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Tiresias and Calliope

          As stated in Greek mythology, Tiresias is a hermaphrodite and identifies as both male and female at different times. Also, Tiresias is blind but he is the "seer" in the story Oedipus the King. Finally, although Tiresias only shows up in one seen in Oedipus the King, that is a scene with many conflicts.

         Callie plays Tiresias in the play Antigone and her role in the said play is a small one. She only shows up for one scene, but while she is waiting to go on stage, there is an actual death. This fully reflects the connection between Callie and Tiresias because many conflicts surround the two and they play an important role for a short amount of time. There is the obvious comparison as well, both are hermaphrodites. Although Callie is unaware of her situation at the time, she knows something is different internally. 

          One can also think of Callie as a "seer" because although she is not blind, she observes many people around her, particularly the Object. She sits off to the side and analyzes many things going on around her, she sees or watches everyone. While waiting to go on stage, she was watching the Object, and describing her in great detail. As stated on page 336, Callie is playing Tiresias and watching the Object's every movement. She admires her and for an entire passage, she describes every little thing she is doing. 

          Although there are many differences between Calliope and Tiresias, if one is to think deeper about the aspects of the character's traits, there are many similarities such as, they're both hermaphrodites, they are both "seers", and there is conflict surrounding them.

Personal Experience

At the beginning of page 271, Callie describes how Desdemona feels now that the love of her life, Lefty, is dead. Cal recounts, "She didnt like being left on earth. She didn't like being left in America. She was tired of living" (271).
          I have severe clinical depression and I have been dealing with this disorder for my entire life. I can very much relate to how Desdemona is feeling because although I have not lost my husband, I have been tired of living. Like Desdemona, I often stay in bed for many hours and I think about my own personal death. I have made attempts in the past to end my life, and although Desdemona is not suicidal, she does not put any effort into living. Desdemona is heart broken and grief stricken, therefore she has just given up on attempting to be happy and living without the love of her life. She is also selfish because her family needs her but she does not care, she just wants to o what he thinks will make her happy, dying. I can also relate to this because I have made the very selfish choice to attempt to end my life and I did not think about my family or  what they would benefit from. When an individual feels as though they do not have anything to live for anymore, they completely forget about the ones that still love them. Like Desdemona, I have a great life and a family that loves me, but I think selfishly and I want to end everything because I am tired of being sad. Constantly, I hurt myself because I know that although I have loving people around me, I do not want to feel sadness anymore. I try to do anything I can to feel something, even pain, other than sadness. Desdemona does this to herself as well because she mentally hurts herself by isolating herself from the rest of society. She also does not take care of her loved ones or herself, and Desdemona is a caring person so it must hurt her to see her family tending to her every need. Every situation of depression is different so I am in no way comparing my life to hers, but our feelings resemble similar outcomes. Both Desdemona and I no longer want to be on this earth, both of us are self destructive and lastly both of us are selfish.
I am getting the therapy and medication that is needed, the necessary adults know of all that is shared above so please do not be alarmed.

Current Events

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/actor-vienna-accidentally-stabs-real-knife-stage-front-live-audience-article-1.357011

An Austrian actor accidentally stabbed himself in the neck with a real knife during a suicide scene instead of using the collapsable prop knife. This scenario is similar to when Maxine died during her death scene on page 339 because although the character was supposed to die, the actor almost died, or did die in Maxine's case. Apparently this is something that happens often because real weapons get mistaken as props on set and can result in injury or death. It is difficult to tell if the actor is good at acting or if they are actually hurt, so in the case of the Austrian actor, they didnt realize anything was wrong until he didn't get up after the curtain call. In Middlesex, Maxine's mother could only tell Maxine was dying because she knew her so well, but the audience thought she was just a great actor. This is a very tough situation because the props can be replaced with actual weapons and it can appear as negligence when its really a planned murder.