Lessons in Chemistry

Ten years earlier, in January of 1952, Elizabeth is working with Calvin Evans at the Hastings Research Institute. By all accounts, Calvin is a genius when it comes to chemistry, having already contributed significant research to the field in his early twenties. Other than chemistry, the only thing Calvin loves and excels at is rowing. However, Calvin struggles in other areas of life, especially dating.

After studying at Cambridge, Calvin moves to Southern California and meets Elizabeth at the Hastings Research Institute, where they both work. One morning, Elizabeth enters Calvin’s office because she needs to borrow some beakers. She ignores the signs on his door saying that the office is off limits and enters anyway. Calvin is annoyed when he sees Elizabeth in his office and assumes she is a secretary. He tells her that he will not give her any beakers unless her boss gives him a call. Annoyed, Elizabeth grabs a box of beakers and leaves.

A few weeks later, Calvin tracks down Elizabeth and apologizes for his behavior. He also asks her out on a date, but Elizabeth rejects him. After Calvin steps away, a lab tech asks Elizabeth why she is talking to him. Elizabeth explains the situation, which surprises the lab tech. The lab tech warns her that Calvin is famous for holding grudges. He suggests that Elizabeth apologize to Calvin, so a bigger problem does not arise. Elizabeth tells the lab tech not to worry about it and that everything will be fine.

The next day, Elizabeth notices that her beakers are gone because someone else in her lab took it upon themselves to return them. For some time after this incident, Elizabeth regularly hears her fellow lab techs insulting her. In particular, she hears someone imply that she only got her degree because she traded sexual favors for it. She also hears her boss, Dr. Donatti, call her a “cunt,” which shocks her.

Elizabeth was called the same word once before, when she was working on her PhD at UCLA. One night, while she was alone doing work in a lab, the leader of her research team, Dr. Meyers, entered the room and chastised her for double-checking work he had already completed. Everyone on Meyers’s team hated him—he was rude, arrogant, and regularly took all the credit for the work of his graduate students. However, Elizabeth put up with him because she knew he had a good reputation in the broader scientific community, and she wanted to make a name for herself.

When Elizabeth politely tried to tell Meyers that she thought she found an error in his work, he locked the door behind him and then aggressively moved toward her. Then, he slapped her hard in the face and began ripping her clothes off. Elizabeth struggled, trying to get away from Meyers, but he was too strong. Meyers raped Elizabeth as she continued to fight. Annoyed with Elizabeth’s resistance, Meyers called her a “cunt.” Eventually, Elizabeth managed to grab a pencil and stab it into Meyers’s side. In doing so, she managed to pierce his large and small intestine.

After the sexual assault, a police officer interviewed Elizabeth but did not take anything she said seriously. The office suggested that Elizabeth make a statement of regret to make herself look better in the situation. Elizabeth responded that her only regret was not having more pencils. Following the assault, the admissions committee at UCLA rescinded her admittance to the doctoral program. She left UCLA with an MA and then went to work at the Hastings Research Institute.

Now, the lab tech at the Hastings Institute apologizes to Elizabeth for making such a big deal about the beakers and tells her to ignore the other men’s disparaging comments. However, Dr. Donatti reassigns her to a new research project the next day, which he says is “More [her] intellectual speed.” Elizabeth accepts the new position without complaint but is internally furious that she is being punished unfairly.

A few weeks later, Elizabeth goes to see an operetta, The Mikado, but decides to leave at intermission because she hates it. As luck would have it, Calvin is also there, on a date with a secretary from the Hastings Institute. Throughout the first half of the show, Calvin’s stomach feels terrible. He stands up to leave at intermission, feeling like he is going to vomit. In the theatre’s lobby, he accidentally bumps into Elizabeth, which is apparently too much for his stomach to take, because he vomits near (and partially on) Elizabeth. Elizabeth is shocked for a moment, but she quickly pulls herself together and asks if there is a doctor around. When no one comes to help, she offers to get Calvin a paper towel. It is only at that moment when she realizes that they already know each other.

Elizabeth helps Calvin home and makes sure he is okay. She tells him that he probably just has food poisoning. Calvin apologizes repeatedly for vomiting on Elizabeth’s dress. Elizabeth tells him not to worry about it. He also apologizes again for assuming she was a secretary at work. To this, Elizabeth has no response.

One week later, Elizabeth and Calvin discuss Elizabeth’s research interests over a cup of coffee. Elizabeth tells him that, prior to her recent assignment change, she was researching polyphosphoric acids. However, her real interest is in abiogenesis, the study of the origin of all life on earth. Calvin notes that abiogenesis is something only someone with a PhD would focus on and asks about Elizabeth’s time in academia. Elizabeth vaguely explains that she did not finish her PhD but does not elaborate.

Calvin then asks why Elizabeth is no longer researching polyphosphoric acids, which he sees as a valuable area of study. Elizabeth responds that sexism is responsible. Calvin appears surprised by her response, which sparks a brief conversation about sexism in science. By the end of the conversation, Calvin sees Elizabeth’s point and offers to help her. At first, Elizabeth balks at the idea of getting help from Calvin, but she quickly realizes that his help would be useful in allowing her to work on polyphosphoric acids again. She accepts his helps but warns him that she will not date him, even though she secretly wants to.