"He had purchased the liqueur with a fake I.D. that afternoon, and had carried it in the lining of his jacket all evening...He held the bottle to Lux's lips saying "Don't swallow"...Her throat gurgled with captive mirth. She laughed, a trickle of schnapps dripped down her chin where she caught it with one ringed hand, but the grew solemn..." pgs 129-130

I think that this passage has significance to it because it is making the reader realize what a tight leash the Lisbon girls are on. In the novel, Lux and Trip share peach schnapps. A peach is significant because it symbolizes longevity. It's ironic that they drank the peach schnapps since a peach represents the duration of life, and from the title, the reader can easily infer that they all commit suicide. This forshadows all of the Lisbon girls' deaths. The girls are all rebelling and going against their parents by drinking, and killing themselves slowly.

The Virgin Suicides 2

"The fluttering wedding dress added to this circusy effect. Mr. Lisbon kept trying to lift her off, gently, but even in our ignorance we knew it was hopeless and that despite Cecilia's open eyes and the way her mouth kept contracting like that of a fish on a stringer it was just nerves and she had succeeded, on the second try, in hurliung herself out of the world."

At the beginning of the novel, I wasn't able to understand the significance of Cecilias wedding dress. Although I still don't fully understand it, I can make an educated guess as to why Eugenides made Cecilia wear the dress. I think that it signifies her youth, and that she will never be able to mature into a young woman and become married, but instead stay youthful. I think that Eugenides word choice was very simple and easy to understand, so that the reader can understand the sorrow of Cecilia's suicide. The word circus was used to represent Cecilias youth and her "open eyes" was Eugenides was of characterizing her as a child. Cecilia was never able to grow up and experience maturity.