Middlesex

In the Berlin timeline, Cal has invited Julie to spend the weekend on the isle of Usedom, clarifying that they’ll stay in separate rooms. On the beach, the two comment on all the nudity. Cal finds it somewhat distasteful and frightening. He and Julie get along well, though, and he finds himself liking her more and more. However, he doesn’t invite her back to his room.

The novel returns to the Detroit timeline. Milton has grown depressed. The diner is going under, and he can’t sell it without a loss. He behaves as if he’s mourning for a deceased loved one. Meanwhile, tensions in the city begin to rise: “[T]he all-white Detroit police force has been raiding after-hours bars in the city’s black neighborhoods” (236). Racial unrest has been prevalent throughout the country over the last year, and now Detroit is bracing for an incident. In late July, a riot breaks out. Tessie, the children, and the grandparents hide out in the attic, while Milton goes to protect the diner, taking his handgun with him.

After three days of this, Calliope decides to go rescue her father. This coincides with the entry of the National Guard into the fray. Tanks roll through the streets of Detroit as Calliope pedals her bicycle toward the diner. When she finally makes it to him, the restaurant is already burning, like much of the city. When the smoke clears, they’ll start anew.

As the narrator puts it, “the riots were the best thing that ever happened to us” (252), though he admits that the feeling causes some shame. The riots allow the family to collect the insurance money from the diner, which Milton uses to purchase the first of many new Cadillacs. In addition, he founds Hercules Hot Dogs, which becomes a successful chain with dozens of outlets. The Stephanides family has entered the upper echelons of the middle class.

Milton decides to move the family out of the city into the suburbs, but the competition for good housing is fierce. Their Greek last name hinders their search, but Milton’s ability to pay in cash secures them an odd place on Middlesex Boulevard, the house was designed by Hudson Clark, one of the lesser-known members of the Prairie School. It has few doors and lots of glass windows, as well as intercoms between rooms that sometimes work but often don’t. Lefty keeps the windows spotless, even though the kids smudge them constantly.

Calliope develops a special relationship with her silent grandfather. However, he continues to decline. No longer able to drive, he takes Calliope on long walks. One day he stumbles off a curb. The stroke that robbed him of his voice is followed by more strokes.

Meanwhile, Calliope is making friends in her new neighborhood, particularly with Clementine Stark. Clementine’s parents have little oversight over their kids, and they play up in Clementine’s room. Clementine teaches her how to kiss, having Calliope play the part of the man. Later, they take a bath together in the outdoor bathhouse that came with the house. Their play begins to look and feel sexual when Calliope notices Lefty frozen in the corner. He has had another catastrophic stroke, from which he never quite recovers. Calliope blames herself. In his decline, he reverts further, eventually forgetting English and remembering Desdemona as his sister, not his wife. Just as Calliope begins to come of age, Lefty forgets himself and dies. After the funeral, Desdemona takes to her bed.

In the Berlin timeline, Cal and Julie return to Berlin after their weekend on the island. Although they had an excellent time, Cal starts to fear what comes next, so he stops returning her calls. The relationship appears to be over.

The novel returns to the Detroit timeline. Adhering to her word, Desdemona never leaves her bed again except to take a bath once a week. Callie carries food out to her in the guesthouse. Dr. Philobosian reassures the family that nothing is physically wrong with her. Milton starts to implement his plan for Hercules Hot Dogs. Callie admits that she didn’t ever take to the hot-dog stands; she misses the quaint aura of the Zebra Room, a relic from another time.

Chapter Eleven enters puberty and spends much of his time in the bathroom. Callie wonders what he’s up to, as of yet unaware of “the pressing needs of adolescent boys” (279). Her father works all the time, and her grandfather is gone. She and Tessie take care of Desdemona. Sourmelina returns from her sojourn out west after her female companion dies; she serves as a counter to Desdemona’s retreat in old age.

