Middlesex Group

Question:

reader333
reader333

What is the meaning of the sentence "The Mulberry tree had no leaves" in the last paragraph of Middlesex? 

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Posted by reader333 on Monday November 5, 2007 at 2:25 PM and tagged with middlesex.

Answers:


  1. dymatsuoka

    eNotes Editor

    Milton had always wanted a girl.  Due to a chromosomal error, his daughter, Calliope, was born a hermaphrodite.  Now Milton is dead and his daughter has chosen to live out her life as a boy.  The mulberry tree is barren, like Cal and her/his father's dreams.

    Or, perhaps the author just mentions the tree's leaflessness to emphasize the wintry scene of Milton's funeral.  Two paragraphs previously he describes the willows as being bare as well, and the closing line are filled with references to the snow.

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    Posted by dymatsuoka on Tuesday November 6, 2007 at 10:28 PM