely, Madeleine is also rejected by Mitchell, who, in turn, now realizes that

she is not what he thought she would be. In addition, Deresiewicz (2011) further

explains “By the end [...], neither Leonard nor Mitchell has any evident direction

into grown-up life, and Madeleine’s is treated almost as if it didn’t exist”. All of

these notions that constitute the novel’s ending contribute to an un-happy ending

that is unlikely to be anticipated by the reader and that further integrates the

concept of disappointment into the novel.

In this chapter, it has been shown that the notion of disappointment is a

recurrent theme in Jeffrey Eugenides’s third novel. It was pointed out how each of

the novel’s major (as well as some minor) characters has to face disappointment

in one way or another. This argument should be kept in mind, as it will be of

importance in chapter 4.3, which will take a closer look at the purpose of the use of

this motif. Before doing so, chapter 4.2 will highlight another significant theme in

The Marriage Plot.

31

4.2 Uncertainty as a Theme in The Marriage Plot

The last chapter focused on the various instances of disappointment throughout

The Marriage Plot. Along with this theme, the notion of uncertainty is another

highly characteristic motif. The following chapter will be dedicated to how it is

represented in the novel and how it connects with the motif discussed in the

previous subchapter.

In his review of The Marriage Plot, William Deresiewicz characterizes

Madeleine as “a beautiful, uncertain WASP” (2011). Eugenides in turn, as early as

page 7, describes his protagonist as “the slightly anxious person that Madeleine

felt herself, intrinsically, to be”. This anxiety becomes evident, for example, when

the beginning of Madeline’s and Leonard’s (physical) relationship is described and

when the author writes that “she’d spent the entire night worrying that she was

turning Leonard off, worrying that her body wasn’t good enough, or that her breath

was bad [...], worrying, too, about having suggested ordering martinis” (ibid.).

Especially the repeated use of the verb worrying highlights Madeleine’s lack of

self-esteem. In terms of her work, Madeline soon develops uncertainties with

respect to her thesis: “Doubts about the originality of her work nagged at her. She

felt as if she was regurgitating the arguments [her teacher] had made in his [...]

seminar” (p. 23). Madeleine faces further instances of uncertainty when she

doesn’t know how to deal with Leonard’s mental disorder several times in the

course of the novel. Also, she is unsure how to respond to Mitchell’s feelings for

her.

However, it is not only Madeleine who serves as an example of uncertainty

in the novel. Also the character Leonard has to deal with it. The most obvious

example of this issue is his clinical manic-depression. The symptoms of his

disease come and go with no knowing when or how they will surface, and

contribute to a great extent to his personal insecurities regarding his work and his

relationship with Madeleine in particular. Moreover, when Leonard is introduced to

Madeleine’s mother and sister, he notices that Madeleine “look[s] bored by

everything he said, and in physical discomfort” (p. 273), another indicator of his

doubts. His inability to perform sexually due to the side effects of his medication

32

further contributes to Leonard’s personal uncertainty and low self-esteem. What’s

more, it makes him question whether Madeleine will be loyal to him. For example,

noticing that she is not next to him when he wakes up one morning, he fears that

she “ha[s] left for good” (ibid.). Eventually, Leonard’s final act of divorcing

Madeleine and his withdrawal from her in order to save her from him and his life is

another act of uncertainty. In this case, it seem like he feels to be insufficient as a

husband for her.

Uncertainty is also something that The Marriage Plot’s third major character,

Mitchell, is coping with. Having received the rare honor of his professor’s

acknowledgment and his offer of a full scholarship to a prestigious divinity school

of his choice, Mitchell contemplates through the course of the whole novel whether

to accept or what else to do after his graduation from college. Yet another instance

of uncertainty that surfaces in the character of Mitchell is his “struggle with his

spirituality” (Deresiewicz 2011), as he is constantly looking for a religion he wants

to live by. Being a religious scholar, this is a particularly interesting and extremely

important question for him. Moreover, Mitchell’s journey, which is a major part of

his story in The Marriage Plot, shows numerous indicators of uncertainty. While

having started with a vague plan, his journey is characterized by a spontaneous,

rather loose itinerary. Accordingly, there is uncertainty in his travels as to where he

will go, when he will be there and for how long. A number of experiences during

his trip show signs of uncertainty as well: his search for a place to sleep in Paris

when he wants to give his friend and travel companion Larry and his girlfriend their

privacy, the brief moment of shock when he thinks that he has been robbed by his

hostel roommate, or his struggle to fully commit to the work at the Home of Dying

