Oppenheimer True Story: What did Jean Tatlock write in her suicide note for her 'love'?

Going by the biopic written by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin on which Christopher Nolan's movie is based, Jean Tatlock was the daughter of a UC Berkeley Chaucer scholar, Professor John S. P. Tatlock.

Oppenheimer-True-Story Jean-Tatlock-Death Jean-Tatlock-Suicide

Helmed by Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer is making waves around the world ever since it has been released in theaters worldwide on July 21, 2023. Oppenheimer is directly competing with Greta Gerwig's Barbie and Christopher Nolan-directorial movie is edging past it at the global box office. For the unversed, Oppenheimer is a true story based on the biopic of 'Father of Atomic Bomb' J. Robert Oppenheimer. Cillian Murphy is portraying the character of J Robert Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer will also be featuring Robert Downey Jr. as Atomic Energy Commission chairman Lewis Strauss, Matt Damon as the Manhattan Project director Leslie Groves Jr., Emily Blunt as wife Katherine Oppenheimer, Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock who harbored a relationship with Oppenheimer, Benny Safdie as Edward Teller, Rami Malek, and more. Since you have landed on this page, True Scoop News assumes that you have watched the movie in the theater and have questions revolving around Oppenheimer and Jean Tatlock's relationship or moreover who was Jean Tatlock, 'true love' of American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. Continue reading about Jean Tatlock-

Who was Jean Tatlock?

Going by the biopic written by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin on which Christopher Nolan's movie is based, Jean Tatlock was the daughter of a UC Berkeley Chaucer scholar, Professor John S. P. Tatlock. Jean Tatlock grew up in Cambridge (her father taught at Harvard) and then Berkeley. Jean Tatlock has been described in Bird and Sherwin's biopic as a “free-spirited woman with a hungry, poetic mind”. Jean Tatlock also suffered from depression in her life. Jean Tatlock and J. Robert Oppenheimer met at a party hosted by his landlady, Mary Ellen Washburn in 1936. At that time, Tatlock was taking classes at Stanford Medical School (then located in San Francisco) while he was a professor at UC Berkeley. She was 22 years old, a decade younger than him. Notably, Tatlock and Oppenheimer started dating that fall and were together for over three years. Interestingly, Nolan's movie showcased that Tatlock was not fond of Oppenheimer’s frequent gift-giving and flowers. However, it is not clear if Tatlock made him translate Sanskrit in the bedroom, as depicted in a provocative sex scene in the film. Although it is a fact that Oppenheimer learned and knew Sanskrit. Not only this, Oppenheimer was deeply inspired by the Hindu holy book Bhagavad Gita from which he reportedly got the idea or inspiration of making an atomic bomb. However, Oppenheimer's relationship with Tatlock came to an end after the 'Father of Atomic Bomb' married his wife, Kitty. However, Tatlock continued to have an impact on Oppenheimer's life long after their split. Notably, reports suggest that Oppenheimer proposed Tatlock twice but he turned it down each time.

How did Jean Tatlock die?

Tragedy struck when Jean Tatlock was found dead in her San Francisco apartment on January 5, 1944. Her father discovered her with her head submerged in the bathtub and an unsigned note. Tatlock was just 29 years old. In her note Tatlock wrote, "I am disgusted with everything," adding "To those who loved me and helped me, all love and courage. I wanted to live and to give and I got paralyzed somehow. I tried like hell to understand and couldn’t ... I think I would have been a liability all my life — at least I could take away the burden of a paralyzed soul from a fighting world." After Tatlock's tragic death, it was revealed that she had clinical depression and the cause of death was ruled as a suicide.

Oppenheimer's Bhagavad Gita Link

Reports suggest that Oppenheimer had memorized and deeply understood the core value of the Bhagavad Gita. Moreover, he used to keep a copy of the Hindu Sacred book by his work desk. Furthermore, it is also said that Oppenheimer used to gift the English-translated version of the Bhagavad Gita to his colleagues and friends. Oppenheimer was so influenced by the Hindu Sacred book Bhagavad Gita that he learned Sanskrit in 1933 and first read the Gita in the original language.

Oppenheimer OTT Release date: When & where to stream Christopher Nolan's movie online?

In fact, after the successful test of the Atomic bomb in the Trinity Test in Mexico, Oppenheimer used the quote from the Bhagavad Gita. He used Lord Krishna's quote when he told Arjuna in the Gita, "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." Notably, Peaky Blinders fame actor Cillian Murphy is playing theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, the director of the Manhattan Project and the 'father of the atomic bomb.' On the other hand, Emily Blunt as Katherine "Kitty" Oppenheimer, Matt Damon as Leslie Groves, Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss, Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock, and more.


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