How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Renfrew left the house and mounted his bicycle. Already he was sloughing off the family man, his thoughts reaching ahead to the lab, the day's instructions to the technicians, the coming interview with Peterson. (1.30)
Wow, we're not a whole chapter into the story and already Renfrew is having difficulties balancing his life as a scientist and a family man. Right now, he seems able to flip it on and off like a switch, but care to take a guess how long that will last?
Quote #2
Huh?" The image of his mother frowning at the thinly clad girls on Girard distracted him.
"She asked if I was the cleaning lady."
"Oh."
"You haven't told her we're living together, have you?"
A pause. "I will."
Penny made a humorless smile. "Why haven't you already?" (7.10-15)
Gordon's family difficulties are different than Renfrew's. Whereas Renfrew has been in a serious relationship for a while and is a father, Gordon is in his first serious relationship and it still has that new car smell. With that said, their task of balancing work and family life will prove to have more in common than it seems to have on the surface.
Quote #3
So what guidance could he give Johnny? "See here, son, remember one thing—don't take any advice." He could see Johnny's eyes widen and the boy reply, "But that's silly, Daddy. If I take your advice, I'm doing the opposite of what you say." Renfrew smiled. Paradoxes sprouted everywhere. (10.75)
It is tempting to see Renfrew-as-scientist and Renfrew-as-family-man as two different sides to the same man, but as this quote makes clear, he cannot separate these two qualities of his personality. They all mix together to create the character of Renfrew.
Quote #4
"I can understand why." Behind Peterson's blandly smiling exterior he calculated. He had only one evening. Did they have an open marriage? How direct an approach would she tolerate? How to broach the subject with Kiefer there? (11.113)
The concept of family is one of give and take in the novel. At their best, Renfrew provides for Marjorie while Marjorie also provides for Renfrew—be it money, meals, or support. So it makes sense that someone as self-serving as Peterson wouldn't have a family. In fact, he will attempt to take from another's family to serve his own desires.
Quote #5
Cliff and Laos and the sense in Cliff's words of things real and important, muddy and grim—the thoughts chewed at him, all churned together in the layer of fog with Penny and his distant, inevitable mother. Experimental physics seemed a toy, no better than a crossword puzzle, beside these things. (13.118)
In the "Symbols" section, we discuss how the shelving Renfrew makes is a symbol for perspective in regards to truth. Here, Gordon feels something similar, only instead of pertaining to truth, his views shift to decide that maybe family is more important than the toy of experimental physics. Momentarily anyway….
Quote #6
Gordon lay back on the bed, spouting a resigned whoosh of disbelief. "Penny, I know you think I'm some sort of New York communist, but I fail to see—"
"I'm late already. Linda invited me to this cocktail party for Goldwater, and I'm going. You want to go?"
"Good God, no."
"Okay, I'm going."
"You're a literature student who's for Goldwater? Come on."
"I know I don't fit your stereotypes, but that's your problem, Gordon." (16.163-168)
Here's a bit of irony in Gordon's character. As a scientist, he is willing to think outside the box and explore ideas that are beyond the comprehension of others, but as a family man, he wants those around him to fit into nice little boxes, clearly marked and stored in their proper place.
Quote #7
"And I'm sick of spending the evening alone and half the night, for the matter." She rose to her feet, confronting him.
"Marjorie, I'm sorry, my dear. I hadn't realized… Look, I'll stay home tonight, if you feel that strongly about it. I thought… I mean, I know I've neglected you of late but this work means an awful lot to me—it's vitally important, Marjorie." (21.114-15)
Renfrew has been having a hard time balancing his work and family life and the balance has definitely shifted here. We're sure staying home that evening will solve the problem, though… right?
Quote #8
They had been tense with each other since the marriage thing came up. Maybe a short separation would help. Let the whole subject drift downstream into the past. (27.35)
Good luck with that, Gordon old boy. The past doesn't drift into the past to clear the way for the future—in Timescape, the past directly influences the direction of the future. It crops up in the ecological disasters of 1998, and you can bet it'll creep up again in Gordon's relationship.
Quote #9
"God, John, sometimes I feel as if you'd been away for months. The chickens were stolen weeks ago. All of them. And I know I told you. As for the vegetables, am I supposed to go slopping around there in the rain looking for a leftover potato or two? It's the end of September. The garden's a swamp now anyway." (36.50)
Checking in with Renfrew again, turns out that night off didn't really solve the problem. The balance in Renfrew's life between his family life and his work has tipped completely toward work. He didn't even know the chickens were stolen? Poor Mrs. Cluckles.
Quote #10
Marjorie lay up ahead, no doubt frightened to be alone. He remembered her preserves on the uncompromising straight shelving, and smiled. They could eat those for some time. Have some easy meals together, as they did in the days before the children. They would soon have to go to the countryside and get Johnny and Nicky, of course. (45.32)
Ultimately, Renfrew does decide to submit to the inevitable, forgo his experiment, and spend the rest of his (limited) days with his family. But it's hard to say he found a balance, seeing as he can't pursue his work any further. So do you think the novel believes a balance is possible? Or is it suggesting that family and a passion for one's work are incompatible?