Free Essays,College Free Essays,Free College Essays at Anti Essays

A Fatal Decision

Middlesex by Jefrey Eugenides is an astonishing tale of a gene that passes down through three generations of a Greek American family and flowers in the body of Calliope Stephanides. Calliope Stephanides’ grandparents, Lefty and Desdemona Stephanides, are left alone high on the slope of Mount Olympus in Asia Minor without the guidance and the presence of any parents. Desdemona and Lefty are siblings confused about the truth behind their abnormal emotions towards each other. Desdemona made sure her brother was her number one priority; therefore she took care of the house and the cocoonery, while Lefty was to “take care of the books” (27). Growing up together, both Lefty and Desdemona were aroused by each other, but they were afraid of the outcome of their sexual desires. Despite the wrongness in their doing, Lefty and Desdemona still get married and have sexual relations. Knowing that they are brother and sister, why do Desdemona and Lefty choose to involve themselves in an incestuous relationship and how does this decision affect their future generations? Lefty and Desdemona are segregated on top of a mountain alone in a very small village where they perform every task together. Due to these circumstances, they pursue to engage themselves in sexual harmony. Because of this fatal decision their granddaughter, Calliope Stephanides, is greatly affected in that she inherits a gene mutation of a hermaphrodite.
Symptoms of loneliness and deprivation possess Desdemona and Lefty’s minds’ in deciding to have an incestuous relationship. Their segregation from the real world on top of a high mountain triggers their interest towards each other. Desdemona and Lefty lack the presence of a father figure and a mother. Parental values and guidance are very important in a child’s life and without parental directions kids could possibly lose track and make dire decisions. The death of their parents causes unhappiness and seclusion in Lefty...