Lessons in Chemistry

by Bonnie Garmus

Elizabeth Zott held grudges too. Except her grudges were mainly reserved for a patriarchal society founded on the idea that women were less. Less capable. Less intelligent. Less inventive. A society that believed men went to work and did important things—discovered planets, developed products, created laws—and women stayed at home and raised children. She didn’t want children—she knew this about herself—but she also knew that plenty of other women did want children and a career. And what was wrong with that? Nothing. It was exactly what men got.

In just a few sentences on page 14 of this novel we see what author Bonnie Garmus is up to. But unlike other books I have read on the subject, both fiction and non-fiction, Garmus uses a disarming and unapologetic humor to point out the absurdities and, crimes, perpetuated in the patriarchal system.

Her protagonist, Elizabeth Zott has the lack of emotional affect one often expects from a scientist. She is a chemist who also has the gift of saying exactly what she thinks, not swayed by the expectations of friends, coworkers or the culture at large. Yes, it gets her into trouble. A lot. Which also makes my sympathize with her. A lot.

The fun relational connections in the story are woven through like a web providing the mystery about her story which kept me reading. The absurdities of living in a patriarchal culture are wrought with such obvious examples and humor they had me laughing and nodding throughout. The suffering is written with such empathy that it had me weeping for her pain, seeing my own pain, and acknowledging yet again the pain which patriarchy inflicts on us all.

But the saddest aspect of this book is that it is set in the 1950’s and 60’s. Perhaps it is easier to stomach these realities when we can laugh at them as part of our past. Yes, we have made progress. But much of what I read about, nodded my head at, and laughed about is still pervasive in our culture—70 years later.

Here’s a few subjects she tackles:

Suspicion about the reasons a woman is successful in an organization:

She tried to talk with them, but each gave her the cold shoulder in their own way, and later, as she was walking by the lounge, she overheard the same few grousing about her—about how she took herself so seriously, how she thought she was better than any of them, how she’d refused dates from all of them, even the single men. And how the only way she could have possibly gotten her master’s from UCLA in organic chemistry was the hard way—the word “hard” being accompanied by rude gestures and tight laughter. Who did she think she was anyway?

Career and parenting roles in cultures:

She’d recently read about some country where both parents worked and took part in raising the children. Where was that, again? Sweden? She couldn’t remember. But the upshot was, it functioned very well. Productivity was higher; families were stronger. She saw herself living in such a society. A place that didn’t always automatically mistake her for a secretary, a place where, when she presented her findings in a meeting, she didn’t have to brace herself for the men who would invariably talk over her, or worse, take credit for her work. Elizabeth shook her head. When it came to equality, 1952 was a real disappointment.

Sexual Harassment :

Until the day he called her into his office, ostensibly to talk about her admittance to his doctoral program, but instead shoving his hand up her skirt. Furious, she forcibly removed it, then threatened to report him.

“To whom?” he laughed. Then he admonished her for being “no fun” and swatted her bottom, demanding that she go fetch his coat from his office closet, knowing that when she opened the door she would find it lined with pictures of topless women…

The chain of cultural oppression for women:

“The problem,” she asserted, “is that half the population is being wasted. It’s not just that I can’t get the supplies I need to complete my work, it’s that women can’t get the education they need to do what they’re meant to do. And even if they do attend college, it will never be a place like Cambridge. Which means they won’t be offered the same opportunities nor afforded the same respect. They’ll start at the bottom and stay there. Don’t even get me started on pay. And all because they didn’t attend a school that wouldn’t admit them in the first place.”

What passed for “wisdom” handed down from mother to daughter:

Her mother had always insisted that the measure of a woman was how well she married. “By the way, Elizabeth, when you do get engaged, insist on the biggest rock possible. That way, if the marriage doesn’t work out, you can hock it.”

The double standard around pregnancy in the workplace:

“I’m confused,” [Elizabeth said]. “You’re firing me on the basis of being pregnant and unwed. What about the man?“

“What man? You mean Evans?” Donatti asked.

“Any man. When a woman gets pregnant outside of marriage, does the man who made her pregnant get fired too?”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Would you have fired Calvin, for instance?

“Of course not!”

“If not, then, technically, you have no grounds to fire me.”

Donatti looked confused. What? “Of course, I do,” he stumbled. “Of course, I do! You’re the woman! You’re the one who got knocked up!”

“That’s generally how it works, but you do realize that a pregnancy requires a man’s sperm.”

“Miss Zott, I’m warning you. Watch your language.”

Assumed authority of the masculine:

“I bought it for the title,” Elizabeth admitted. “Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care. There seems to be so much. nonsense about how one raises a baby—so. much over-complication.”

“Funny, isn’t it?” Mrs. Sloan said. “A man writes a book about things of which he has absolutely no first-hand knowledge—childbirth and its aftermath, I mean—and yet: boom. Bestseller. My suspicion? His wife wrote the whole thing, then put his name on it. A man’s name gives it more authority, don’t you think?”

“No,” Elizabeth said.

The irony of perceptions v reality around women’s experiences in the workplace:

“I think you might be the only woman at Hastings—out of three thousand employees, mind you—who isn’t a secretary. I can’t imagine how that could have happened. And yet you still tried to pass yourself off as a man. Is there any level to which you won’t stoop? By the way, do you know why the institute says we ladies aren’t a good investment? It’s because we’re always running off and having babies. Like you did.”

“I was fired,” Elizabeth said.

And if you’ve read this far, you really need to support Bonnie Garmus and go buy the book! Because while it is set in the 1950’s and yes, we have seen progress, it’s still a pretty good road map for the feminine experience in the workplace.

And the secret sauce? It’s chock full of messages, both humorous and poignant to debunk that deeply embedded belief that women are less. When I finished I wanted to stand up and cheer. Oh, and there’s a dog.