The Marriage Plot

By Jeffrey Eugenides

The long-awaited new novel from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jeffrey Eugenides.

"There is no happiness in love, except at the end of an English novel."
—Anthony Trollope, Barchester Towers

Madeleine Hanna was the dutiful English major who didn't get the memo. While everyone else in the early 1980s was reading Derrida, she was happily absorbed with Jane Austen and George Eliot: purveyors of the marriage plot that lies at the heart of the greatest English novels. Madeleine was the girl who dressed a little too nicely for the taste of her more bohemian friends, the perfect girlfriend whose college love life, despite her good looks, hadn't lived up to expectations.

But now, in the spring of her senior year, Madeleine has enrolled in a semiotics course "to see what all the fuss is about," and, for reasons that have nothing to do with school, life and literature will never be the same. Not after she falls in love with Leonard Morten - charismatic loner, college Darwinist and lost Oregon boy - who is possessed of seemingly inexhaustible energy and introduces her to the ecstasies of immediate experience. And certainly not after Mitchell Grammaticus - devotee of Patti Smith and Thomas Merton - resurfaces in her life, obsessed with the idea that Madeleine is destined to be his mate.

The triangle in this amazing and delicious novel about a generation beginning to grow up is age old, and completely fresh and surprising. With devastating wit, irony and an abiding understanding and love for his characters, Jeffrey Eugenides resuscitates the original energies of the novel while creating a story so contemporary that it reads like the intimate journal of our own lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Oct 11, 2011
• ISBN: 9780307401885

Jeffrey Eugenides

Jeffrey Eugenides is the author of three novels. His first, The Virgin Suicides (1993), is now considered a modern classic. Middlesex (2002) won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and both Middlesex and The Marriage Plot (2011) were finalists for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Fresh Complaint, a collection of short stories, was published in 2017. He is a member both of The American Academy of Arts and Letters and The American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

Reviews for The Marriage Plot

[amydelpo · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A well-written and entertaining book that is occasionally thought-provoking -- but not as often as it strives to be. If you are nostalgic for that time right after college when you are just discovering the meaning of adult love and finding out who you are and where your path leads in this world, then this book will appeal to you. Otherwise, it will sometimes feel trite and naive.

[cheriedooryard · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I should not have read this so close to The Interestings. They are the same book. Lovely prose about uninteresting people with a story told in multiple points-of-view via an omniscient narrative with an unhealthy dependence on flashback. Both books could have been more compelling, if they'd merely picked a character and stuck with them. Instead, everyone is superficial and glossed over, with mismatched storylines and zero momentum.

No more contemporary literary fiction for me. None! I don't care how many people sing a book's praises. No more. I swear it.

[casualfriday_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My book group was lukewarm about this tale of young Ivy Leaguers in love. Set in the early nineteen eighties, the central plot element is the love triangle of Madeleine Hanna, a sheltered English major, Leonard Bankhead, her bipolar scientist boyfriend, and Mitchell Grammaticus, a religion major who is desperately in love with Madeleine. Most of my book club members hated the beginning of the book, set at Brown University. They found the extended narrative about a semiotics seminar tediously academic. I, on the other hand, was intrigued, and hoped for more stuff on semiotics, even though I understand it not a whit. The book lagged for me in the middle, as Mitchell goes on a religious pilgrimage to India and Madeline and Leonard become a couple. My interest picked up again when the story turned to Leonard and his struggle with his illness. The descriptions of his manic periods were truly harrowing. And if we're taking a poll, yes, I think the ending was good.

[meredk · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Although this book lagged a bit in places, I enjoyed it. I thought the ending was wonderful, and for me, unexpected. Not quite up to the quality of "Middlesex" but good nonetheless.

[evalangui_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Madeleine is supposed to be book crazy, but other than the classics that define her as a victorianist (a personality trait that was SAID to be central to her personality, as expressed by the wallpaper but that instead seems tacked on to the spoiled girl she really is and acts as most of the time, waiting to be asked and rescued.) she never seems to have a strong connection to any books (excepting the Barthes, yes, but that seems to be about her experience of love with Leonard than about the book itself.) So the book mad protagonist I was promised wasn't there, her thesis wasn't there, her proclaimed feminist wasn't there (guys have to ASK HER OUT, what.) She is an ideal more than a person, never completely fleshed out beyond her description and are there descriptions! Mad is always calm and soft spoken and logical (except when she marries a guy who is clearly acting crazy at 22, without jobs or prospects or anything resembling sense.)

