The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2009

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-7

Chapters 8-14

Chapters 15-21

Chapters 22-28

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Gender Roles

The limiting structure of traditional gender roles becomes one of the largest obstacles that Callie faces. As a young woman in the south during the late 19th century, Callie finds herself continuously at odds with the idea of who a woman should be and what she is expected to do. In this traditional society, women are expected to be homemakers, wives, and mothers; they experience little to no social mobility or capital except for their socioeconomic status. Women from “good families”—meaning women who come from wealth—are expected to marry into other “good families,” with no exception. As an aspiring scientist, Callie does not want to give up science to learn how to become a “young woman of society” (191) and finds herself constantly at odds with these expectations.

Callie’s mother and her best friend Lula symbolize the ideal woman within this society. Callie’s mother is a beautiful woman who spends her days entertaining guests in her parlor and caring for the children, while Lula embodies the “ideal” traditional attributes for girls who are Callie’s age. By fulfilling the role that their gender places on them, both Lula and Callie’s mother serve as contrasts to Callie, who possesses radical ideas for how her future will unfold. Lula specifically functions as a character foil for Callie because of her strict adherence to traditional gender roles.

Callie is met with stark opposition when she tries to defy the traditional gender roles that she encounters. For example, when Callie begins spending more time with her grandfather learning about science, her mother forces Callie to spend a lot of her time learning how to knit and cook. These lessons take up the majority of Callie’s free time and place a strain on her understanding of her identity and her relationship with her grandfather. The novel ends with Callie’s future in the balance. With the threat of having to “come out” as a debutante on her social horizon, Callie decides to pursue science despite her mothers’ protests.

The Natural World

The natural world functions as a catalyst for Callie’s character development. As Callie grows and begins to question the expectations placed upon her by her family and society, she turns toward natural science to help her process and understand the world around her. One of Callie’s most transformative encounters with nature is the mutant hairy vetch that she and Granddaddy discover. This interaction represents the deeper relationship between Callie and her grandfather. Because Callie holds no interest in typical feminine activities, she is deemed to be something of a “mutant” herself. When she speaks of herself and her grandfather later in the novel, she explains that she is happy to find someone who is like her, another member of her species. When she and Granddaddy have their photo taken with the plant, Callie states, “And there we were. A new species. A photograph. And me, his girl” (181), and her words highlight the parallels between the new species of plant, and Callie and Granddaddy being a new species. There is a marked transition in Callie’s relationship with her grandfather here, as he begins to refer to her with more affection. After the plant is confirmed to be a new species and named after the Tates, Callie and her grandfather are implicitly confirmed to be vastly different from their family members, who show little interest in scientific discoveries. Even so, Callie gains confidence in her abilities and potential as a scientist, and the confirmation from the Smithsonian solidifies her resolve to pursue this path as an adult.

Prolific Scientists and Inventions

Throughout the novel, the author mentions several scientists and scientific innovations that represent the social progress that takes place during this time frame. Perhaps the most impactful scientist mentioned is Charles Darwin, the father of evolutionary theory. Darwin’s book The Origin of Species plays a significant role in the novel and helps Callie to understand the world around her. The book was first published in 1859 and was received with great criticism by Christians around the world because the theory of evolution directly opposed the story of Creation in the Bible’s Book of Genesis. Darwin’s book plays a role both directly in the novel and in the formatting of the chapters themselves. Each chapter of the novel begins with a direct quote from The Origin of Species that foreshadows the content within the chapter. The characters also interact with the text directly, and Darwin’s book becomes a great source of inspiration for Callie. However, because it threatens and questions major Christian beliefs, it is a taboo topic of discussion within wider society. Callie’s relationship with her grandfather begins with Darwin and her learning about his theory of natural selection. Callie then applies these theories to her own life, understanding herself as a “mutant species” amongst those who adhere to the traditional roles within her society.

Darwin is not the only scientist featured, for the novel sees the invention of both the telephone and automobile become more accessible to rural areas of the country like Fentress. These inventions symbolize modernization slowly encroaching upon the traditional beliefs and ideas held by southern society. When the first telephone is placed in Fentress, for example, the telephone company hires a woman to work as the phone’s operator, paying her a competitive wage and providing her with food and housing. This kind of work was unheard of for women anywhere in the country, let alone in a rural southern town. Callie sees this development and feels empowered by it, and she begins to believe that, as a woman, she should be paid like her brothers when the family works during the harvest season.

Finally, after learning that Callie has begun to doubt that women can be scientists, Granddaddy spends the evening teaching her about the prolific female scientists and their contributions. Callie is overwhelmed by this discovery, having believed herself to be the only female in her “mutant” species. By learning that there are other women like her with a passion for science, Callie feels empowered. She continues to defy social expectations and pursue science against her parents’ wishes.