Middlesex Group

Question:

lovelyritaf
lovelyritaf
Student

What happened to Desdemona in "Middlesex"? Why did she take to her bed for 10 years after Lefty died?

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Posted by lovelyritaf on Sunday May 18, 2008 at 11:21 AM and tagged with characters, desdemona, middlesex.

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  1. dymatsuoka

    eNotes Editor

    Desdemona is an interesting character who is deeply superstitious and riddled by guilt for having married her brother, Lefty.  She also is almost hilariously dramatic when things go wrong, as evidenced by her habit of fanning herself with "six atrocity fans" when agitated.  Throughout her life, Desdemona tries to stop the bad luck she believes she inflicted upon her family through her sin of incest, even to the point of having herself sterilized.  She withdraws from her husband and, eventually, from the world.  When she takes to her bed after Lefty dies, there is nothing wrong with her physically, so her action is essentially hysterical.  Cal describes the situation perfectly, calling her grandmother "a sick person imprisoned in a healthy body".

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/middlesex/characters
    http://www.enotes.com/middlesex/plot-summary

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    Posted by dymatsuoka on Sunday May 18, 2008 at 2:56 PM

  2. lovelyritaf
    lovelyritaf Student

    To respond to my own question as that is not what I originally asked and I am curious as to how the question got reworded. I know why Desderoma took to her bed and the reasoning behind it. WhatI asked is what eventually happened to her as Cal doesn't reference her after, am I to assume that she died. Did I miss it..

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    Posted by lovelyritaf on Sunday May 18, 2008 at 3:22 PM

  3. lovelyritaf
    lovelyritaf Student

    ok I am an idiot I asked the question before I finished the last chapter..DUH..sorry as I have the answer, she is still alive...LOL? Thx

     

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    Posted by lovelyritaf on Sunday May 18, 2008 at 4:50 PM