Destitutes. Another instance of uncertainty in Mitchell’s character is manifested in

his relationship to Madeleine, particularly in his hesitation as how to react to the

letter she sends him. Unsure how to respond, he keeps editing his reply and

postpones sending his response to her letter. Eventually, after having carried it

around for “almost a month” (p. 220), he decides not to send it after all. He later

pretends that he did and that it did not arrive. All of these actions contribute to

Mitchell’s uncertainty.

But also in terms of narration, there is some uncertainty to be detected in The

Marriage Plot. The novel’s narrative perspective switches several times between

the three characters Madeleine, Leonard, and Mitchell. These shifts result in a

33

non-linear and at times repetitive telling of the story’s events. They could be

considered a parallel to the uncertainty that can be found in the characters in

general, as it has been described earlier in this chapter. Interestingly, they are

comparable to the switches that have been discussed in chapter 3.2 with respect

to the character of Calliope / Cal Stephanides in Middlesex. Also, diversity in

genre, not unlike that in Middlesex discussed in chapter 3.1, is evident in The

Marriage Plot as well. Most of the novel’s narration, especially the parts that tell

the story of Madeleine and Leonard, can be categorized as a drama. However,

other chapters, those written from Mitchell’s perspective, are much more

reminiscent of a travel story as they narrate his journey and the changes he

undergoes. These changes are often influenced by his experiences during his trip.

Moreover, Madeleine’s quest to find purpose in her life could further be regarded

as a coming-of-age story (cp. Deresiewicz 2011), if a late one. The dividedness of

the novel in terms of genre acts as a divider of the novel in general. It can be

regarded as another indicator of uncertainty as the novel’s division parallels and

confirms the uncertainty found throughout the novel.

The last two subchapters were dedicated to pointing out the major themes of

disappointment and uncertainty in The Marriage Plot. It has been shown that there

are various instances of these motifs to be found in the novel’s different characters

and the situations described throughout it. It is important to note that the notion of

uncertainty is often the trigger for the instances of disappointment as described in

the previous chapter. For example, Mitchell’s uncertainty with respect to his

volunteer work results in his disappointment with himself. In the same way,

Leonard’s uncertainty regarding his illness leads to his experimenting with his

medication which causes him great disappointment personally as well as in his

marriage. With this information in mind, the next chapter will be about the

hypothesized intentions the author may have had when choosing these themes

and their role in his third novel.

34

4.3 Possible Reasons for the Choice of Disappointment and

Uncertainty as Themes in The Marriage Plot

In the previous chapters, the major themes in The Marriage Plot have been

established and discussed. As already indicated in the introductory part of this

chapter, it is hypothesized that the author uses these themes in order to cope with

or playfully twist the high expectations towards his third novel, which supposedly

existed due to the fact of his previous work’s tremendous success. To what extent

this can be justified will be answered by this chapter.

While most of the novel’s reviews by professional critics that can be found

are mainly or very positive (cp. Teitelbaum 2011, Deresiewicz 2011), many

readers receive The Marriage Plot differently. Amateur reviews on popular

websites like, for example, Amazon.com16 tend to have a negative, mostly

mediocre view of the novel. It could be argued that, when planning and writing the

novel, Jeffrey Eugenides was anticipating, or possibly fearing, a negative response

to it. After all, his newest work would follow the highly well-received predecessors

The Virgin Suicides and Middlesex. It seems possible that the author deliberately

integrated the themes uncertainty and disappointment into the novel. He himself

may have been uncertain about his own work and aware of the potential

disappointment he or his audience might face as a consequence. This likely

coherence between uncertainty and resulting disappointment is similar to what has

been discussed so far in this chapter with respect to The Marriage Plot. Under the

assumption that the author did in fact deliberately choose the themes of the novel

because of this line of thought, by doing so, he would be able to protect himself

from criticism. In that case, he could argue that, like he did in his previous novels,

central motifs of the novel apply to the novel in general (as described in the

precious subchapter), and that this feature was used as a stylistic device.

