Dr. Philobosian is an Armenian doctor who Lefty and Desdemona meet in Smyrna during the city’s brutal destruction by the Turkish Army. Dr. Philobosian hopes that he will be kept safe by the fact that he treated the Turkish Commander in Chief, Mustafa Kemal Pasha. However, his family ends up being slaughtered, leaving Dr. Philobosian suicidal. Lefty and Desdemona bring him with them to the U.S., where he ends up settling in the same Greek community as them in Detroit and serving as their family doctor. He marries the nurse who helps him to deliver Callie.
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Dr. Nishan Philobosian Character Timeline in Middlesex
The timeline below shows where the character Dr. Nishan Philobosian appears in Middlesex. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 1: The Silver Spoon
...Greek translations of Sappho. While Tessie sits in church, she thinks about the family doctor, Dr. Philobosian , telling her that the idea that male sperm swim faster is “nonsense,” and Desdemona...
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Book 1: An Immodest Proposal
...Smyrna are reassured by the sight of Western European merchant ships in the harbor. Dr. Nishan Philobosian kisses his family goodbye and leaves the house for the first time in days....
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The young man asks if Dr. Philobosian is Armenian; the doctor replies he is, but explains that he is not planning to...
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On September 13, with Turkish troops setting fires all over the city, Dr. Philobosian sits in his house with his family, with the shutters closed. Amongst the sounds of...
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...At the Philobosians’ house, there is a knock at the door, which they assume is Nishan. However, it is actually soldiers, who immediately shoot everyone inside. Lefty asks Desdemona if she’ll...
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Dr. Philobosian returns hope to find that his wife and all his children have been slaughtered. His...
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Book 1: The Silk Road
...to unravel. Cal compares this story to himself unravelling his own story. Desdemona, Lefty, and Dr. Philobosian get to Athens, where they receive papers and inoculations in preparation for the trip to...
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...the ship separately and do not speak for the whole first day of the journey. Dr. Philobosian remains suicidal. After three days at sea, Lefty introduces himself to Desdemona as if they...
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Book 2: Henry Ford’s English-Language Melting Pot
...producing “spinning things,” including cigars, bicycles, and cars. On Ellis Island, the doctor who examines Dr. Philobosian declares him unfit for immigration, and Lefty and Desdemona are separated from him. Upon Lefty’s...
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Book 2: Minotaurs
One fall morning during the Desdemona and Sourmelina’s third trimester, Dr. Philobosian appears at their house. Inside, he tells them that he contracted an eye disease on...
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Desdemona looks worried, and Dr. Philobosian assures her that no one thinks this anymore; now, doctors understand that deformities tend to...
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...is doing, Lefty watches car until it plunges into the ice and goes dark. Meanwhile, Dr. Philobosian delivers Desdemona’s baby, a son. She is thrilled that the child does not have any...
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Book 3: Home Movies
...The nurse doesn’t notice anything wrong with Callie, and takes her to be examined by Dr. Philobosian . Dr. Philobosian, now 74 years old, examines the baby, but at the moment when...
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Book 3: The Mediterranean Diet
...her own misery. While bedridden she becomes more of a hypochondriac than ever, and ignores Dr. Philobosian ’s advice due to the fact that he’s too old. She tells Milton and Tessie,...
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...Callie herself, however, remains completely flat-chested. She doesn’t know much about what happens in puberty. Dr. Philobosian is at this point in his 80s and married to the nurse who helped deliver...
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Book 4: The Oracular Vulva
...about Cal’s condition, they don’t believe them, and insist on getting a second opinion from Dr. Philobosian , who is by now 88 years old. When Callie takes off her underwear she...
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