Lessons in Chemistry Quotes With Page Numbers
“Because while musical prodigies are always celebrated, early readers aren’t. And that’s because early readers are only good at something others will eventually be good at, too. So being first isn’t special – it’s just annoying.”
~Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry, The Narrator, Chapter 1, Page 1
“Elizabeth Zott held grudges too. Except her grudges were mainly reserved for a patriarchal society founded on the idea that women were less. Less capable. Less intelligent. Less inventive. A society that believed men went to work and did important things—discovered planets, developed products, created laws—and women stayed at home and raised children.”
~Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry, (The Narrator), Chapter 3, Page 14
“It was a form of naïveté, he thought, the way she continued to believe that all it took to get through life was grit. Sure, grit was critical, but it also took luck, and if luck wasn’t available, then help. Everyone needed help. But maybe because she’d never been offered any, she refused to believe in it.”
~Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry, (Calvin Evans), Chapter 8, Page 74
“No surprise. Idiots make it into every company. They tend to interview well.”
~Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry, The Narrator, Chapter 13, Page 111
“Your days are numbered. Use them to throw open the windows of your soul to the sun,”
~Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry, (A quote from Marcus Aurelius), Chapter 14, Page 116
“It’s just that we tend to treat pregnancy as the most common condition in the world—as ordinary as stubbing a toe—when the truth is, it’s like getting hit by a truck. Although obviously a truck causes less damage.”
~Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry, (Dr. Mason), Chapter 15, Page 130
“Take a moment for yourself,” Harriet said, “Every day.”
“A Moment.”
“A moment where YOU are your own priority. Just you. Not your baby, not your work, not your dead Mr. Evans, not your filthy house, not anything. Just you. Elizabeth Zott. Whatever you need, whatever you want, whatever you seek, reconnect with it in that moment.” She gave a sharp tug to her fake pearls. “Then recommit.”~Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry, (Harriet Sloane), Chapter 17, Page 147
“Because while stupid people may not know they’re stupid because they’re stupid, surely unattractive people must know they’re unattractive because of mirrors.”
~Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry, (The Narrator), Chapter 18, Page 150
“Every day she found parenthood like taking a test for which she had not studied. The questions were daunting and there wasn’t nearly enough multiple choice.”
~Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry, (The Narrator about Elizabeth), Chapter 19, Page 161
“Having a baby, Elizabeth realized, was a little like living with a visitor from a distant planet. There was a certain amount of give and take as the visitor learned your ways and you learned theirs, but gradually their ways faded and your ways stuck. Which she found regrettable. Because unlike adults, her visitor never tired of even the smallest discovery; always saw the magic in the extraordinary.”
~Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry, (The Narrator about Elizabeth), Chapter 19, Page 161
“rowing is almost exactly like raising kids. Both require patience, endurance, strength, and commitment. And neither allow us to see where we’re going—only where we’ve been. I find that very reassuring, don’t you?”
~Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry, (Dr. Mason), Chapter 19, Page 166
“On the other hand, wasn’t that the very definitely of life? Constant adaptations brought about by a series of never-ending mistakes?”
~Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry, Chapter 20, Page 169
“Humans need reassurance, they need to know others survived in hard times. And unlike other species which do a better job of learning from their mistakes, humans require constant threats and reminders to be nice.”
~Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry, (Wakely), Chapter 23, Page 193
“The librarian is the most important educator in school. What she doesn’t know, she can find out. This is not an opinion; it’s a fact. Do not share this fact with Mrs. Mudford.”
~Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry, (Harriet Sloane), Chapter 27, Page 231
“And as humans, we’re by-products of our upbringings, victims of our lackluster educational systems, and choosers of our behaviors. In short, the reduction of women to something less than men, and the elevation of men to something more than women, is not biological: it’s cultural. And it starts with two words: pink and blue. Everything skyrockets out of control from there.” Speaking”
~Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry, (Elizabeth Zott) Chapter 27, Page 237
“I don’t have hopes,” Mad explained, studying the address. “I have faith.” He looked at her in surprise. “Well, that’s a funny word to hear coming from you.” “How come?” “Because,” he said, “well, you know. Religion is based on faith.” “But you realize,” she said carefully, as if not to embarrass him further, “that faith isn’t based on religion. Right?”
~Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry, (Madeline Zott), Chapter 34, Page 307
“Sometimes I think,” she said slowly, “that if a man were to spend a day being a woman in America, he wouldn’t make it past noon.”
~Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry, A woman sitting next to Roth, Chapter 36, Page 323
“I think it (religion) lets us off the hook. I think it teaches us that nothing is really our fault; that something or someone else is pulling the strings; the ultimately, we’re not to blame for the way things are; that to improve things, we should pray. But the truth is, we are very much responsible for the badness in the world. And we have the power to fix it.”
~Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry, (Elizabeth Zott), Chapter 37, Page 330
“Imagine if all men took women seriously. Education would change. The workforce would revolutionize. Marriage counsellors would go out of business. Do you see my point?”
~Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry,(Elizabeth Zott), Chapter 37, Page 331
“That’s why I wanted to use Supper at Six to teach chemistry. Because when women understand chemistry, they begin to understand how things work.”
Roth looked confused.
“I’m referring to atoms and molecules, Roth,” she explained. “The real rules that govern the physical world. When women understand these basic concepts, they can begin to see the false limits that have been created for them.”
“You mean by men.”
“I mean by artificial cultural and religious policies that put men in the highly unnatural role of single-sex leadership. Even a basic understanding of chemistry reveals the danger of such a lopsided approach.”
“Well,” he said, realizing he’d never seen it that way before, “I agree that society leaves much to be desired, but when it comes to religion, I tend to think it humbles us–teaches us our place in the world.”
“Really?” she said, surprised. “I think it lets us off the hook. I think it teachers us that nothing is really our fault; that something or someone else is pulling the strings; that ultimately, we’re not to blame for the way things are; that to improve things, we should pray. But the truth is, we are very much responsible for the badness of the world. And we have the power to fix it.”~Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry, (Roth and Elizabeth), Chapter 37, Page 331
“Chemistry is change and change is the core of your belief system. Which is good because that’s what we need more of—people who refuse to accept the status quo, who aren’t afraid to take on the unacceptable.”
~Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry, (Elizabeth Zott), Chapter 40, Page 356
“Whenever you start doubting yourself, whenever you feel afraid, just remember. Courage is the root of change and change is what we’re chemically designed to do.”
~Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry, (Elizabeth Zott), Chapter 41, Page 360
“Whenever you feel afraid, just remember. Courage is the root of change – and change is what we’re chemically designed to do. So when you wake up tomorrow, make this pledge. No more holding yourself back. No more subscribing to others’ opinions of what you can and cannot achieve. And no more allowing anyone to pigeonhole you into useless categories of sex, race, economic status, and religion. Do not allow your talents to lie dormant, ladies. Design your own future. When you go home today, ask yourself what YOU will change. And then get started.”
~Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry, (Elizabeth Zott), Chapter 41, Page 360
“Courage is the root of change—and change is what we’re chemically designed to do.”
~Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry, (Elizabeth Zott), Chapter 41, Page 360
“some things needed to stay in the past because the past was the only place they made sense.”
~Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry, (The Narrator quoting Wakely), Chapter 45, Page 383
Sources:
https://www.litcharts.com/lit/lessons-in-chemistry/characters
https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/90356333-lessons-in-chemistry