The play, Silent Sky, follows the narrative of a 30-year old woman named Henrietta Leavitt and attempts to mirror Henrietta 's personal challenges with the obstacles that most women, in the early 1900s, had to undergo. Henrietta Leavitt can be considered the protagonist because she seems to have a set goal and she experiences the most substantial change, throughout the play 's entirety. She is first introduced as a small-town girl from Wisconsin with big ambitions but, gradually, as the story progresses, she morphs into a most valuable contributor to the field of Astronomy. Not only does her status and position in society change during the play, but she also learns many life lessons and achieves her goals. The character, Henrietta Leavitt, …show more content…
It 's good money for women 's work.
HENRIETTA. It 's volunteering.
PETER. What are you asking for Miss Leavitt? (Annie and Williamina enter, unnoticed.)
HENRIETTA. That I might fully engage in ideas here?
PETER. Other than doing the work you 've been hired to do?
HENRIETTA. Other than, pardon me, do your math. Now when may I use the telescope?
PETER. (Flustered not dismissive) Well. You can 't. (Henrietta is too shocked to answer. Annie clears her throat.) (1.2 82-88, pg 17).
This dialogue between Peter and Henrietta shows the readers that Henrietta is not only barely getting paid for her labor but, also not allowed to do something as simple as look through a telescope because of her gender. As trivial as the matter seems, it affects the progress of Henrietta achieving her dream.
Then, the protagonist attempts to fix her problem by devoting herself to her work entirely and conduct her own research in addition to her normal work responsibilities. Miss Leavitt starts to notice blinking in Cepheid stars while conducting her normal work and asks permission from her supervisor to stay overtime to research them. An example from the script reads:
ANNIE. May I see what you sit here all night