The Marriage Plot

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of mental illness.

The pursuit of love is a constant focus for the novel’s central characters. Madeleine loves Leonard for the same reason that Mitchell loves Madeleine: Each perceives the object of their affection as exceptional, standing out from all others. For Madeleine, Leonard is an unlikely love interest. Not only does he come from a less privileged socio-economic background, but he also presents himself as an iconoclast—one who disregards the norms of both mainstream culture and the more rarified culture of the Ivy League. This unconventional personality initially makes Madeleine wary of him, but then she grows curious. She is interested in Leonard because he is so unlike others she has dated or other university students that she is drawn to him.

Just as Madeleine is surprised at Leonard’s apparent lack of romantic success—given that she finds him so alluring—Mitchell is initially surprised that Madeleine is not noticed by more men. He regards her as beautiful and places her on a pedestal as a kind of ideal partner. Her rejection of him only makes her more appealing, and Mitchell becomes determined to remain in her life until she eventually returns his love.