modern female character whose "relationships [with almost all other women] are characterized more by spite than affection". Barkhorn noted that the book is not unique in this manner, making reference to The Bechdel Test and stating that The Marriage Plot was a prime example of the storytelling trend the Test criticizes: "[t]here are countless other Madeleines in modern-day literature and film: smart, self-assured women who have all the trappings of contemporary womanhood except a group of friends to confide in". Barkhorn also compared the book to the early female authors of the literary genre that Eugenides references in both the novel and its title, opining that writers such as Charlotte Brontë and Jane Austen, in depicting close homosocial relationships among women, were more psychologically accurate than Eugenides. She suggested that Madeleine's lack of such relationships was implausible in context ("If this were the way women really acted with their friends, it would be fine. [...] But real women don't treat their friends this way"; "Women who love books, as Madeleine does, are especially prone to close friendships with other women [...] [i]t seems impossible that Madeleine would have made it through four years at Brown without meeting other women who'd rather discuss literature than men"), and further suggested that this aspect was detrimental to the book, declaring the plot's conclusion to be an "infuriating, preposterous ending" that "is only possible because Madeleine lives almost entirely in her own head, with no one to give her trusted counsel" and further adding that "[t]here are many ways rewriting the traditional marriage plot might be good for women, but editing out rich, supportive friendships isn't one of them". References External links William Deresiewicz in The New York Times Book Review on The Marriage Plot 2011 American novels Novels by Jeffrey Eugenides Brown University Fiction set in 1982 Campus novels Books with cover art by Rodrigo Corral Novels set in New Jersey Novels set in New York City Novels set in Rhode Island Novels set in Massachusetts Novels set in India Farrar, Straus and Giroux books