Middlesex: Book Three

by Jeffrey Eugenides
This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel traces the story of a Greek family for three generations.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Book One, Book Two, Book Three, Book Four
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. berate
    censure severely or angrily
    Tears were running down her face, she was already berating God for taking her husband from her, but on the other side of these proper emotions was an altogether improper relief.
  2. ominous
    threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
    To anyone who never personally experienced it, it’s difficult to describe the ominous, storm-gathering quality of my grandmother’s fanning.
  3. pogrom
    organized persecution of an ethnic group, especially Jews
    Below, in smaller print, were the specifics: the 1955 pogrom in Istanbul in which 15 Greeks were killed, 200 Greek women raped, 4,348 stores looted, 59 Orthodox churches destroyed, and even the graves of the Patriarchs desecrated.
  4. denounce
    accuse or condemn openly as disgraceful
    Not appearing on Desdemona’s particular fan that day, but denounced nonetheless, was the most recent crime, committed not by the Turks but by her own Greek son, who refused to give his daughter a proper Orthodox baptism.
  5. predicament
    an unpleasant or difficult situation
    During that summer, as the temperature climbed, Milton tried to come to grips with the predicament he found himself in.
  6. turmoil
    a violent disturbance
    In response to the national turmoil, the all-white Detroit police force has been raiding after-hours bars in the city’s black neighborhoods.
  7. preemptive
    designed to prevent an anticipated situation or occurrence
    The idea is to make preemptive strikes against possible flashpoints.
    When considered literally, a flashpoint is "the lowest temperature at which the vapor of a combustible liquid can be ignited in air." When considered figuratively, a flashpoint is "the point at which something is ready to blow up." With these definitions in mind, the idea of "preemptive strikes" sounds like a plan that would backfire and lead to more explosive violence.
  8. dispel
    force to go away
    Desdemona said the prayers in Greek as we gathered around her bed, and Tessie tried as usual to dispel her doubts and truly believe.
  9. deploy
    place troops or weapons in battle formation
    Though the fiercest rioting was on the West Side, General Throckmorton chose to deploy his paratroopers on the East Side, calling this decision “an operational convenience.”
  10. quell
    suppress or crush completely
    By early Tuesday morning the paratroopers were moving in to quell the disturbance.
  11. audacity
    fearless daring
    the riots, his frayed nerves, the smell of fire in the air, and the audacity of this man Morrison dodging sniper fire for a pack of cigarettes all became too much for Milton
  12. obliterate
    do away with completely, without leaving a trace
    Bullets obliterating the window of the veterinarian office and continuing on through the walls to reach the cages of the animals in back.
  13. bewilderment
    confusion resulting from failure to understand
    I see fear in his eyes, and bewilderment, and, most astonishing of all, the fact that some adult worry is taking precedence over our walk together.
  14. lament
    express grief verbally
    Desdemona had to devise elaborate ruses to satisfy him, telling him that our kitchen was the Zebra Room, only redecorated, and lamenting at how bad business was.
  15. trepidation
    a feeling of alarm or dread
    She knew that the backward progression of her husband’s mind could lead to only one place, back to the days when he wasn’t her husband but her brother, and she lay in bed at night awaiting the moment with trepidation.
    Compare with "apprehension" in the list for Book Two--both connect to fear. In the example sentences, the anonymous man is in a show, so this could explain why his look of apprehension can be followed by a deliberate movement. But "trepidation" is a stronger feeling connected to trembling, so this is partly why Desdemona lies in bed waiting (she also has little control over Lefty's deteriorating mind).
  16. beset
    assail or attack on all sides
    Milton was beset by a storm of emotion he refused to acknowledge.
  17. exasperation
    a feeling of annoyance
    My mother asked him to talk to her and he returned from the guest house with his Fra Angelico eyebrows lifted in tender exasperation.
  18. reprimand
    censure severely or angrily
    She watched the cheating husbands and scheming wives as faithfully as ever, but she didn’t reprimand them anymore, as if she’d given up correcting the errors of the world.
    Compare with "berate" and "censure" in this list. All three are synonyms, but "berate" can only be used as a verb, while "reprimand" and "censure" can function as either nouns or verbs. In the example sentences, "censure" is used in the least serious attitude, but it results in the most shame, since it is directed at a live person.
  19. garish
    tastelessly showy
    She was as garish and out of place in our living room as a retired Vegas showgirl, and because we watched her so closely out of the corners of our eyes, everything she did made too much noise, her cigarette smoke got into everything, she drank too much wine at dinner.
  20. decrepitude
    a state of deterioration due to old age or long use
    Thanks to Dr. Phil’s decrepitude and Tessie’s prudishness, I arrived at puberty not knowing much about what to expect.
  21. retaliate
    make a counterattack and return like for like
    That evening, when I finally came back down to dinner, I retaliated in the only way I could.
  22. bicker
    argue over petty things
    We thought he was tired of our bickering.
  23. duress
    compulsory force or threat
    In the backseat, one very unhappy twelve-year-old, me, arriving under duress for an interview.