Moreover, it is imaginable that he merely tried to play with the alleged great

expectations towards his third novel by creating a story that dealt with his

uncertainty and the potential disappointment it could result in. In that case, he

would use the novel as a whole as a means of communication with the reader. He

would do so in addition to the already discussed way of manifesting certain

16

cp. http://www.amazon.com/The-Marriage-Plot-A-Novel/product-reviews/125001476X/ref=pr_all_summary_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

35

properties of the narrative to the entire novel. In this case, this device would be the

display of uncertainty by dividing it into different genres. This idea is supported

considering Freeman who writes:

“It’s not just that writing is hard, but that his success has made it possible for him

[Jeffrey Eugenides] to imagine the book out there in the field. He can image how it

will be marketed and sold, and when that happens, he says, work is dead in the

water.” (2013).

This alleged experience “in the field” (2013) as he writes, that Freeman attests to

Eugenides here, makes it possible to assume that the use of motifs as described

above did in fact happen on purpose.

This concludes the analysis of The Marriage Plot as well as that of Jeffrey

Eugenides’s novels. It has been shown that the author seems to methodically

create links between the protagonists and the entirety of the novels they appear in.

It has also been pointed out that the author apparently tries to establish a

connection between the reader’s world and that of his novels’ characters in each

of his works. Keeping the knowledge that has been accumulated so far in mind,

the next chapter of this thesis will deal with the proposed purpose of the author’s

intention behind this habit.

5.0 The Purpose of Linking the “World of the Narrative” to the

“World of The Reader” in the Works of Jeffrey Eugenides

Until now, the analysis of certain aspects of the works of Jeffrey Eugenides has

been the main concern of this thesis. In the following chapter, the information that

has been gathered so far will be necessary in order to determine and verify the

hypothesis of this thesis and to conclude it. In the previous chapters, it has been

shown how the author seems to try to connect the fictional events and characters

in his novels with the reader’s reality. However, as already indicated in the

introduction of the previous chapter, Jeffrey Eugenides not only seems to be

interested in doing so by the use of several stylistic devices, but also that he

himself, in many cases, shares certain traits with his protagonists. In this thesis

36

(and in this chapter in particular) it is hypothesized that the author does so in an

attempt to add to reader’s experience, step out of the footprints of the classic novel

and create something new and unique. Whether that is actually the case and to

what extent this becomes evident in Eugenides’s works will be the main focus of

this chapter. A possible reason for the author’s alleged strive for a new approach

to writing literature becomes evident when Freeman (2013) writes about

Eugenides’s creative influence:

“[Eugenides’s teacher Gilbert Sorrentino] wanted his students to reinvent how to tell

a story. ‘He hated everything in The New Yorker,’ Eugenides remembers, ‘hated

almost everything, was fatigued by it, and was fatigued by it not because he was

stupid but because he was incredibly smart, and he could see exactly what the

writers were doing.’ Eugenides obliged, but in a pattern that has persisted for his

whole life as a writer, he kept his own counsel. So he would write stories that

thumbed their nose at realism but didn’t entirely give up on plot or story.”

The last sentence in particular is of interest in the context of this thesis. How the

author thumbs his nose at realism has already been pointed out, for example by

the report-like qualities of The Virgin Suicides. It will also play a role in the

following part of this thesis. In a different interview, “Eugenides says his

background in semiotics has helped him look for clichés in language and the

structure of novels” (Evans 2011). It is conceivable that the idea of the author’s

way of linking the narrative’s and the reader’s world are the attempt at the

avoidance of clichés and of the repetition of classic novels in his works.

