the virgin suicides

as a woman, the virgin suicides makes itself so easy to dislike.

i would have strongly preferred that this story be written by a woman. it would have provided more of a concrete social commentary on the perception of women in the eyes of men that stem from the patriarchy, but instead it’s a man writing out gross boyish fantasies. 

there is a disturbing amount of misogyny within this text and although i think that literature is allowed to and should make its readers uncomfortable, there is too much ambiguity.

one of the main reasons i dislike this book is because the intentions are unclear. does eugenides want to portray a satirical approach to the male gaze or just adolescent high school boys from his own experience? as a female reader it’s not clear, because i'm not a boy who can judge the extent of what’s happening alongside the acknowledgement that realistically, men are capable of anything. plus, this book is written by a man. therefore in my opinion it’s difficult to assess which of these inclinations is most valid.

i’m also wondering what it is i’m supposed to gain from this story as a woman, because i didn’t learn anything about the dynamics between men and woman that i didn’t already know, that i haven’t already experienced. if i truly wanted to learn more about how men view me i can just put the book down and go outside or reminisce. it would make more sense if eugenides intended for a male audience, but then again it begs the question of whether they would’ve seen anything wrong with the narrator’s behavior to understand the potential criticism of the male gaze. 

the only component i enjoyed was eugenides themes of innocence and a loss thereof.

it seemed to me that the lisbon sisters represented innocence. the girls were all in high school and those years are such a transitional time period in one’s life. it’s the beginning of the switch from childhood to adulthood. lux lisbon in particular is a good example through her being hypersexual with older men despite being so young. virginity is often a religious symbol of innocence. therefore the death of the lisbon girls symbolizes the death of innocence. in addition, the lisbon sisters’ entrapment within their own home through the acts of her mother appeared to be an attempt to maintain their innocence. keep them at their purest forms as virgins. unfortunately that is something that cannot be prevented which is illustrated through lux having sex on the roof and their inevitable deaths despite being locked down. 

in conclusion, i did not like this book while i can understand what it might stand for. i can understand why people praise this book, granted they have given eugenides the benefit of the doubt in his intentions and learned something from the experience. for me this book was just centered around a narrative i have never felt interested in exploring. reality has given me enough lessons on that on its own.