Elsie and Cece’s apartment

Elsie first describes her and Cece’s apartment in Chapter 2: “We’re overeducated and too poor to survive—as evidenced by our crappy apartment, full of exposed wiring and scary spiders that look like the love children of murder hornets and coconut crabs. If we had a sitcom-like group of friends, we’d hold an asbestos-removal party. Sadly, it’s just us. And the barely avoided scurvy” (31). These coconut crabs are frequently referenced throughout the novel and are synonymous with Elsie’s poverty. Elsie’s decision to remain living with Cece despite Jack’s offer to have her move into his place reflects her loyalty to her best friend.

MIT

Jack works at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT. According to him, 60% of the physicists who work there or theoretical ones. There are far more men there than women. Elsie hopes to work...