Mitchel and Leonard, oth, get developed as characters. Mitchel gets his spiritual journey (during which HE actually does read books with which me makes a connection.) Leonard's illness was fairly interesting from his point of view, and got quite disturbing from Mad´s, who is half in denial, half in abasement, as if SHE is good enough, he will somehow get better and when he doesn't, of course she resents him for it.

Even though she takes a role of caretaker to her boyfriend, Mad is basically just reacting to his actions the whole time. The very ending, which I sort of like, is presented in a paternalistic manner that wants any grace or elegance, not to mention philosophical value. Once again, Mad makes a stupid mistake, a man comes to the rescue and makes the RIGHT choice for her. She readily agrees because they always know best! To be honest, I liked both Leonard and Mitchel till I remembered that they both fell in love with a girl that relates to them in this way and they felt it was a positive thing to have her be in a position of lesser power and dependence* (Leonard crossed a number of lines for me there.)

This was so embarrassingly pathetically male I actually had to leave the room:

Madeleine liked his new muscles. And that wasn’t all. One night, she pressed her lips to Leonard’s ear and said, as if it were news, “You are so big!” And it was true. Mr. Gumby was long gone. Leonard’s girth filled Madeleine up in a way that felt not only satisfying, but breathtaking. Every millimeter of movement, in or out, was perceptible along her inner sheath. She wanted him all the time. She’d never thought much about other boys’ penises, or noticed much about them, really. But Leonard’s was highly particular to her, almost a third presence in the bed. She found herself sometimes judiciously weighing it in her hand. Did it all come down to the physical, in the end? Is that what love was? Life was so unfair. Madeleine felt sorry for all the men who weren’t Leonard. WOW. So... I guess mania produces penis enlargement, somebody should let all those poor other men know!


* Mitchel, even though he means to 'liberate' her is very patriachal in that he makes that choice for her and not for himself (I don't want to date a girl not in love with me is a reasonable thing, expressing it as he's fulfilling her NEED instead of his, being magnanimous...)

[jaelikesbooks · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Eugenides always takes me a while to get through, and I felt like I was trudging through this a lot of the time. Really, I'm not super sure how I actually felt about this. I did a lot of falling asleep while reading late, and I think I would have liked it more if I were able to give it my full attention.

[melydia_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

An early-80s love triangle among college seniors made slightly more interesting by throwing in a severe case of bipolar disorder. Actually, that part of it really resonated with me: as a bipolar sufferer myself (though with far milder symptoms), I can sympathize with Leonard's troubles. As the wife of a man with OCD, I can sympathize with Madeleine's dilemmas. Mitchell's experiences with religion and poverty did not cover any new ground, and his selfishness with regard to Madeleine was tiresome. This isn't a book you read for the plot, because there isn't a whole lot: you read it for the characters. If the characters are compelling, you want to know more about them. For me, this book was mostly a way to pass the time. The ending was kind of unsatisfying, but I don't know how else it could have ended.

[cindyb29 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Read this because I enjoyed another book by this author, Middlesex. This started out kind of slow, and I really didn't like the main character, Madeleine. But as it went on I actually realized that the characters were written very realistically. The ending surprised me, and I was glad because I assumed all along I knew how it would end.

[adonisguilfoyle · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another brilliant, difficult, gripping, meandering story from Eugenides, my new favourite author. I didn't particularly like any of the characters, but the thoughtfulness of the prose once again kept me reading. English major Madeleine Hanna is loved by the brilliantly named Mitchell Grammaticus - I would marry any man with that surname! - but falls instead for manic-depressive scientist Leonard. That's it, really. They graduate, mostly, and Madeleine follows Leonard to look after him, while Mitchell goes travelling, trying to find religion. The mini-rants on feminism and different types of Eastern and Western worship are a lot like the boring chapters in Tolstoy or Hugo that Eugenides himself references, making the return to actual plot, characterisation and dialogue all the more enjoyable. I could empathise with Madeleine to a point - certainly majoring in English for a love of reading and being at a loss what else to do - but her devotion to Leonard baffled me. I'm glad that Mitchell supplied the perfect ending for her story.

[paulagraph · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I don't understand the accolades for this novel. Sure it winks at a lot of literary precedent, but so what? I read it all the way through only because of lack of gumption.

[seven.stories.press · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Much preferred over Middlesex, which seemed overwrought in the beginning and middle chapters at the expense of the end. This novel, though, had an ending difficult to anticipate (a problem I often run into, given the number of books and manuscripts I read), rendering it surprisingly lovely and much less trite that it might have been in less adept hands.

[radspd · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The elitism and esoteric references agitated me, yet.....I was into the story. Characters revealed themselves--not so much transformations into adulthood as peeling away the layers.

