Between Place and Identity: Spatial Production and the Poetics of Liminality in Jeffrey Eugenides’ Fiction

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report (Previous Reviewer 1)

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

I am generally satisfied with the revisions made by the author of this piece based on initial review. The piece does conclude by gesturing toward work which considers space/place and narrative form; my only significant suggestion is that the author might wish to gesture toward some work that has broadly started to consider some of these questions (see https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C20&q=eugenides+space+place&btnG= -- an imperfect list as it includes some extraneous research, but at least Ollier, Jansen, Lozano Dorado, Francisco, and Collado-Rodriguez are broadly in this realm.

Author Response

Thank you for pointing this out. In the future I will make sure to review the suggested literature. 

Reviewer 2 Report (Previous Reviewer 2)

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This is a significant and successful revision.  The author used the reviewers' comments to enhance their project, creating a more compelling and interesting essay. Though not specifically noted in response to readers, I found the gender issues in the two novels likewise better connected.

I would suggest that the term "heterotopia" be defined the first time it is used in the body of the essay, rather than after the section in which it appears.

Author Response

Thank you for pointing this out. I have defined the term in the article. 

Reviewer 3 Report (Previous Reviewer 3)

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

I appreciate the work put into improving the paper vis-a-vis its first version. One minor change I would suggest is renaming section 2, as it is quite puzzling to see "Results" before the actual analysis. 

Author Response

Thank you for pointing this out. I agree with the comment and I have renamed the section accordingly. 

This manuscript is a resubmission of an earlier submission. The following is a list of the peer review reports and author responses from that submission.

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The central premise here, that--to oversimplify--space is more than space--is certainly correct, and I think there is much to be said about Eugenides's depictions of Detroit (see Jansen, 2019 for more on Virgin Suicides and Detroit as placed/placeless) in relation to the immigrant experience, class, and the stories we tell about "America." The manuscript circles around this point without quite saying as much, but in the context of Middlesex we could certainly talk about a city that is itself so frequently "reborn" as our main character Cal/Caliope is.

However, as written, I think this manuscript could use revision. Its introduction to theories of space is brief and could use expansion to demonstrate real breadth and mastery, and I think in particular the paper needs to make a case for why Eugenides is the object of this case study (or, put differently, how does Eugenides's work contribute to/problematize these discussions around space in literature; or, perhaps as another option, how does Middlesex/Virgin Suicides' use of place work in conversation with one another--named explicitly in one, only alluded to in another? How do those threads tie?). The paper could use a more rigorous theoretical backing (the references are slim given the amount written on space in literature/literary geography), and I think could better integrate some of the research conducted (including large, uncontextualized block quotations). There is a kernel of a strong paper here, but the strands need to be tied together in a way that more clearly articulates the contribution the paper is making, rather than just applying the theory and moving on.

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

In its current state, this is more an outline for a scholarly essay than an insightful and supported work. The abstract promises to “explore the manifold manifestations of space and its symbolical significance in two of Jeffrey Eugenides’ major novels.” However, this paper never defines the specific way that Eugenides uses space. It categorizes Eugenides’s position within postmodern fiction, without making links to other novelists – and how space operates in postmodern literature, as opposed to literature in general.  The only novelists mentioned specifically for their use of space are Steinbeck and Dickens – authors with little direct connection to Eugenides’ work, or to his use of the Detroit area.  

The opening sections on space and fiction do not provide a clear focus and are overly reliant on general texts.  When the essay moves into discussion of the novels, the authors excerpts others’ overviews, rather than demonstrating their specific insights into what is unique about Eugenides, establishing his specific place in fiction, American fiction, or postmodern fiction. In the sections on each novels, there is an attempt to trace the movement between spaces in the novels – but it is more a cataloguing than providing a prism to appreciate this novelist.

While the final Discussion had the potential to finally define the specific function of space in Eugenides’ novels, the first half is again broad about the “concept of space” and “literature” – no more defined than they were at the beginning of the essay.

I was sincerely intrigued by the title of this novel.  Eugenides’ setting in suburban Detroit over decades does provide a unique geography worth examining. However, at this point, this essay does not deliver on this potential.

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

In general, the article relies heavily on the use of long quotations from other studies, which are introduced as if in passing and without any engagement or comment on the part of the author. I would suggest reconsidering the use of such long quotations, especially ones that do not seem to contribute much to the subject of the paper (e.g. the two long quotations on Eugenides in section 4). 

What's more, it's not clear to me what the use of the section on space in postmodern literature is. If the author considers Eugenides a postmodern writer, that should be clearly spelled out. As it is, the introductory part - that is, sections 1-3 - strikes me as unnecessarily long and somewhat repetitive. While I understand the need to introduce the methodological approach before embarking on an analysis of the novels themselves, I feel the introduction is disproportionately drawn out.

When it comes to the section devoted to Middlesex, my suggestion would be to focus more on Detroit's immigrant and racial history than Cal's transgender identity. Introducing Cal's reflections - Cal being, after all, a contemporary character - in the context of the history of Detroit's auto industry (p. 6) completely disturbs the flow of the argument. The section on racial tensions should be substantially expanded - or removed. Introducing one quote does not give justice to the complexity of Eugenides's treatment of the issue.  

Lastly, I would love to see more specific examples in the author's analysis of space in The Virgin Suicides. The author argues that spaces in the novel are "meticulously crafted" (p. 8) but fails to analyze any of such spaces in detail. 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

I would suggest thorough proofreading of the text. Unless the text is authored by several people, the use of the pronoun "we/our" is quite unnatural. 

There are some spelling mistakes, e.g. feeling instead of fleeing on p. 6. 

One final suggestion would be to combine very short paragraphs into more developed ones (top of p. 2).