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Book 3: The Obscure Object
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Middlesex, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Rebirth vs. Continuity
Ancestry, Inheritance, and Fate
False Binaries
Migration, Ethnicity, and the American Dream
Secrets
Summary
Analysis
Tessie tells Callie that she has made her a doctor’s appointment with a “ladies’ doctor,” Dr. Bauer. Callie protests. It is summer, and Tessie is driving her to the Obscure Object’s house. Two weeks have passed since Maxine’s sudden death. Milton and Tessie are preparing for the family’s upcoming trip to Turkey, but Callie remains totally uninterested. She doesn’t want to spend her summer painting the church in Bithynios. When she gets to the Object’s house, Beulah points her upstairs. Callie has never been to the second floor before. The Object is lying in bed with the blinds closed. They have breakfast, and the Object’s mother Mrs. Object tells them that she and Mr. Object will be out that night, and that Beulah will leave dinner for them in the fridge.
While the name “The Obscure Object” could potentially be seen as controversial, the names Mr. Object and Mrs. Object keep the whole situation purely in the realm of the farcical. In a sense, by calling the Object’s parents by these names, Callie extends the feelings of desire and fantasy she has toward her crush onto them as well. After all, although Callie has no erotic attachment to them, they are also figures of fantasy—the wealthy, WASP parents that are so different from Callie’s own.
Themes
The Object suffers from chronic heartburn, and is surprised to learn that Callie has never had it. Every day in June and July, she and Callie go to the Grosse Pointe Club, which is nicknamed the Little Club, and lie by the pool. The Object wears a bikini, whereas Callie wears an old-fashioned one-piece. They order as much food and drink as they want, putting it on Mr. Object’s tab. The Object invites Callie to her summer house in Petoskey in August, but Callie says she can’t come because she’ll be in Turkey.
With the Obscure Object, Callie experiences a life totally unlike anything she has known before—a life of limitless wealth, opulence, and leisure. At the same time, it is also obvious that this wealth doesn’t mean anything to Callie in comparison to her obsession with the Object herself.
Themes
A boy comes over and shakes his wet hair so that Callie and the Obscure Object are covered in cold droplets. The Object introduces him as her brother, Jerome. He has dyed dark hair, and asks if the girls want to be in a vampire movie he is making, Vampire in Prep School. It is based on his own experience of being unable to fit in at school. The Object explains that Jerome has already been kicked out of two boarding schools. He jumps in the water. At the time, Callie is too young to realize that part of the reason for the Object’s interest in her is that she is profoundly lonely. Her parents are always absent, and Jerome doesn’t help because he is “a brother and therefore useless.”
In contrast to Callie’s enchanted description of the Obscure Object, Jerome is depicted as a little ridiculous and pathetic (note that he is the only member of the Object family who gets a real name). In both cases, Callie begins her description of the siblings by noticing their hair—but where the Object’s hair was a crown of light, Jerome is irritatingly shaking his hair like a dog.
Themes
The Obscure Object invites Callie to sleep over. Callie pretends to be unsure because she doesn’t have her toothbrush; in reality, she is of course happy to share the Object’s toothbrush. The Object gives Callie one of Jerome’s shirts to wear because her own ones are too small. She mentions that Mr. Object fought in France during World War II, but that Mrs. Object doesn’t like when he talks about this. The Object asks Callie to give her a back rub.
As teenage girls, the Obscure Object and Callie are “permitted” to have a very physically intimate relationship without raising eyebrows. The flipside to this, however, is the erasure of the possibility of lesbian sexual experience.
Themes
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While Callie does so, she asks if the Object has ever been to the gynecologist; the Object says she has, and that it’s horrible. She then comments that Dr. Bauer, who is the father of a friend, is a “total perv.” When Callie asks for a backrub in return, the Object doesn’t answer, as she is already asleep. At another point during the summer, the Object points out that Callie never gets completely naked. Callie denies this and then denies being afraid. The Object tells Callie that she shouldn’t worry, because she’s her best friend.
What begins as a terrifying and potentially violating encounter—the Object is the first person depicted in the novel as noticing Callie’s fear of being naked—turns into a moving and thrilling moment for Callie, in which the Object confirms that they are best friends.
