{"id":151146,"date":"2024-03-26T11:06:42","date_gmt":"2024-03-26T09:06:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.nli.org.il\/?p=151146"},"modified":"2024-06-25T11:24:48","modified_gmt":"2024-06-25T08:24:48","slug":"janet_asimov","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blognli2026.moonsite.co.il\/en\/janet_asimov\/","title":{"rendered":"I, Woman: Janet Asimov Tells Her Story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“One of the deepest desires of a human being is to be known and understood.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this sentence, Janet Asimov begins the very personal epilogue she attached to her husband Isaac Asimov\u2019s biography, which she edited. In trying to describe Isaac’s fascinating life story, she may have been telling us a little something about herself as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did she feel like the world knew her? Understood her?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you search for “Janet Asimov” in the National Library of Israel\u2019s online catalog, you will only find a handful of results. One is It\u2019s Been a Good Life<\/a><\/em>, Isaac Asimov\u2019s biography which she edited. Another is a small Hebrew edition of the book Norby, the Mixed-Up Robot<\/a><\/em>,with an old-fashioned-looking cover where their names appear side by side: “Janet and Isaac Asimov\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We will come back to this book later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Whatsapp
The Hebrew edition of Norby, the Mixed-Up Robot<\/a><\/em> can be loaned at the National Library of Israel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This selection, of course, is far from an accurate reflection of the scope or quality of her literary work, most of which the publishers in Israel chose not to translate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Janet Opal Asimov (n\u00e9e Jeppson) was a doctor of medicine, as well as a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, long before she began writing. Her written work incorporated quite a bit from her professional training, which she used to raise issues of identity, self-determination, and consciousness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In May 1966, she had her first story published. It was a short mystery story that was sold to a publication called The Saint<\/em>. Eight years later, her first science fiction novel, The Second Experiment<\/em>, was published. Since then, she never stopped writing and publishing \u2013 novels, novellas, short stories, anthologies, and essays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While working on her budding writing career, Janet was also extremely busy with other matters. She had a full-time job at the William Alanson White Institute of Psychiatry, Psychoanalysis & Psychology, published many medical articles, and also fell in love with and married a quite well-known man named Isaac Asimov.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She first met Isaac in 1956. She was still a psychiatry intern at Bellevue Hospital, and he was already a famous author. Janet attended a convention for science fiction fans and went to get an autograph from Asimov, who was cold toward her. At the time, Isaac was suffering from kidney stones, and Janet got the impression that he was not a pleasant person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They met again three years later, at a festive dinner honoring mystery writers hosted by Veronica Parker Johnson. They were seated next to each other, and this time they immediately clicked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Janet and Isaac kept in touch, even though he was still married to his first wife, Gertrude Blugerman – the mother of his two children. In 1970 he separated from his wife and moved in with Janet. The divorce proceedings took three years, and in 1973, when the process was officially completed, Asimov and Janet got married in a modest ceremony at their home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Isaac Asimov was a proud Jew. He insisted, for example, that the Hebrew translations of his books use his Hebrew name, Yitzchak. For some reason, the Israeli publishers managed to get away with using the name \u05d9. \u05d0\u05e1\u05d9\u05de\u05d5\u05d1 (“Y. Asimov”) on the covers until the seventies, when they all decided to completely ignore his request and he remained \u05d0\u05d9\u05d9\u05d6\u05e7  (“Isaac”, not “Yitzchak”) to his Israeli readers. Janet, on the other hand, had Mormon roots. But this inter-religious connection was not an issue for them. They were both humanists, and their marriage ceremony was based not on religion but rather on ethical principles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the day they moved in together, Janet began playing an active role in her husband’s work. She was writing science fiction before she met him, with her stories mostly published under the name “Janet O. Jeppson”, but now she had begun to collaborate with one of the most prolific, original, and famous writers in the genre. While continuing her work as a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, she edited many of his works (including his autobiographical books), co-authored many of his essays, and the two even wrote several non-fiction works together.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Jjjjj\"
How to Enjoy Writing<\/em>, not just science fiction – one of the non-fiction books that Janet and Isaac Asimov wrote together<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Isaac loved Janet and valued her writing and her opinions. “My letters to you are first drafts,” he once wrote to her, “\u2026and I leave it to you to get past the maunderings and potterings and see my meaning. In fact, it is very wonderful to be able to leave it to you to do that \u2013in full confidence and trust.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But even if Isaac felt that she was a partner in his creation, as far as the world was concerned, she often disappeared in his shadow. He was the star of this relationship. Her own stories, good as they were, got a bit lost in the oblivion of literary history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s go back for a moment to the little book we found in the collections of the National Library of Israel: this one slim book, 107 pages in all, might be able to demonstrate more than anything else how Janet was overlooked due to the fame of her husband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Norby, the Mixed-Up Robot<\/em> was the first book in a series of twelve that describe the adventures of an independent-minded robot named Norby and a young fellow by the name of Jeff who had the privilege of being his owner. This is a children’s science fiction series full of things that today have become commonplace in children’s literature and film. Back then, these were still relatively new, and truly awesome inventions and literary innovations: space shuttles and interstellar “jumps”, ancient dragons, aliens, computers that run the household, flying transportation, and most of all – robots that transcend their basic programming and develop independent personalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are funny, light, and captivating stories and it is a shame that only the first book in the series was translated into Hebrew. But Isaac Asimov, whose name appears on the cover as one of the writers, hardly had anything to do with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to his own testimony, these were Janet’s stories. At the request of the publisher, Isaac intervened a bit in the editing just so that his name could appear on the cover \u2013 purely for marketing reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\u05d4\u05d9\u05e4\u05e8\u05e1\u05e4\u05d9\u05d9\u05e1\"
