Elizabeth refuses to marry Calvin. What did you think of her decision here? How would her life have been different if they’d married?
Different, yes. It would have been the acceptable thing to do. But, it would not have given her the professional life that she wanted.
I think Elizabeth’s decision not to marry Calvin was based on fear her life would change and her goals and career success would be eclipsed by his career. As she says, she did not know him long enough. Also, I am not sure if her view on marriage might have changed if she had envisioned a future as a single parent.
Yes it would have changed her life if she had married Calvin. Elizabeth was a woman who envisioned herself as a scientist with goals and ideas for the future. She wanted that to be her career. Marriage would have hindered that goal, especially in that time frame.
I agree that it would have affected her professional life. In that era, many people would have seen her first as a wife and then as a scientist. As a woman, I think she was already fighting being seen as secondary because of working with Calvin and it would have just made it worse.
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