Marked by unprecedented exploration and innovation in science, technology, and social reform, 19th-century British society witnessed groundbreaking discoveries in all fields of study, as figures like Charles Darwin, Mary Anning, and Ada Lovelace challenged conventional wisdom, expanded scientific understanding, and revolutionized prevailing theories about evolution, fossils, and natural phenomena. Though Chevalier’s novel is set 54 years before Darwin’s Origin of the Species, Chevalier situates the book on the precipice of significant ideological change. At the time, new scientific discoveries forced people to shift their worldview; the natural world was where curiosity and exploration led to these revolutionary discoveries. Elizabeth and Mary are characters who, as passionate fossil hunters, are immersed in these discoveries. Elizabeth understands the significance of Mary’s work, saying that “[Mary] was contributing to a new way of thinking about the world” (293). For Mary and Elizabeth, nature inspires deep reverence, curiosity, and appreciation for life’s intricate and mysterious complexities. Nature becomes a place of transformative personal growth, intellectual pursuit, and the source of their enduring legacy as early pioneers of paleontology.

Mary and Elizabeth are characterized by their curiosity, which drives them to explore the natural world and engage with the new ideas that their discoveries engender.