Blog Post #7
Richard Ho
Throughout
the novel, Lab Girl, it’s very
evident that Hope Jahren, the author has very strong ties with her parents.
Although her father paved the way for her and inspired her to become a
scientist, her mother was truly her role model. She is an incredibly strong
woman. She showed her toughness as a female in a male-dominated world. Although
being naturally gifted with higher intelligence, Hope’s mother was forced to
drop out of college, because of the social norm that going to college is only a
male privilege. However, Hope’s mother never gave up. She went back to school
after starting her family. Not only did her action shattered the stereotypes of
women receiving higher education, it also broke the taboo that only the young
can go to school.
Hope
quoted that “[she’s] an extension of [her] indestructible mother”. This shows
that Jahren want to follow her mother’s footsteps and adopt a similar belief to
never back down, not even to the scientific community, the industry, or the
society. Multiple times. Jahren has quoted that she feels “unusual” for being a
female scientist, however, in her head, she was never anything other than a
female scientist. Although things did change for the better after the year, Hope
still faced the same difficulties, her mother had to face 30-40 years ago.
The
novel Lab Girl not only utilizes her
descriptive detail of her own life experiences, but also extenuates the
struggles women in the science field had to face. So, as a tribute to her
mother, who despite facing many setbacks took these restrictions that society
place on her head on, Jahren dedicated this book to her. As if telling her
mother, “Hey mom, you were right all along. And, you are not alone, we’re in
this together.”
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