In The Virgin Suicides, suffering isn't associated with any sort of physical problem. There's no war, starvation, or beatings; their pain is emotional. It's clear that life is unbearably painful for them. That's why people usually kill themselves—the suffering is too great and they don't see any hope for change. By the time things get really bad, the sisters are locked up in their house, so the boys can only speculate about what they're experiencing. They know it can't be good; they catch glimpses of the girls looking pale, disheveled, and skinny, and they see the house literally falling apart. It's only from the perspective of years later does it really sink in how horrible it must have been for the Lisbons.
Questions About Suffering
- Who do you think suffers more, the girls or those left behind?
- What are the different signs (besides suicide) that the Lisbon sisters are suffering?
- Would contact with the outside world have alleviated their emotional suffering? Or would it have stopped mattering at some point?
- What was it about their suffering that made the sisters want to involve the boys in their demise?
Chew on This
The Virgin Suicides is about the universal suffering of adolescence: self-consciousness, clueless parents, sexual fears.
The Lisbon sisters experience a unique suffering that no one understands.