Telegraphic Realism: Henry James's In the Cage
Author(s): Richard Menke
Source: PMLA, Vol. 115, No. 5 (Oct., 2000), pp. 975-990
Published by: Modern Language Association
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I I 5
I5
Telegraphic
Realism:
Henry
James's
IntheCage
RICHARD
MENKE
LOOKING BACKAT IN THE CAGE,HIS 1898 TALEOF A
RICHARD MENKE, assistantprofessor
of
Englishat the University
of Georgia,
has publishedessayson Victorian
and
twentieth-century
Britishliterature
in
ELH (2000), VictorianLiterature
and
Culture(2000),ModernFictionStudies
(1998), and elsewhere.He is revising
'Victorian
Interiors,"
a book-length
study
oftheembodiment
ofconsciousnessin
nineteenth-century
fiction.
whobecomesobsessedwiththecoded
youngfemaletelegraphist
messages exchangedbetweentwo trysting
customers,Henry
Jamesspeculatesthatitsprincipal
"idea"is so evident
thatit"mustagain
andagainhaveflowered
in generous
(grantedthegrainofobservation)
minds":to wit,"thequestionofwhatitmight'mean' [. . .] forconfined
andcrampedandyetconsiderably
tutored
ofeithersex
youngofficials
to be made so free,intellectually,
of a rangeof experienceotherwise
quiteclosedto them"(Prefacexviii,xix). Fortheobserving
the
author,
questionbecomes"an amusement,
or an obsession"(xix),thespectator
thatthestoryascribesto thetelegraphist.
echoingthesentiments
James
concedesthatthewatchermaybe toohastyto attribute
sucha "critical
impulse"tohissubject;thetale's"centralspirit,"
thetelegraphist,
"is,for
I grant,
verisimilitude,
tooardenta focusofdivination[,]
butwithout
this
excess,thephenomena
detailedwouldhavelackedtheirprinciple
ofcohesion"(xix,xxi).Piecingtogether
thestoryofhercustomers'
affair,
the
telegraphist
appliesherinsight
tobitsofinformation
sentbypeoplewho
mightseemtohavelittleconnection
to one another;
herauthorlike
critical faculty,
herexcessivedivination,holds thetale together.
In fact,
"[ltheactionofthedramais simplythegirl's'subjective'adventurethatofherquitedefinitely
wingedintelligence"
(xxi).
The loversuse thetelegraph
forsecret,virtually
instantaneous
communication.
Yetbyreadingandinterpreting
themessagesofCaptainEverardandLadyBradeen,theunnamedtelegraphist
interposes
a levelof
mediation,
a layerthatintermingles
themateriality
ofcommunication,
thecontent
of hersubjectivity,
andthesocial structures
ofbureaucracy,
class,and gender.Jamespointsoutthatthetelegraphist
ofIn theCage
has beenendowedwiththeattributes
ofthe"artist"
(thequotation
marks
(C) 2000
BY
THE
MODERN
LANGUAGE
ASSOCIATION
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OF
AMERICA
9975
976
Telegraphic Realism: HenryJames's in the Cage
arehis)-and ofthenovelist(xix). Butshealso
represents
notjustas a modeofcomtelegraphy
munication
butalso as a social practice,a mediumofdiscoursecometo life,an information
exchangerendered
no longertransparent.
Theinterplay
Jamesestablishes
betweenthe
tradeoftelegraphy
and theartof fictionmight
seemhaphazard.Whyshouldthetaleassignits
thecharacteristics
telegraphist
ofa novelist,
even
atthepriceof"verisimilitude"?
In fact,inseating
thetale'scentral
consciousness
within
the"cage"
ofthepostaltelegraph
Jamesliteralizes
counter,
andestrangesa metaphor
thathadoccasionally
providedVictorian
writers
witha powerful
technologicalanalogue,andevena kindofworking
model,forVictorian
realism-a noncemetaphor,
perhaps,butonethathadflowered
in
repeatedly
authorial
minds.As invokedbynovelists
suchas
ElizabethGaskellandCharlesDickens,theimage of thetelegraphsuggestssome of theformalandideologicalproperties
ofmid-Victorian
realism,eventheepistemesupporting
thedeveloftelegraphy
opments
andclassicrealismatmidcentury.
Recastingthemeaningof telegraphy,
Jamesdisclosessomeof his divergencesfrom
suchforebears
bythecentury's
end.The version
oftelegraphic
realisminIn theCage hasmuchto
do withJames'snotionofrealismbutalsoimportantconnections
to developments
in telegraphy
betweenthe1850sandthe1890s-developments
first
treated
ina shortstory
byAnthony
Trollope.
UnlikeJamesor evenDickens,Elizabeth
Gaskellleftfewpronouncements
on theartof
thenovel,fictional
realism,thewriter'sobligation.One of herrarestatements
comes in an
1859letterto a youngwriter
whohadaskedher
opinion of his manuscript:
I believe in spite of yrobjectionto the term
"novel"youdo wishto"narrate,"-and
I believe
you can do itifyou try,-butI thinkyoumust
observewhatis outofyou,insteadofexamining
whatis in you. It is always an unhealthysign
whenwe aretooconsciousofanyofthephysical
processesthatgo onwithin
us; & I believeinlike
PMLA
manner
thatweought
nottobetoocognizant
of
ourmental
noteofthe
proceedings,
onlytaking
results.
Butcertainly-whether
introspection
be
morbid
ornot,-itis nota safetraining
fora
novelist.
Itis a weakening
oftheartwhichhas
inoflateyears.
crept
Just
reada fewpagesofDe
Foe &c-and youwillsee thehealthy
wayin
whichhesetsobjectsnotfeelingsbefore
you.I
amsuretheright
wayis this.YouareanElectric
telegraph
orother,
something
(541)
Gaskell'swordsaresometimes
citedas evidence
of herno-nonsenseapproachto novelwriting,
butcriticshavelargelyfailedtonotethepeculiar
termsin whichshe couchesheradvice.Narration,claimsGaskell,shouldgrowfromlooking
outward
andnotinward,
forbeingtooconscious
ofourminds'innerworkings
is as "unhealthy"
as beingtoo awareof ourbodies'; "introspection"resembles
indigestion-orworse.As a curativemeasureanda salutary
exampleoffiction
thateschewsemotionin favorof "objects,"she
prescribes
Defoe.
"You arean Electrictelegraph
something
or
other,-" Gaskellpronounceswitha combinationoftheobliqueandtheoracularreminiscent
ofthecharacters
in hercomicCranford:
thatis,
a devicethatrelaysinformation
frompointto
point.But,likemanyCranfordian
declarations,
Gaskell'smetaphor
is shrewder
thanitmightappear. Since telegraphsboth send and receive
messages,theyofferan appositefigureforthe
claimsofrealismandimagination
in Victorian
theelectrictelegraph
fiction;
is thepassivetransmissionof themessageand its activeproduction-simultaneously
themirror
andthelamp.
The ambiguous"you""
addsto theequivocation.
Is theelectrictelegraph
an imageofthenovelist,
who "sets objects"out witha crisp,dot-dash
clarity?Is it thereader,who receivestheimages?A telegraph
something
orother,
"-not an
X-ray thingamajig,"Gaskell would have added
had shebeenlivingforty
yearslater;forher,the
metaphorof telegraphy
providesa safeguard
againstthemorbidpossibilitiesof a psychologizedfiction.
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RichardMenke
I 1 5 .5
Writingin his privatememorandum
book
a fewyearslater,Dickensoffersanothervision
of narration
as telegraphy:
"Open thestoryby
bringingtwo stronglycontrastedplaces and
contrasted
setsofpeople,intotheconstrongly
nexionnecessaryforthestory,
by meansof an
electricmessage.Describethemessage-be the
message-flashingalongthrough
space-over
theearth,andunderthesea" (CharlesDickens'
Book 19). The mediumofelectrictelegraphy
is
themetaphor,
and thestory'snarrative
voice is
"themessage-flashingalongthrough
space."