The cover of one of Janet Asimov’s books, The Package in Hyperspace<\/em>, an accessible science fiction book for children \u2013 that did appear under her name<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

If Janet was hurt or felt disrespected by this request, she never let on. Her relationship with Isaac seems to have remained strong and loving. They had their share of arguments. Life at home was not always easy, but they didn\u2019t hold grudges and stayed dedicated and loyal to each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1983, Isaac Asimov underwent a bypass surgery that was ostensibly a success, but from that day on, his health began to deteriorate. The doctors couldn\u2019t understand the connection between the various symptoms he began to develop, but Janet, who was a doctor herself, had an idea. She asked them to test him for HIV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prejudiced doctors initially objected to testing for the virus, which in those years was considered a source of terrible shame and almost complete social isolation. But she insisted, and the test results proved her right, much to her great sorrow. Asimov contracted the virus from blood transfusions he received during his bypass surgery. At the time, this diagnosis was a death sentence and all that was left to do was to wait and see when it would be carried out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Janet left her job at the William Alanson White Institute and devoted her time to caring for her husband. She fed him in his sick bed and also took care of other matters of interest, like their joint writing, completing essays he was unable to finish, and editing drafts and letters so that they would be fit to print.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About a year before his death, he wrote the book Asimov Laughs Again<\/a><\/em>, and in the summary of the manuscript he added the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m afraid that my life has just about run its course and I don\u2019t really expect to live much longer [\u2026] In my life, I have had Janet and I have had my daughter, Robyn, and my son, David; I have had a large number of good friends; I have had my writing and the fame and fortune it has brought me; and no matter what happens to me now, it\u2019s been a good life, and I am satisfied with it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He died with Janet and his daughter by his side. Janet used to say that the last sentence he said was “I love you too.”<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Isaac
Janet and Isaac Asimov. Photo: Jay Kay Klein<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

After his death, she continued both their joint work and her independent writing. She went back to publishing science fiction novels under the name Janet O. Jeppson, but she didn\u2019t abandon Isaac’s legacy: For a while, she took over writing the popular science column he used to write, she edited two biographical books of his writings \u2013 one of which she entitled It\u2019s Been a Good Life<\/em> – and she even edited his 400th essay in Fantasy and Science Fiction<\/em> entitled “A Way of Thinking” from letters he wrote to her and fragments of drafts he left behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the objections of his doctors, she insisted on publicizing the cause of his death, and she did so, albeit belatedly, in the epilogue to the book It\u2019s Been a Good Life<\/em>. She believed that this would help in the fight against prejudices, stigmas and the lack of awareness that surrounded HIV and claimed so many lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Janet passed away in 2019, at the age of 92. Most reports about her death referred to her as \u201cIsaac Asimov’s widow”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here and there, some websites or science fiction magazines also mentioned her own writing. In one of them, Don Kaye wrote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Janet Asimov, one half of one of science fiction literature\u2019s great power couples, has passed beyond the realm of human understanding.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What would have happened if Janet Opal Jeppson hadn\u2019t become half of this couple? What would have happened if she hadn’t met Isaac Asimov? Did we lose another Ursula K. Le Guin because Janet Asimov didn’t have the freedom or space to develop her own unique style and language? Or did Asimov act as a close mentor who improved her writing and opened up a whole world to her?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We won’t get answers to these questions, but even without them we can say that it’s a shame that history doesn’t remember her enough, and it’s a shame that more of her work wasn\u2019t translated into Hebrew. She was an excellent writer who combined humor and flowing plotlines with great psychological and human questions, and she deserves to be recognized as Janet Opal Jeppson, a writer in her own right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Both were writers, both were doctors – she in psychiatry, he in chemistry. But does the name Janet Opal ring a bell if it isn\u2019t attached to the famous surname she received from her husband? Janet Opal Asimov was her husband Isaac\u2019s right hand throughout their years of marriage. She shared credit with him for quite a few books, short stories, and essays she wrote, and edited many of his writings. But even though her work was often overshadowed, she was a fascinating woman who deserves to be remembered in her own right.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":312,"featured_media":151150,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[216,217],"tags":[2083,3704,3089],"tags2":[3067,3705,3092],"class_list":["post-151146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diaspora","category-land-of-israel","tag-books","tag-jewish-authors","tag-women"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nI, Woman: Janet Asimov Tells Her Story<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Both were writers, both were doctors - she in psychiatry, he in chemistry. But does the name Janet Opal ring a bell if it isn\u2019t attached to the famous surname she received from her husband? Janet Opal Asimov was her husband Isaac\u2019s right hand throughout their years of marriage. 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