[csweder · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

He has done it again! I must say that Eugenides is a very talented author--all of his works are unique, poignant, and thought provoking. In The Virgin Suicides he tackles suicide, Middlesex hermaphrodism, and now, mental health disorders--and love.

The three main characters find themselves in a love triangle when we first meet them on their graduation day. There is Madeline, the girl who loves books and wishes to specialize in Victorian books. Leonard, a biologist who we learn is manic depressive. And Mitchell, madly in love with Madeline, but goes to India to volunteer for Mother Teresa for a year, hoping Madeline will leave Leonard and marry him.

At the start of the book, Madeline is heartbroken because, when she confessed her love to Leonard, he blew her off--and she left. Leonard, thwarted by his emotional past wasn't retreads to say those words back to her, but didn't want her to leave either--at that time he ditched his meds and had himself a bipolar bender.

He's hospitalized and she comes back to him....and they live happily ever after....NOT!! You'll just have to read it to find out what happens. You won't be disappointed, although you may hate the characters....

[mojomomma_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Madeleine, east coast Ivy League girl, And her unlikely love triangle. Tiresome characters in search of a plot which finally begins to be vaguely interesting two thirds of the way through the book. An excellent handbook on how NOT to make decisions.

[thatpirategirl · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book deserves more than three stars. It's smart and knows about life. But I can't pretend it wasn't also completely boring and full of rich white people problems. (The book probably knows this about itself and did it on purpose to make a statement.)

But that's okay, I'm simultaneously impressed with this book and glad I get to read something different now.

[akblanchard_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I had a hard time knowing what to make of this book. Was it supposed to be a throwback to regency and Victorian domestic novels, in which the plot's resolution hinges on who marries whom? Or was it supposed to exemplify a post-modern outlook, as implied by its three main characters meeting for the first time in a semiotics seminar? Or was it just a soap opera of the early Reagan era, when job market for liberal arts majors was nonexistent? All three of these elements play a role in Jeffrey Eugenides' The Marriage Plot.The story centers on a love triangle among three members of Brown University's class of 1982: privileged English major Madeleine and the two very different men who love her, bipolar scientist Leonard and spiritual seeker Mitchell. Madeleine and Leonard try to make their relationship work, despite his poorly-controlled mental illness, while Mitchell travels around the world to forget Madeleine and find God. The story is told in sections, and some parts are much more interesting than others. There's a lot of exposition, some of it boarding on tedious. The descriptions of Leonard's mania, depression, and torpor while on lithium are believable, but the sex scenes are not.I thought I would identify with Madeleine, who is a member of my demographic (we even share the same opinion of the logic section on the GRE), but I found her unappealing and passive. Her wealthy parents were always there to throw money at problems to make them go away. Mitchell, the seeker, was the most likable character; I wonder if he isn't a stand-in for Eugenides himself.In short, this book is many things: funny in parts, sad in parts, compelling in parts and slow in parts. It's also well worth reading.

[helenliz_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

 I'm not quite sure what to make of this. I suspect it may be cleverer than I am, but there again it may just be ridiculous. The marriage plot of the title features as a thesis written by Madeline, our heroine. The reference is to certain regency & Victorian novels in which the plot line follows a young lady faced with a variety of choices in her life, mostly related to a choice of suitor and whether to accept or reject. The author maintains that in a post feminist world the marriage plot no longer has the power it once had - the choice of marriage or spinsterhood are no longer the only two choices open to women - but that it still has a hold over us in an emotional or romantic sense. We still believe there is a soul mate out there. This follows the trial of 3 college students, graduating in the class of 82. Madeline is pure regency romance potential - good family, money (but not showy) will brought up. Mitchell is of Greek extraction, less well off and the nice guy. Leonard is from an even more damaged upbringing, and has manic depression. It is plainly clear fairly early on that Madeline is with the wrong chap. She's with him for a host of reasons, but the outsider can see it's not a happily ever after scenario we're dealing with here.I suppose I can see what he's doing, the literary references abound from the era of the romantic novel and by calling those to mind he's illustrating how modern this is. but, at essence, it still a romance, and there is little that can be said to be new in terms of love. I felt this tried a little to hard to be cutting edge, it felt, at times, that it was being explicit for effect rather than because it advanced the story any. Did i enjoy it? Probably too strong a word. Did it drag me along with it? Yes, those 13 disks went by very quickly. Would I read it again? Probably not.

[earthforms · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Ahh, I know I'm biased because I love Jeffrey Eugenides, but this was so great. I love the characters, especially Mitchell. I love France and the Madeline (the French book character) and all the literary talk in the book, and it was just so pleasurable to read.