The author also seems to have a way of hinting at his technique by

mentioning books within his novels that suggest exactly what is hypothesized

about Eugenides’s work in this thesis. In Middlesex, for example, when Cal

describes a book a friend of his is attempting to publish, he describes it as “a

strange book (a hybrid itself), mixing genetics, cellular biology and Hindu

mysticism” (p. 551). Middlesex itself deals to a great extent with genetics and

biology (take, for example, the scientific “paper” in Eugenides 2002:490 ff.), as well

as Greek mythology (cp. Ellinger 2004, Graham 2009:5). This observation

suggests an intended parallel between the fictional book and the author’s actual

work. This match might be understood as a comment on the novel and maybe

even as a clue for the correspondence of genre and character as described in

chapter 3.1 and 3.2. It also hints at the hypothesized link between the reader’s and

the character’s worlds that the author seems to try to create. In addition, in The

37

Marriage Plot, the narrator compares the improvement of Leonard’s condition to

“reading certain difficult books” (p. 345) which entail a “dull stretch” (p. 346) that

eventually makes the reader appreciate the upcoming better parts of the book

more. Keeping in mind the theory explained in chapter 4.3 (Eugenides uses the

novel to address fears and / or expectations), it is possible to assume that the

author comments on The Marriage Plot itself as it could perhaps (and maybe even

on purpose!) contain dull stretches, thereby turning a supposedly bad, criticizable

part into a section which actually acts in favor of the novel.

In chapter 4.0, it has already been mentioned that certain similarities

between Jeffrey Eugenides and his characters can be observed. One of these

mostly autobiographic self-references becomes evident in the description of his

protagonist Calliope / Cal Stephanides: On page 225, Eugenides (2002) describes

present-day Cal as “the severe, aquiline-nosed, Roman-coinish person [Cal is]

today”. This description perfectly matches the picture of the author attached in the

inside of the book’s back cover. What’s more, other parallels can be found: For

example, both present-day Cal and the author are Americans of Greek descent

that used to live in Grosse Point, Michigan. What’s more, as Freeman (2013)

points out, after publishing The Virgin Suicides, Eugenides “took a fellowship in

Germany and moved to Berlin with his new wife, the sculptor Karen Yamauchi”.

Not only does present-day Cal live in Berlin, the love story he tells involves a

woman of Japanese descent17. In addition, “Eugenides has stated that the title

Middlesex comes from the name of the street on which his family lived during part

of his childhood” (Frelich Appleton 2005:406). As already mentioned in chapter

4.0, in The Marriage Plot, the author’s use of self-references in his novels

becomes particularly clear. Freeman (2013) highlights several stages of

Eugenides’s life before becoming a professional writer, some of which read like a

description of the main characters in The Marriage Plot (as Freeman also points

out). Not only was the author a student at Brown University in the early 1980s, like

his protagonists (cp. Freeman 2013), but he also, like Mitchell, “took a year off

from college and, in January 1982, packed himself off to India. He arrived in

Calcutta and very quickly, very colossally, failed his own test” (Freeman

2013). However, with regard to autobiographic references in his novels, Eugenides

himself says: 17

With no other information than her last name, it is just assumed that Karen Yamauchi is of Japanese descent. Of course, this does not necessarily have to be the case.

38

"I'm not really an autobiographical writer, though I use stuff from my life to make my

stories seem real. But when I actually write about myself I get very confused. ... You

need to write about yourself in terms of how you feel and in terms of what you've

seen, but when you put it into another character, you free yourself from having to be

accurate and truthful. You can make a different kind of truth." (Evans 2011)

Especially the last part of this statement is of interest here, as the idea of making a

different kind of truth seems to be what fascinates and probably drives Eugenides

in his work. It also explains other instances of overlaps in the worlds of the novels

and that of the reader. So does the use of personal experiences to make his

stories seem real. In this case, the parallels to his own life in his works act as a

tool to create realism in his novels. The result of the author’s technique is summed

up by Collado-Rodriguez (2006) when he writes:

“In this way, readers are progressively forced to move on textual grounds of undefined

quality; real life mixes with the narrator's world, alleged truth with playful incongruence,

and the story enters the territory of the cognitive borderlands.”18

The ways in which the author connects the different worlds of reality and

fiction and especially the reason for doing so have been the topic of this chapter.