Pulsingbetweendisparatecharactersand setnarrator
tings,thetelegraphic
becomesthething
thatconnectsthem.Dickens's schemeforthis
unwritten
storyconsolidatesin theimageofthe
"electricmessage,"whathis fictionelsewhere
delineatesbyothermeans.The memorandum's
principleand evenitslanguagerecalla famous
pauseinBleakHouse (1852-53):
Dickens'screation
ofnarrative
perspective
(194).
hisnovelsultimately
AccordingtoErmarth,
reveal a "commanding
structure
[that]comesinto
fromall partsoftheworld
viewslowly,emerging
andgroundedin them.Each pointis a relayfor
theelectricmessagesthatconnectthem"(19697). Thisfundamental
"structure
ofsignificance,
unitingvariousworldsof experience,"underlies-and is testedby-thecaricature,
stylization,
andanimismofDickens'sfiction;forErmarth,
thisunifying
constitutes
hisrealsystemfinally
ism(196).
But Ermarthdoes not note the ways in
whichDickens'stelegraphic
memoandhisemphasison a system
of"connexion"
resonate
with
accountsofthetelegraphic
network
thatwasbetheworldwithan exginningto interconnect
in
pandingwebofcopperwire.Probablywritten
1862,Dickens'snotebookentryalludesto conefforts
tolaytelegraphic
cablesacross
temporary
empiresand oceans ("over theearth,and unWhatconnexioncan therebe,betweentheplace
derthesea")-especially theattempt
tocreatea
in Lincolnshire,
thehousein town,theMercury
transatlantic
connectionbetweenBritainand
in powder,and thewhereaboutof Jo theoutNorthAmerica.(After
a short-lived
in
realization
law withthebroom[... .]? Whatconnexioncan
the effortresultedin a permanent
1858,
link
therehavebeenbetweenmanypeoplein theintelegraphy
numerablehistoriesof thisworld,who, from sevenyearslater.)As international
became
a
and
then
a
possibility
profitable
reality,
oppositesidesofgreatgulfs,have,nevertheless,
thepowerof theelectrictelegraphto unitea
beenverycuriously
brought
together! (272)
worldofvariedexperience
andconflicting
interests
became
a
in
commonplace
assessWhiggish
Like the shiftfromthe questionmarkof the
firstsentenceto theexclamationpointof the mentsof humanprogress.For CharlesBriggs
in thewakeof
second,thetelegraphicmessageconfirms
that andAugustusMaverick,writing
unseenconnectionsare alreadyin place. Run- thelayingof thefirsttransatlantic
cable ("the
ningoverheadand underwater,
thetelegraph greatesteventin thepresentcentury"),it was
wire actualizes the links thatDickens high- now"impossiblethatold prejudicesandhostilitiesshouldlongerexist,whilesuchaninstrument
lightsin hisnovels.
In Realismand Consensusin theEnglish hasbeencreatedforanexchangeofthought"
(11,
Novel,ElizabethErmarth
arguesthatfromquat- 22). Theypredictthat"thewholeearthwillbe
trocento
paintingtonineteenth-century
fiction, beltedwiththeelectriccurrent,
palpitating
with
"realism"in itsmultifarious
formsdependson
humanthoughts
and emotions"(12). The telea notionof collective,coordinatedspace that graph's"electricfluid"was like"a spiritual
[. . .]
growsfromanideaoftimeas continuous
anduni- force"(14, 13); itwould"forestalltheflight
of
form.Citinga versionof Dickens'stelegraphic Time,andinaugurate
newrealizations
ofhuman
memorandum,
Ermarth
notesthewaysin which powersand possibilities"(14). Harnessinga
the figureof thetelegraphmessagedescribes "spiritlike Ariel,"the electrictelegraphwas
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977
978
PMLA
Realism:HenryJames'sin theCage
Telegraphic
widelyacclaimedas a "steptowards
realizingthe
dreamof thepoet,to 'Put a girdleroundabout
theearth/In
minutes"'(Morus341).
forty
Likemid-Victorian
realisminErmarth's
acmid-Victorian
count,then,
telegraphy
promised
tounitedisparateviewpoints
bymeansofan enframework
ofdiscourse,
compassing
a "vastinterconnectedsystem"of communication
(Briggs
andMaverick12). An 1881articlein Scientific
Americanon thetelegraph's"moralinfluence"
claimedthat"thetouchofthetelegraph
key[.. .]
weldedhumansympathy
andmadepossibleits
ina common,
manifestation
simultaneuniversal,
ous heartthrob,"
a burstpassing"overthecontinentsandundertheseas."Indeed,theoutpouring
oftelegraphic
after
President
sympathy
Garfield's
assassination
presaged"a daywhenscienceshall
haveso blended,interwoven,
andunified
human
andinterests
thoughts
thatthefeelingofuniversal kinshipshallbe,nota spasmodicoutburst
of
occasional emotion,butconstantand controlling"(qtd.inMarvin199-200).Flashingthrough
space,realismandtelegraphy
alikewouldaffirm
thetiesbetween
eachnodeoftheir
networks.
Gaskell'sandDickens'scomments
suggest
thesimilarculturallogicsustaining
understandingsofrealistfictionandtheelectrictelegraph
duringtheinitialdecades of Victorianrealism
and commercialtelegraphy-phenomena
one
mightunderstand
as chronologically
twinned
technologiesthatgrowin tandemfromexperimentation
in the1830sandearly1840sto standardizationin the late 1840s and to a certain
triumphant
audacitybythelate1850sand1860s.
In thenovelists'formulations,
thefigure
ofelectrictelegraphy
helpscrystallize
theassumptions
andevasionsof Victorianrealism,itsclaimsto
transmit
a domainofsharedmeaningneutrally,
itsevocations
ofa manysidedbutcoherent
world
withthought,
palpitating
itsclaimstobe a "message"thatinvisibly
connectsa reality
markedby
contrasts.
To borrowa termfromBakhtin,we
mightthinkofthetelegraph
as a chronotope
for
realistfiction
inthisperiod,a narrative
figure
that
unites representations
of space and of time
(Bakhtin84); thetelegraph,
afterall,wouldbring
theworldcloserbyinstantaneous
communication,wouldmaterialize
theconnections
ofBleak
House andthewebofMiddlemarch.
To thisend,
DickensandGaskellassumethetransparency
of
theelectrictelegraph
as a medium.SuchtransallowsGaskelltoexalttheidealofcomparency
municationyet minimizethe importanceof
humaninteriority
intheprocess.
But whenit came to the telegraph,such
transparency
was a fantasy.
To be transmitted,
information
hadtobe transcoded
intoelectrical
impulses,andtelegraphy
soondevelopednorms
basedon thepricingof languagebythewordor
letter(Morus372-73). As telegraphic
messages
underwent
encodingandcommodification,
they
hadtopass through
anotherlevelofmediation:
thetelegraphists.
"Despitethewidelyexpressed
thatthetelegraphs
optimism
wouldunitehumanity,'notesTomStandage,"itwasinfactonlythe
whowereable tocommunitelegraph
operators
cate witheach otherdirectly"(145). And the
telegraph's
revealsthatthepersonson eihistory
therend of thewirecould playa conspicuous,
andsometimes
obstructive,
role(Morus368-71).
