Middlesex

by

Jeffrey Eugenides

The Recessive Gene

Cal’s intersex condition is caused by a recessive gene which has been in his family for 250 years. The gene symbolizes the way that a person’s fate is inherited from their family, while also…

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The Silkworm Box

The silkworm box is a wooden box originally hand-carved by Desdemona’s grandfather back in Bithynios. Like the recessive gene that runs in Cal’s family, the box is a symbol of ancestry, inheritance, and fate—yet…

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