Books Quote by Jeffrey Eugenides
““...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 depended on marriage, and marriage had depended on money, novelists had 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 to Gilbert Osmond have been affected by the existence of a 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. You had to read historical fiction. You had to read non-Western novels involving traditional societies. Afghani novels, Indian novels. You had to go, literarily speaking, back in time.””
About This Quote
Source Book: The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides, 2011
The novel’s central theme of marriage has lost relevance as social structures change, leading writers to seek new subjects beyond traditional Western narratives.
In simple terms: Marriage plots are outdated; writers need new topics.
Key Takeaway
Explore diverse cultural stories.
Themes
literature
marriage
cultural shift
modernity
genre evolution
Mood
thoughtful
inquisitive
Type
literary
analytical
When to use this quote
- creative writing courses
- publishing strategies
- cross‑cultural studies
Key Concepts
sociology
literary criticism
global narratives
Questions to Reflect On
- What new themes can replace the marriage plot?
- How can authors incorporate non‑Western perspectives authentically?
A Different Perspective
Relying on old tropes limits literary relevance.
