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Literary Devices
Definition of Allusion
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals, historical events, or philosophical ideas... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to... read full definition
Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—Aeneas :
The novel alludes to Aeneas, a minor figure in Greek mythology who receives a more thorough treatment in Roman mythology, in a passage that describes the social isolation of the Lisbon sisters following the death of Cecelia:
Julie Freeman had been Mary Lisbon’s best friend, but after the suicide they stopped talking. “She was a neat kid, but I just couldn’t deal with it. She sort of freaked me out. Also I was starting to go out with Todd by then.” The sisters walked with poise down the halls, carrying books over their chests and staring at a fixed point in space we couldn’t see. They were like Aeneas, who (as we translated him into existence amid the cloud of Dr. Timmerman’s B.O.) had gone down to the underworld, seen the dead, and returned, weeping on the inside.
Though the sisters receive some sympathy at first, they become increasingly isolated in their high school, sticking closely together. Past friends appear disturbed by the sisters' apparent inability to get over the death of Cecilia. Julie Freeman, for instance, states that Mary Lisbon, previously her "best friend," now "freaked" her out. The neighborhood boys feel that the sisters have become disconnected from those around them, "staring at a fixed point in space we couldn't see." Here, they compare the sisters to Aeneas, a figure who makes a brief appearance in Homer's Iliad but serves as the protagonist of Virgil's Aeneid, an epic poem that tells the story of Aeneas's journey from Troy to Italy. As the neighborhood boys note, Aeneas travels to the mythological underworld and returns after speaking with the spirits of the deceased. This allusion, then, suggests that the Lisbon sisters have been profoundly changed by their own encounter with death following the suicide of Cecilia, their youngest sister.
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Explanation and Analysis—Walt Whitman:
The novel alludes to 19th-century American poet Walt Whitman in a scene in which the Lisbons' neighbors, motivated by suburban standards of politeness, attempt to express their condolences to the Lisbons following the shocking suicide of Cecilia:
Most people opted for generic cards that said “With Sympathy” or “Our Condolences,” but some of the Waspier types, accustomed to writing notes for all occasions, labored over personal responses. Mrs. Beards used a quote from Walt Whitman we took to murmuring to one another: “All goes onward and outward, nothing collapses, / and to die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier.” Chase Buell peeked at his own mother’s card as he slipped it under the Lisbons’ door. It read: “I don’t know what you’re feeling. I won’t even pretend.”
Here, Eugenides gently mocks suburban values, especially those of the "Waspier types," a phrase that refers to White, Anglo-Saxon Protestants, a demographic that has historically been associated with relative wealth and respectability in the United States. While some "opted for generic cards," others "labored over personal responses," though everyone struggles to find a way to address the difficult topics of suicide and grief. Mrs. Beards quotes Walt Whitman in her letter, drawing from Whitman's famous poem "Song of Myself." These lines in the poem suggest that death is not something to be feared, but rather, a transformation to another state of being. This allusion, then, reflects Mrs. Beards's attempt to draw helpful lessons from the canon of poetry, though the lines apply awkwardly to Cecilia's suicide, since she did not fear death, but rather, sought it out deliberately. Mrs. Buell's card, in contrast, more honestly acknowledges her inability to resolve the painful questions raised by Cecilia's death.
Related Themes:
