Elizabeth is sometimes depressed by the circumstances in her life. Not coincidentally, her show airs in the “Afternoon Depression Zone.” And yet she’s never a victim. How does she continually pick herself up? What do you think fuels her resilience? And why, after she’s reached stardom, is she more miserable than ever?
Elizabeth knows who she is and what she can do. Her self-confidence is amazing, especially in the career she has chosen. Also, stardom was never her goal, being a chemist and making scientific advancements were always her real goals. TV was just a means to an end.
Elizabeth fights for justice in her career and enlists the support of those around her to help make her case. AND she never gives up. The success of her TV show is a surprise even to her. She realizes that TV fame interferes with her private life with her daughter and her well-defined goal to be a chemist.
I think part of what fuels Elizabeth’s resiliency is her uncanny ability to think about life’s challenges in scientific terms. It amazed me how much she initially disliked and struggled with rowing. Once Calvin explained that rowing involved physics, she spent time reading about the physics of rowing, adjusted her approach and then not only succeeded, she excelled. On some level, her stardom and limited ability to thoroughly incorporate more chemistry into each show was frustrating. Add in a “dose of demeaning” via a boss who boxed her into the stereotypical role of “Little Woman cooking dinner for her man” to make for added misery.