MARINA YERESHENKO wrote:
> I remember that when I started reading Asimov's book with Dr. Calvin,
> it
> was really exciting to see a woman-scientist character. However, I did
>
> not like the fact that he made her a total freak -- lonely, childless,
>
> ugly, and with no life outside her job. For me, it was another
> statement,
> that "if a woman it too smart, she must be an ugly old maiden, and if
> she
> wants to pursue a career in science, there must be something
> physically
> and mentally wrong with her". In other words, "if there were a man who
>
> wanted her, she would not bother her pretty little head with all that
> deep stuff". He was showing that in every little detail, referring to
> her
> "uglinness" every time she was mentioned. Finally, it made me mad to a
>
> point when I stopped reading the book. I used to like Asimov, but with
>
> Susan Calvin, I think he created a character that he did not
> appreciate
> enough to treat the way she deserved.
>
You know, it's been a long time since I've looked at those stories, but
I always thought he was using Calvin to show the hypocrisy that science
sometimes thows itself into, and I don't think that a male scientist
would have worked...
Calvin has to be uncomfortable in her surroundings (and I seem to
remember that there was some sort of emotional breakdown she had), and
has to make the reader uncomfortable. I think Asimov appreciated her to
the extreme, and that he didn't disrespect her, but he realized that he
had to break the norm if he was going to discuss social commentary, and
Calvin broke the norm in that she was the "wrong" sex for science at the
time, she had horrible self-esteem (Whereas all the males in various
stories always tend to smile sweetly and say "It'll be fine, sweetie."),
she was rather selfish and withdrawn. I find her more representative of
the scientific community in this country (I'm biased for personal
reasons on that point - no offense meant to any science folks out there)
than the vast number of male scientists, smoking their pipes and
smirking (like Pierce Brosnan did so well in _Mars Attacks_) in the SF
lit at the time. Do I like Susan Calvin? No, no more than I like
Travis Bickle (_Taxi Driver_). Do I find myself oddly identifying with
her at times? Yes, very much so.
I think Calvin is supposed to be an anti-hero, and therefore isn't
supposed to be well-liked. But we are supposed to dislike her due to
her personality, not the fact she's a woman...
- Geoffrey
-- "Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so." - Ford Prefect
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu May 25 2000 - 19:07:31 PDT