Vivian’s entry:
I was able to photograph one of my most beloved possessions earlier: my calculator. This magical piece of machinery is my best friend most times. Without this, working would be much more challenging and time consuming. I prefer to work with it, as it will help through the more basic calculations because I have never been good at arithmetic. Spending most of my time with it in my presence gives the perception that this calculator is my best, and only, companion. Well, I do not aspire to have friends or a husband, but to work, so maybe it is my dearest companion. If I desire a rest, I'll open a book, but I would never go out seeking social interaction. My mother hates this of course, but surely she does not think I am going to follow in her career path. She gave me an education, which I am extremely grateful for, so I must use that education. No one who has learned mathematics should be expected to make the home for the rest of her life. My application should be up to no one’s decision but my own. She, also, does not understand why I love mathematics so much, but to her I say, is your inquiry because it is not a person? I know I am not the daughter she has always wanted, but as a mother, she was never there for me so why should I strive to make her happy? From now on, I must live my life to live up to expectations held to me by my own standards. Maybe it is true freedom that I have been searching for. No having to communicate with mother and her friends. Just a solitary life.
Historian’s entry:
This calculator is a rapid calculator from the 1890s. It can be assumed that Vivian is a female mathematician working under someone as around this time, it is not often that you see a woman working in this field. Calculators looked like the one Vivian used from the 1820s with slight advancements along the way until the 1950s where the bigger calculators were invented and installed to help with bigger projects such as the moon landing (Ribeiro). There was less of a role for calculators because it was not known whether such achievements would be able to be made with only certain technology. As mentioned in the entry, this calculator was very important to this writer because she was so devoted to her work and her studies. She, also, would have had to come from some money or worked and saved up for this calculator because it is not inexpensive, especially for the time period. Accordng to an inflation calculator, this calculator costed 100 dollars in the 1890s which in today's currency means the calculator would cost 3,373.9 dollars (Inflation Calculator). Because Vivian does not have the same goals in life that her mother would like her to have or that other women in society have, she can put her earnings into her interests. Though, with the protest from Mrs. Warren, there may be jealousy in this mother-daughter relationship. Mrs. Warren may be projecting onto Vivian because Vivian is living a life Mrs Warren could only dream of. Therefore, with Vivian being so set in her way, there is no pressure to save up for a family and a husband because she is rejecting those popular aspects of society.
Ribeiro, Ricky. “The History of Calculators: Evolution of the Calculator (Timeline).” EdTech Magazine, 10 July 2023
“Inflation Rate between 1890-2023: Inflation Calculator.” Value of 1890 Dollars Today | Inflation Calculator, 2023 www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1890. Accessed 11 Oct. 2023.
“Rapid Calculator.” National Museum of American History, 2023 americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1393362. Accessed 12 Oct. 2023.