It mighthave been especially tempting
to hail the transparency
and the communitybuildingpossibilities
oftelegraphy
inthe1850s,
whentelegrams
werea newmediumandtooexpensiveforfrequent
use bymostpeople,technologicallydazzlingbutwithsocial implications
thatwerestillunclear.Butbythe1870stheBritish government
had nationalizedthetelegraph
companies,foldedtheiroperations
intothepost
andsignificantly
office,
reducedthecostofsending telegrams(Moody 55). Dispatchingtelegramssoonbecame"oneofthecommonest
and
mosttaken-for-granted
ofLondonimpressions,"
as Jamescalls it in his prefaceto In theCage
(xviii);in thistale,thetelegraph
officeoccupies
"theduskiestcorner"of a groceryshop(In the
Cage 835). Hailed as an epoch-making
inventionat mid-century,
thetelegraphhad by the
1890sbecomemundane,
theoldestofwhatone
mightcall thenineteenth
century's
newmedia.
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RichardMenke
I'5.5
introduced
The finaldecades of thecentury
an
oftransmission
arrayofnewertechnologies
and
inscription:
thetelephone,
thegramophone,
the
X-rayphotograph,
themotionpicture(in 1898
Jamesreported
having"quiterevelled"in a "cinwhatever
ematograph-or
theycallit"ofa prizefight[Edel 4: 175]). Most crucialforJames's
practiceofwriting
was ofcoursethetypewriter;
fromchronicwristpain,Jamesbought
suffering
"an admirableandexpensivemachine"in 1897
and soon endedup "writing"by dictatingto a
private
typist
(Edel4: 176).1
By the time of The Wingsof the Dove
(1902), Jamesclaimedthatdictating
to a typist
was forhim"intellectually,
absolutelyidentical
withtheact of writing"(Edel 5: 127). But as
MarkSeltzernotes(Bodies195-97n57),theconcurrent
ininscriptive
developments
technologies
andin James'swriterly
habitscouldforeground
theproperties
ofcommunication
media,evenas
Jamesdisavowedtheireffects
as "onlymaterial
andillusory"(Edel 5: 127). AndJameswas not
theonlynovelisttorespondtothenewconfigurationsoftechnology
andwriting
at theturnof
thecentury(Seltzer,"Graphic"25-27). Bram
Stoker'sDracula (1897) invokesan arrayofold
and newrecording
technologies(letters,shorthandjournals,telegrams,
a "phonograph
diary")
as simultaneously
modesofdocumentation
and
forthenovel'sthematics
figures
oftextuality,
secrecy,and knowledge.As Ivan Kreilkamphas
recently
shown,JosephConrad'sHeartofDarkness(1899) respondstothepossibilities
of "disembodiedphonographic
possibilities
language,"
thatmighthavebeensuggestedin partbyConrad's encounterwith a technophileand his
phonograph
(237). Onlyfouryearslater,RudyardKipling'sstory"Wireless"wouldexplore
theliterary
and intellectualimplicationsof an
evennewertechnology
(Beer 155-57).
In contrastto these writers,Jameswith
In theCage does notinvestigatethethematic
and formalquestionsraisedby a newmedium;
he approachesan establishedone in the
rather,
light of turn-of-the-century
attentionto the
propertiesof recordingand transmitting
technology.2CarolynMarvinobservesin herstudy
of late-nineteenth-century
technologiesthat
"theintroduction
ofnewmediais a specialhistoricaloccasionwhenpatterns
anchored
in older
media [. . ] are reexamined,challenged,and
defended"(4). Althoughthe patternsMarvin
discussesare thoseof social life,thesame argument
mightapplyto theentanglement
ofmedia technologyand literature.
In In theCage,
tothemechanics
James'snewattention
oftelegraphyand to thepsychosocialcontentof the
telegraphicexchangeindicateshow theimaginativepossibilities
ofa mediummaychangeas
newertechnologies
thesigemergeandsuggests
nificance
ofmediatransitions
forliterary
history.
Telegrams,
thosetangibleproductsoftelegraphicinterconnection,
are a familiarfeature
of late-nineteenth-century
fiction,including
as plotpointsandas a techJames's;forinstance,
nologyforintercontinental
communication,
they
inhistransatlantic
feature
novelsfromTheAmerican (1876-77) to TheAmbassadors(1903). In
thefirst
chapter
ofThePortrait
ofa Lady(1881),
telegraphy
as a technology
figures
ofinscription
andencryption,
perfectly
suitedtotheperemptorybut mystifying
messages Mrs. Touchett
sendstoannounceherreturn
withIsabelArcher
intow.As RalphtellsLordWarburton:
has notgoneintodetails.She
[M]ymother
communicates
withusbymeansoftelechiefly
grams,
andhertelegrams
arerather
inscrutable.
Theysaywomen
don'tknowhowtowrite
them,
butmymother
hasthoroughly
mastered
theart
ofcondensation.
"TiredAmerica,
hotweather
return
awful,
withniece,first
England
steamer
decent
cabin."That'sthesortofmessage
weget
from
her-that
wasthelastthatcame.Butthere
hadbeenanother
before,
whichI thinkcontainedthefirst
mention
oftheniece."Changed
hotel,verybad,impudent
clerk,addresshere.
Takensister's
girl,diedlastyear,gotoEurope,
twosisters,
quiteindependent."
Overthat
myfatherandI havescarcelystoppedpuzzling;it
seemstoadmit
ofsomany
interpretations.
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979
980
PMLA
Telegraphic Realism: HenryJames's In the Cage
Stunningly,
in thethirty-four
wordsof Lydia
Touchett's
artfully
compressed
telegrams,
James
managestoconveynotonlythecharacter's
style
but also manyof the novel's crucial issues.
"Takensister'sgirl"'-"gotoEurope"-"quiteinhereis theinternational
dependent";
themereiteratedwiththe"condensation"
ofa transatlantic
cable. In view of his mother'sacutelyinterpretabletelegrams,
thequesRalphadumbrates
tionsofIsabel'scharacter
andfatethattherestof
thenovelwillinvestigate:
"who's'quiteindependent,'andinwhatsenseis thetermused?[... .] is
it used in a moralor a financialsense?Does it
meanthat[she's]beenleftwelloff,orthat[she]
wish[es]to be underno obligations?or does it
simplymeanthat[she's]fondof[her]ownway?"
(67). Witha character's
jocularsalliesatan"inscrutable"telegram,
ThePortraitofa Ladyhas
introduced
severalofitsprincipal
topicsandtheir
withJames'sinternacomplexities-beginning
tionalthemeandIsabelArcher'sindependences
butextendingevento concernssuch as social
snobbery
("insolentclerk")andtheaesthetics
of
interior
spaces("first
steamer
decentcabin").
In theCage tootreatstelegrams
as textsdemandingintricate
butitdoes far
interpretation,
morewithtelegraphy
thandrawon itscompressiveeffects
on language.The centralconsciousness of thenovellabelongsto thetelegraphist
who beginsto takean interest
in theaffairsof
herwealthycustomers.
Herattention
blendsobsession,conscientiousness,
and rage-an ambiguousstateresembling
thatofthegoverness
in The Turnof the Screw (1898), a tale with
whichIn the Cage has sometimesbeen compared.3The story'sopeningsentences
incisively
conflateheremployment,
hersocial status,and
her spatial immurement
in the post officeof
Cocker'sgrocery,
coordinating
thesedataas the
"position"thatgiveshera unilateral
knowledge
ofthepersonsaroundher:
Ithadoccurred
toherearly
that
inherpositionthatofa young
personspending,
inframed
and
wiredconfinement,
thelifeofa guinea-pig
ora
knowa great
magpie sheshould
many
persons
without
their
theacquaintance.
recognising
That
madeitanemotion
themorelively[. .. ] tosee
as shecalled
anyonecomeinwhomsheknew,
it,outside,
andwhocouldaddsomething
tothe
pooridentity
ofherfunction.
"[F]ramedand wired"in place at thecounter,
thetelegraphist
is enclosedbya woodandwire
"lattice"reminiscent
ofthetelegrapic
network,
ofwhichherpostformsthemostprosaicnode,
as if-througha spectacular
metonymic
logicthemilesof cable spanningtheglobewereher
"cage" (835).
