Atmosphere: A Love Story

The relationship between Joan and her younger sister, Barbara, forms a central component of Joan’s emotional journey. Barbara is wild and reckless. As a teen, she became pregnant and miscarried. While attending college at the University of Houston, Barbara became pregnant a second time. Though she didn’t know who the father is, she chose to keep the baby, raising her daughter, Frances, as a single mother. To do so, however, she required Joan’s constant help and attention.

Barbara is self-centered, irresponsible, and needy. She relies heavily on Joan for both her own needs and her daughter’s. At the same time, she places herself in the role of “victim.” Nothing is ever her fault. Every problem is something inflicted on her by outside forces. She wants a comfortable life, which she finds in her wealthy husband Daniel. Despite Joan’s unwavering support, she lashes out at Joan whenever she feels defensive or threatened. As Joan notes, Barbara is “very delicate. If you so much as look at her the wrong way, she might just say the worst things you can think of. And mean each and every one of them” (86).

In addition, Barbara is a neglectful parent to Frances. After she marries, her neglect and emotional abuse toward Frances increases until she relinquishes her parental duties to Joan entirely, revealing that not all ambition and sacrifice is positive or right. In contrast to Joan, Barbara is a static character who doesn’t change or learn any valuable lessons.

Barbara’s daughter, Frances, is six years old at the beginning of the novel, she’s six years old and 10 by the conclusion. Frances is intelligent, friendly, mature, and patient. She looks up to Joan and decides that she too would like to be an astronaut, highlighting the legacy Joan hopes to leave for her and other young girls.

Frances knows that her mother resents her presence. She often asks to stay with Joan, but she rarely explicitly complains about her mother’s neglect and emotional abuse, demonstrating a sense of acceptance and resignation about the situation. As she grows older and more aware, she rebels and fights with Barbara and Barbara’s new husband, Daniel. Frances felt unloved and unwanted with Barbara and fears being a burden to Joan. The love between Joan and Frances, and Joan’s decision to take responsibility for her, highlight the importance of belonging, not only among blood family but chosen family as well.

The second major character in the novel is Vanessa, whose perspective takes center stage in the four chapters titled “December 29, 1984.” Joan’s love interest, Vanessa has curly brown hair and light brown eyes. Joan compares her to Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke. Vanessa is a commercial pilot and aeronautics engineer. She wants to pilot a NASA shuttle but fears that she’ll never be permitted to do so because NASA only allows military pilots (therefore, men) to become NASA pilots. She struggles against this gender discrimination throughout the novel.

Vanessa’s father was a military pilot who died during a mission in the Korean War when she was six years old. Throughout her teen years, she felt lost and threw herself into dangerous situations in response, including petty theft, heavy drinking, and illegal drug use. Her father’s friend Bill saved her by teaching her how to fly. She feels most at peace with herself and the world when flying.

Unlike Joan, Vanessa is aware of and comfortable with her sexuality, and Joan’s self-blindness frustrates her in the middle part of the novel. Though Vanessa isn’t the protagonist and her character arc is of secondary importance to Joan’s, she experiences growth that significantly contributes to The Relationship Between Ambition and Sacrifice as a theme. Throughout the novel, her greatest ambition is to fly in space and become a shuttle pilot. This is her top priority until Joan reveals that their relationship has been discovered and breaks up with Vanessa to save her career. At this point, Vanessa decides that she would rather give up her lifelong ambition than sacrifice her relationship and future with Joan, marking a momentous shift in her priorities and character development.

Among the first fellow astronaut candidates that Joan meets and befriends is John Griffin, whom everyone calls Griff. He, Joan, and Donna form a close-knit friendship within the larger circle of candidates. Griff is, like Joan, a mission specialist. He came from a New England prep school where he was “valedictorian, class president, and captain of the lacrosse team” (32). He’s friendly and accepting of the women candidates, routinely sticking up for them against sexist comments, in stark contrast to the pilot candidates, such as Jimmy Hayman.

As Griff and Joan spend time together, it becomes clear that he has feelings for her, though Joan pretends not to notice. When she finally rejects him, he accepts it with grace and understanding, realizing that she’s attracted to Vanessa long before Joan does, and after a period of adjustment, Griff and Joan remain close friends. Joan’s relationship with Griff underscores the different kinds of love she feels: She doesn’t have romantic feelings for him but does love and trust him. He’s part of the family she finds at NASA that gives her a sense of belonging. Griff dies during the crisis aboard the Navigator.

Another astronaut candidate that Joan meets and befriends is Donna. She has blue eyes and dark brown hair. Like Griff, she’s a mission specialist, specifically an emergency care physician. She’s close friends with Joan. Early in their astronaut training, Donna begins a secret relationship with Hank, which they both know could injure her career as an astronaut.

After they complete training and earn their silver astronaut pins, Donna and Hank officially announce their engagement. They marry and have a daughter named Thea in October 1984, which means that Donna won’t be approved for a spaceflight for a long time. Through Donna’s relationship with Hank, Joan eventually realizes that love and marriage need not necessarily lessen a woman’s life and personality but strengthen and increase it.

A mission specialist in the astronaut candidate program, Lydia is a trauma surgeon, which she believes makes her better than Donna, who is a “mere” emergency care physician. Lydia is a foil to Joan. She’s rude, self-important, and ruthlessly competitive. She often laughs at the men’s crude jokes and sexist comments, especially Jimmy’s, because she believes that she must ingratiate herself to the men and play their politics to succeed.

In addition, Lydia believes that she’s the smartest, most hardworking, and best woman in the group, and should therefore be first for a spaceflight. She’s therefore baffled when Joan is chosen ahead of her. Only through Joan does she learn that her competitiveness and desire to be the best is the very thing that injures her cause. During the crisis on the Navigator, she proves that she has become a team player when she nearly dies trying to find and stop the leak to save everyone’s lives.

A pilot in the astronaut candidate program, Hank is from Texas and treats everyone with southern charm and politeness. Like Griff, he accepts and respects the women candidates. He particularly likes Joan because she’s brilliant but doesn’t act better than him like the other scientists do. He often helps Joan gain her flight hours and even lets her fly from the backseat, unlike some other pilots. He marries Donna and they have a baby daughter, Thea. He dies during the crisis aboard the Navigator.