Callie turns 12 in 1972. While many of her classmates begin to experience the changes that come with puberty, she doesn’t. Still, nobody suspects that anything is wrong with her. Dr. Philobosian is now an old man attached to antiquated ways, so he never conducts a thorough exam. Calliope begins to grow impatient that her body has failed to develop.

Meanwhile, Desdemona is still waiting to die. A curious doctor investigates her longevity, chalking it up to the “Mediterranean Diet.” He estimates that she’s in her 90s, though she’s only in her 70s. The narrator debunks the myth that Greek food is the healthiest in the world. Calliope herself begins to rebel against the traditional food that her mother cooks. She believes that her lack of development might have something to do with the food. Instead, she hungers for American food, but Tessie refuses, thinking it’s unhealthy. Milton grows tired of their constant fighting, but he’s jolted out of his annoyance by an even bigger concern: The city of Detroit will implement busing beginning the next school year, taking kids like Callie from the suburbs into the city.

Milton enrolls Calliope in an all-girls’ school in Grosse Pointe. As she continues through puberty, her body starts changing—but not in the ways she expected. She becomes awkward and clumsy, and her once-beautiful face grows more severe. She still hasn’t developed any sign of breasts or started her period, however. She watches the group of wealthy, well-heeled girls she calls the Charm Bracelets. Despite their beauty and privilege, they make no effort in school. Callie is lumped in with the “‘Ethnic’ girls,” including girls from Italian and Indian families. Until this experience, Callie always considered herself simply American. Her greatest fear is being exposed in the showers after gym class.

As Callie adjusts to private school, Chapter Eleven goes off to college. The Vietnam War still rages, and Chapter Eleven fears being chosen for the draft. Milton’s views and Chapter Eleven’s views on politics, the war, and just about everything else begin to diverge. As the children get older, Tessie and Milton find themselves in need of other distractions. They invest in the Great Books series, as all that Greek heritage is appealing, though they don’t stick with the project for long. The books, though, leave an impression on Callie.

In addition, Callie experiences an unprecedented growth spurt, and her voice begins to change. A school picture taken that year reveals a face incredibly self-conscious and anxious. Callie is no longer the beautiful, happy child she once was. She has grown her hair long so that it covers much of her face.

In the Berlin timeline, Cal resumes his lonely walks through the city. He rides his bike to meet a friend; on his way home, the prostitutes call out to him. He’s aware, briefly, of feeling threatened, like the female he once was.

The novel returns to the Detroit timeline. Callie begins to sprout a faint mustache on her upper lip. Tessie takes her to a salon where women—especially “ethnic” women—wax away unwanted hair. It’s a mother-daughter bonding experience. Callie recounts the many products she accumulates to try to recapture her beauty.

Chapter Eleven comes home for the holidays, bringing a girlfriend. He confesses to Callie that he drops acid and smokes dope. He has decided to major in anthropology, and his girlfriend excoriates Milton with her Marxist critique of his business over dinner. Chapter Eleven asks Callie about her sex life and criticizes everything about his family’s life. Milton begins to hatch a plan to travel back to Bithynios to restore the church, as he’d long ago promised.

Cal frets that he hasn’t made it further through his own story. He thinks about his mostly solitary life and remembers the first time he fell in love. He met her before he fully knew the truth about himself.

They meet in Mr. da Silva’s English class. Mr. da Silva encourages Callie’s love of literature and connection to her Greek roots. They read The Iliad, which Callie thoroughly enjoys, despite all the bloodshed. The Obscure Object—one of the Charm Bracelets—has been sent to the class as punishment. She’s pale and red-haired, and Callie feels an immediate attraction to her. Callie becomes fascinated with the girl despite her being a poor student. The narrator, in order to protect her identity, names her after the Luis Buñuel movie, That Obscure Object of Desire.

While Callie’s attraction to the Obscure Object might have been a window into her underlying biological identity, it wasn’t uncommon for girls to harbor infatuations with other girls, especially in an all-girls’ school. Still, one was admonished never to act on these feelings; heterosexuality was the required norm.