Thesituation
becomesclearerwhenthenext
sentencespecifiestheworkaday
"function"
that
establishes
her"pooridentity":
Herfunction
wasto sittherewithtwoyoung
men-theothertelegraphist
andthecounterclerk;tomindthe"sounder,"
whichwasalways
going,to dole outstampsandpostal-orders,
weighletters,
answer
stupid
questions,
givedifficultchangeand,morethananything
else,
countwordsas numberless
as thesandsofthe
sea, thewordsof thetelegrams
from
thrust,
to night,
morning
through
thegap leftin the
highlattice,
acrosstheencumbered
shelfthat
herforearm
achedwithrubbing.
(835)
thebarsofthecage"floatmoneyand
"[T]hrough
messages,
"numberless"
wordsthatmustbe reckonedbeforetheycan enterthesystem(841). As
Jennifer
Wickenotes,thecageis "a nexus"where
actsof"communication"
entera new"gridofsocial relation"
(146-47). Farfrombeingtransparentandidealized,telegraphic
dialogismhereis
mediatedbythepostalstaffanddefinedas economicexchange.WereDickensto "be" one of
thesemessages,he would findthathis flight
acrossspace beganin a decidedlyearthbound
place, a "smellyshop" wherethe aromasof
"hams,cheese,driedfish,soap,varnish,
paraffin"
with
mingle
other,
lessidentifiable
odors(James,
In theCage 895,835).
Separatedfromhercustomers
bya "transparentscreen,"
thetelegraphist
conducts
herpro-
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I
1
5
1
RichardMenke
fessionaland herimaginativecommercewith theirstoryas ifitwerethenextinstallment
ofa
humanityacross the "gap" (835). When her serializednovel"(190). As thetelegraphist
befriend
Mrs.Jordan
accusesheroflacking"imag- comesinvolvedinthisstory,
shefindsthatherinconcludeswithrueful terestin it "literally[. . .] ma[kes]up" forthe
ination,"thetelegraphist
satisfaction
that"peopledidn'tunderstand
her." tediumofCocker'sandtemptshertodelayher
In fact,contraMrs.Jordan,
tothedullgrocerMr.Mudge(James,
"herimaginative
life marriage
In
wasthelifeinwhichshespentmostofhertime"; theCage 838).Thinking
about"what[... .] a bad
despiteGaskell'sassurances,
thetelegraph
office girlwoulddo" withsuchscandalousknowledge
offers
littleprotection
she conjuresup "a scene
againstmorbidinteriority. ofthecouple's affair,
thanmanyinherha'penny
Justas Mrs.Jordan,
animpoverished
novel"(866).
widowwith better
a genteelpast,arrangesflowers
Caged at theinterchange
betweenthepubin thehousesof
wealthy
so thetelegraphist
Londoners,
mentally lic and thetelegraphnetworkand inspiredby
arrangescustomers:"Whatshe could handle hernovels,thetelegraphist
beginsby making
electrical
connections
but
soon
freely,
she said to herself,
findsherself
was combinations
of
makingintellectual
ones:
menandwomen."With"a certainexpansionof
herconsciousness,"
thetelegraphist
experiences
Thereweretimeswhenall thewiresin the
"flashes"
of "inspiration,
divination
andinterest"
country
seemedtostart
from
thelittle
hole-andaboutotherswhoscarcelynoticeher(838). Mrs.
corner
where
she
for
plied
a
livelihood,
and
Jordan
mayenterhercustomers'
houses,butthe
where[. . .] thepeopleshehadfallenintothe
telegraphist
believes thatshe penetratesinto
habitofremembering
andfitting
with
together
theirstories.
others,
andofhaving
hertheories
andinterpreWhatshapesthetelegraphist's
flashesofintations
of,keptupbefore
hertheir
longprocessightintoherwell-to-docustomersis heravid
sionandrotation.
(847)
readingof "novels,verygreasy,
infineprintand
all aboutfinefolks,"borrowed"at a ha'pennya
At the centerof the system,the telegraphist
day"(837)-texts thatoffer
intoa rangeof
entry
worksto fittogethertheendlessqueue of her
experienceto a broadarrayofthecrampedand
clienteleanddoes so in wayssuggestedbyficconfined.
The telegraphist
willregularly
review tion.Itis as if,toescapehermonotonous
captivthesituationofCaptainEverardandLady Braityin thetelegraphoffice,she wereattempting
deen,and eventuallyherown intrusive
partin
to becomea versionoftherealisttelegraph,
the
theirdrama,in"ha'pennynovel"terms.The re- instrument
ofconnection
celebrated
in Victorian
peatedadjectivefine
"suggeststhequalityofher invocationsof the telegraphicimaginary.As
aestheticandmoralsensibilities"
(Aswell376),
James'sprefaceindicates,thetelegraphist
is a
butit also indicatesthedisparitybetweenher "centralspirit"whoprovides"cohesion";what
readingmaterial
anditsmateriality-the
sumptu- he calls her "wingedintelligence"is also an
ous subjectsofcheapone-volume
novelsprinted ironic,subjectiveversionoftheelectricAriel's
in close type.For thetelegraphist,
thelovers'
abilitytosaturate
theworldwithhumanthought.
telegrams
a coherent,
present
novel-like
"reality"
In Thinking
in HenryJames,SharonCamthattranscends
thefragments
encountered
inher erondemonstrates
theopposition
inJames'swork
ordinary
life;"[m]orethaneverbeforeitfloated between
theideaofconsciousness
as a product
of
toherthrough
thebarsofthecagethatthisatlast individual,
interior
psychology
(typically
articuwas thehighreality,
thebristling
truth
thatshe
latedintheNew YorkEditionprefaces)andthe
hadhitherto
onlypatchedup andekedout"(841).
moreradicalpossibility
thatconsciousness
might
In fact,as Nicola Nixonobserves,thetelegra- be intersubjective
ortranscendent
(usuallyraised
phist"watchesforeach newtelegraphic
hintto
inthefiction).
Thisis exactlytheincompatibility
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98I
982
[
Telegraphic Realism: HenryJames's In the Cage
overwhichJamesfretsinhisprefacetothetale,
that"theauthor"
hasattributed
"subtheproblem
tleties"to a specific"soul" unlikelyto possess
them-a problemthatarisesfrom"theauthor's
hisextravagant
andinsatiable,
and
irrepressible
inpersonalcharacter
andinthe
immoral,
interest
'nature'ofa mind"(xx). The authorhas shared
too muchof his own capacityforscrutinizing
consciousnesswiththe characterwhose consciousnesshe scrutinizes.
Theresultofthisputais preciselythe"winged
tivemisapportionment
thesovereignconsciousness,
that
intelligence,"
fromthecage of
liberation
seeksan intellectual
"thenovelsandPrefaces
Cocker's.ForCameron,
[.. .] raisethequestionof whatthinking
is, of
andalbeitdisconhowitcanbe madetoregister,
of whereit mightdo so" (42). In the
certingly,
Cage,a taleCamerondoesnotdiscuss,provokes
similarquestions.Yet it does so notsimplyby
relations
formulating
complex,intersubjective
betweencharacters
Cameronex(as inthefiction
with
amines)butbyaligningsuchinterrogations
a technology
thatpromised
toregister
telegraphy,
thoughtacrossvastdistances,to relocateconsciousnessintheelectric
pulsesofthenetwork.
As boththetelegraphic
fantasiesof Victorianfiction
andthetelegraphist's
readingof her
between
storyas a novelimply,thisalignment
andquestionsofconsciousnesshas
telegraphy
muchto do withthetechnology
ofnineteenthfiction.
century
Inpart,theproblem
ofconsciousnessthatCameronnotesinJamessimplyrecasts
thenovelisticconventionof a mobilenarrator
withselectiveaccess to characters'minds(a
modecharacteristic
ofGaskell,GeorgeEliot,and
muchof Dickens) as no longera habitbutnow
an openquestionofrepresenting
thought.
