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In the Cage
It had occurred to her early that in her position - that of a young person spending, in framed and wired confinement, the life of a guinea-pig or a magpie - she should know a great many persons without their recognising the acquaintance. That made it an emotion the more lively - though singularly rare and always, even then, with opportunity still very much smothered - to see any one come in whom she knew outside, as she called it, any one who could add anything to the meanness of her function. Her function was to sit there with two young men - the other telegraphist and the counter-clerk; to mind the "sounder," which was always going, to dole out stamps and postal-orders, weigh letters, answer stupid questions, give difficult change and, more than anything else, count words as numberless as the sands of the sea, the words of the telegrams thrust, from morning to night, through the gap left in the high lattice, across the encumbered shelf that her forearm ached with rubbing. This transparent screen fenced out or fenced in, according to the side of the narrow counter on which the human lot was cast, the duskiest corner of a shop pervaded not a little, in winter, by the poison of perpetual gas, and at all times by the presence of hams, cheese, dried fish, soap, varnish, paraffin and other solids and fluids that she came to know perfectly by their smells without consenting to know them by their names.
144 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1898
About the author
Henry James
4,805 books4,065 followersHenry James was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the son of Henry James Sr. and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James.
He is best known for his novels dealing with the social and marital interplay between émigré Americans, the English, and continental Europeans, such as The Portrait of a Lady. His later works, such as The Ambassadors, The Wings of the Dove and The Golden Bowl were increasingly experimental. In describing the internal states of mind and social dynamics of his characters, James often wrote in a style in which ambiguous or contradictory motives and impressions were overlaid or juxtaposed in the discussion of a character's psyche. For their unique ambiguity, as well as for other aspects of their composition, his late works have been compared to Impressionist painting.
His novella The Turn of the Screw has garnered a reputation as the most analysed and ambiguous ghost story in the English language and remains his most widely adapted work in other media. He wrote other highly regarded ghost stories, such as "The Jolly Corner".
James published articles and books of criticism, travel, biography, autobiography, and plays. Born in the United States, James largely relocated to Europe as a young man, and eventually settled in England, becoming a British citizen in 1915, a year before his death. James was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911, 1912, and 1916. Jorge Luis Borges said "I have visited some literatures of East and West; I have compiled an encyclopedic compendium of fantastic literature; I have translated Kafka, Melville, and Bloy; I know of no stranger work than that of Henry James."
He is best known for his novels dealing with the social and marital interplay between émigré Americans, the English, and continental Europeans, such as The Portrait of a Lady. His later works, such as The Ambassadors, The Wings of the Dove and The Golden Bowl were increasingly experimental. In describing the internal states of mind and social dynamics of his characters, James often wrote in a style in which ambiguous or contradictory motives and impressions were overlaid or juxtaposed in the discussion of a character's psyche. For their unique ambiguity, as well as for other aspects of their composition, his late works have been compared to Impressionist painting.
His novella The Turn of the Screw has garnered a reputation as the most analysed and ambiguous ghost story in the English language and remains his most widely adapted work in other media. He wrote other highly regarded ghost stories, such as "The Jolly Corner".
James published articles and books of criticism, travel, biography, autobiography, and plays. Born in the United States, James largely relocated to Europe as a young man, and eventually settled in England, becoming a British citizen in 1915, a year before his death. James was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911, 1912, and 1916. Jorge Luis Borges said "I have visited some literatures of East and West; I have compiled an encyclopedic compendium of fantastic literature; I have translated Kafka, Melville, and Bloy; I know of no stranger work than that of Henry James."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews
February 9, 2017
A rueful, gently comic novella -- neglected because scholars couldn't explain its 'misfit' in the James canon. Its focus is the working-class whose lives are a grind for God & Country. In pre-telephone days, c. 1900, a likeable telegraphist, engaged to a grocer, becomes involved in the coded "messages" between a married Lady and her lover.
Crisis: a message is lost. The aristo couple need her help. Beware of changing technology, cautions James who sent 100s of telegrams himself. If not careful, techno-wizardy can spin out of control, not unlike a truant Email. Further, James asks, can technology best reality and direct sociality? A question I'll let you answer.
Crisis: a message is lost. The aristo couple need her help. Beware of changing technology, cautions James who sent 100s of telegrams himself. If not careful, techno-wizardy can spin out of control, not unlike a truant Email. Further, James asks, can technology best reality and direct sociality? A question I'll let you answer.
July 1, 2021
“Esta era, ni más ni menos, la extraña prolongación de la experiencia de la joven, la doble vida que acabó llevando dentro de la jaula. A medida que iban pasando las semanas, vivía más y más en el mundo de los soplos y las visiones fugaces, y descubrió que sus conjeturas eran más rápidas y se extendían más lejos.”
Un gran acierto es esta novela corta de Henry James, mi segundo libro leído del autor.
