Middlesex: Book 2: News of the World Summary & Analysis

The next time Cal sees Julie, he visits her studio, and is captivated by her photographs of factories, which are her main subject. Cal kisses her, and Julie admits that she thought he was gay when they first met. She worries about being the “last stop,” explaining that closeted gay men tend to date Asian women as the last stop before coming out “because their bodies are more like boys’.”

Cal jumps back to his “parents’ story,” describing the optimism and pride Greek Americans felt about the presidential run of Michael Dukakis, followed by the humiliation of Dukakis’s failed campaign stunt of riding in a tank. He comments that Milton looked equally ridiculous while serving in the Navy in 1944. Milton was stationed in San Diego, having joined the Navy as an act of “revenge” against Tessie and in hope of forgetting his love for her.

Meanwhile, back in Detroit, Tessie watches news about the war at the movie theater. She daydreams of going to Europe to visit Italy or France. When footage of American troops plays, Tessie finds herself searching for Milton’s face and then feels ashamed of this. When the movie plays, she is unable to focus, distracted by her fears for Milton’s safety. The movie depicts a man unable to forget about the woman he loves, and Tessie sobs.    

During this time, everyone is writing letters to each other. Michael writes to Tessie twice a week, and Tessie lies in her letters back, pretending that she has spent her days volunteering with the Red Cross. Milton, meanwhile, writes Desdemona letters in poor Greek, which are in turn torn apart by the military censors. Milton, meanwhile, takes the entrance exam for the Naval Academy. Desdemona prays to St. Christopher, the martyr of Asia Minor, promising she will go back to Bithynios to repair the church if Milton stays safe in the war. Soon after, Milton gets bad news: he is being appointed to the dangerous position of signalman. He feels certain that he is going to die.

The next time Tessie is at the movies, newsreel footage of the war plays again, and this time she actually sees Milton. Tessie is stunned, and suddenly all her feelings about Milton and memoires of his clarinet come back. She admits to herself that she doesn’t want to marry Michael and live the life of a priest’s wife in Greece. Back at home, the Stephanides family receive a letter from Milton, the last one he will be able to write. He tells them not to worry and says that when he comes back home, he “want[s] in on the family business.” Distraught, Desdemona stays in bed for three days.

Tessie comes in to Desdemona’s room to say that she is calling off the wedding. Desdemona sits up in bed, asking why Tessie doesn’t want to marry Michael, a “good Greek boy.” Tessie explains that Milton asked her to marry him a while ago, and that she is going to tell him yes. She adds that they are only second cousins, and even first cousins are allowed to marry. Convinced that Milton is about to die, Desdemona is in such a deep state of hopelessness that she doesn’t even protest. Milton, meanwhile, is also convinced that he is going to die. However, he then gets the news that he excelled on the Naval Academy exam, and will immediately be sent to Annapolis. 

When Milton calls Desdemona to tell her the good news, she replies that he now has to fix the church in Bithynios, but he never gets around to doing this. Within a year he marries Tessie and they have their first child. He graduates from the Naval Academy and serves in the Korean War before coming back to Detroit and going into the family business. He never ends up going back to Bithynios, and Cal believes that this unfulfilled promise to St. Christopher caused problems later on. At Milton and Tessie’s wedding, Michael approaches Zoë. Feeling sorry for him, Zoë suggests they go and get some cake.