In this story of five troubled girls' demise, the author, Jeffrey Eugenides portrays the suicides in a negative light while still being not completely partial. Cecelia is the first to kill herself, and from where I am in the book, she's also the most recent suicide. The reader is not allowed to get to know Cecelia very well, and Eugenides only slightly develops her character once she's dead. I at first thought that Cecelia could be the reason why her sisters kill themselves, because they are notably more depressed after her death, but the entire book is questioning why the girls would commit suicide- all of them, including Cecilia- and why anyone is driven to end their own life.
The boys, the narrators themselves, ask this very question without the assumption of depression; "Even if Cecelia's suicide led to copycatting, that still didn't explain why Cecelia had killed herself in the first place," I think that Cecelia's suicide had something to do with her parents. I definitely don't agree with Mr. and Mrs. Lisbons' parenting approach of keeping the girls locked up all the time. Lux's rebellious behavior is proof that the extreme approach- extreme Catholicism, extreme "protection." Although the narrator does describe Mr. Lisbon as slightly more relaxed than Mrs. Lisbon, I don't think that it really counts unless he acts on his opinion, because if he really worries for the girls' mentality, he would make sure that they were alright. Also, as the girls take their suicides in turn, one by one, I would expect their parents to take Cecelia's successful second attempt, if not her failed first one as the possibility that their children might be unstable. However, I agree with the narrator's overall tone of the Lisbons' strictness not being the full reason the girls commit suicide.
"The Lisbon girls" are viewed as a group constantly- this seems to refer to the dead Lisbon sisters every time the girls are mentioned. The girls are also very frankly described. From, "giving of the odor of a fully matured women," to Cecelia's "rough elbows" and "two prongs of her hips," the girls would appear to be undesirable- yet they are obviously desirable to the boys, and are described very bluntly as stunningly gorgeous. This would add to the reality of the story, but is instead slightly off-putting to me, as is the entire story.
Overall, this documentary of the short life of five teenage girls and commentary on suicide conveys its meaning uncannily perfectly. The morbid story is very multifaceted and, even the witnesses of the five tragedies still can’t decide why the girls would take their own lives.
This was a really great blog post! I really liked in the beginning, how you brought up the question of why anyone would end their lives in the first place. This is something I think everybody wonders-- everyone who isn't suicidal that is. I don't think anyone can fully understand what it means to want to kill yourself, unless you are that person. I also thought it was interesting how the girls are described as stunning, and how that was off-putting to you. I think we usually think of people who suffer as people who don't feel like they fit in-- and usually beauty is a big aspect of that. Overall really great job! Sounds like a really interesting book!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! I completely agree with what you said about how we picture people who suffer as seeing themselves as misfits, and it completely relates to the book.
ReplyDeleteI am also reading this book, and i completely agree with you that the parents had something to do with Cecilia's suicide. I also agree with you, because I also think that Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon's parenting ways are wrong. That makes me wonder if thats what made Cecilia commit suicide. After all, one of the ladies from their neighborhood said that she committed suicide just to get out of that house. And when you said that their parenting ways is what is making Lux rebel, maybe committing suicide was Cecilia's way of rebelling!
ReplyDeleteOverall, great blogpost! You made me think more about this book, and helped me develop my thoughts. I am excited to read what comes up next!