In conclusion, it can be argued that Jeffery Eugenides uses a number of tools to

create a connection between the world of the reader and the worlds of his novels.

These tools include the use of autobiographic references which result in shared

properties of people of the reader’s and the novel’s world. Another one of these

tools is the author’s way of transgressing the world of the novel by assigning

properties of the novel’s plot to the novel as a whole, as it has been highlighted in

detail in previous chapters. This chapter was dedicated to demonstrate that the

author uses these devices in order to set his work apart from the classic novel. He

also does so to incorporate realism into his novels, in an attempt to distinguish his

work from that of other authors.

18

No page number can be given here as the original source is unavailable and an online publication is referenced to instead.

39

6.0 Conclusion

In the beginning of this thesis, it was claimed that there is connection between the

characters in the works of Jeffrey Eugenides and his novels as a whole. This

connection was said to be motivated by the author’s attempt to link the worlds of

the reader and those of his narrative. In the following chapters, all three of Jeffrey

Eugenides’s major novels so far, namely The Virgin Suicides, Middlesex, and The

Marriage Plot were analyzed. As different as the plots and characters of each

novel may have seemed at first, it has been shown that they all have something in

common, namely a way of connecting the protagonists’ worlds with that of the

reader as well as common properties that the characters share with the novel in

general.

With respect to The Virgin Suicides, the use of metaphors of several

elements, as for example the Lisbon house or the fish flies was pointed out. It was

revealed that the extensive use of symbolism contributes to the proposed

connection mentioned above. After that, the way in which Eugenides creates an

in-between reality by giving the novel characteristics of a report was emphasized.

In the next chapter, which was dedicated to Eugenides’s second novel, an

overview of the wide variety of genres that the novel covers was given. The

resulting hybridity of Middlesex was followed by an analysis of the main character,

Calliope, later Cal, Stephanides, whose hybridity was than linked to that of the

novel in general. It was then highlighted how the author creates a foundation for

further ways of linking the reader and his reality to that of the novel’s protagonist,

namely by linking the protagonist with the novel using their hybrid characteristics,

not unlike it was hypothesized for The Virgin Suicides. Chapter 4.0 focused on The

Marriage Plot, Eugenides’s third novel. Here, it was shown how the motifs

disappointment and uncertainty are a crucial part of the story. As they supposedly

mirror the writer’s uncertainty and fear of disappointment, or act as an intentional

playful twist, a transgression of the worlds was once more accomplished.

Thus, it has been shown that Jeffrey Eugenides’s novels, each in its own way,

create a link between the fictional world of the narrative and the real world of the

reader. The analysis of Jeffrey Eugenides’s novels was followed by an account of

40

the author’s use of his technique as well as autobiographic hints in his novels. It

was explained that the probable reason for the integration of these tools into his

work is caused by the author’s strive for realism in his work, as well as his

motivation to distinguish his stories from those that have already been told. As this

thesis has shown, Eugenides at great length pays attention to this motive. He

thereby succeeds to invent a different world, an in-between reality, in his stories

and for the reader, which offers a quite new reading experience. This method is in

contrast to that of the classic novel that does not provide such parallels between

the fictional characters and the actual reader. It does not attempt to involve the

reader as actively as the works of Jeffrey Eugenides do. Therefore, it can be

claimed that Jeffrey Eugenides effectively manages to accomplish his proposed

goal of distinguishing his work from the classic novel.

41

7.0 References

Cardullo, Bret. "Love Story, or Coppola vs. Coppola." The Hudson Review 57.3: 463-70.

Print.

Collado-Rodríguez, Francisco. "Of Self and Country: U.S. Politics, Cultural Hybridity,

and Ambivalent Identity in Jeffrey Eugenides's Middlesex." The International Fiction

Review 33.1-2 (2006). The International Fiction Review. Web. 28 May 2013.

<http://journals.hil.unb.ca/index.php/IFR/article/view/707/1039>.

"Customer Reviews The Marriage Plot: A Novel." Amazon.com: Customer Reviews:

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