  24. coerce
    cause to do through pressure or necessity
    But in the darkness, while my teeth were slowly coerced into straightness, the rest of my face had begun to give in to a stronger, genetic predisposition toward crookedness.
    Compare with "duress" in this list--both connect to unwanted force and usually apply to people. This is true for the use of the noun "duress" to describe the narrator's unhappiness with being driven to an interview for a private all-girls' school. But the verb "coerce" is used more humorously to personify teeth, which seem unwilling to be straight, since the narrator has a tendency to be crooked (this description can also apply to other parts of the narrator's body and life).
  25. desolate
    crushed by grief
    I hurried by, desolate, my ears ringing with the noise of the place.
  26. infiltrate
    pass into or through by filtering or permeating
    I think it’s fair to say, however, that as my appearance changed in those years a species of sadness infiltrated my parents’ love.
    The given definition sounds less harmful than the one usually associated with the verb: pass through an enemy line, in a military conflict, often to spy. Sadness is a feeling that is usually not associated with intention. But here, the sadness is also described as a physical species that is overtaking a loving environment (see "invincible" and "intersperse" for more examples of war terms being used to describe personal conflicts).
  27. invincible
    incapable of being overcome or subdued
    The enemy, hair, was invincible.
  28. intersperse
    place between or among
    Interspersed amid these totemic items were stray Q-tips and cotton balls, lip liners, Max Factor eye makeup, mascara, blush, and everything else I used in a losing battle to make myself beautiful.
  29. dissension
    a conflict of people's opinions, actions, or characters
    Where could all this lead? Only to family dissension, shouting matches, and heartbreak.
  30. evasive
    deliberately vague or ambiguous
    A soggy, evasive season during which Milton, unable to admit that Chapter Eleven’s attack had broken his heart, began visibly to swell with rage, so that almost anything set him off, a long red light, ice milk for dessert instead of ice cream.
    The adjective also means "avoiding or escaping from difficulty or danger." This definition seems like a better fit for the example sentence since it describes Milton avoiding the truth about his painful relationship with his son, and it suggests that the rest of the family might try to avoid setting off his rage. But the chosen definition connects to other descriptions of the season as "soggy" and "wounded, dishonest."
  31. evisceration
    the act of removing the bowels or viscera
    For while my classmates found The Iliad too bloody for their taste, an endless catalogue of men butchering one another after formally introducing themselves, I thrilled to the stabbings and beheadings, the gouging out of eyes, the juicy eviscerations.
  32. paroxysm
    a sudden uncontrollable attack
    There were the bimonthly “Heart-to-Hearts,” confessional meetings run by the school chaplain, which invariably ended in paroxysms of hugging and weeping.
  33. obscure
    not clearly understood or expressed
    That was exactly how I felt, following my own Obscure Object. As though I were carrying around a mysterious, unexplained burden or weight. I'm going to call her that, if you don’t mind. I’m going to call her the Obscure Object. For sentimental reasons. (I also have to protect her identity.)
    As an adjective, "obscure" also means "not famous or acclaimed" and as a verb, it can mean "make undecipherable or imperceptible by concealing." All the definitions fit. The narrator's relationship with the Obscure Object is difficult to understand because they never fully discuss its nature. The narrator also chooses to, in order to protect her, obscure the identity of the Obscure Object in a piece of writing intended for public eyes.
  34. palliative
    remedy that alleviates pain without curing
    Part of coming from old money, apparently, was having old-person habits, those gross, adult needs and desperate palliatives.
  35. condemnation
    an expression of strong disapproval
    Determined not to let Chapter Eleven’s condemnation of tourism ruin our travel plans, Milton was making airplane reservations and haggling with car rental agencies.
    Compare with "censure" in this list--both connect to disapproval. But "condemnation" has a stronger tone (it's related to "damn" and "doom"). The narrator's physical appearance has led to a complicated relationship with others' approval. Thus, he makes fun of Chapter Eleven for his condemnatory perspectives, which cover everything from tourism to war, hot dogs, and deodorant (see "denounce" in this list to compare with his tone towards Desdemona).
  36. incessant
    uninterrupted in time and indefinitely long continuing
    In five years, to the incessant sound of trees being clubbed to death, she bore four children.
  37. censure
    harsh criticism or disapproval
    Plato, who was small like his father, sang out with mock censure, “Shame on you, Callie. What did you do?”
  38. volatile
    liable to lead to sudden change or violence
    “Sure they’re sitting off the coast,” Milton now, “what do you expect? The Junta comes in and throws Makarios out. So the Turks are getting anxious. It’s a volatile situation.”
  39. dubious
    open to doubt or suspicion
    Now, in the Watergate scandal, my father recognized his own dubious behavior during the riots.
  40. scowl
    frown with displeasure
    Hunkered down behind his TV tray, Milton scowled at the left-wing press, and his growing resemblance to the President couldn’t be ignored.
Created on Wed Dec 03 14:25:34 EST 2014 (updated Wed Sep 05 14:38:15 EDT 2018)

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