Milton (Militadies) Stephanides Character Analysis in Middlesex

Milton is Tessie’s husband and cousin, Cal and Chapter Eleven’s father, and Lefty and Desdemona’s son. His Greek name is Militadies, although throughout his life he is only known as his Anglicized name, Milton. Born in the Detroit, Milton is in many ways the most “all-American” of the Stephanides family. He is a Boy Scout and plays the clarinet, which he uses to seduce his cousin, Tessie, by blowing the instrument on different parts of her body. After Tessie rejects him to marry Michael Antoniou, Milton is so furious that he joins the Navy (a rather unwise decision considering this happens during World War II). However, this decision ultimately ends up working out well for Milton, as he is accepted into the Naval Academy and after the war is able to take out a G.I. loan to start his own business. He also ends up marrying Tessie, who realizes she loves him and not Mike. In several ways, Milton exemplifies the American dream—born to immigrants who came to the country with nothing, Milton serves his country and is then able to build a prosperous business, which takes the form of a chain of hot hog restaurants called Hercules Hot Dogs. At the same time, Milton also exemplifies the dark sides of the U.S. Fiercely patriotic, Milton is proud of his Greek identity but ends up rejecting it and alienating his Greek friends when he feels as if American foreign policy forces him to choose between his loyalty to the U.S. and Greece. Moreover, Milton is also a bigot who is prejudiced against black people, gay people, and feminists (among others). At the same time, he is a loving father, and ultimately dies trying to rescue Cal from a fake kidnapper who turns out to be Father Mike.

Milton (Militadies) Stephanides Quotes in Middlesex

The Middlesex quotes below are all either spoken by Milton (Militadies) Stephanides or refer to Milton (Militadies) Stephanides. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

“The matter with us is you.” How many times did I hear that growing up? Delivered by Milton in his so-called black accent, delivered whenever any liberal pundit talked about the “culturally deprived” or the “underclass” or “empowerment zones,” spoken out of the belief that this one statement, having been delivered to him while the blacks themselves burned down a significant portion of our beloved city, proved its own absurdity. As the years went on, Milton used it as a shield against any opinions to the contrary, and finally it grew into a kind of mantra, the explanation for why the world was going to hell, applicable not only to African Americans but to feminists and homosexuals; and then of course he liked to use it on us, whenever we were late for dinner or wore clothes Tessie didn’t approve of.

Related Characters: Milton (Militadies) Stephanides (speaker), Cal/lie Stephanides (speaker), Theodora “Tessie” Stephanides

Page Number and Citation: 246

Explanation and Analysis:

I suspect that Chapter Eleven’s transformation was caused in no small part by that day on his bed when his life was decided by lottery. Am I projecting? Saddling my brother with my own obsessions with chance and fate? Maybe. But as we planned a trip—a trip that had been promised when Milton was saved from another war—it appeared that Chapter Eleven, taking chemical trips of his own, was trying to escape what he had dimly perceived while wrapped in an afghan: the possibility that not only his draft number was decided by lottery, but that everything was.

Related Characters: Cal/lie Stephanides (speaker), Chapter Eleven Stephanides, Milton (Militadies) Stephanides

Page Number and Citation: 317

Explanation and Analysis:

In 1974, instead of reclaiming his roots by visiting Bursa, my father renounced them. Forced to choose between his native land and his ancestral one, he didn’t hesitate.

Related Characters: Cal/lie Stephanides (speaker), Milton (Militadies) Stephanides

Page Number and Citation: 363

Explanation and Analysis:

In addition, the subject has been raised in the Greek Orthodox tradition, with its strongly sex-defined roles. In general the parents seem assimilationist and very “all-American” in their outlook, but the presence of this deeper ethnic identity should not be overlooked.