By the
late1890s,thisquestionwasonJames'smind;in
an 1899 letterto MaryAugustaWard,thatlate
Victorianheirto thetraditionof Gaskell and
Eliot,Jamesarguesthattheproblemis nothow
manymindsa novelseemstopenetrate
butthe
coherence
ofitsnarrative
scheme:
PMLA
as
ofconsciousness
as manyforms
ingbehind"
Tolyoulike-all Dickens,
Balzac,Thackeray,
stoi(save whentheyuse theautobiographic
ofit.[...F]orthat
dodge)arehugeillustrations
I
matter,
"go
behind"
right
andleftin"The
[.. .1
"The Bostonians,"
PrincessCasamassima,"
"The TragicMuse" [... .].
And yetI muststilladd one or twothings
must(infinitely!)
more.[. .. ] I holdtheartist
knowhowheis doingit,orheis notdoingitat
chooseandstickandbe
all. [...H]e mustthere
consistent
[... .].
(Letters110,111)
Raisingthisquestionofconsciousnessandnarrativeformto thelevel of theme,In theCage
itdoublypressing.
renders
fantasizesthatshecan see
The telegraphist
intoothers
butthatnoonereallyknowsher,a situationthatechoesthestructure
ofknowledgein
third-person
narrative,
especiallythesupervision
exercisedbythenarrators
ofmid-century
realist
novels.Butbyembodying
suchfantasies
ofmobile knowledgeinthefigureofthetelegraphist
andmakingherconsciousnessthecenterofthe
tale'scharacter-focalized
Jamesplaces
narration,
in
narrativeknowledge the cage; readersare
largelyconfinedto thetelegraphist's
thoughts
andperceptions,
whilethethird-person
narrative
voice adds ironicdistance.Throughthetransparentscreenofhisnarrative,
Jamescanindicate
the"triumphant,
viciousfeelingofmastery
and
power"thatinheresintheone-sidedknowledge
ofa sharedreality
(IntheCage847).Emphasizing
hergender,sexuality,
andclass positionas elementsofthetelegraphist's
psychology
andwillto
Jamessuggestssomeoftherealdata
knowledge,
thattherealistnarrator
function
mustneutralize.4
The storycagesthesoulofan authorial
narrator
hisownvantagepointonthefic(who"maintains
tionalworldanditsinhabitants"
[Cohn14])inthe
focalizedandironized
figure
ofthetelegraphist.
Crucialtothistroubling
ofnarrative
conventionis notonlythesocialsituation
ofthetelegrabutalsoherparticular
areas many
[T]here
magnificent
andimperative phistas womanandworker
casesas youlikeofpresenting
a thing
by"go- "position"
atthetelegraph
counter.
Recentcritics
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1 15.5
|
RichardMenke
treatthetelegraNotonlydoes thisdescription
mechaphistas a kindof superfine
registering
sensitive
tothe"lightest
nism,"instantly"
signs,"
accessible"to
itdefinesheras "constitutionally
seriesofbinary("softandsevere")
an alternating
And
thusshemanagesin a flashto
"impulses."
readthecodedrelationship
betweenCaptainEverardand Lady Bradeen:"The fine,soundless
pulse ofthisgamewas in theairforouryoung
intheshop"(843).
womanwhiletheyremained
The "soundless"qualityof theirromance
andmarksitas a sortof
conveysitsfurtiveness
Forperhapsthemostsustained
silenttelegraphy.
of a telegraphictermin thetale
appropriation
surrounds
the"sounder,"
thatdevicethatis "alwaysgoing"inCocker'sstore.Although
Samuel
witha register
Morsehaddesignedhistelegraph
thatrecorded
itspulsesonpaperforlatertransladiscoveredthattheycould
tion,telegraphers
save timeby "soundreading"-by listeningto
theregister's
longandshortticksas itreceiveda
message(Coe 66). Aftersomeinitialresistance,
inthetelegraph
officials
companiescametoendorsesoundreading,
andmanufacturers
adapted
theirequipment
byreplacingthepaperregister
witha sounder,a simplenoisemakingdevice
ofan electromagnet,
an armature,
consisting
and
a lever.A sortof reverberator
fortelegraphic
pulses,toborrowa Jamesianterm,theclicking
soundereventuallybecame "theuniversalreofthetelegraph
ceivinginstrument"
(Coe 71).
onthesounder,
In
Playinga setofvariations
theCage buildsan entiretropology
on soundin
varioussenses:aurality,
articulation,
investigation-especiallythemeasurement
of"depths."
(As Kipling'spaean"TheDeep-SeaCables"sugTherewerethoseshewouldhavelikedtobetray, gests,eventhisfinalmeaningdoesnotnecessartotripup,tobring
downwithwordsaltered
and
ily takeus farfromtelegraphy.)
Althoughthe
a personal
fatal;andall through
hostility
propostalbranchin Cocker'sonlysendstelegrams
vokedbythelightest
signs,
bytheir
accidents
of
and does notreceivethem,thesounderdomitoneandmanner,
bytheparticular
kindofrelanates
thesceneoftelegraphy.
ForreasonsthatI
tionshealwayshappened
instantly
tofeel.
proposein myconclusion,Jamesidentifies
the
Therewereimpulsesofvariouskinds,altelegraphcompletelywiththesounder.In the
softand severe,to whichshe was
ternately
constitutionally
accessibleandwhichwerede- story,the soundercomes synecdochicallyto
termined
bythesmallest
accidents. (847)
standforthewholeapparatus
andmetonymically
and
havereadJames'staleofcodedinterchange
officeinrelation
to
sexualsecrecyina telegraph
the 1889 ClevelandStreetScandal,whichrevealed thata malebrothelin Londonwas supplyingits upper-classcustomerswithyoung
workers
telegraph
(Savoy290-92; Stevens128senseof herdual exis31).5 The telegraphist's
tenceas knowingsubjectandsubservient
clerk,
a
into
of
her
"thequeerextension
experience"
"doublelife"basedon herknowledgeofupperclasssexualscandal,wouldseemtobearoutsuch
In theCage 846).Yet
a fieldofreference
(James,
thetale goes farbeyondmerelyusingthetelegraphworkeras a figure
ofscandalorrecognizbetweenpublic
ingherlocationattheinterstice
andprivate
communications.
transactions
notsimply
Indeed,In theCage is permeated
as a worker
bya generalsenseofthetelegraphist
inthenineteenth
information
century's
emergent
economy("endlessrightchangetomakeandinformation
to produce")butalso byattention
to
thespecificcomponents,
mechanics,and lanis
guage of telegraphy
(844). The telegraphist
"wired"at thecounteror makesa "ridiculous
circuit"to pass Everard'shouseon hernightly
wayhome(835, 874); againand again,characters"flash"(theverbDickensuses forhisflight
as a telegram)or "dash"(a wordthatrecallsthe
pulsesofMorsecode).In particular,
Jamesmanto identify
thetelegages subtlybutthoroughly
withthedevicefromwhichshetakesher
raphist
"pooridentity"
andherdesignation
in thestory
(835). At workat thecounter,sheregisters
the
presenceof hercustomerslikea sortof hyperresponsive
emotional
seismograph:
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983
984
PMLA
Telegraphic Realism: HenryJames's In the Cage
torepresent
theencagedtelegraphist
whoopercell ofcaptivatesit;itoccupies"theinnermost
ity,a cage withinthecage,fencedofffromthe
restbya frameofgroundglass"(840).
The sounderfigures
itsoperator'sreceptivityto alternating
pulsesof soundlesssignification. And the telegraphist
turnsout to be as
sensitivean instrument
as Maisie Farange,the
in a work
youngfemalecenterofconsciousness
Jameshadpublisheda yearpreviously.
