Lessons in Chemistry is a historical fiction novel set in the 1950s and early 1960s about a female chemist and the many barriers that are thrown in her way as she pursues her passions and struggles to become the person she was meant to be. The main character, Elizabeth Zott, is academically brilliant, strong-willed, independent, and creative. Throughout the novel, she faces tremendous amounts of sexism both from men and women. Elizabeth suffers terrible losses, but also rises to become the best version of herself, including becoming a strong and caring mother.
One of the things I really loved about this novel was the careful consideration Garmus paid to representing a society's gender norms tangled with the internal struggles and subsequent behaviour of individuals. Many male characters came through as both typical for the time period they lived in, but also full of a nuance and complexity that allowed them to grow and develop in their relationship with Elizabeth. A perfect example of this is the character Walter, who produces her afternoon cooking show (which she presents unabashedly as a chemist first and foremost). Throughout that part of the novel, Walter faces many internal battles between his belief in how she should come across to the audience as a wholesome woman and mother (he personally wrote the scripts and approved the set design), and his respect and admiration for Elizabeth's incredible intelligence and determination to do things her own way. He primarily stays on Elizabeth's side, but not without the internal struggle against the stereotypes and beliefs about women that existed in society at that time, and in many respects still do. Other examples of this nuance in male characters include the reporter, the obstetrician, and even Calvin, the fellow chemist that Elizabeth loves.
This complexity also exists in some female characters, because misogyny and harsh stereotypes are perpetrated by women as well. The circumstances that faced the women, from fat-shaming and spinsterhood to abuse, loneliness and a lack of economic rights, became opportunities for growth and emerging strength when getting to know Elizabeth. Interestingly, I felt that some of the greatest character arcs were actually within the side characters who learned from Elizabeth, rather than simply the arc of Elizabeth herself (although this is certainly present as well). Garmus does an excellent job of representing the various viewpoints and allowing the reader to get inside the heads and hearts of most of the characters, taking us along on their personal journeys.
The only part of the novel that took me out of the story somewhat was when it was written from the point of view of the dog. Although the dog, whose name was Six-Thirty, was a central character, it was difficult for me to feel fully engaged during the scenes where we were seeing the dog's internal thoughts, choices, and subsequent behaviours. Although the dog was represented as equally as important as humans, it was difficult to buy into its full personification with complete and rational thoughts, followed by coherent behaviours as a human would do.
Overall, however, I felt this novel is an astute exploration of gender relations, which was my main takeaway. Many times, I felt an intense gratitude come over me for the generations of women who came before and fought against the strict gender expectations and rights violations that existed at that time. Although there is still much work to do and I continue to fight that battle for my own girls, the place we live in now would not have been possible without the work of real people represented by characters such as Elizabeth Zott.