Themes
Callie is terrified of her appointment with Dr. Bauer, which is due to take place on July 22nd. In the midst of this emotional turmoil, she decides to start going to church again. In April, Chapter Eleven told them that he was dropping out of college to “live off the land.” Callie notes that Father Mike has a regal, commanding presence during church services. This is the opposite of Aunt Zoë, who becomes “meek.” Being a priest’s wife has been “even worse than Aunt Zo had expected.” She hated the period they spent living in Greece, during which she had four children. Father Mike had the opposite experience. He enjoyed living in Greece, where he was able to recover some of the dignity he lost after Tessie jilted him.
Although times have changed significantly since Lefty and Desdemona were young, Aunt Zo’s experience shows how much women’s lives are controlled by their husbands, and how miserable this can end up being. Having married Father Mike, Zoë remains trapped in a life she would never have chosen for herself.
Themes
Zoë and Mike’s children are named Aristotle, Socrates, Cleopatra, and Plato. Callie has always been fond of Aunt Zo, who now asks why Tessie would possibly come to church considering she doesn’t have to. Back in Grosse Pointe, Callie and the Obscure Object go to a party. On the way, the Object asks Callie to check if her breath smells, and Callie assures her it’s fine. It is Callie’s first party, and on seeing the state of the house she feels pity for the parents who own the house. Someone puts their hands over Callie’s eyes, asking her to guess who it is before revealing it’s Jerome.
One motif that recurs throughout the novel is the idea that girls are forced to mature more quickly than boys. Here, this manifests in Callie’s responsible sensitivity and concern for the parents of the party hosts. This is a contrast to the way that Lefty, Milton, and Chapter Eleven behave as teenagers, which is rather reckless and self-centered.
Themes
Jerome is standing with Rex Reese, a boy who accidentally killed his girlfriend in a drunk driving accident. He gazes at the Obscure Object, then moves toward her, leaving Callie alone with Jerome. Jerome says that he is going to start filming his movie the next day, but Callie says she will soon be going away to Turkey with her parents. In the darkness, Jerome looks a fair amount like his sister. He leans in to kiss Callie, but at this moment Callie walks over to the Obscure Object and pulls her aside. The Object is annoyed. Outside, she asks Callie about her opinion of Rex, and Callie points out that he is guilty of manslaughter. The Object puts her head on Callie’s shoulder, saying it’s good she’s going away, “Because this is too weird.”
Part of what makes the intimacy that occurs between Callie and the Obscure Object so painful is that although it is socially permitted, it is not recognized as serious or binding. Callie is not “allowed” to feel jealous or entitled to the Object’s attention, which is why the Object is initially annoyed when Callie pulls her away from Rex. At the same time, the Object sends mixed signals—there is clearly an extent to which she craves intimacy with Callie, too.
Themes
The next day, in church, Callie prays that Dr. Bauer doesn’t find anything wrong with her, that she remains “just friends” with the Obscure Object, and that Chapter Eleven returns to college. Tessie notices that Callie looks pale. At this moment, Callie decides to take matters into her own hands. She breathes in as much incense as possible in order to try and feel sick. She then grips her stomach, claiming to feel a “twisting” pain. Delighted, Tessie assures Callie that she isn’t sick, and takes her to the bathroom.
In a sense, this passage proves that prayer “works” for Callie. However, rather than experiencing a divine intervention from God, Callie’s time spent reflecting in church inspires her to take action in shaping her own fate.
Themes
When Tessie and Callie get back home, they find a group of men shouting about the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, news of which has just reached the U.S. Everyone is shouting; Milton argues that the U.S. isn’t siding with the Turks, but others disagree. Cal says that he still doesn’t know who or what jammed the Cypriot radar, which led to the success of the invasion. Callie isn’t very interested in the war. While the men continue to fight, she calls the Object, telling her that the war means her vacation is cancelled. Callie also informs the Object that she has cramps, and that she is coming over.
In typical teenage fashion, major world events that put many people’s lives at risk in her homeland don’t interest Callie much. Instead, she is so consumed by her crush on the Obscure Object that the Turkish invasion of Cyprus is only meaningful to her for one reason: it allows her to spend more time with the Object.
Themes