In fact,a
telegraphic
tropedescribesMaisie's desirefor
shared,silentcontactas well. Disconnected
fromherbelovedMrs.Wix by thepresenceof
herstepmother,
Maisie missesa modeofcommunication
deeperthanwords,for"[t]heyhad
[... I neverbeenso longtogether
without
communionortelegraphy"
(WhatMaisieKnew22627). Even whenforeclosed,thepossibilitiesof
psychic"communion
or telegraphy"
maymore
generallyunderwrite
the pauses, gaps, interruptions,and intakesof breaththatmakelate
Jamesian
totheampleness
dialogue-in contrast
ofJames'sdescriptive
prose-seemtelegraphic.
Afterperceivingtheillicitaffairbetween
LadyBradeenandCaptainEverard,thetelegraphistbeginsto intrudein it. She offersLady
Bradeena correction
of hercodedtelegram
(realizingthatthetelegraphist
has beennotmerely
sendinghermessagesbutalso interpreting
them,
herladyshipleaves in shock)andbeginswalkingpastthecaptain'slodgingson herwayhome.
One nighthe noticesherand "send[s]" hera
laugh"across the way" (875)-a telegraphed
thatintroduces
greeting
a fantasyofcommunicationdeeperthanspeech.Duringtheirensuing
colloquy,thetelegraphist
imaginesan unspoken
connectionbetweenthetwoofthem,a soundless modeoftransmission,
a telegraphy
thatis
also a communion:
nothing
"vulgarly
articulate"
leads themto strolltogether
(876); shehas "an
intensedesire he should know the type she
reallywas without
herdoinganything
so low as
tellhim";theusualrelations
thatan upper-class
manmighthavewitha youngworkingwoman
"wereon themeresurface,and theirrelation
was behindandbelow" (877); thetelegraphist
feels, she tells him,"as if therewere something-I don'tknowwhatto call it!-between
us"- "something
unusualandgood"(881). Soon
shebreaksouttohim:"I know,I know,I know!"
"Yes,"Everardconcludes,"that'swhathas been
betweenus": "everything
theyhad so definitely
notnamed[... .] settledsolidlybetweenthem.It
was as ifthen,fora minute,
theysatand saw it
all in each other'seyes,saw so muchthatthere
was no need of a transition
forsoundingit at
last"(885). The solid,soundlessconnection
betweenthemis thetelegraphist's
divination
and
knowledgeof theaffair.Whatmakesherfantasiesofinterpersonal
so ironicis the
telegraphy
suggestionthatwhilesheconceivesoftheirtie
as a high-flown
romance,Everardprobablybelievessheis threatening
blackmail(Nixon192).
AttheseasidewithMr.Mudgefora cheap
holiday,thetelegraphist
experiencesa sortof
Victorian-realist
reverie,"seeingmanythings,
thethingsofthepastyear,falltogether
andconnectthemselves,
undergothehappyrelegation
thattransforms
andmisery,
melancholy
passion
andeffort,
intoexperience
andknowledge."
The
visionwouldalmostbe worthy
ofMiddlemarch,
wereitnotfortheironicspinJamesapplieslocally by word choice (the blitheand insipid
"happyrelegation")
andmorebroadly
bydeflectingtheobservation
intotheregister
ofhischaracter'sthoughts.
In themidstofsuchmeditations,
thetelegraphist's
lifeinLondonbecomesforher
"a far-away
a picture
ofanother
story,
life"-just
therelationsheoncehadtohernovelsandtothe
livesofEverardandLadyBradeen(888).
Butas thetelegraphist
invadesthestoryshe
has discovered,
misprision
fillsthespaceofhumaninterconnection.
AtCocker's,herencounters
withEverardbecomea comedyof ambiguous
signsandoverreading.
As another
clerkwaitson
him,"nothing
passe[s]between"Everardandthe
telegraphist
"butthefullness
oftheirsilence,"yet
she manages to read an elaborate message
telegraphed
by theseriesof looks in his eyes:
"The look shetookfromhimwas his greeting,
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1 55.
RichardMenke
andtheotherone a simplesignoftheeyes sent
herbeforegoingout.The onlytokentheyexwas his tacitassentto her
changed,therefore,
wishthat,sincetheycouldn'tattempt
a certain
frankness,
theyshouldattempt
nothingat all."
Thetelegraphist
thiscodeto"their
prefers
former
shefeelsshehas"eslittlepostalmake-believes";
onthepartofeacha consciousness
tablished
that
couldendonlywithdeath"(894). Whenhe dethetick
parts,shecan"almosthearhim,through
of thesounder,scatterwithhis stick[. . .] the
fallenleaves of October"-as if thesounder's
clickingweresimultaneously
thenoisehisvibrationsmustovercomeandthemediumbywhich
theycomeover(895).
DuringEverard'ssubsequentvisits,thetelegraphistnoticesthathe seems to be trying
to give hermoney,perhapsas blackmailpayments.6
Pursuinga profounder
she
explanation,
againattempts
toreadhiseyes:
Whatwasmostextraordinary
inthisimpressionwastheamount
ofexcusethat,
withsome
shefoundforhim.He wanted
incoherence,
to
payherbecausetherewasnothing
topayher
for.He wanted
tooffer
herthings
thatheknew
shewouldn't
take.He wanted
toshowherhow
muchhe respected
herbygivingherthesupremechanceto showhimshewas respectable.Overthedriesttransactions,
atanyrate,
their
eyeshadoutthesequestions.
(899)
Whatis mostextraordinary
aboutthispassage
itselfis itstrioofmiddlesentences,
theparallel
"excuses"thatthetelegraphist
makesforEverard's conduct.Their anaphoraand repeated
structure
drawattention
to theveiledvirtuosity
here:justas thenarrative
uses freeindirect
discourseand psychologicalnarration
to present
thetelegraphist's
fictional
thoughts
froma thirdpersonpointofview,thispassageuses thesame
approachrecursively,
to presentEverard'sfictitiousthoughts
fromherpointof view-even as
thestorynarrates
herconsciousness.
Takenout of context,thethreesentences
couldbe a trustworthy
accountofa malecharac-
in thestory,
ter'sthoughts;
however,
theyarean
And yet,on a
"extraordinary"
misreckoning.
narratological
level,thisis thepointatwhichthe
wouldappeartocoincide
telegraphist's
thoughts
withhis. It is as ifthenarrative
formally
were
feigningto grantthetelegraphist
herdreamof
mentalcommunion
withCaptainEverard-only
to revealit as a chimera.Yet thisremarkable
misrecognition
is technically
withthe
congruent
character-focalized
narrative
modeofthetale.
As if beset by such confusions,even as she
worksso sedulously
to manufacture
an explanationofEverard'smotives,
thetelegraphist
seeks
"therefugeofthesounder";"to be in thecage
hadsuddenly
becomehersafety,
andshewas literallyafraidofthealternate
selfwhomightbe
waitingoutside"(897, 898).
Thetale'sclimaxbothgrants
thetelegraphist
herdisillusioneddesireto return
dealingswith
hercustomers
totheir"properimpersonal
basis"
andallowshertodisplayhermentalacumenone
lasttime(901). Afterfirstansweringwithofficiousdetachment
thelovers'urgent
requestfor
thetextof an earliertelegram,she managesto
recollectthecodedmessagefrommemoryand
thus-in a plotpointaboutwhichJamesis deliberately
unspecific-tosavethemfromexposure.7
In thetale'sdenouement,
thetelegraphist
andher
friend
Mrs.Jordan
reconvene
fora finalmeeting.
