Book Report- "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Middlesex
Jeffrey Eugenides
Farrar, Strauss, Giroux
2002
The book that I just finished for my friends writing project was Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. It was a very well written fictional book that traced the life of hermaphrodite. Eugenides decided to write this book after he read the memoir of Herculine Barbin, and found it to be lacking in emotional content.
One thing that this book definitely achieves is entering into the struggle felt by a person of minority. Eugenides does an excellent job of portraying the inner workings of one who is struggling with their true identity versus the choice to assimilate into society. It think that this should be essential reading material for any person who does not understand what it is like to be outcast because of a physical anomaly, a racial prejudice or a sexual preference.
Although I do feel that this book did an excellent job of making the protagonist's struggle accessible to its audience, I actually found the book quite lacking in poetry. I was surprised because The Virgin Suicides, one of Eugenides' other books, is one of the most incredible books I have ever read. It is so full of poetic content that I can completely immerse myself in the physical sensations of his characters, whereas in Middlesex I found the storyline to be rather linear and without romanticism.
On the boat the brother and sister decide to pretend to be strangers, then "meet", fall in love, and be married. Married on the boat, the siblings enter America with a hope of starting a new life.
Once in America the story turns to the history of Detroit. This part of the book I particularly loved- America during the height and then fall of its automobile building era. Eugenides did an incredible job of building up the feeling of the early industrial age. The rushing, the dirt, men trying to eek out a living, factories, desperation.
The happenings of the book are linked closely with the physical architecture throughout. In times of excitement and growth the buildings are strong and prominent. And as tragedies happens the buildings crumble. Most of Calliope's journey is mimicked by the house that she lives in. It is called Middlesex, and it is a place of newness and innovation as Calliope starts to grow into herself, and then a place of decay as she starts to deal with the confusion of her sexuality. It reminds me very much of these photographs by March and Meffre.
http://www.marchandmeffre.com/
Throughout her life Calliope is always ashamed of her body, but is unsure why. Her parents are extremely conservative and so she has no idea about sex or anatomy. Their family doctor is almost blind and so never notices anything wrong with her. She is certain that she is different when she doesn't develop the way she sees other girls do, and then when she feel attraction towards other girls.
A large part of her coming of age is her relationship with a girl in her class which develops into a sexual encounter. This relationship escalates until an accident occurs. After being sent to the hospital Calliope finally finds out that there is something truly different about her body.
Images from the movie Jack & Diane
Sent to a special sexologist, Calliope becomes the focus of study for many doctors, who advise her that she just needs a small procedure to make her into a normal woman. When she accidentally discovers that she is absolutely genetically male, she runs away and becomes a performer in a "freak" show, trying to make a living in any way she can.
Although the true story of Herculine Barbin ends in tragedy, Middlesex ends on a positive note of moving forward and healing. In fact, I found the story to be almost entirely lacking in tragedy, which made it a little less realistic for me. Cal(liope) seemed to have a similar journey to some of my homosexual friends who grew up in middle class families. Families who, in the end, didn't really care about their sexuality as long as their child was still there. I was hoping that, in this book, Eugenides would be brave enough to truly go the distance in explaining the mental process of one who is so unaccepeted by society, that for them, the only option they want is death. I do suppose however, that by giving the book a positive ending, it allows almost any reader to connect with it. It also may give a sense of hope to anyone who might be undergoing a similar journey. At the very least, I love that this book humanises a minority group that needs to be recognized as a normal part of society.
As a companion to this book , I would also recommend- Hermaphrodites and the Medical Invention of Sex