Lessons in Chemistry

Calvin Evans is Elizabeth’s love interest and romantic partner. A brilliant chemist touted to be a science prodigy, Calvin works at his own lab at Hastings. He is Madeline’s father, though his untimely death prevents him from ever meeting her or knowing of her existence. Calvin is raised at the All Saints Boys’Home in Iowa after the death of his adoptive family; he believes he has a biological father who does not want him, and Calvin holds a grudge against the man for as long as he lives.

Calvin is an anomaly, especially in how he treats Elizabeth—with respect, and as an equal partner. Gender does not seem to significantly factor into his interactions with or perceptions of people, as he values an individual’s intellect and capabilities far more. It is Elizabeth’s brilliance that causes him to fall in love with her, and his appreciation of her intellect that causes her to reciprocate. Despite Calvin’s unconventionality when it comes to his attitudes towards gender, he nevertheless is seen to exhibit some implicit attitudes related to the same: he does initially want to marry Elizabeth, believing that that is what will legitimize their relationship as family and he also assumes Elizabeth to be a secretary when he first meets her.

Calvin and Elizabeth’s relationship is an important one within the context of the book. It demonstrates what a happy, healthy, and mutually fulfilling relationship ought to be like, and suggests that a basis for this is a dynamic based on mutual respect and appreciation. Calvin’s death is what sets into motion a number of the major events in the book and lands Elizabeth in the circumstances propel the events of the story.

Mad “Madeline” Zott and Six-Thirty comprise Elizabeth’s family after Calvin’s death. Madeline is Elizabeth’s daughter, legally named “Mad” owing to a miscommunication with the nurse at the hospital. She is a precocious but shy child and is six years old as the book opens. Six-Thirty is Calvin and Elizabeth’s dog that the couple adopted after he followed Elizabeth home from the town one day. Six-Thirty used to be a trainee at a bomb-sniffing camp but failed because he could not overcome his fear of the bombs.

Both Madeline and Six-Thirty are shown to be far more intelligent and perceptive than what people expect them to be. Madeline is reading at a sixth-grade level when she enters kindergarten aged four, and she is inherently able to pick up on people’s innermost thoughts and feelings from a very young age. Similarly, Six-Thirty is shown to be far more intelligent than the average dog. By the end of the book, he is seen to have learned 921 words (and counting); he also understands a great deal of what is going on around him, expressing thoughts and feelings in response to the same.

Madeline and Six-Thirty love Elizabeth deeply and feel protective towards her. When Elizabeth sinks into a depression after the Life article, Madeline is worried about her; she is also deeply upset when she discovers that Elizabeth’s pregnancy is the reason that she was fired from Hastings, preventing her from pursuing her work in chemistry. Similarly, Six-Thirty constantly worries about and watches out for Elizabeth’s well-being, from the moment she is pregnant and grieving Calvin. He picks up on the potential threat posed by a woman in the audience of the cooking show who is not clapping and goes on to save multiple lives by locating and removing the bomb in her handbag, fighting his own fear of bombs while doing so.

Together, Madeline and Six-Thirty demonstrate how it is possible for a loving, caring family to be made of unconventional elements, such as a child born out of wedlock and an unusually intelligent dog.

Harriet Sloane is Elizabeth’s neighbor, and Walter Pine is Madeline’s classmate Amanda’s father who goes on to become Elizabeth’s producer on Supper at Six. Harriet and Walter form Elizabeth’s personal and professional support systems respectively, and the only friends she has in her life post Madeline’s birth.

As a result of the unhappy marriage that Harriet is stuck in, she is lonely and looks for companionship; this drives her to check on Elizabeth when she is a new mother and eventually sees her helping out with Madeline on a regular basis. Despite not always seeing eye-to-eye with Elizabeth, she remains the latter’s biggest support; she delivers an important piece of advice that sees Elizabeth through the difficulties of motherhood as well as work, and Elizabeth names and thanks Harriet for the same on the final episode of the show.

Walter is initially stunned and awed by the kind of presence and intelligence Elizabeth exudes, leading him to suggest Supper at Six to her. The show is a desperate bid for Walter to keep his job, and it becomes a roaring success, despite the many frustrations he experiences with Elizabeth refusing to conform to Lebensmal’s demands. Although Elizabeth’s behavior consistently puts his own job on the line, Walter nevertheless demonstrates a protective attitude towards her, working to extend the show’s contract, trying to accommodate her requests as much as possible, and shielding her from Lebensmal. Walter’s innate goodness is also seen in how he is a loving and devoted single parent to Amanda, despite the awareness that he is not Amanda’s biological father.

Ultimately, both Harriet and Walter benefit from their respective relationships with Elizabeth. Elizabeth sees and appreciates Harriet and all she does, making the older woman feel valued for the first time in her life. Similarly, Elizabeth helps Walter take control at KCTV following Lebensmal’s heart attack, encouraging him to do the right thing. Elizabeth cares for Harriet and Walter just as much as they do for her. They come to be Elizabeth’s surrogate family, eventually forming a romantic attachment of their own between themselves.