|
Have questions?
Contact us
Already a member? Sign in
|
Get every literary device explanation for The Virgin SuicidesPlus so much more...
Sign up for LitCharts A+Get instant access to every literary device explanation, plus so much more...
Metaphor
Explanation and Analysis—Disease :
Eugenides employs a simile and an extended metaphor in order to express the widespread belief in their hometown that Cecilia's suicide was akin to an infectious disease that ultimately spread ot her sisters:
Already Cecilia’s suicide had assumed in retrospect the stature of a long-prophesied event [...] Her suicide, from this perspective, was seen as a kind of disease infecting those close at hand. In the bathtub, cooking in the broth of her own blood, Cecilia had released an airborne virus which the other girls, even in coming to save her, had contracted. No one cared how Cecilia had caught the virus in the first place. Transmission became explanation [...] Spiky bacteria lodged in the agar of the girls’ throats. In the morning, a soft oral thrush had sprouted over their tonsils.
When Lux feigns a burst appendix in order to visit the hospital and take a pregnancy test, she meets with Dr. Hornicker, who had previously met with Cecilia after her suicide attempt. After the other sisters commit suicide, Dr. Hornicker advances a theory that Cecilia's sisters suffered from PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, following Cecilia's death. Many in the neighborhood come to think of Cecilia's suicide "as a kind of disease," a simile that reflects their desire for a scientific explanation for these otherwise inexplicable acts.
Further developing this notion through an extended metaphor, the neighborhood boys state that, in the local imagination, Cecilia "released an airborne virus which the other girls, even in coming to save her, had contracted." Nobody can ultimately explain "how Cecilia had caught the virus in the first place," but they are satisfied with their conclusion that she was the source of the infection, which quickly spread to her sisters. Ultimately, this language of illness, viruses, and bacteria reflects one of many attempts bye characters in the novel to "solve" the mystery surrounding the sisters' actions.
Monthly
Annual (Best Value)
$595USD/mo
Charged $71.40 USD every year
Teacher$795USD/mo
Charged $95.40 USD every year
Literature Guide PDFs
LitCharts PDFs for every book you'll read this year.
Instant PDF downloads of all 2242 LitCharts literature guides and of every new one we publish. Try a free sample literature guide.
"Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!"
Quotes Explanations
Find the perfect quote. Understand it perfectly. Then rock the citation, too.
For all 49,991 quotes we cover.
For all 49,991 quotes we cover.
Teacher Editions
Close reading made easy for students.
Time saved for teachers.
For every book we cover.
Time saved for teachers.
For every book we cover.
Common Core-aligned
PDFs of modern translations of every one of Shakespeare's 37 plays, 154 sonnets, and 3 longer poems.
Literary Terms and Devices
Definitions and examples for every literary term and device you need to know.
Plus a quick-reference PDF with concise definitions of all 136 terms in one place.
Plus a quick-reference PDF with concise definitions of all 136 terms in one place.
Try a free sample literary term PDF.
Advanced Search
Refine any search. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more.
Related Themes
Comparing and contrasting texts? Find where any theme occurs across all of LitCharts in seconds.
Poetry Guides
Line-by-line explanations and analysis of figurative language and poetic devices.
For every lyric poem we cover.
For every lyric poem we cover.