The textpresentstheirconversation
as a drama
whose evolvingsuppressionsand misundertranslate
an alternating
standings
streamofhauteurandhumiliation;
as JohnCarlosRowenotes
inpassing,thisis a particularly
"telegraphic"
exchange(159), ellipticalin its verbalcompressionsand itscirclingindirections.
Mrs.Jordan
had hintedthatheremployment
in upper-class
Londonhousesmight
leadtoa matchwithoneof
theirdenizens,
andindeedithas,tobetrothal
toa
Mr.Drake-who, Mrs.Jordan
haltingly
admits,
is a butler.Thisshockawakensthetelegraphist
fromhervisionofaccesstothe"highreality"
that
LadyBradeen'stelegrams
oncesuggested:
"what
ourheroinesawandfeltforinthewholebusiness
was thevividreflection
of herowndreamsand
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985
986
Realism:HenryJames'sIn theCage
Telegraphic
[
PMLA
promisedbyVictorian
toreality.
realism,
delusionsandherownreturn
Reality, interconnection
likethe"fine"societynovelsthatechoitina vulforthepoorthingstheybothwere,couldonlybe
couldneverbe theescape, garizedform,dependson a fantasyof disenuglinessandobscurity,
gagedknowledgerecognizableas a covertform
therise"(917-18).
To completethetelegraphist's
Jamesian
dis- ofromance.
fanciful
James
Withan intentionally
illusionment,
Mrs.Jordanalso revealsthetrue
figure,
thetethered
natureofthe
goes on toencapsulate
stateofrelationsbetweenCaptainEverardand
"Theballoonofexperience
Lady Bradeen,Mr. Drake's futureemployer. realistimagination:
andunderthat
Andthisrealitytooturnsouttobe shabbierthan is infactofcoursetiedtotheearth,
had imagined:afterthesudden necessitywe swing,thanksto a ropeofremarkthetelegraphist
inthemoreorless commodious
car
deathofherhusband,
LadyBradeenhasusedthe able length,
recoveredtelegram
to coerceEverardintomar- oftheimagination";
"from
themoment
thatcable
ryingher,eventhoughhe wouldhavepreferred is cutwe areatlargeandunrelated."
In contrast
to endtheirrelationship.
The telegraphist
is
"had, totherealist'stask,"[t]heartoftheromancer
inthecage,soundeddepths,
buttherewas a sug- [. . .] insidiouslyto cut thecable" (475). Perhaps
gestionheresomehowof an abyssquitemeain thecable thatkeepsthingsgroundedwe can
sureless"(920). Andthisabyssonlyrecapitulates perceivean alternative
tothetelegraph
wirethat,
thechasmthattraps"poorthings"in"ugliness to Gaskellas muchas to James'stelegraphist,
andobscurity"
andeventhe"social gulf"(918)
seemedto promisedisencumbered
discourse.
thatnow yawnsbetweenthetelegraphist
(affi- Theorganization
ofJames'sfigure
(a cablefixing
ancedtoMr.Mudge,theindustrious
a car in space) mayevensuggesta topological
grocer)and
the soon-to-beMrs. Drake (a servant'swife). transformation
of some familiarterms;in his
Nowitis thetelegraphist's
soundlessvisionsthat imageitis notthehot-air
balloonthatrepresents
fallaway;aftermonthsofdelayingmarriageto
the"imagination"butthe"car" underneathMudge,sheplanstomoveupthedate.
whichwe might
alsocalla cage.
As Jamesoftendoes,herehestagesa character'sloss ofillusionas an encounter
betweenthe
A lateshortstory
byAnthony
Trollopeoffers
seductions
ofromanceandthegrounded
truths
of
an important
counterpart
andpossiblya source
thereal."Theonlygeneralattribute"
ofromance, forthetreatment
ofa youngwomanas telegraph
he wouldargueintheNew Yorkprefaceto The
workerinIn theCage-and a signalmoment
in
is "thekindofexperience
American,
withwhich thehistory
ofthephenomenathisessayhas exitdeals-experienceliberated,
so tospeak;expe- ploredin tandem,fictional
realismandelectric
riencedisengaged,
disembroiled,
disencumbered, telegraphy.
Trollopecombinedthe careersof
exemptfromtheconditions
thatweusuallyknow postaladministrator
andnovelist
formanyyears,
to attachto it"(CriticalMuse 474).8Thiswell- butheretired
fromthepostofficeshortly
before
knowndefinition
ofromanceas disconnected
exParliament
nationalized
theBritish
telegraph
sysperience,as imaginationliberatedfromlife's temand mergeditintothepostalbureaucracy.
is againthetelegraphist's
constraints,
wingedin- Forhis1877story
"TheTelegraph
Girl,"however,
thepurelyintellectual
telligence,
freedom
ofthis Trollopecarefully
researched
oneconsequence
confined
youngofficial,
herimaginary
accessto
ofthisconsolidation,
theemployment
offemale
a worldofexperienceotherwisedeniedher.In
workers
inlargecenters
forprocessing
telegrams.
Ermarth's
terms,gender,sexuality,
andthesoLikeTrollopehimself,
LucyGraham-the
cial gulfof class maydisturbthe"consensus" telegraphgirlof thetitle-is a realist.She renecessaryto realismin In theCage. In a larger jectsherfriend
Sophy'sromantic
fantasy
thatthe
sense,Jameshintsthattheseamlesstelegraphic printing
engineerMr.Hall mightbe "somegen-
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1
RichardMenke
55
tlemanin disguise,"perhapshidingfrom"pain favorofthetheorythathe is
ternaltyranny,"
simplykindandgood-natured
(362,363).Having
workedinherbrother's
bookshop,Lucyis also
bookish(she evencompares
unusuallyliterate,
herselfto a book witha "good strongbinding"
[356]),andskilledatreadingthe"littledotsand
pricks"punchedintohertelegraph'srecording
tape;"[n]oonecouldreadandusehertelegraphic
literature
morerapidlyorcorrectly"
(365). But
sheis beingedgedoutbytechnological
change,
forthepostal"pundits"haveintroduced
a new
"systemofcommunicating
messagesbyearinsteadofbyeye"(365): theverysounderthatwill
feature
inJames'stale.Sophyeasily
prominently
mastersthetechniqueand is promotedto "the
musicalbox" (367). Butlacking"musicalaptitudes,"Lucycannotaccomplish
theshift
toauralityfromliteracy(366); itis justas wellthatshe
endsup marrying
theprinter
Mr.Hall andleavingthetelegraph
office.A versionoftheoriginal
telegraphsof themid-nineteenth
the
century,
machinespreferred
by Lucy Grahamproduce
literature."
Fortherealistpostmaster
"telegraphic
Trollope,thepostoffice'sadoptionofthemore
modernsoundersignalsthetechnologicalreplacementof "literature"
withsomething
else,
somethingthatone does not read but simply
"catch[es]"andwhose"littletinkling
sounds"he
canonlydescribeas a sortofmusic(365-66).9
Therealisttelegraph
ofGaskellandDickens
was LucyGraham'smachine.Butthesounding
telegraph
conveyswordsintoconsciousness
with
neither
speechnorwriting.
Indeed,itapproaches
whatFriedrichKittlerhas identified
as a project of thenew-mediatechnologiesof thelate
nineteenth
century:recordingor transmitting
"sensedata"without
recourse
tothewritten
word
A
(229).10 yearbeforeTrollopepublished"The
Telegraph
Girl,"AlexanderGrahamBell testeda
devicethatmovedtelegraphy
evenclosertoward
thisincipientbutunspokenideal; he originally
conceivedofhistelephone
as an improvement
to
theelectrictelegraph.
As an authorwhohadrecentlyabandonedlonghandfordictationto a
Jamesmighthavebeenespeciallystruck
typist,
bytheuse ofthesounderintelegraphic
transmission-and bythepositionoftheeducatedyoung
worker
whoattends
it.
