#bioshock infinte spoilers ahead please read at your own discretion!
What I find fascinating between the Lutece’s, is Rosalind is actually probably more pragmatic because she has undoubtedly struggled immensely as an intellectual, unmarried woman in the late 1800’s/early1900’s. It’s likely why she refers to her childhood fantasy about parallel realities as The Beginning of a Nightmare for her Mother. Until Rosalind became successful in the field of physics, I can only imagine that her Mother was terrified of her intelligence, and her unwillingness to settle down with a man*. Rosalind would presumably prefer to stay single in order to avoid being relinquished from her work. A child to a woman like her in that particular era would only serve as a burden, and prevent her from the elevation and respect in Sciences she eventually got.
Before she suspended the Atom indefinitely, I can’t even imagine how much Rosalind had to fight to independently develop her technology, patent it, and -still- be historically recognized as it’s inventor. Especially given the fact that her gender would have only constantly worked against her in the Scientific field. I think in this respect, Robert probably never really had to struggle. He’s a tall, handsome white man with nice teeth and an education. He probably gets rewarded for just existing, period.
Being Rosalind came with a lot of learned cleverness and ingenuity – by necessity in order to survive in her chosen career. I presume she had to be very aggressive and settle for being considered “A cold bitch” and whatever abusive terminology existed for business-minded women who were not receptive to male advances. She is probably someone who was forced to be clever and cruel in order to succeed, which may contribute to why seems very disaffected by using Elizabeth as an experiment.
She has no room for maternity in her heart and she never seems to show a lot of open remorse; This is a stark contrast compared to Tenenbaum, who grew to despise herself because of what she had put the Little Sisters through. (of course, perhaps the Lutece’s jumping dimensions and time to set Booker on his path is some disconnected gesture of remorse for the death and destruction their technology led the various Columbias)
Ultimately, I see Rosalind as a woman who was forced to be clever, and had no choice but to vastly outdo her male peers, her male seniors, etcetera. I think this is why she is so cold and assertive compared to Robert who is still very intelligent, but clearly the more submissive party between the two of them. That isn’t to say I don’t think Robert is also confident and aggressive when he needs to be.
I don’t think there is a stark difference in their personalities(clearly there isn’t), but rather their experiences that divide their outlooks and willingness by degrees. Rosalind is probably used to having to quietly dominate over men in general, and this extends even to Robert. She likely had a fierce competitive streak until Comstock invested in Columbia and she didn’t need to worry about recognition anymore. Being around Robert draws this out of her again and it’s why they bicker constantly: They are each other, they have both invented and been rewarded for their technology but they can’t stop competing scientifically with each other.
Rosalind’s brow-beaten need to dominate is probably why Robert wears the chalkboards, and why he comically mopes if you choose the cage brooch instead of the bird. It’s why at the beginning of the game, he’s the one rowing the boat while Rosalind argues semantics with him, sarcastic and irritated because Robert gave his ultimatum and she buckled under it’s terms. It’s definitely the harshest we ever see her be with him.
Robert has probably been afforded respect a'plenty from day one. I think it probably accounts for his willingness to see their experiment through with a sense of neutrality, whereas Rosalind feels as though it probably can’t do anything except go sideways. Compared to Rosalind, Robert is downright optimistic in this regard.
Rosalind has had to deal with all kinds of bullshit just to maintain respect among men as a scientist and she has probably endured a lot of disappointment and ridicule. She has probably more often than not, had to plan for the worst while carefully preparing for the best. Her radar for damaging outcomes is much more clearly honed than Robert’s because she’s spent her entire life planning around them in order to gain respect and stay successful. This is why she sees King Lear. Robert feels it could go either way, which is why he sees a Blank Page, waiting to be filled. He likely hopes it goes well.
Robert struggles do not match Rosalind’s verbatim in spite of being parallels. He hasn’t endured the basic realities of simply being a female in day-to-day life. I highly doubt his interest in physics was seen as abnormal for his gender by his Mother. He hasn’t had to strive to be recognized because no male professor or scientist would take him seriously.
He has likely been taken seriously and respected his entire life. I imagine when he managed to suspend atoms indefinitely, his intelligence was not seen as the same threat Rosalind’s would have been. I can’t imagine a man who stands with such poise and confidence, and looks as great in a suit as he does being anything less than rewarded simply for existing.
It’s things like this that sometimes make me wonder why Robert chose to step into Rosalind’s Columbia instead of trying to coerce her into entering his own. I wonder if they debated the subject and Rosalind had to make a brilliant case in order to win him over. I also wonder what kind of new respect Robert felt for Rosalind when he did cross over into her Columbia and was assaulted with her memories. Once his nose stopped bleeding, I wonder how it altered his opinion of women in general.
*Rosalind is never shown to have married in her life and so I assume she would be aggressively single, especially in the absence of hormonal birth control
titsay
tangentwithtanner
pixelskylines
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