The Rosie Effect

Rosie sends Don out late at night to find smoked mackerel to satisfy a pregnancy craving; she is asleep by the time he returns. He takes a day off to research nutrition and then goes to a playground to watch children. Two policemen approach Don as he is recording children, and point out that it is illegal to be present at a New York playground when not supervising a child. He finds this law an “unfamiliar social protocol” and accidentally offends the police (82), who take him to their station. Another officer interviews him, and he admits he is “somewhat socially incompetent” (84). The officer has a nephew “like Don,” but still has to recommend him for evaluation.

Don prepares Rosie tofu for a nutritious meal, but she wants pizza. He later takes Gene and George out for a boys’ night with Dave, and they agree Don should not tell Rosie about the Playground Incident until he knows the consequences. Gene lectures the group about how evolution influences courtship; George enjoys the evening and agrees to limit his drumming to not annoy Rosie.

Rosie is concerned about the statistics for her thesis but declines Don’s help. He goes to Bellevue for his police-related assessment as a suspected pedophile, where the first assessor believes he is simply a socially awkward person. Social worker Lydia is present and takes over the case. In interviewing Don, she claims his emotional support is insufficient, and that Rosie may be at risk of postnatal depression. She warns him to prove his suitability as a father. He uses the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) to evaluate himself, and decides to indirectly use it on Rosie. Don introduces his PhD assistant, Inge, to his lab and warns her to stay away from Gene.

Don surreptitiously asks Rosie the EPDS questions and deduces she is not at risk of postnatal depression, that “the application of science has provided a definitive answer” (107). She is reassured by his interest in her wellbeing. He exchanges messages with Gene’s wife Claudia to help repair their marriage, and misses her hints that she is seeing someone. Gene suggests that Rosie make plans for her degree program and childcare, but she insists she has plenty of time.

Don consults Gene’s “social skills and manipulative abilities” to handle his evaluation (112). Gene suggests he hire someone to impersonate Rosie in his interview with Lydia. Don updates his bathroom-office wall diagram to represent baby Bud’s gestational development (Week 9). He approaches Dave’s wife, Sonia, about impersonating Rosie. Sonia is outraged by Lydia’s assessment of Don and agrees to the ruse, but he warns her, “I am extremely poor at deception” (116). She affects the personality of an Italian peasant girl at the interview, and Lydia books another appointment for them. Later, she is upset because she thinks Dave is uninterested in fatherhood and works all the time to avoid reality. Sonia encourages Don to take an interest in Rosie and show support.

Don continues to research nutrition, but Rosie wants to eat “normal” food. He thinks she is disorganized, and she says he’s obsessed.

Gene goes out to drink with PhD assistant Inge. Don tries to initiate intimacy with Rosie, but they are interrupted by Gene’s middle-school aged daughter, Eugenie, who calls on Gene’s computer. Don advises Eugenie on how to handle bullying, and shares he learned martial arts to combat his own bullying. He misses his window to spend time with Rosie.