nothing,” Dot insisted.
Dr. Glidden shrugged. “Most women only work until they are wed,” she said. “That’s a reality of our time. We, in higher education, expend much effort and resources preparing young women to take their place in the workforce. Then a man comes along and they marry and stay at home. It’s an unpleasant fact of life that everyone in the field struggles with. Dr. Falk finds it less disappointing to confront it directly.”
“But I want to work,” Dot said. “I’m good in science. It’s what I want to do.”
The dean nodded. “That’s how you feel now,” she said. “But when you fall in love and your husband asks you to stay home, you’ll feel differently.”
“My mother works,” Dot insisted. “I mean, she takes in laundry, but she gets paid for that. It’s the same as a job.”
“Your mother is working class,” Dr. Glidden said. “As a college woman you naturally should aspire to more. And a middle or upper-class husband will be diminished in the eyes of the community if it appears that he’s not a good provider and his wife is forced to work.”
“But I wouldn’t be forced to work,” Dot said. “I’d be working by choice.”
“No one would know that,” Dr. Glidden said. “No one would understand it or believe it. And even if they did, marriage means children. What would you do about your children? Would you be able to work while they stay home and rear themselves?”
Dot had no idea how to respond to that.
“I'm the first person in my family to ever go to college,” she explained to the dean. “This is a big opportunity. I can’t just take it and throw it away. I have to make something of myself.”
“Companies aren’t looking for temporary female employees in their research labs and corporate hierarchy,” Dr. Glidden said. “If you want to work until you marry, you’d be better off taking typing.”
“No, I don’t want to be in the typing pool,” Dot told her firmly. “I love science.”
“Well,” she said, “then there is the College of Education. There are many small towns and rural areas that might hire a woman to teach high school science. And of course, there is nursing, which is truly the practical application of science.”
“I don’t want to teach or be a nurse,” she said. “I want to do research in a big laboratory, expanding the boundaries of biology and chemistry.”
The dean nodded. “Dorothy, you need to think that through very carefully. Research is a lifelong vocation,” Dr. Glidden told her. “If you truly want to pursue that and be treated equal to men in the endeavor, then you have to be willing to say that you will never want a husband and children.”
“What?”
“The only way that you can pursue a vocation like a man,” she said, “is to give up all the aspirations of womanhood. It’s not an easy thing to do. As a woman who’s done it, I can tell you that.”
Dot was momentarily stunned into silence.
“So that’s why you never married,” she said at last.
“I never wanted to give a man the right to tell me
what to do,” she answered. “And I don’t regret it. I have friends and colleagues. I have a half-dozen nieces and nephews. My life has been far from the empty wasteland people imagine with the term spinster.”
That word conjured in Dot’s own mind images that were equally negative.
“A woman who truly wants a career cannot marry,” Dr. Glidden said. “Marriage means taking care of a husband and family and having a baby every few years. By the time that’s over, the woman is far too old and worn to do anything else. Wife and work don’t mix. You’ll have to choose one or the other.”
“Men don’t have to choose,” Dot pointed out. “They have both families and careers.”
Dr. Glidden sighed and shook her head. “As I said before, Dorothy, the world is not a fair place. I know that. Dr. Falk knows that. You’re a senior in college— it’s time you understood it as
Dr. Glidden shrugged. “Most women only work until they are wed,” she said. “That’s a reality of our time. We, in higher education, expend much effort and resources preparing young women to take their place in the workforce. Then a man comes along and they marry and stay at home. It’s an unpleasant fact of life that everyone in the field struggles with. Dr. Falk finds it less disappointing to confront it directly.”
“But I want to work,” Dot said. “I’m good in science. It’s what I want to do.”
The dean nodded. “That’s how you feel now,” she said. “But when you fall in love and your husband asks you to stay home, you’ll feel differently.”
“My mother works,” Dot insisted. “I mean, she takes in laundry, but she gets paid for that. It’s the same as a job.”
“Your mother is working class,” Dr. Glidden said. “As a college woman you naturally should aspire to more. And a middle or upper-class husband will be diminished in the eyes of the community if it appears that he’s not a good provider and his wife is forced to work.”
“But I wouldn’t be forced to work,” Dot said. “I’d be working by choice.”
“No one would know that,” Dr. Glidden said. “No one would understand it or believe it. And even if they did, marriage means children. What would you do about your children? Would you be able to work while they stay home and rear themselves?”
Dot had no idea how to respond to that.
“I'm the first person in my family to ever go to college,” she explained to the dean. “This is a big opportunity. I can’t just take it and throw it away. I have to make something of myself.”
“Companies aren’t looking for temporary female employees in their research labs and corporate hierarchy,” Dr. Glidden said. “If you want to work until you marry, you’d be better off taking typing.”
“No, I don’t want to be in the typing pool,” Dot told her firmly. “I love science.”
“Well,” she said, “then there is the College of Education. There are many small towns and rural areas that might hire a woman to teach high school science. And of course, there is nursing, which is truly the practical application of science.”
“I don’t want to teach or be a nurse,” she said. “I want to do research in a big laboratory, expanding the boundaries of biology and chemistry.”
The dean nodded. “Dorothy, you need to think that through very carefully. Research is a lifelong vocation,” Dr. Glidden told her. “If you truly want to pursue that and be treated equal to men in the endeavor, then you have to be willing to say that you will never want a husband and children.”
“What?”
“The only way that you can pursue a vocation like a man,” she said, “is to give up all the aspirations of womanhood. It’s not an easy thing to do. As a woman who’s done it, I can tell you that.”
Dot was momentarily stunned into silence.
“So that’s why you never married,” she said at last.
“I never wanted to give a man the right to tell me
what to do,” she answered. “And I don’t regret it. I have friends and colleagues. I have a half-dozen nieces and nephews. My life has been far from the empty wasteland people imagine with the term spinster.”
That word conjured in Dot’s own mind images that were equally negative.
“A woman who truly wants a career cannot marry,” Dr. Glidden said. “Marriage means taking care of a husband and family and having a baby every few years. By the time that’s over, the woman is far too old and worn to do anything else. Wife and work don’t mix. You’ll have to choose one or the other.”
“Men don’t have to choose,” Dot pointed out. “They have both families and careers.”
Dr. Glidden sighed and shook her head. “As I said before, Dorothy, the world is not a fair place. I know that. Dr. Falk knows that. You’re a senior in college— it’s time you understood it as
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