[karadunn · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I was hooked for the first hundred pages or so, but quickly lost interest. Didn't even finish.

[klburnside · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I was really disappointed by this book. I enjoyed the other two books I read by Eugenides and was excited to read this one. The book is about three students graduating from Brown in the early 1980s. It jumps back and forth in time, but mostly takes place during their college experience and the year afterwards. The book is extremely pretentious and for the most part the characters drove me crazy—mostly Madeleine, the only female character in the book. Thankfully, they are only characters in a book and I don’t have to interact with them in real life. I am glad I am not in college anymore and don’t have to listen to anyone debate literature or theology with such a sense of arrogant self-importance. Eeek. I didn’t realize how much I hated these characters until I wrote this review. That being said, there must have been something there, because at least I finished the book.

[lincolnpan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Thoroughly enjoyable if you went to a northeast liberal arts college. Otherwise will certainly come off as snobbish and bobo intellectual.

[narshkite · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was extraordinary. If I wrote as well as Eugenides, I could have written this. I graduated 2 years after the characters and I did the Mitchell pilgrimage. Huge swaths of this read like my autobiography but with insights I did not, perhaps could not, have had. A brilliant story that captures a somewhat lost generation.

[missjomarch · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love the writing of Jeffery Euginedes. It's both deeply honest and vastly thorough. The Marriage Plot is the second book I've read by this author and I look forward to also reading The Virgin Suicides. This story is of Madeline, a college student/graduate, set in the 80's and how she deals with the two men who love her. An English major, Madeline's senior thesis is based on the theme of "marriage plots" of the Victorian classics, hence the fitting title of this book.Madeline is mostly involved with Leonard throughout the story and tries desperately to make sense of his manic depression, thinking if she loves him enough they will share a good life. Coming from opposite backgrounds lends to frustration and needed compromise to maintain this relationship.Mitchell loves Madeline from afar and agonizes over the missed opportunity to win her heart. While he and Madeline come from similar backgrounds, Mitchell patiently waits for her to realize he is the one she belongs with.This is not your average love story but anyone who is familiar with or enjoys the typical Jane Austen theme should like this book.

[wassilissa · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Ein Remake des klassischen Marriage Plots der viktorianischen Literatur soll es sein: Mitchell liebt Madeleine, Madeleine liebt Leonard, und Leonard liebt Madeleine eigentlich auch, ist aber manisch-depressiv. Dazu werden literarische Anspielungen gereicht - eigentlich also eine ganz reizvolle Idee.Mit allem hätte ich gerechnet, aber nicht, dass ich es so banal und langweilig finden würde. Die Figuren sind nichtssagend, es springt kein Funke über. Ich war froh, als ich durch war.Da bin ich vom Autor aber Besseres gewöhnt!

[stillatim · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A discussion of this book with my wife leads me to believe that I am the only person in the world who didn't know - 'plot' spoiler - that one of the three main characters is a manic-depressive headkerchief wearing philosopher/scientist who chews chewing tobacco and is both found irresistible by women and also looks like sasquatch, i.e., one of the three major characters is David Foster Wallace. For the first two thirds of the book I was excited to see what Jeffrey would make DFW do; what weird Freudian links could I draw as this Big White American Male Author of Big Books* wrote about another BWAMABB? Well, let's just say that DFW doesn't get the girl.

That's probably for the best, since the girl in question is somehow i) catnip for unconventional intellectuals, ii) more or less a sorority girl, and iii) meant to be fascinated by post-structuralist theory and Victorian novels, despite showing no glimmers of intelligence during the 400 pages of this novel. 'Leonard' is better off without her. As is 'Mitchell,' who is possibly the other half of DFW's personality (concerned with sincerity and religion). He is also the only person you could possibly care about in this book. I don't mean that they're all unpleasant, because I love novels in which all the characters are unpleasant. They're just anodyne.

As for structure, the novel flips between 'perspectives,' but since there's no difference between the styles for each section, that ends up meaning not much more than you read the same stories two or three times for no obvious reason. That's another reason you can't care about the characters: they don't exist.

Again, that wouldn't be a problem if the book wasn't trying to be a self-conscious, plot-based, character heavy Victorian novel for the 21st century. But it is. This is a nice idea, but TMP is a failure when judged as such. It lacks all the virtues of the Victorian novel (breadth, plot, intelligent approach to social issues, strong and individual narrative voice).

