Genre
Fiction
Setting and Context
Set between the 1950s and 1960s in the United States of America.
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrative
Tone and Mood
The tone is chatty, and the mood is humorous.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Elizabeth, and the antagonist is Walter.
Major Conflict
The major conflict is between Elizabeth and the male workmates. The male workmates view women as objects of sex. Elizabeth gets into a confrontation with her boss and thesis adviser when they try to rape her.
Climax
The climax comes when Elizabeth is appointed the new Director of Chemistry at the Hastings Institute.
Foreshadowing
Calvin’s death foreshadows Elizabeth’s decision to remain unmarried for the rest of her life.
Understatement
N/A
Allusions
The story alludes to Boland Mary’s book on sexual harassment at workplaces, which shows a scene where women are sexually assaulted.
Imagery
Walter’s office scene is described to depict the sense of sight to readers. For instance, readers see how Elizabeth removes her knife to threaten Walter, who is about to rape her.
Paradox
The main paradox in the novel is that a Catholic Bishop lies that Calvin died at birth to receive funding from donors.
Parallelism
There is a parallel statement when Elizabeth says she missed her Ph.D. qualification due to rape and Miss Frask’s confession about the same issue.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
The dog adopted by Elizabeth and Calvin is personified when they give her name. Calvin and Elizabeth consider the adopted dog as their child.
