The Marriage Plot

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of mental illness, substance use, suicidal ideation, and sexual content.

It is spring, and Madeleine and Leonard, newlyweds, are living at Madeleine’s parents’ home. They are sleeping in Madeleine’s childhood bedroom, which is decorated with wallpaper depicting illustrations from the children’s book Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans. Madeleine has been accepted to Columbia, and they plan to move into an apartment in New York. Leonard, however, has recently been hospitalized, and Madeleine does not like to leave him alone, fearing that he may attempt suicide.

One day, Madeleine wakes to find that Leonard is not in bed beside her. He suffers from insomnia and sometimes retreats to a guest room during these times. A friend of hers from college is working for her father’s real-estate company and urges Madeleine to go into the city to see an apartment that is sure to be snatched up. Though Leonard initially refuses to take the trip, he suddenly changes his mind.

The narrative shifts back in time to present Leonard’s manic period from Madeleine’s point of view: Not only does the return of his libido signify to her that he is, at last, improving, but Leonard also becomes outgoing and gregarious, hosting parties and organizing gatherings—even rounding up coworkers from the lab for a spontaneous trip to a nearby casino.