The Marriage Plot Discussion Questions

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This month's read was The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides.  This coming of age novel depicts the post-grad year via the book's main characters and more specifically, the love triangle in which they are involved.  Since we have book club tomorrow night, here are questions to get the gal gab started:

1 // Grade the book A-F.  Why that grade?
2 // What parallels do you see between classic literature and this novel?
3 // Would you be friends with Madeline?  Why or why not?
4 // Do you support Madeline's decisions of her heart?
5 // At character introduction, who would you rather date, Leonard or Mitchell?  Does the evolution
of either character change your decision over time?
6 // How do Madeline's beliefs of love shift throughout the novel?  We're introduced to her as a lover
of classic, Victorians, and she is living in the 1980s, post-feminism...
7 // How do you think mental illness shapes Madeline's relationship with Leonard?
8 // How does Mitchell return from his European trip?  How has he changed?
9 // What were your expectations for Madeline, Leonard and Mitchell?  How did these alter at the end of the book?
10 // What were take aways from the book with relation to your own dress rehearsal prior to marriage?
11 // Thoughts on the book's overall irony?
12 // If this were turned into a movie (a rumor last year, recently confirmed), who would you assign to play each character?  Mine are:

• Mitchell // Penn Badgley (wallflower, interest in religion)
• Madeline // Emma Watson (waspy, well-read)
• Leonard // Hunter Parrish (complete babe, dark past)

1 // 2 // 3

We'd love to know your thoughts!  If you haven't read it, be sure to add it to the list for your book club!  We'll be posting our newest picks shortly!

- Meredith