The Lisbon sisters experience a unique suffering that no one understands. When one discusses isolation in the context of the The Virgin Suicides the discussion often centers around the Lisbon house and the last few months before the surviving Lisbon girls ceased to be, well, surviving. The fictional story, which is set in Grosse Pointe, Michigan during the 1970s, centers on … Set in an unnamed suburb in the American heartland, the particulars of The Virgin Suicides resonate throughout typical suburban America. The Virgin Mary symbolizes how the sisters, like Mary in the Bible, were going to be part of a tragic fate, which they were. Related Questions and Answers for Themes in The Virgin Suicides. In The Virgin Suicides, it appears that the underlying cause for the suicides of the Lisbon daughters is the lack of … The narrators of The Virgin Suicides have an attitude of obsessive fascination towards the subject of the Lisbon sisters' deaths. After one boy, Peter Sissen, manages to go into their house, he … These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides. They're absolutely enamored of the girls, obsessed with learning everything they can about them. Most people think that the more people, the more tragedy there is to suffer. Isolation. The Virgin Mary was also how the boys knew it was the sisters sending them the messages, because they could link Cecilia holding the Virgin Mary when she … To me, this town was shocked and uprooted by the Lisbon daughter suicides. Think you’ve got your head wrapped around Virgin Suicides?Put your knowledge to the test. The narrators, now approaching middle age, continue to try to “find the pieces to put [the Lisbons] back together,” going so far as to travel around the country to interview former neighbors about their memories, including Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon. The later acts atone for the first, just as Mary's acts atoned for Eve's. The Virgin Suicides essays are academic essays for citation. The Lisbon girls’ parents are very religious people, and Mrs. The Virgin Suicides is about the universal suffering of adolescence: self-consciousness, clueless parents, sexual fears. Themes of The Virgin Suicides. In The Virgin Suicides speculation swirls around the Lisbon girls' suicides, as neighbors, doctors, and reporters offer theories ranging from depressing song lyrics to post-traumatic stress disorder. First love always gives unforgettable feelings and moments. This Study Guide consists of approximately 49 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Virgin Suicides. Isolation from the society is the main reason of the Lisbon girls’ death. Religion. The Virgin Suicides study guide contains a biography of Jeffrey Eugenides, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides. Instead they gossiped and tried to deal with it individually, apart from the Lisbon parents. Author Jeffrey Eugenides keeps all the competing interpretations in the air, so it is impossible for the reader to settle on one explanation. Religious symbols play an important role in the story of the Lisbon girls. Good luck — the Stickman is counting on you! The town couldn't easily talk about the tragedy that affected everyone. The Virgin Suicides Themes First love. Though nominally an investigation into five startling deaths, the novel's broad exploration of love, loss, adolescence, and memory is perceptive and deeply universal. More subtly, Lux, Bonnie, Mary and Therese's suicides can be seen as a response to Cecilia's earlier suicide, ending the tragic cycle and giving narrative closure. The elm tree in the yard, the plastic card of the Virgin Mary, Lux's brassiere hanging on the crucifix, Cecilia's wedding dress, menstruation, angels, ghosts, candles, windows and window shades, cars and driving, cigarettes, telephones, television.