Ancestry, Inheritance, and Fate Theme Analysis

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, feeling like their existence is controlled by their inherited fate robs them of their own autonomy. Ultimately, the book suggests that although ancestry and inheritance are important parts of life, they are not the only factor controlling a person’s fate.

One way in which the novel shows how people’s fates are determined by their ancestry is through biological inheritance, yet this depiction of biology is closely tied to social factors. Cal inherits a recessive gene that makes him intersex, which occurred because of the actions of his grandparents, who got married and had a child despite the fact that they were brother and sister. While the book emphasizes that biological inheritance is a significant factor determining a person’s fate, it also indicate that it doesn’t make much sense to consider biology in isolation. Instead, biological inheritance is intimately linked to culture, which can similarly be passed down through generations and influence children’s fates.

The incest that leads to Cal being intersex is a perfect example of how biological and social forms of inheritance interact. Not only does Cal inherit the gene that has been within his family for 250 years, but incest itself is also “passed down” within his family. Incest was a normal practice in the isolated town, Bithynios, where the Stephanides family come from. However, even after they relocate to America it continues when Lefty and Desdemona’s son Milton (himself a product of incest) marries the daughter, Tessie, of his parents’ cousin, Sourmelina. In a sense, it seems as though the Stephanides family are fated to have incestuous relationships. Moreover, incest then creates a biological fate for subsequent generations through the gene that makes Cal intersex. Cal encapsulates this fusing of social and biological heritage when he writes, “Parents are supposed to pass down physical traits to their children, but it’s my belief that all sorts of other things get passed down, too: motifs, scenarios, even fates.”

The theme of ancestry, inheritance, and fate is also explored through the motif of Greek mythology, which also comes to have a kind of clever double significance in this regard. Greek mythology is Cal’s cultural inheritance because he is from a Greek American family. Yet questions of ancestry, inheritance, and fate are also important themes within Greek mythology. Cal describes himself as having an “obsession” with fate that is linked not only to the biological “fate” he was given by being intersex, but also to his cultural heritage. At one point, he jokes, “Sorry if I get a little Homeric at times. That’s genetic, too.” The humor lies within the fact that although Cal is ethnically Greek, getting Homeric (speaking in a way reminiscent of Homer, the ancient Greek writer of the Iliad and Odyssey) is not truly genetic—instead it is a matter of culture. Yet this statement illustrates the notion that Cal’s life has been determined by his ancestral heritage.

The influence of Cal’s heritage on his fate is further emphasized through the meaning of his birth name, Calliope, which is the name of Muse in charge of epic poetry. In Greek mythology, the Muses are goddesses who preside over the science and arts, giving inspiration to people. Reflecting on the meaning of the name Calliope, Cal says, “Hers was the duty to live out a mythical life in the actual world, mine to tell about it now.” (Note that by “her” he means his former self, before he underwent gender transition.) The word “duty” indicates that Cal’s name gave him a particular fate, and that by changing his name (along with his gender identity), he was able to have a different fate while still being connected to the “mythical life” his birth name bestowed on him.

Indeed, the novel ultimately lands on the idea that the fates people inherit, while they can be difficult to escape, can still be changed. Cal states this most explicitly in the following lines: “In the twentieth century, genetics brought the Ancient Greek notion of fate into our very cells. This new century we’ve just begun has found something different […] free will is making a comeback. Biology gives you a brain. Life turns it into a mind.” This is a crucial quotation because it shows how biological determinism (the idea that people’s fates are predetermined by their genes) is in some ways simply a reimagining of the Ancient Greek idea of fate. Ultimately, the novel rejects this deterministic view, showing that while ancestry and inheritance play a strong part in shaping a person’s fate, they do not wholly determine it.