Related Characters: Dr. Luce (speaker), Theodora “Tessie” Stephanides, Milton (Militadies) Stephanides, Cal/lie Stephanides

Page Number and Citation: 436

Explanation and Analysis:

Milton (Militadies) Stephanides Character Timeline in Middlesex

The timeline below shows where the character Milton (Militadies) Stephanides appears in Middlesex. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Desdemona’s son Milton comes in from the other room and says that her prediction is meaningless, because of... (full context)

Tessie was 22 and a virgin when she married Milton. They were engaged during World War II, while Milton studied at the U.S. Naval Academy... (full context)

...this night, Tessie sits at her vanity table while the Acropolis night light she and Milton received as a gift lights the room. If Milton had said a single “affectionate word,”... (full context)

The next Sunday, Desdemona, Tessie, and Chapter Eleven attend church. Milton never comes and neither does Desdemona’s husband, Lefty, who stays home working on his modern... (full context)

Long ago, Tessie and Father Mike had been engaged, but after Tessie married Milton instead, Mike married Tessie’s sister Zoë. Tessie knows that Father Mike will have heard about... (full context)

...in the Greek tradition of egg-cracking. However, during the middle of the egg-cracking, Tessie informs Milton that her basal temperature is up, and the two of them sneak off to have... (full context)

Callie is born on January 8th, and Milton is thrilled by the news that she is indeed a girl. That same day, Lefty... (full context)

...to when Callie is nine years old and going for her “annual lunch date” with Milton at the Pontchartrain Hotel. They are high up, and Milton is sweating because he is... (full context)

...share memories of watching “dubbed Italian versions of the ancient Greek myths” with his father, Milton, as a child. He recalls watching a film about Theseus and the Minotaur. Meanwhile, Sourmelina... (full context)

...Lefty and Desdemona’s son is named Militadies, although he will go by the English name Milton. Although no one knows this, each baby carries a genetic mutation. (full context)

After the funeral rites for Zizmo are completed, both Milton and Theodora are baptized. Desdemona asks Sourmelina how it is possible to prevent oneself from... (full context)

Milton and Theodora are inseparable until Milton turns four, at which point he abandons his cousin... (full context)

...asking after Lefty. Desdemona is shocked; Fard explains that he “know[s] everything.” He asks about Milton and the speakeasy, and then turns to reveal his face—it is Jimmy Zizmo. He claims... (full context)

...she hears someone playing an Artie Shaw tune on a clarinet. The clarinet player is Milton, who is currently a college student. Downstairs, Desdemona and Lefty are sitting in the living... (full context)

Desdemona goes to get Milton, begging him to come downstairs. She asks why he always plays with the window open.... (full context)

...is basically impossible to imagine one’s own parents falling in love. At 18 years old, Milton is unattractive, skinny, covered in zits, and prone to wearing too much Brylcreem in his... (full context)

This same day, Tessie asks Milton to play her something on the clarinet. He does, and then without knowing why, puts... (full context)

One day, when Michael comes over for Sunday lunch, he and Milton have an argument about religion. Tessie is struck by the contrast between the two young... (full context)

...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... (full context)

...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... (full context)

...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... (full context)

...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... (full context)

...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... (full context)

When Milton calls Desdemona to tell her the good news, she replies that he now has to... (full context)

...to each other in complicated ways. Cal’s brother, Chapter Eleven, is also his third cousin; Milton is the nephew as well as the son of both his parents, and so on.... (full context)

...agrees and marries him. In 1950 the Black Bottom ghetto is bulldozed. Back in Detroit, Milton tells Lefty that he wants to run a chain of restaurants, starting with the Zebra... (full context)

Showing Lefty around the house, Milton points out that there is a library where Lefty can work on his translations. At... (full context)

...Desdemona shrieks and falls to the floor, ripping her clothes. She and Lefty move into Milton and Tessie’s house, living in the attic for maximum privacy. Cal believes that Desdemona liked... (full context)

...was passed down through the family to his grandparents, who then passed it on to Milton and Tessie. When Chapter Eleven was conceived, the biology gods decided that he would not... (full context)

...born, Desdemona is distressed about the fact that she still has not been baptized. When Milton calls baptism “hocus pocus,” Desdemona starts dramatically fanning herself, and begs Milton to think of... (full context)

...about having a girl that she dressed her in ridiculous, frilly outfits. During this time, Milton has taken to making home movies, and Callie describes how the family look in these... (full context)

...Callie is not physically different from other girls in a way that is visibly significant. Milton’s Super 8 film of Callie’s 7th birthday in 1967 is the last home movie he... (full context)

...how many businesses in the neighborhood are “white-owned.” One day, Marius asks “Little Cleo” why Milton gives police officers free coffee, then tells her that it’s because Milton is afraid of... (full context)