In the first chapter (another virtue of the Victorians that's missing: reasonable length chapters), Madeline describes how much she likes Jonathan Culler's 'On Deconstruction,' particularly compared to Derrida. There's an obvious mistake here (Culler's best book, by far, is 'Structuralist Poetics'), but it's an apt metaphor for this novel. Eugenides is Culler to Foster Wallace's Derrida. If you really want to know what DFW was trying to do, without reading him, you can get it out of this book, i.e., how do you write literature/live unironically after post-structuralism? Like Derrida's philosophy, DFW's work was (deeply) flawed, but valiant. Like Culler's work, Eugenides' is simplified. Unlike Culler's, it's excruciatingly poorly executed. Stay away, and if you really need a realist/naturalist response to recent post-post-modern works, re-read Freedom again. At least Franzen wrote that aging rocker's rant in the middle to entertain you while he was giving the Franzen character a *HOT* girlfriend.

PS: To those who claim that this novel is pretentious or elitist or highbrow, I can only say, compared to what? The Trader Joe's catalog? If you can't tell the difference between Derrida and Dickens, you shouldn't be reading books at all.

* Defining characteristics of a Big White American Male Author of Big Books, I'm starting to think, is that He can't create female characters who are *in any way* interesting, unless you count them being *HOT*. Which I do not.

[midwestms · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good book on idealism and desire, and how the characters' perceptions cloud reality. Ultimately, I didn't care enough about the characters and the decisions they made.

[valerieandbooks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Quality, not quantity. This is true for authors such as Jeffrey Eugenides. His third novel, The Marriage Plot, is another high-quality offering and did not disappoint.It takes place in the 1980, and focuses on the lives of three students finishing up college: Madeline, an English major; Leonard, who is manic-depressive (the term used in the book, probably because "bi-polar" wasn't yet more commonly used); and Mitchell, who is in love with Madeline. Madeline isn't in love with Mitchell but instead loves Leonard. This is not a simplistic love-triangle story even with the manic-depressive angle. Being simplistic isn't Eugenide's style. I found this novel richly complex and this was one of the very, very few books in 2013 that I was able to read straight through (as opposed to putting down and picking up at a later time) and actually finish. What keeps me from giving this novel a "perfect 5-star" rating is the bit of over-intellectual flavor in the beginning -- yes, I know it was a college setting, but it was just a tiny bit over the top. Otherwise, this was a fantastic book that will stay with me for a long time.

[pennsylady · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

15 audio discsMarch ABC book group selection"Offering a wholly new approach to the classic love story, this is an intimate meditation on the quests—romantic and otherwise—that confound and propel us"Madeleine Hanna.....Leonard Bankhead....Mitchell GrammaticusIn journal style, members of this triangle graduate from Brown, and face events that cause them to re evaluate life again and again.The author presents them with understanding and affection.Doing this in audio was a hoot!These characters were so well presented.

[kristelh_15 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really liked this book on so many levels. This is a good author! He has written only 3 books and all are good. Published in 2011 and one of the most recent add ons to the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. All of his books have made the list. The setting is Brown University, three college friends who are graduating and going into their first post graduate year. It's a coming of age book as are all of the author's books. This book could be considered romance, a classic love triangle, a coming of age, a book about books/writing, a book about mental illness and a book about philosophy. The girl, Madeleine Hanna, was not very appealing to me, in fact I thought her quite annoying. I liked Mitchell and not so much Leonard but the story soon becomes very engaging and the two guys rise to the top and Madeleine, well she pretty much stays the same for me. This book was set in the 80s so that the characters were forced to communicate through writing and landlines but still late enough that feminism was established and not in its birth pains of the sixties and seventies. Mental health was fairly well described I thought. I do agree that the character would never have been on all the medications listed at one time but having worked in mental health from the eighties to the present, i can see the scenario; to the ER in crisis; shot of Haldol, shot of Ativan to calm the mania. Then committed and on to the state hospital and start Lithium but in the mean time to more quickly calm the mania, a short course of Thorazine (was FDA approved for bipolar) and then it should be removed. They used to try for really high, near toxic levels for control, now I think it is a little more toward therapeutic levels but as low as possible to avoid the not so fun side effects. Author did pretty good research I thought. I listened to the audio read by David Pittu. He did a good job, I thought. At the end, there was an interview with author where he discussed the time period, research that he did, and I found it interesting. I would recommend this book to just about anyone who enjoys a well written book. If you don't like a lot of literary name dropping, you might not like it, but Madeleine is an English literature major.

[emilyingreen · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

While the situations and characters in this novel drew me in, I was left underwhelmed by the end. Eugenides gives the traditional marriage plot a modern (or 1980's) makeover but fails to give the heroine the pluckiness of her earlier literary counterparts. I found myself liking and siding with the other characters instead of the rather bland Madeleine. Still an enjoyable read overall.