The Other Einstein: A novel

The Other Einstein (2016) by Marie Benedict is a work of historical fiction that portrays a lesser known but important historical figure: physicist Mileva Einstein, Albert Einstein’s first wife. Benedict uses published accounts from Einstein’s correspondence as well as the journals and letters of those who knew him well to develop her novel’s plot points, characterization, and themes. Informed by this research, The Other Einstein presents a fictionalized version of Mileva’s life and is narrated in first person from her point of view. This narrative voice takes the reader into a complicated story of self-discovery, scientific passion, and feminist struggles. The Other Einstein is the first in Benedict’s historical fiction series honoring forgotten women of history and women with extraordinary achievements. Her novels have been translated into 29 languages.

This guide quotes the 2016 Sourcebooks Landmark edition of The Other Einstein.

Plot Summary

Mileva Maric is a gifted young woman whose aptitude for mathematics and physics earns her a coveted spot in a prestigious university in Switzerland. The novel opens in 1896, when women were typically not allowed to pursue higher education. Mileva moves from Serbia to Switzerland to attend school, but she must prove herself equal to men in a sexist and patriarchal society. Upon her arrival, Mileva is immediately impressed by the like-minded young women in her boardinghouse, who pursue academia without shame and with sisterly support. On her first day of class, she meets a young man named Albert Einstein, who pursues her for her brilliance.

As her first year of school in Switzerland continues, Mileva develops deep friendships with the other women at the pension. She also develops a friendship with Einstein and his group of male friends, including the engineer Michele Besso. Mileva starts to feel torn between her group of female friends and her growing affection for  Einstein. In the 19th century, there are few, if any, role models for women who pursue both marriage and career. Einstein admits he has feelings for Mileva and kisses her. Scared of her feelings for him and worried that she will lose her career over a man, Mileva decides to spend a term auditing classes in Germany to avoid him. However, when she returns to her university in Zürich, they officially start dating.

Because of Mileva’s term in Germany, Einstein graduates before she does. He has a difficult time securing a good job because his reputation with his professors is fraught; they find him uncouth and unorthodox. Meanwhile, the relationship deepens, and the couple has sex, resulting in Mileva’s first pregnancy. Because neither family approves of their union and Einstein is unemployed, Mileva returns to Serbia to hide her pregnancy and give birth. She fails her final exams, shutting down her prospects for elite research jobs, but her exams are not her only problem. Einstein is with his family and produces many excuses to avoid visiting Serbia to meet Mileva’s parents and keep her company throughout her pregnancy. Six months after she gives birth to their daughter, Lieserl, Einstein still has not visited or met the baby. He writes to Mileva asking her to join him in Switzerland; he finally found employment at a patent office. Mileva reluctantly leaves her infant daughter with her parents and moves back to Switzerland, where she and Einstein finally get married. When news reaches her that Lieserl is ill with scarlet fever, Mileva rushes back to Serbia to care for her. Einstein still hasn’t met his child and forbids Mileva to send for her now that they’re married. Lieserl dies at one-and-one-half years old, but Mileva is forced to return to Einstein in Switzerland because she is pregnant again.

On the train ride back to Switzerland, thinking deeply about her grief and the nature of time, Mileva constructs the beginning stages of the theory of relativity.

Mileva and Einstein enjoy a temporary period of happiness when she gives birth to their son, Hans Albert. During this time, the Einsteins work as a couple, researching and writing papers for publication. Though Mileva originates the theory of relativity, Einstein arranges for her name to be left off the publication. This betrayal—the first of many—begins a long period of strife. He leaves Mileva’s name off all their collaborative projects, and she ends up becoming a full-time housewife. The family later includes their second son, Eduard, who is often ill. Further harming their embittered relationship, Einstein starts an affair with his cousin Elsa. Mileva finds it difficult to leave him because, as a woman in the early 20th century, she has little recourse to survive life after divorce. Swiftly, Mileva loses sight of the life she once dreamed of. Her world becomes limited to caring for her children and her difficult husband while his fame increases in the science community.

As her husband’s fame increases, so does his cruelty towards Mileva. When they move to Berlin for a prestigious job, his affair with Elsa becomes a major source of problems in the marriage. Mileva refuses to be his disrespected maid any longer, and they divorce. She moves back to Zürich with her sons and finds work tutoring young female scientists.