Visual Analysis

The cover of Jeffrey Eugenides’ 2009 edition of The Virgin Suicides features children playing in a lush, green valley. There are five young girls and one young boy in the image. The children are white and varying in age, but share a connection, whether it be friendship or family. The children are playing in a lush valley that seems to be in the middle of the wilderness. In the middle of the visual, there is a large tree where two of the children are playing. The tree in the center of the image is the focus point of the image, making it important to the message of the image in connection to the message of the book. The children doing activities near the center tree in pairs. One pair is sitting near the tree braiding one another’s hair. Another is climbing the center tree. The last pair is one of the girls and the boy who is looking at something in the girls’ hands. There is one lone girl in the foreground of the visual. She is laying in the grass watching the others below her. 

Besides the children at play, the wilderness seems to be important to the message in the image. The branches of trees in the foreground are angled towards the tree in the middle of the image. The foliage is a mixture of greens with spaces of dark brown. The branches of the trees are in focus, and details are able to be seen. Moving past the foreground into the background, the wilderness is a dark green streak that meets the pale blue sky. The paleness of the childrens’ complexions stand out in their colorful surroundings.

The cover image is set in the middle of the book cover. Above and below the image are white spaces where the title, author, and information about the image and author are written. This makes the image stand out on the cover and make it isolated. The white spaces frame the image. All but the title of the book is written in grey or black. The title is written in a green that matches the foliage of the image. All of the text is in a thick, blocky font. 

The cover image was taken by Justine Kurland, a photographer from New York. Kurland is famous for her collection of photographs called Girl Pictures, from which this particular photo came. From 1997 to 2002, Kurland traveled across America taking pictures of young girls in urban and rural areas (Artnet 2020). Kurland’s Girl Pictures were inspired by the third wave feminist movement. Justine Kurland spoke about how the girls in her pictures are supposed to embody female solidarity and the leaving of societal institutions (Wrigley 2018). The third wave of feminism began in the 1990s with the purpose of initiating female empowerment and the movement from the patriarchy (Burnell and Burkett 2020). In her collection of photographs, the young girls were shown in a pack-like nature being active in the wilderness. Kurland sees her groups of girls as small armies fighting against the patriarchy (Wrigley 2018). The purpose of her collection was to showcase young girls as independent, wild, and free individuals. 

When comparing the cover image to the text of the book, there are clear connections between symbolism in the image and the plot of the story. In Jeffery Eugenides’ The Virgin Suicides, the main characters are five young sisters whose parents are strict and restrictive of their daughters’ actions. The girls are not allowed to experience any of the normal activities of being a young girl. The book took place in the 1970s when progressive rock music was at its highest. The girls’ parents drove them to find their own freedom, which meant suicide. The girls believed that the only way to free themselves of the suppression of society and their parents was to kill themselves. They could no longer be controlled by others than themselves. The cover image depicts five young girls, just like the characters in the book, being carefree and acting like children their age should. The image expresses freedom and contentment. 

Henry Sene Yee was the man in charge of choosing the cover image for Jeffery Eugenides’ The Virgin Suicides. Upon seeing Justine Kurland’s Girl Pictures, he believed that she would be perfect for helping design the cover. Sene Yee found her photographs of feral young girls to be a perfect visualization for the book (Sene Yee 2009). Her photo, named Orchard, is what appears on the cover of the book. Sene Yee found this particular image to be the perfect embodiment of how the boys who told the story envisioned the main characters of the book (Sene Yee 2009). 

Naomi Fry, a writer for The New Yorker magazine, analyzed Justine Kurland’s Girl Pictures. She remarks that Kurland’s photographs are tightly controlled despite their carefree nature. Fry takes note of the boldness captured in the photos calling it “menacing” and “feral.” She also uses the word “utopian” to describe Kurlands’ photos. Fry believes that Kurland’s photos describe a world where women and young girls are not held to society’s standards of beauty and poise (Fry 2020).

I first read The Virgin Suicides in middle school. Middle school symbolizes a transition between adolescence and young adulthood. Middle school is a time to begin understanding who you are as a person, and to make plans for the future. It is also a time to enjoy what is left of your adolescence and innocence. I believe that the cover image of this book also portrays that same idea. The remote and lush valley of the cover image resembles the Garden of Eden. The Garden of Eden was a place where innocence once flourished, but was tainted and the damage was irreversible. The cover image resembles a time of innocence and tranquility; a time before maturity corrupts the innocence of youth.