When Callie’s feelings overwhelm her, she retreats to the bathrooms in the basement at the school. She begins to discover her sexuality, playing with what she calls her “crocus” (330). Around the same time, Mr. da Silva decides that the class will stage Antigone. He casts the Obscure Object in the title role, while Callie is to play Tiresias. The Obscure Object, in contrast to her earlier lack of effort, likes acting. She also decides that all the cast members should memorize their lines, despite Mr. da Silva’s offer to let them carry scripts onstage. Thus, Callie offers to run lines with the Obscure Object. She learns that the Obscure Object is quite wealthy and has absentee parents who allow her to do almost anything. She smokes regularly and talks honestly with Callie. They become friends.

The night of the play, however, one of the fellow students has an aneurysm onstage. She dies before the play can get started. Callie rushes to comfort the Obscure Object.

Tessie is concerned about Callie’s development; she schedules an appointment for her to see a gynecologist. The family is in the midst of planning a trip to Greece later that summer. Callie, however, has thoughts only for the Obscure Object: “I was in love” (341).

The Obscure Object takes Callie to the local country club and introduces Callie both to her brother and to the ways of the wealthy. Callie asks the Obscure Object about what it’s like to go to the gynecologist; it’s unpleasant, she tells Callie. Callie notes that the Obscure Object is often self-centered and mercurial. Still, the two develop a deep bond.

Callie dreads the upcoming visit to the gynecologist and resumes going to church with her mother. There, she prays to get her period and watches her Aunt Zoe, who is unhappily married to Father Mike. The Obscure Object invites her to a party, where Callie catches her flirting with a boy. The next day, at church, she’s overcome with emotion—and incense—and complains of a stomachache to her mother. Tessie, believing that Callie has gotten her period, cancels the gynecologist appointment. The family vacation is also canceled, because the Turks have invaded Cyprus.

While Callie continues to fake her period, the forces of history begin to divide the Stephanides family and their group of friends. Milton offends his fellow immigrants by defending the US decision not to help defend Greece. The communal dinners become a thing of the past.

The Object invites Callie to their summer home for a stay. The Object’s father drives Callie, getting drunk along the way, because the Object and her brother, Jerome, are already there. Callie is surprised to see that the boy the Object likes, Rex, is also at the house. The four of them decide to go to the hunting lodge out in the woods to drink and smoke pot. As Callie watches the Object flirt with Rex, she decides to flirt with Jerome. As they become increasingly impaired—it’s the first time Callie has ever tried marijuana—the flirting turns more obviously sexual. Callie allows Jerome to do what he likes, imagining herself in the body of Rex, who is fumbling with the Object across the room. Jerome finally pulls down Callie’s underpants and penetrates her. It’s the most painful sensation she has ever experienced. Her suspicions about her distinctness from other girls are confirmed. She’s terrified about what Jerome will say—but without warrant. He doesn’t notice anything wrong. He’s merely happy with his conquest.

The incident leads to a temporary rift between the Object and Callie: The Object is upset because Callie seduced her brother. However, they quickly make up, and the relationship between them becomes sexual. Callie stays in the same bed with the Object, and while the Object pretends to be asleep, Callie kisses and caresses her. The kind of sex they have doesn’t follow any known rules, but they’re young and inexperienced. Nothing seems strange to them. The only problem, according to the Object, is that Callie isn’t a boy.

Everything continues happily until Jerome discovers Callie touching his sister while they’re lounging in the hammock. He yells offensive names at them, making the Object cry. Jerome threatens Callie, telling her to leave immediately. He chases her as she runs in terror and humiliation. She doesn’t see the tractor turn into the road and runs directly into its tire. The next thing she remembers is seeing the Object looking down at her, her head in the Object’s lap, as she’s driven to the hospital. The Object is crying; they kiss. Callie never sees her again.

During the examination at the hospital, the doctors discover that Callie isn’t quite the girl she has always believed she was. A week later, back home at Middlesex, Callie packs a suitcase. Her parents are taking her to a specialist in New York.