...they sleep in separate rooms. Meanwhile, back in Callie’s childhood, it is the summer after Milton banned her from speaking to Marius. Milton is terrified that the diner is going to... (full context)

Milton and Tessie’s bedroom is “furnished entirely in Early American reproductions,” and Milton sleeps with a... (full context)

Driving to the diner in his half-dressed state, Milton sees children throwing bricks through storefronts. He drives straight into the smoke billowing from the... (full context)

...not bathing or brushing their teeth, consumed by the TV news. They hear nothing from Milton. Terrified for her father, Callie realizes that no one else in her family is going... (full context)

Milton is crouched under the cash register at the Zebra Room, holding a ham sandwich and... (full context)

While Milton passes the cigarettes and matches through the door’s mailbox, he gestures toward the riot and... (full context)

...throw a Molotov cocktail through the window of the diner, shouting, “Opa, motherfucker!” Just as Milton grabs the fire extinguisher in a desperate attempt to put out the flames, it suddenly... (full context)

...neighborhood where the “auto magnates” live. Finding a house is difficult, and the realtor informs Milton that a strange, “modern” house is the best she will be able to do for... (full context)

...will have grandparents living with them, the Stephanides family score low within this system. Although Milton doesn’t particularly like the house on offer, he is impressed by the realtor mentioning the... (full context)

...new house, Callie points out that the Boston Tea Party was a “riot,” indicating that Milton should be less disapproving of the race riots. Fuming, Milton argues that Callie is wrong... (full context)

...and ignores Dr. Philobosian’s advice due to the fact that he’s too old. She tells Milton and Tessie, “Get me a new doctor who isn’t already dead himself.” However, each new... (full context)

...emigration.” She believes that Lefty has “already gotten his citizenship” and is waiting for her. Milton, meanwhile, has started a new business: a chain of hot dog restaurants called Hercules Hot... (full context)

...of the hot dogs stands on its end and then “blast[s] off into the air.” Milton incorporates this innovation into the Hercules Hot Dogs experience. This made the chain famous, and... (full context)

When busing is starting to be discussed as a desegregation tactic, Milton disapproves. In 1972, candidate Coleman A. Young begin his campaign; he will soon become the... (full context)

...for her lack of breasts while Callie retorts by calling him “zithead.” At that moment, Milton exclaims in horror as the news reveals that busing is being instituted in Detroit—and will... (full context)

...Eleven’s draft number is not called, and he moves to Ann Arbor in the fall. Milton is horrified by the antiwar movement, and takes to reading the Great Books series on... (full context)

Tessie and Milton have a profound, unconditional love for Callie, but worry that she will turn into a... (full context)

...he drove a motorcycle and meditated. For the first time in his life, he beat Milton at ping pong. Later, he told Callie that he was on acid. Milton was horrified... (full context)

...majoring in political science and that she is a vegetarian and a Marxist. She and Milton have an argument about the exploitation of workers. She explains that she and Chapter Eleven... (full context)

...smell. During New Year’s, Meg and Chapter Eleven secretly sneak outside to smoke a joint. Milton announces that he has been considering going back to the “old country” but Chapter Eleven... (full context)

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... (full context)

...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... (full context)

...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... (full context)

...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... (full context)

...Turkey out of the way, she is able to join the Object’s family in Petoskey. Milton is consumed by the Watergate Scandal, as well as the ongoing situation in Cyprus. His... (full context)

Only Father Mike, Aunt Zo, and their children remain. Tessie is angry with Milton, and a fight erupts between the two of them. Father Mike goes to comfort Tessie,... (full context)

...prompted him to have particularly unusual genitalia. When the doctors in the emergency room tell Milton and Tessie about Cal’s condition, they don’t believe them, and insist on getting a second... (full context)

...endocrinologist tests Callie’s blood, and shortly after she and her parents head to New York. Milton has booked them into a shabby hotel in the East Thirties that he once stayed... (full context)

...whose office is marked with a sign that reads: “Sexual Disorders and Gender Identity Clinic.” Milton and Tessie act as if they don’t see it. The clinic is elegant, with a... (full context)

...he is to meet Callie. When he invites Callie into his office for an examination, Milton and Tessie assure her that they will be right outside, waiting. Dr. Luce is “the... (full context)

Dr. Luce brings Milton and Tessie into his office to talk to them. Tessie notices that he doesn’t refer... (full context)

