Middlesex: Book 3: The Obscure Object Summary & Analysis

Cal says that the intimacy between writer and ready is “the only kind of intimacy [he’s] comfortable with.” In college, he has a girlfriend named Olivia who had been attacked and almost raped when she was 13. The event stunted her emotional development, and this is what drew Cal to her, because he felt he was stunted as well. After college Cal travels around the world, and then, nine months later, takes the Foreign Service exam. Working for the State Department is his ideal job because it allows him to constantly move around, never forming lasting attachments. Explaining his intersex condition to women he dates remains a problem. However, back when he met the Obscure Object, he was still in “blissful ignorance.”

After Chapter Eleven goes back to college, a “silence” descends over the Stephanides house. Milton and Tessie are distraught. In spring semester of eighth grade, Callie is in Mr. da Silva’s advanced English class, which consists of her and four other students, including Maxine. Maxine is the only Jewish student at Baker & Inglis and socially isolated. Mr. da Silva, who is Brazilian, is a fantastic teacher, treating his students with true respect. He once visited Greece, where he had a profound conversation with an olive tree. In class, he asks Callie to read aloud from The Iliad, because she comes from “Homer’s own land.”

While Callie is reading, there is a knock at the door. A redheaded girl is standing in the doorway, enshrined in light (or at least she appears that way to Callie). The girl sits down, and Callie keeps reading, hiding behind her hair. She gazes at the girl, who has more freckles than anyone she’s seen. As soon as class is over the girl disappears, and Callie is left wondering about her. She isn’t a new student, and is “thin, austere, Protestant,” thus fitting right in. She is uninterested in class and always puts in the bare minimum of effort. She is friends with the Charm Bracelets.

Even though it hasn’t yet come out when they meet, Cal later associates the girl with Luis Buñel’s 1977 film That Obscure of Object of Desire. From now on, Cal will refer to the girl as the Obscure Object both out of sentimentality and to protect her privacy. One day, when Mr. da Silva asks the Obscure Object to read and she says she forgot her book, he asks her to share with Callie. This intimate proximity is unprecedented, and Callie is enchanted both by the Obscure Object’s presence and her reading voice, which is commanding and mature.

Callie finds her feelings about the Obscure Object to be both normal and not. It is considered “perfectly acceptable” for girls to have crushes on each other at Baker & Inglis. The school has several rituals that encourage romantic bonding between students. At the same time, there is also an overall sense that everyone there is “militantly heterosexual.” Callie spends time in the basement bathroom at school, trying to figure out if what she feels for the Obscure Object is anything unusual. She feels safe in the bathroom, both from everyone at school and from her parents’ concerns about the fact that at 14, she still hasn’t gotten her period.

Callie also spends time in the bathroom because recently, she has noticed something growing between her legs, which she refers to as a “crocus.” Her feelings about this aren’t entirely negative, but she worries that it might be abnormal, and wants to keep it a secret. At Baker & Inglis, it is tradition that every year, the eighth graders put on a play, and this year Mr. da Silva decides that the production will be on the hockey field, Greek amphitheater-style. The play is Antigone; everyone in Advanced English gets a major role, where the rest are in the chorus. The Obscure Object is cast as Antigone, and Callie plays Tiresias. Callie is thrilled by the chance to spend more time around her crush.

The Obscure Object becomes surprisingly enthusiastic about the play, suggesting that the actors memorize their lines instead of reading from the script. Callie suggests that they rehearse together, and the Obscure Object agrees. At the Object’s house, Callie is surprised to see that she is smoking; the Obscure Object explains that her parents smoke themselves, so it would be hypocritical of them to ban her from doing so. The Object says that she doesn’t believe that Callie has any bad habits, but Callie replies that she does—she chews her hair. The girls talk in a way they would never be able to at school. At one point Callie mentions vibrators, then quotes from Our Bodies, Ourselves. The Object is impressed by her knowledge.

Callie goes back to the Obscure Object’s house to rehearse lines again. They lie in sun room while the Object smokes and the maid, Beulah, brings them snacks. At one point, the Object says that she’s glad they’re both in Antigone, because otherwise she would never have found out that Callie is “such a cool kid.” The Object then critiques Callie’s performance of blindness, saying that in reality blind people don’t “stumble around” like Callie does. As she is explaining, the Object holds Callie’s hand and whispers in her ear.

On the day of the play, the actors assemble in an improvised backstage and talk about how nervous they are. Maxine waves happily to her parents, and Callie spots Milton—looking like “the captain of a cruise ship”—and Tessie. Before the play begins, Callie tells the Obscure Object not to worry, assuring her that she’s a good actress. The Object snaps in return and Callie is left feeling mortified. Callie watches the Object preparing, immersed in deep thought. She has discovered her talent for performing, and is taking it seriously.

When the play begins, Callie watches from the sidelines; she does not have to appear for a while. Maxine’s first line comes, but she doesn’t say it. The Object repeats her line, and Maxine still says nothing. She has had an aneurysm. Hettie Grossinger is the first in the audience to realize something is wrong, and runs to her daughter, screaming “No!” Maxine falls to the floor, already dead. The Obscure Object runs offstage and straight into Callie’s arms, and—despite the tragedy of the situation—Callie is thrilled.