Eugenides close reading
“Madeleine had been trying to beat Alton [in tennis] her entire life without success. This was even more infuriating because she was better than he was, at this point. But whenever she took a set from Alton he started intimidating her, acting mean, disputing calls, and her game fell apart. Madeleine was worried that there was something paradigmatic in this, that she was destined to go through life being cowed by less capable men. As a result, Madeleine’s tennis matches against Alton had assumed such outsize personal significance for her that she got tight whenever she played him, with predictable results. (10)”
Eugenides builds the story of Madeline’s tennis follies from the begining, and by doing so lets the reader feel as if they themselves are going through a journey like hers. With every mistep, we are driven closer to the ultimate goal, much like Madeline, and then snatched back at the last moment, burdened to try again. By using words like “beat”, “without sucsess”, infuriating”, Eugenides begins his annecdote by introducing us to Madeline’s view and struggle.
Tennis is a game played for recreation if not professionally, and since there is no hint of Madeline being a professional, tennis here is meant as a way for her to play for her, not for money. This is why the words ‘beat” and ‘without sucsess” are important. These words indicate that there is more at stake then pleasure, and they start the snowball effect that tennis has on Madeline’s manic state.
Madeleine worries that her shortcomings on the court will have a “paradigmatic ” effect on her life. This word choice is important because it has to do with the study of linguistics, one studied in english theory classes that the main character so thoroughly enjoys.
The author makes purposful note of Madeline’s “tight”ness when playing these games, a word choice important for its multiple meanings. “Tight’ can mean physically her muscles can tighten, causing her to be slower on the court; it could mean that she got emotionally upset, and that her clouded mind prevented her from having physical success. The word “tight” also implies a surroundedness and the feeling of enclosure, or trapping. Madeline could feel tight under the web of her father’s sucsesses agaisnt her, this sense of defeat fueling her manic obsession to spring free from the trapping every time she gets thrown back below it.