Middlesex Themes

Middlesex can be read as a Bildungsroman (coming-of-age novel)—but rather than depicting the process of growing up as a gradual progression toward one’s final, true self, it instead portrays growing up as a series of rebirths and reinventions. This is mainly shown through the main character, Cal, who is assigned a female gender identity at birth but transitions to a male gender identity after discovering that he is intersex. While this is the central…

As an epic family saga depicting multiple generations of a Greek immigrant family to the U.S., Middlesex emphasizes the importance of ancestry and underlines that everyone’s fate is (at least in part) determined by their social and biological inheritance. In many ways, this is presented as a positive thing, and emphasizes the value of family, history, and culture. Yet this determinism also causes trouble for the characters, as not everything they inherit is desirable. Moreover…

Middlesex depicts multiple generations of a Greek immigrant family drawn to the U.S. by the American Dream, yet ultimately shows that this dream—like the idea of America itself—is not what it advertises itself to be. It is true that for the generation of the Stephanides family who travel over, the U.S. represents a profound opportunity for self-reinvention, success, and happiness. However, the way this works out in reality—particularly for subsequent generations—is much more complicated. In…

Middlesex is full of secrets. The novel suggests that secrets are a pervasive part of life and connect people to one another even when they don’t realize it (because of the very fact that they keep their secrets hidden). Indeed, certain truths about the novel—such as Cal’s intersex identity—is unbeknownst even to Cal himself for much of his youth. Yet while secrets might be everywhere, the novel also shows that they do not tend…