43 she keeps in mind the word “hyspopadias” which drives Calliope attention to its
synonym called “eunuch”. The word eunuch itself is synonymous with the word hermaphrodite which makes her terribly shocked.
Following where the trail led, I finally reached hermaphrodite
—1.One having the sex organs and many of the secondary sex characteristics of both male and female.2.Anything comprised of a
combination of diverse or contradictory elements. See synonyms at monster. Eugenides 430
4. Minotaur
a. As an Indirect Cause of the Gene Mutation to the Main Character
In this story, the main character’s grandfather and grandmother do incest. The effect of this forbidden relationship is the gene mutation that makes the main
character became intersex. This gene mutation triggered by an eroticism of Minotaur play.
In the story, Calliopes’ grandfather and grandmother watch Minotaur’s play. They enjoy the story of Minotaur.
How Minos, King of Crete, failed to sacrifice a white bull to Poseidon. How Poseidon, enraged, caused Minos’s wife Pasiphaë to be smitten with love for a
bull. How the child of that union, Asterius, came out with a bull’s head attached to a human body. And then Daedalus, the maze, etc. Eugenides 108
The play ends with the appearance of Minotaur, an actor who wears a bull head, acts as half human and half bull
“He growled; drums pounded; chorus girls screamed and fled. The Minotaur pursued, and of course he caught them, each one, and devoured
her bloodily, and dragged her pale, defenseless body deeper into the maze” Eugenides 108.
44 In another generation, the story of Minotaur continues. Milton, Calliope’s
father, takes Calliope to watch a movie of Minotaur and tells her about Theseus. Theseus is a hero who finally kills Minotaur. “That’s Theseus,” Milton explains.
“He’s got this ball of string his girlfriend gave him, see. And he’s using it to find his way back out of th
e maze” Eugenides 123. The play itself contains some erotic movements and costumes which can raise
the desire of the playgoer. Watching the play which is full of eroticism makes Desdemona, the main character
’s grandmother, comments “In the eighteenth row my grandmother gave her critical opinion. “It’s like the paintings in the museum,” she
said. “Just an excuse to show people with no clothes” Eugenides 108. However, the eroticism of the play remains in Desdemona
’s mind and trigger her desire. At night, she makes love to Lefty and becomes pregnant. In her
pregnancy, she finds shocking facts about incest and its effect for her pregnancy. It starts when a doctor comes by and tells her some facts about deformity caused by
families intermarrying. The doctor explains that deformities happen because the parents do incest as what Desdemona did.
“All this nonsense comes from the Dark Ages. We know now that most birth deformities result from the consanguinity of the parents.”
“From the what?” asked Desdemona. “From families intermarrying.”
Desdemona went white. “Causes all kinds of problems. Imbecility. Hemophilia. Look at the
Romanovs. Look at any royal family. Mutants, all of them.” Besides, there are also presumptions about the maternal imagination which
can affect the baby in her womb. The doctor also shares a story “There’s another
45 story about a woman who touched a toad while making love. Her baby came out with
pop eyes and covered with warts” Eugenides 116. In addition, the presumption also explained as below
“During the conjugal act, whatever the mother happened to look at or think about would affect the child. There’s a story in Damascene about a woman
who had a picture of John the Baptist over her bed. Wearing the traditional hair shirt. In the throes of passion, the poor woman happened to glance up at
this portrait. Nine months later, her baby was born
—furry as a bear” The doctor laughed, enjoying himself, sipping more wine. Eugenides 115-116
Based on the presumption, what the wife thinks, touches, or looks while doing the intercourse will affect the baby. Desdemona may forget what she is thinking
about while she is making love that night. However, it is clearly stated that she imagines the Minotaur. In the intercourse Desdemona imagines the Minotaur
“Against her will, the play had aroused her, too. The Minotaur’s savage, muscular thighs. The suggestive sprawl of his victims” Eugenides 108.
Facing the fact that she may have a monstrous baby, she prays it will never happen. Her prayer is granted. Her children are healthy. However, the effect of her
sin of doing incest does not affect her children but to her grandchildren who is the main character of the story, Calliope. The effect or the deformity that Calliope has is
gene mutation which is came from her grandmother. The effect from the gene mutation itself makes her become an intersex person.
b. As Representative of the Main Character
