The Virgin Suicides, written by Jeffrey Eugenides, tells the story of five mysterious suicides of the Lisbon sisters. The narrators, a group of boys from the neighborhood and school of the Lisbon sisters later chastise the girls for being selfish in their eyes, inviting them over for a getaway ride (and hopefully for the boys, debauchery) but distracting them long enough that the sisters could kill themselves, which speaks of selfishness itself. Additionally, Eugenides greatly mirrors the outward façade of the house with the inner emotions and attitudes of the Lisbon family. There is also an underlying theme of happiness—or lack there of, and how it effects the Lisbon’s after their tragedy, as well as the absurdity of acting blissfully happy
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Throughout the year following Cecilia’s suicide, the reports of the house change from at least decently maintained to looking as though it had been abandoned for 10 years. The narrators consistently mention a foul smell that pierces through everything, a smell that becomes burned into their brains for life. The interior comments are worse. As the boys sneak in the Lisbon house on the fateful June night, they mention all manner of disgusting living conditions that they don’t seem to dwell on because they are so focused on their childish fantasies of the girls. They mention, in the basement, an inch of standing water and the remnants of Cecilia’s party from the day she killed herself. A year had passed, and the Lisbon parents had clearly lost all will to take care of anything. There was congealed punch in the bowl left from that day, along with deflated balloons and bugs and all manner of horrors unknown in the dark, murky water. There were also mentions of the neighbors rarely seeing lights on and almost never seeing the door or shutters open. These are true reflections of those inhabiting the house, and I feel should have been an indicator that the trouble inside was much worse than what anyone had been gossiping …show more content…
I understand that maybe nothing they could have done would have made a difference, but they had no problem watching Lux sleep with men on the roof, or the mysterious lights flickering, or the smell of the house itself, or any of the oddities displayed by any Lisbon. The girls may or may not have had PTSD as a doctor that examined Lux pondered, but they were clearly troubled by their youngest sisters suicide, as were their parents, but they seemed to take little real action to move past it other than to resume their normal lives. They didn’t even clean up the remnants of the party from the day Cecilia killed herself, instead letting the food mold and any number of insects make their homes in the basement. I find that if anyone should be called selfish, it should be the Lisbon parents for ignoring the emotional needs of their remaining daughters. It was a fascinating mystery trying to guess the motives of the girls suicides, although it is poignant that it is never explicitly revealed. I think Cecilia’s suicide didn’t help the temperament of the remaining sisters, but their was a tragedy that should never have occurred had their parents or anyone else
Throughout the year following Cecilia’s suicide, the reports of the house change from at least decently maintained to looking as though it had been abandoned for 10 years. The narrators consistently mention a foul smell that pierces through everything, a smell that becomes burned into their brains for life. The interior comments are worse. As the boys sneak in the Lisbon house on the fateful June night, they mention all manner of disgusting living conditions that they don’t seem to dwell on because they are so focused on their childish fantasies of the girls. They mention, in the basement, an inch of standing water and the remnants of Cecilia’s party from the day she killed herself. A year had passed, and the Lisbon parents had clearly lost all will to take care of anything. There was congealed punch in the bowl left from that day, along with deflated balloons and bugs and all manner of horrors unknown in the dark, murky water. There were also mentions of the neighbors rarely seeing lights on and almost never seeing the door or shutters open. These are true reflections of those inhabiting the house, and I feel should have been an indicator that the trouble inside was much worse than what anyone had been gossiping …show more content…
I understand that maybe nothing they could have done would have made a difference, but they had no problem watching Lux sleep with men on the roof, or the mysterious lights flickering, or the smell of the house itself, or any of the oddities displayed by any Lisbon. The girls may or may not have had PTSD as a doctor that examined Lux pondered, but they were clearly troubled by their youngest sisters suicide, as were their parents, but they seemed to take little real action to move past it other than to resume their normal lives. They didn’t even clean up the remnants of the party from the day Cecilia killed herself, instead letting the food mold and any number of insects make their homes in the basement. I find that if anyone should be called selfish, it should be the Lisbon parents for ignoring the emotional needs of their remaining daughters. It was a fascinating mystery trying to guess the motives of the girls suicides, although it is poignant that it is never explicitly revealed. I think Cecilia’s suicide didn’t help the temperament of the remaining sisters, but their was a tragedy that should never have occurred had their parents or anyone else