DaveNash3 reviewed The marriage plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
Review of 'The marriage plot' on 'Storygraph'
4 stars
The preface of this novel, set at Brown about a few graduating seniors as they enter the real world, is given by an English professor, Saunders, of the protagonist, Madeleine:
"In Saunders' opinion, the novel had reached its apogee with the marriage plot and had never recovered from its disappearance. In the days when success in life had been dependent upon marriage, and marriage had depended upon money, novelists had a subject to write about. The great epics sang of war, the novel of marriage. Sexual equality, good for women, had been bad for the novel. And divorce had undone it completely. What would it matter whom Emma married if she could file for separation later? How would Isabel Archer’s marriage been affected by the existence of prenup? As far as Saunders was concerned marriage didn’t mean much anymore, and neither did the novel. Where could you find the marriage …
The preface of this novel, set at Brown about a few graduating seniors as they enter the real world, is given by an English professor, Saunders, of the protagonist, Madeleine:
"In Saunders' opinion, the novel had reached its apogee with the marriage plot and had never recovered from its disappearance. In the days when success in life had been dependent upon marriage, and marriage had depended upon money, novelists had a subject to write about. The great epics sang of war, the novel of marriage. Sexual equality, good for women, had been bad for the novel. And divorce had undone it completely. What would it matter whom Emma married if she could file for separation later? How would Isabel Archer’s marriage been affected by the existence of prenup? As far as Saunders was concerned marriage didn’t mean much anymore, and neither did the novel. Where could you find the marriage plot nowadays? You couldn’t."
So as literature imitates literature, the novel set in June of 1982 and the subsequent 14 months following it, examines a manic love triangle between the recent grads. While it was probally more likely in 1982 for some couples to marry within their first year of graduation, it still happened to some people I knew, and not for the best IMO. So, this novel is relatable despite the gap in years, which is not great enough to make it historical fiction, again IMO, which the only place Saunders thinks you can find it. I think the only things that have changed is that New York is more attractive, India is more developed, and cards are harder to count.
It's reassuring to know that even in 1982 Ivy League grads had trouble finding jobs and finding their calling in life. Anne Lemont's suggestion to write about school lunches is followed by the author. The novel starts on graduation day and everyone who has graduated college knows what it is like and can relate to those experiences. And further in each of the main characters the reader can see themselves. That first year or so after college is an interesting time to say the least. The first section really hooked me and I plowed through some of the detours, Aylwn and Larry, that The Marriage Plot takes before resolving this particular marriage plot.
