Culture

After he focussed on mass suicide in The Virgin Suicides and then hermaphrodism in Middlesex, I was curious to see what Jeffrey Eugenides had in store for us with his latest novel, The Marriage Plot. Unlike his other novels, The Marriage Plot does not trade in shock value. Instead, the plot centres on the love triangle between three college graduates. At the focal point of this love triangle is Madeline Hanna, an English major ironically studying the marriage plot in the novels of Jane Austen and George Elliot. Her two “suitors” are Mitchell Grammaticus and Leonard Bankhead. Mitchell is a somewhat lost soul, who searches for his religious identity in the novel. He falls for Madeline when they first meet — the clichéd “love at first sight”. Throughout his travels through Europe and India, he continues to pine after Madeline, but his love is unrequited. Leonard, on the other hand, is a misunderstood loner who captures Madeline’s eye during a course in semiotics. A relationship develops between Leonard and Madeline, which is later complicated by Leonard’s manic depression. Ultimately, Madeline must make a decision between Mitchell, the great friend who has always loved her, and Leonard, a vulnerable and in-need-of-help individual.

Admittedly, I was rather sceptical when I first picked up the novel. It all sounded so clichéd: girl meets boy, girl meets another boy, she must make a decision between the two, just like another terrible Hugh Grant movie. And to add to this onslaught of banality was the irony that Madeline, a hopeless romantic, studies the marriage plot that she herself becomes a part of. However, although Eugenides’ novel orientates itself around the clichéd marriage plot, his stylistic charm and approach leaves the reader refreshed and somewhat disassociated from the classic plots of Austen and Elliot. Eugenides’ approach is more critical, and he works to deconstruct the romanticised notion of marriage and love. Madeline herself gets wind of this notion of deconstructing love when she enrols in a semiotics course. The focus on the literary theory of semiotics and structuralism put forth by Derrida and Barthes segues into Eugenides’ own critique. What I believe Eugenides is attempting to do in this novel is to see whether the classic, canonical marriage plot that was presented by Elliot and Austen would survive in a modern context. We no longer find ourselves in a Lizzie Bennett situation, having to find an appropriate suitor with enough money and social standing to ensure our family and estate are supported. There is room for more of a focus on love — but what is “love”? Is it the developing love within a close friendship, or is it the love of saving someone from depression?

Eugenides picks up where Austen left off with her focus on love, and modernises some of the themes she began to develop in her texts. He presents an accessible, readable, hilarious, and heart-warming narrative. Although the literary theory can be a little heavy in the beginning, it is an excellent read for anyone who enjoys a good ole love story but is looking for a bit of a twist on this classic plot. And who does Madeline chose in the end? You’ll have to read it and find out.