...In the published version, her face will not be shown. At night, Callie speaks with Milton on the phone and asks when she can come home. Milton replies, “Soon as you’re... (full context)

...Dr. Luce has finally come to a conclusion. Callie can tell by the way that Milton has dressed that he is bracing himself for bad news. Tessie is also clearly miserable,... (full context)

...much male hormone,” and adds that he will try to fix this. On hearing this, Milton and Tessie feel optimistic. Dr. Luce asks if they know of any other family members... (full context)

...will not have to stay longer than overnight. It doesn’t take much more to persuade Milton and Tessie to agree to it, tempted by the realization that after the surgery, “No... (full context)

...her parents, who pull up in a cab, and is initially relieved to see that Milton is smiling. However, she then becomes convinced that “Her parents kn[o]w she [i]s a monster.”... (full context)

Callie starts crying, asking Milton what’s wrong with her. Milton explains that it’s “a hormonal thing,” adding that it’s “no... (full context)

...but 5-alpha-reductase deficiency syndrome. The file describes Callie’s mannerisms as “pleasant” and “feminine.” It describes Milton and Tessie as “fairly typical Midwesterners of the World War II generation,” noting that Milton... (full context)

That night, Milton surprises Callie with tickets to a Broadway show, but Callie claims she’s too tired to... (full context)

Although Milton and Tessie have warned him against it, Cal decides to hitchhike. He doesn’t blame his... (full context)

...to Callie, and senses that she is alive but hungry. After Callie’s disappearance, Tessie and Milton remained in New York for a week before being advised by an NYPD detective to... (full context)

...her child, and wonders if Callie’s sudden insistence on being a boy could be correct. Milton, meanwhile, throws himself into participating in the police search for Callie. He makes sure photographs... (full context)

...He chooses not to deal drugs or start begging, but starts feeling increasingly desperate. Meanwhile, Milton calls Chapter Eleven and asks him to come home, explaining that Tessie is going through... (full context)

Milton drives Chapter Eleven to a Hercules Hot Dogs branch and introduces him to the manager,... (full context)

...dates lesbians. She has a “dark side” which includes heavy drinking and outbursts of anger. Milton and Tessie remain on edge, waiting for news of Callie. Their shared fear brings them... (full context)

...arrested. From jail, he calls Chapter Eleven and begs him not to tell Tessie and Milton. Chapter Eleven replies that he can’t tell Milton, because Milton is dead. (full context)

In 1975, the U.S. is gripped by an oil crisis and an economic recession. Yet Milton still drives a “gas-guzzling” Cadillac. It is two a.m., and Milton is experiencing a last... (full context)

The next time the voice calls, he asks Milton to meet him the following night, explaining where to leave the money. Now, on the... (full context)

Milton easily finds the trash can marked with chalk where he is supposed to leave the... (full context)

The more Milton thinks about it, the more it makes sense that Father Mike is there. Beaten by... (full context)

Waiting in line at border control, Milton tries to get the attention of the officers, shouting that Mike has stolen his money.... (full context)

...and slams the brakes, but it is too late—he crashes into the car in front. Milton expects to smash into Mike’s car, but instead, the Cadillac flies right over Mike and... (full context)

Cruising along, Milton gradually learns to gain control of the flying car. He gazes over the parts of... (full context)

...car. Cal asks how Tessie is doing, and Chapter Eleven explains that she’s angry at Milton for having gone to the train station without telling her. (full context)

Just as Tessie, Cal, and Chapter Eleven are finally ready to go to Milton’s funeral, a voice comes through the intercom, calling for Tessie. It is Desdemona, who has... (full context)

...Cal, saying it’s time to go. Cal says he’s going to say with Desdemona. Imitating Milton, he says he refuses to go into a church that charges such outrages prices for... (full context)

Milton receives the full Greek Orthodox Funeral he would have hated. Father Mike does not officiate;... (full context)

Middlesex

Milton (Militadies) Stephanides Character Analysis

Milton (Militadies) Stephanides Quotes in Middlesex

Book 3: Opa! Quotes

Book 3: Waxing Lyrical Quotes

Book 3: Flesh and Blood Quotes

Book 4: Looking Myself Up in Webster’s Quotes

Milton (Militadies) Stephanides Character Timeline in Middlesex