The Housekeeper and the Professor

CHAPTERS 1-3

Reading Check

1. Because “the flat top of his head reminded him of the square root sign” (Chapter 1)

2. 80 (Chapter 1)

3. They provide a comfortable topic when he is uncertain about what to do or say. (Chapters 1-2)

4. Thinking (Chapter 1)

5. Numbers (Chapter 2)

6. He studied “The Queen of Mathematics.” (Chapter 3)

Short Answer

1. The Professor’s sister-in-law interviews the housekeeper for the job. She reveals to the housekeeper that the Professor has memory loss since an accident 15 years prior; her explanations are emotionless, as if she has explained his condition many times. (Chapter 1)

2. The housekeeper notes that the Professor looks much older than his age of 64; however, there is still a hint of his former handsome appearance. He owns three suits; attached to each by binder clips are notes and reminders on paper in order to compensate for his memory loss. (Chapter 1)

3. The phrase “amicable numbers” refers to a set of numbers that the sum of the factors equal the other number. The professor notes that the dates of the Housekeeper’s birthday and the number on the back of his watch that he won as a prize are “linked to each other by some divine scheme, and how incredible that your birthday and this number on my watch should be just such a pair.” (Chapter 1)

4. The Professor becomes “agitated” when The Housekeeper mentions her son and in particular the independence he has at 10 years old. The Professor expresses concern for the boy’s safety and insists that he come to his house after school to meet his mother as opposed to returning to his house alone. (Chapter 2)

5. The Professor takes great joy in Root’s presence in his house and becomes noticeably sad when Root is with his friends. In particular, the Professor helps Root with his math homework as a patient teacher, emphasizing the importance and respect that numbers have. The housekeeper is pleased with this arrangement, as Root did not have a relationship with his grandmother before she passed away. (Chapter 2)

6. The Professor agrees to fix Root’s radio so that Root can listen to the baseball game if he can find an alternate solution to finding the sum of 1-10 without addition. The Housekeeper spends her nights figuring out the solution; however, Root ultimately pieces together the correct answer. The Professor greets Root’s response warmly and with praise. (Chapter 3)

CHAPTERS 4-6

Reading Check

1. Prime numbers (Chapter 4)

2. “[T]he odd man out” (Chapter 4)

3. Crowds (Chapter 4)

4. Because the Housekeeper did not trust the Professor to stay with him while she was out (Chapter 4)

5. “It’s the young who have to break the old records.” (Chapter 5)

6. The decaying carcass of a fawn (Chapter 6)

Short Answer

1. After Root accidentally cuts his hand while his mother is out, the Housekeeper and the Professor take him to a nearby clinic for stitches. The Professor is visibly shaken by the child’s injury; in an attempt to self-comfort, he explains triangular numbers to the Housekeeper. (Chapter 4)

2. The Housekeeper comes across a tin full of baseball cards of Japanese players, many of them featuring Yutaka Enatsu. She also finds a stack of notebooks with mathematical calculations and notes in the margins. Looking through these items, she uncovers parts of the Professor’s past that are interesting. (Chapter 5)

3. After learning that the Tigers are playing in their city, the Housekeeper decides to take both the Professor and Root to a baseball game since both loved the sport but neither had been to a game before. Root is ecstatic, but initially worried about the Professor. The Professor is intrigued, but also wary of the new environment. In the end, he takes comfort in the statistics and calculations of the game. (Chapter 5)

4. Upon returning from the game, the Housekeeper realizes that the Professor has developed a fever. She decides to stay the night with him to make sure that his health does not worsen. A few days later, after the Professor recovers, the Housekeeper is called into the Director’s office, who informs her that she has been removed from the job because of a complaint from the Professor’s sister-in-law. (Chapter 6)

5. The Housekeeper is reassigned to a couple who own a tax agency, which entails a longer commute and longer working hours. The Housekeeper continually thinks about the Professor; she realizes that the Professor is not inquiring about her or Root as a result of his memory loss. Root must go home alone after school once more and asks why they no longer visit the Professor. (Chapter 6)

CHAPTERS 7-9

Reading Check

1. Prime (Chapter 7)

2. “Eternal truths” (Chapter 7)

3. That his sister-in-law was in the passenger seat at the time of the accident (Chapter 7)

4. To record statistics on the Tigers team and players (Chapter 8)

5. An Enatsu baseball card (Chapter 9)

Short Answer

1. The Housekeeper recalls that the Professor once said, “The mathematical order is beautiful precisely because it has no effect on the real world […]. The only goal is to discover the truth.” The Housekeeper considers these words as she continues her interest in mathematics while at her new job, although she is aware that finding prime numbers would not change the day-to-day reality of her work. (Chapter 7)

2. Euler’s formula is eπi + 1 = 0, indicating that the result of eπi, which is an infinite number, can be equaled to zero once the number 1 is added to the equation. The Housekeeper learns about this formula when she is called by the Professor’s sister-in-law to the house thanks to Root’s spontaneous visit. The Professor writes down this equation, resulting in a sudden change in the sister-in-law’s demeanor. She reinstates the Housekeeper to her former position at the Professor’s house. (Chapter 7)

3. The Professor finishes his proof for the Journal of Mathematics; he does not remember the Housekeeper upon her return from the post office, although she was within the 80-minute time frame. (Chapter 8)

4. The Professor notes that the number zero was invented by an unknown Indian mathematician, contrary to the Greeks’ belief that nothing did not need to be represented by a number. The Professor notes that the number zero allows people to differentiate between two numbers (e.g., 38 and 108) as well as measure items with a ruler. (Chapter 8)

5. While she shows Root the Professor’s secret baseball collection, she discovers the Professor’s thesis from 1957, along with an old photo of him and the sister-in-law, with the words “For N, with my eternal love. Never forget.” (Chapter 9)

CHAPTERS 10-11

Reading Check

1. They celebrated Root’s birthday with the Professor; it would be the last evening they spend together. (Chapter 10)

2. The game on September 11, 1992 (Chapter 11)

3. A middle school mathematics teacher (Chapter 11)

Short Answer

1. Using Root’s birthday as an excuse, the Housekeeper and her son plan a celebration for the Professor to honor the prize he received for his proof. On the day of the event, the Professor is excited for the festivities; however, when Root leaves to obtain candles, he becomes agitated and worried. Finally, when Root returns, his memory has relapsed. (Chapter 10)

2. Two days after the party, the sister-in-law announces that the Professor will be put in a long-term care facility. In the years following, they visit the Professor once a month, Root bringing his baseball glove and playing catch with the Professor. (Chapter 11)