Elizabeth Zott’s dog learned over nine-hundred words and her daughter, Madeline, was an early reader, but Madeline had to
pretend to be like other kids in kindergarten: illiterate. By the same token,
as a professional chemist Elizabeth Zott struggled to gain basic respect and
recognition at work, because when women are good at something, somebody may be
quick enough to steal their ideas, or false rumors may be spread to make others
believe that she has slept with somebody to attain something specific, whereas
a man’s accomplishments are celebrated and his intelligence is not questioned.
“It is not your imagination. People are awful.”
Elizabeth wrote these words in one of the daily notes she stuck in Madeline’s
lunch-box.
Even
though the story takes place in the fifties and early sixties, this novel resonates
in today’s world. Stereotypes, prejudices and biases continue to pervade
societies in subtle and not so subtle ways. Misogynistic trends continue to
exist in the most unexpected situations, so I am thankful for this clever
novel. It brings to light the social nuances that continue to put women down,
the unspoken truths that still linger in the workplace and in so many
conversations around us.
Hard work and education are important to
succeed, but “luck” plays a role too.
Amid the darkness of societal nonsense, however, there is hope. A
friend, a boss, a partner may trust you, and
believe in your skills, and that faith in you can make a world of
difference. Everybody needs support, so why is it more difficult to grant women the same support that is provided to men?
Luck can hit a person in unpredictable ways, and this is clear in this novel when Elizabeth is wooed by Walter Pine to work as a cooking television host. This is not something she had planned, but she needed the job to sustain her family and pay the bills. Elizabeth was expected to teach how to cook while entertaining the audience.
As a
chemist, Elizabeth knows that chemistry is the foundation of cooking, and that
nutritious, balanced meals are paramount to everybody’s success in life. Nourishing the body helps to support a healthy
mind. Why do you think, for example, that a man cooking is treated with more respect than a woman doing it? Why is the word “chef” immediately associated with the
male gender? The paradox is that it is not uncommon to come across online
trolls who want to dismiss a woman’s opinion by “sending her to the kitchen.”
Making
a balanced, nutritious meal from scratch requires knowledge, skills and
motivation. If you take a moment to reflect deeply on this act, you will
conclude that it has an impact on the health of the people who eat it and the
planet.
A woman may choose to be a scientist; a woman
may cook nutritious meals for her family or she may become a cook to make a living, but regardless of her choices, she is never treated with the same
respect as the man who chooses to do the same tasks. Why?
The
answer is rooted in gender double standards that still exist today. Why is the same work considered to have more value when it is done by a man ? Both
men and women are guilty of underestimating the work of women, so let’s stop
pretending otherwise, and it is necessary to examine how gender double
standards are part of this reality. Confidence in men, for example, is regarded as a positive trait, but it is often considered a sign of arrogance in women. A man asking for help may be considered assertive, whereas a woman in the same situation may be viewed as "opportunistic".
Elizabeth and her partner, Calvin Evans, commented on the fact that ninety percent of women adopt their husband’s last name when they get married. Bonnie Garmus may have referred to women in America. I think it is important to clarify that the fact that women in America change their last name when they marry should not be a reason to assume that women do the same in every country of the world. Hint: they don’t… Eureka!
I devoured the fruits of Bonnie Garmus’s imagination.
The comparison between the different kinds of chemical bonds and falling in
love was brilliant. She describes the three types of chemical bonds: ionic,
covalent and hydrogen bridges. Elizabeth uses the knowledge of chemical bonds
to make analogies about the ways people interact with or fall for their
significant other or potential lovers. This was hilarious and witty. Another
theme the novel touches is that of grief: Elizabeth endures the loss of her
significant other.
Elizabeth Zott had not chosen to work as a
cooking television host, but the job became a medium through which she gave
herself permission to express herself against all odds, and to instill
confidence in the women whose work was treated with disdain. Think about the ways homemakers are treated today and you will agree with me that little has
changed. Every woman deserves respect, whether they choose to work inside or
outside the home. Yet this does not happen.
Supper at Six was the television
program Elizabeth hosted, and it became a success. As you can imagine, when a
woman does something well, it sparks envy and admiration, which are the driving
forces of sexism. Haters are ready to threaten and intimidate the successful woman
and to dismiss the fruits of such a woman’s work. Again, some things have not changed.
Do people with enthusiasm and motivation
overwhelm others? I don’t think so unless the agent of enthusiasm and passion
is a woman, in which case the situation sometimes evokes envy and hate and triggers
irrational behaviors in the haters.
I also noticed that people who criticize the
choices that women make are in fact unhappy with their own choices in life, so
it is a kind of scapegoating. Misogyny never goes out of fashion apparently. (And
in some places misogyny became law and we are mocked and ignored when we speak
up).
Elizabeth Zott defies the systems that oppress her. Through her story, the readers may be able to fathom how any kind of religious fanaticism can be used to oppress and denigrate women and to promote homophobia.
Lessons in Chemistry is a compelling read with various twists and surprises. I rooted for Elizabeth and my favorite character is Six-Thirty, the dog. It is uplifting to learn that the novel has been welcomed with several awards and recognitions; you can learn about them here.
Lessons in Chemistry is
entertaining, humorous, thought-provoking and… outrageous. There is a scene
of rape in this book, so if you deal with trauma, keep this in mind as you
venture through the pages. There is a lot of food for thought in Lessons in
Chemistry, so savor it at your own pace, enjoy the “meals” and then make
sure you pass it on.
We need to
raise more awareness.
Don’t forget
to check the supplementary links and feel free to share them:
https://criernewsroom.com/news/2022/04/16/the-sexist-nature-of-the-cooking-industry/
https://time.com/6257188/disinformation-women-online-hate-study/
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-03-05/women-social-media-instagram-linkedin-toxic
https://medschool.duke.edu/news/equality-women-science-not-there-yet
https://wearerestless.org/2022/02/04/why-are-stay-at-home-moms-looked-down-upon/
https://tooambitious.com/3-subtle-ways-women-are-undermined-at-work-and-how-to-handle-them/
