Moderately Odd

it's really interesting looking back at both iterations of the story and how stratt and grace's rapport hinges on unrequitedness. there's obviously the karaoke scene in the movie acting as grace's bid for human connection vs stratt's necessary refusal in order to do her job. the book rarely if ever interrogates stratt's interpersonal relationships in the project and how her sense of duty and utilitarianism extends to them (well, aside from grace. more on that in a sec). She's a History major and an administrator and She Loves Humanity, but it's a characteristic that when analyzed deeper rings pretty hollow (possibly because the author thinks social analysis/critique in science fiction is stupid and thus doesn't exactly have much to say about People like someone in the humanities would. SAD!) so that's an addition to her character from the movie that i'm deeply pleased about. what i don't like as much is that the bid for connection starts from grace.

because book stratt and grace? the one sidedness of their rapport is the driving emotional conflict of the entire pre-launch plotline—and of grace's character development throughout the whole book.

like most scientists on the team, grace was brought onto the project by force, but he's the only one who fulfilled his purpose, was allowed to return to his own life, and then came back of his own volition, out of a sense of personal duty and responsibility. which is the reason stratt takes him back on! and why she begins to rely on him more and more, as an administrator, as a mediator, as a scientist, as an advisor. she has all the more reason to do that when she discovers he's coma resistant, but she was already doing all that baby!

grace spends the rest of their relationship half-assing that sense of responsibility. one thing i adore about book phm is how merciless it is with grace's "modesty" "insecurity" and "social anxiety". children are easy to dote on. they're not stupid, obviously, but on an interpersonal level they're not your equal, they have no way to actually demand accountability from you and call your ass out. he doesn't actually think he's a failure, he's not blind he should know damn well he's not like the other scientists. "science lapdog", "ooo i'm just a little guy cmonnnn i'm just a middle school teacher", he downplays his own importance because if he genuinely grappled with the level of responsibility she holds him to towards the people in the project he'd run like a fucking dog.

#eva stratt is in possibly the loneliest position of power anyone has ever filled#she has the weight of the entire world on her back and ryland grace storms into her lab and demands he shares part of that load and when no#one else will do IT HAS TO BE HIM he fucking bails out on her#of course she is anything but an idealist so she knew perfectly well this was a possibility and prepared for it in advance#but the personal betrayal remains. how she didn't rip his throat out is beyond me i would've wrung his neck like a goose

Yes to OP. I love your read of Eva Stratt and I agree that neither the book nor the film explains her perfectly. The film shows much more emotion and in a sense Eva Stratt is more likable. I loved the talk on the deck and the karaoke scene. But the book shows more of her workings and the choices she needs to make. There, she is like a frog in a slowly boiling pot, every decision making it harder for her to turn around (not that she was ever going to deny the call to action).

Book or film, her story is a tragedy. Not in a sad way, but in the sense that it was always going to end this way for her. Readers always knew she would do anything to succeed. Watchers always knew that she wasn't afraid to send astronauts to their death. It's an old song, it's a sad song, it's a tragedy.

Yes to 'Grace came back willingly to help, which is why Stratt trusts him'. Lokken and I imagine quite a few other people came there because they were either forced or because they felt like they 'had to' help the project (this also include Stratt herself in my opinion). In the book she has him join her on her strange quests to help her understand the science (see the meeting with Lokken or Redell). But the most telling moment is the conversation when Stratt decides to go for the coma-resistant astronauts; she already knows what she needs to do, but she wants Grace's input. And straight up: such an important decision just shouldn't be shouldered by one human. That is just unfair to said human. And who does she go to?

Yes to 'He would run like a fucking dog if he stood still and thought about responsibility'. Grace has these mental gymnastics On Lock! It is amazing how much impostor syndrome and avoidant behaviour one narrator can contain. When they blow up Antarctica in the book, Grace has this peculiar moment: Stratt Leclerc and him are standing on the Vatt staring at the ice. Grace stares at Stratt and Leclerc and thinks that these two have 'the greatest authoroty and power invested in them in the whole world'… Grace does not understand that Stratt would not have done that had he told her it wasn't worth it. There are three powerfull people standing on that deck and Grace doesn't even know it.

Yes to 'she wants them to be equals and she wants him to understand'. People have verbally fought Stratt all through the book. Lokken, Leclerc, Redell, the whole piracy debacle, every world leader and politician and most of all Grace himself. YET, there is only one person she ever listens to. Three guesses who. She wants to be on equal footing with him, but I also think she knows he cannot meet her there. Grace is willing to help in his own way, but he cannot shoulder the responsibility that Stratt is carrying. Stratt cannot go and meet him halfway, her position as director does not allow that. In the end she is BEGGING him to agree and understand.

Yes, by the end of the project Grace is doing much more than just teaching the astronauts. Yes, the others see him as a second in command. Yes, he has been present for every major meeting. But I don't believe for ONE second that Stratt has given him more than he could carry. And do I think that is because Grace is perfect and could do anything? OH HELL NO. Grace freaks out when faced with too much responsibility. Which tells me that Eva Stratt knew EXACTLY what she could give to him. Which means that she knew he could not help her shoulder the heavier things. She knows he would have refused and I wonder if that ever made her feel lonely.