To James,telegraphy
is an everyday
experience ofthemodern.It is also an evolvingtechnologywhosefictional
marksthe
representation
differences
betweenhisrealismandthatofmidVictorian
writers
whofoundintelegraphy
a figure
fortheirownpractice.Perhapstelegraphy,
like
seemedinitially
tooffer
photography,
nineteenthcentury
writers
a totalanalogyfortheambitions
of realism;however,bytheend of thecentury
bothtechnologieshadprovednotto reproduce
a worldofconsensus,consistency,
and neutral
truth
buttohighlight
problemsofsubjectivism,
discontinuity,
andmediation.Evena textas apparentlystraightforward
as ThomasHardy'sA
Laodicean(1881) mayhintat suchan emerging
awareness.In Hardy'snovel,theinstallation
ofa
telegraph
lineatStancyCastlerepresents
theencounterof themodernwiththemedieval,the
statedthemeofthis"storyofto-day."
Butwhena
forgedtelegram
andan alteredphotograph
condemnthe novel's blamelesshero,it becomes
clear thathowevermodernthesetechnologies
are,theymaybe as likelytomisleadas toextend
our"direct
vision"andourunderstanding
(320).11
In theend,James'stelegraphic
realismwith
itsepistemological
concerns
mayraisethepossibilityofa telegraphic
modernism.
Redistributing
space intoa network
ofconnections,
permitting
virtuallyinstantaneous
communication
across
continents
andempires,
thetelegraph
"wouldliterallymaketheworlda smaller[. .] place"(the
adverbis worthy
ofJames[Morus341]), butit
woulddo so ina peculiarway:bycollapsingdistanceintoa proximity
thatwas discursive,
technologicallymediated,andstrangely
invisiblein
daily life. For FredricJameson,a keynoteof
modernist
is itssimultaneous
writing
feelingof
globalconnectionand of "spatialdisjunction,"
itssensethatthecenterlies elsewhere;Jameson
tracesthistraitto thefactthathighmodernism
arisesamidthevastsystem
ofimperialism
before
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987
988
PMLA
Telegraphic Realism: HenryJames's In the Cage
theGreatWar,a systemwhoselogicappearsevNOTES
butthatis virtually
erywhere
tograsp I am grateful
impossible
totheMabelleMcLeodLewisMemorialFund
as a whole(51). Systematically
expandedtolink forsupporting
on thisessay.
myresearch
1 On thepsychodynamics
ofdictation-inIn theCage,
continents
and empires,thetelegraphcouldby
for
and
his
and
James
typists,
beyond the grave-see
theturnofthecentury
suggesttheradicallydeThurschwell.
centeredpossibilitiesattending
thenotionthat
thatJames"powerfully
therad2Seltzer suggests
registers
"[r]eally[... .] relationsstopnowhere,"
as James icalrecompositions
ofwriting
andinformation-technologies
putsit in a famousphrasefromtheNew York attheturnofthecentury"
intheformofJamesian
"'psychology,'a psychology
inseparable
fromthewriting
ofwriting."
prefacetoRoderick
Hudson(CriticalMuse452).
SeltzercitesJames'sexplorations
of"themateto thebreakingpoint,therealisttele- Specifically,
Stretched
rialityofinformation-processing
andtechnologies
ofcomgraphmayhintatfictional
modernism.
munication
(In theCage, forexample),thecorporeality
of
The affiliation
betweentelegraphy
andthe thinking
andspeaking(WhatMaisieKnew,forexample),the
andpathologization,
ofreadingandwriting
evolvinglogic ofrealismsuggeststhatfiction, psychophysics,
(TheTurnoftheScrew,forexample)"(Bodies197n57).
havinglongsinceabsorbedtheepistlethatgave
3Mooncomparesthe"romantic
Toryism"
ofthetelegrait itsRichardsonian
form,is by thelaternine- phistandofthe
governess(31); Gabler-Hover
readsIn the
teenthcentury
takingup a newertechnology
of
Cage as a ghoststory(265-68). Most recently,
Rowe has
transmission:
as narrative
similartalesto seteachotheroff,
model,chronotope, usedthetwoenigmatically
and figureforrealism'sepistemologicalarma- contrastingthe antiquariantrappingsof The Turnof the
ScrewwiththemodemsceneofIn theCage (155-56, 162).
ture.But James'scagey versionof telegraphy
ofthetelegraphist's
4On theimportance
sexual
marginal
mayalso carrya timeliermessage.Earlyin the andclass statusandofherdesirefora "margin"offreedom
history
ofthetelegraph,
itspromoters
hailedits orcontrol,see Wicke;BauerandLakritz.
5Savoy also considersthe tale in the lightof Oscar
abilityto bindtheworldtogetherwithinstant
thatNixonextendsinto
a vision congruentwiththe Wilde's1895trials,a consideration
communication,
a readingofIn theCage as a responseto Wilde's"Balladof
promisesofrealismatmid-century.
Fortyyears ReadingGaol" (1897).
later,HenryJamesscrutinized
thetelegraphic
6 As Savoy and Nixonnote,theunspokentoposof the
musewitha keenersenseoftelegraphy
as social
telegraphist's
sexualizednegotiation
ofprivacy,publicity,
infamoussecondjob of
andmaterialpracticeandwitha moreskeptical and moneyis prostitution-that
telegraph
boys.
eyefortheclaimsofa fictional
realismthathad
7Norrmandelineates
thesituation's
deepirony:Everard
oncefounda counterpart
inthetelegraph's
ideal- andLadyBradeenare"saved"bythefactthatthetelegram's
ized image.The era of electricdata networks code containsa mistake-themistakethatthetelegraphist
thought
shewas correcting.
maylook primitive
in ourage ofelectronicin- originally
8 Recognizingthetelegraphist's
dreamsof "romantic
terconnection,
butas Standagenotes,therhapdisengagement,"
Nixonaptlyappliesthispassage bothto
sodiesofitsadvocatessoundfamiliar(207-11).
thetelegraphist
andtoWilde'sfantasies
oftranscendence
in
Like James'stelegraphist,
we mayfindthatour
"TheBalladofReadingGaol" (196).
wiredpositionrendersus peculiarly
9 In hisAutobiography,
susceptible
Trollopecomparestheauthorat
at thesounder:"His languagemust
to certainfantasies:notmerelythatknowledge workto a telegraphist
come fromhim[. .] as thesyllablestinkledoutby little
mightbe transparent
butthattechnology
willaubells formthemselves
to theearofthetelegraphist"
(177).
tomatically
permit
us totranscend
oursocialand An updatedversionofGaskell'smetaphor,
Trollope'scomeconomicrifts.As present-day
developments
in
parisonsimilarly
sidestepsquestionsabouttheprovenance
electroniccommunication
createnewfantasies ofthemessage.
? Claytonconsiders
In theCage inrelation
tothespecifofparticipation
andportend
newsocialgulfs,we
icallyacousticnatureoftelegraphy
andarguesthattheauraltoomight
benefit
froma margin
ofthechastened ityofthe
soundingtelegraph
makesitanomalous("odd"or
telegraphic
realismsoundedbyIn theCage.
"queer")inthelightofthe"disembodiment"
usuallyassociatedwithmodemtechnologies
(226-29). Claytonraisesfascinating
points,butitseemstomethatJames'staleprovokes
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I
5.5
1
RichardMenke
moreextendedquestionsabouttherelationbetweendisembodiedknowledgeandtheformandideologyoffiction.
I I Fora different
inA Laodicean,
readingoftelegraphy
see Clayton218-22.
Hardy,Thomas.A Laodicean;or,TheCastleoftheDe Stancys:A StoryofTo-day.1881. Ed. JaneGatewood.Oxford:World'sClassics-Oxford
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. In theCage. 1898. CompleteStories,1892-1898.
New York:Lib. ofAmer.,1996.835-923.
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