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Chapter 9: The Grudge
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Lessons in Chemistry, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Gender Inequality
Science vs. Religion
Overcoming Tragedy and Trauma
Family
Summary
Analysis
Calvin opens a letter from a woman who claims she is his mother—it is the second such letter he has received in a short period of time. Calvin assumes the letter is fake because people often attempt to attach themselves to him due to his fame. He thinks about how it is ironic that strangers write to him, but his birth father never does. Calvin never talks to anyone about his father and still has not broached the subject with Elizabeth.
Calvin’s guardedness about his father indicates a deep-seated pain, which he fears could ruin his relationship with Elizabeth. His silence is an attempt to protect himself, but it seems unlikely that he will be able to keep quiet on the subject forever, given how important it is to his life.
Themes
The only person who knows about Calvin’s biological father, other than those who ran the boys home, is Wakely, Calvin’s old pen pal, whom he never met in person. In a letter, Calvin once told Wakely that he wished his father were dead. Calvin presumes the letter shocked Wakely because Wakely never wrote back. Calvin avoids the subject with Elizabeth because he doesn’t want it to drive a wedge between them.
The reference to Wakely, reveals Calvin’s long-standing struggle with his feelings toward his father. The intensity of his emotions, wishing his father dead, and the subsequent loss of contact with Wakely demonstrates the profound impact his father's rejection has had on him.
Themes
Calvin also thinks about the city’s new leash law. He and Elizabeth recently argued over whether they should start putting Six-Thirty on a leash. Calvin thinks he will be fine without one, but Elizabeth insists that they should follow the rules and avoid getting themselves or Six-Thirty in trouble. Previously, neither felt the need to leash Six-Thirty because he was so well trained and intelligent that he did not seem to need a leash. Eventually, Calvin gives in and starts putting a leash on Six-Thirty. If nothing else, he appreciates Elizabeth’s maternal instincts. One day, shortly after Calvin starts putting a leash on Six-Thirty, he decides to run to work with Six-Thirty by his side. However, he never makes it to work because he dies on the way there, 37 minutes after departing from the house.
Calvin’s eventual acquiescence to Elizabeth’s insistence on following the leash law highlights his respect for her judgment and a recognition of her care and concern, which he likens to maternal instincts. Unfortunately, Calvin’s decision to give into Elizabeth leads to his shocking death, which is surprising not just because of its suddenness but also because it leaves unresolved the threads of Calvin’s history with his father, his relationship with Elizabeth, and the life he and Elizabeth were building together. It is a moment that subverts the standard plot of the romance novel and moves the story in a new direction.
Themes