Aquí nos presenta a una joven sin nombre, quien labora en una tienda de telégrafos junto con dos compañeros, pasando la mayor parte de su día ahí. El establecimiento es visitado por los vecinos adinerados y de clase alta de la zona.
Así, nuestra protagonista desde el interior de “la jaula”, observa y se imagina cómo será la vida de los clientes que la frecuentan y entre ellos habrá alguien que le dará un significado diferente a su vida.
Como dije, disfruté mucho de esta historia porque a pesar de ser corta, y de no ‘pasar’ casi nada (el modo de lectura es lento y pausado), la prosa y las ideas que plasma el autor en ella son una maravilla. Los personajes son pocos pero son los necesarios, su desarrollo es bueno (en especial el de la protagonista); quizá me hubiera gustado saber un poco más de quien pasa a ser el otro personaje principal, pero tampoco me puedo quejar ya que al tener tan pocas páginas se comprende.
Me llama la atención además que la joven no tenga un nombre y pienso que posiblemente sea por como la miran las personas que entran en la tienda, apenas percibiendo su existencia y mucho menos interesándose en su vida, mientras ella vive atrapada en la jaula dadas sus circunstancias. Es una interpretación que le he dado, y en tal caso me parece muy buena la crítica que hace Henry James con esta obra.
En fin, no me queda más que recomendar esta lectura y esperando leer muy pronto más obras del autor; ya tengo un par en la mira y me entusiasma la idea de continuar con ellas.
Un gran acierto es esta novela corta de Henry James, mi segundo libro leído del autor.
Aquí nos presenta a una joven sin nombre, quien labora en una tienda de telégrafos junto con dos compañeros, pasando la mayor parte de su día ahí. El establecimiento es visitado por los vecinos adinerados y de clase alta de la zona.
Así, nuestra protagonista desde el interior de “la jaula”, observa y se imagina cómo será la vida de los clientes que la frecuentan y entre ellos habrá alguien que le dará un significado diferente a su vida.
Como dije, disfruté mucho de esta historia porque a pesar de ser corta, y de no ‘pasar’ casi nada (el modo de lectura es lento y pausado), la prosa y las ideas que plasma el autor en ella son una maravilla. Los personajes son pocos pero son los necesarios, su desarrollo es bueno (en especial el de la protagonista); quizá me hubiera gustado saber un poco más de quien pasa a ser el otro personaje principal, pero tampoco me puedo quejar ya que al tener tan pocas páginas se comprende.
Me llama la atención además que la joven no tenga un nombre y pienso que posiblemente sea por como la miran las personas que entran en la tienda, apenas percibiendo su existencia y mucho menos interesándose en su vida, mientras ella vive atrapada en la jaula dadas sus circunstancias. Es una interpretación que le he dado, y en tal caso me parece muy buena la crítica que hace Henry James con esta obra.
En fin, no me queda más que recomendar esta lectura y esperando leer muy pronto más obras del autor; ya tengo un par en la mira y me entusiasma la idea de continuar con ellas.
March 14, 2017
I've read Henry James before a few years ago (The Beast in the Jungle) and I really enjoyed his ideas, characters and intelligent storytelling but I found the writing extremely heavy and flowery to enjoy and after a while I found it difficult to follow the story. This time around though (and perhaps it has to do with me maturing as a reader) I really enjoyed his work. As expected, it was very difficult to read and it requires a lot of attention. It's not the kind of book that you can read lying in bed or in the bath. You have to sit down on a desk and read it carefully. The writing is very intricate and flowery. However, the experience is very rewarding and I really enjoyed trying to understand his prose and study his themes.
March 27, 2008
Only James could take an unnamed girl working in a telegraph office and turn her in to one of the most complex characters I've even studied.
March 21, 2011
Sometimes I get the sense that Henry James hates women and woefully misreads them. Other times I get the sense that Henry James understood women on a more desperate level, at least for the times. This little novella straddles the two.
November 5, 2011
how does he know so well what it's like to have a shitty job?
April 3, 2017
A menudo, los libros de Henry James son como una partida de póker. Es decir, una reunión de personajes sentados alrededor de una mesa, observándose mutuamente mientras guardan silencio y preparan su jugada. Por un momento no ocurre nada; sin embargo, en la mente de esos jugadores ocurre todo. En sus pensamientos encontramos un mundo de posibilidades que se reservan como un as bajo la manga para aparecer en el momento justo, por si acaso la partida nos ofrece la oportunidad de ganar. En sus novelas los personajes juegan astutamente, debatiéndose entre la frialdad y el sentimiento... o quizás no; quizás sean demasiado torpes para obrar con claridad, tal vez carezcan de prudencia y se anuncien demasiado, tal vez se adelanten y pierdan la oportunidad. Nunca existe la certeza de quién lleva las de ganar.
Algunos escritores han tenido la virtud de escribir historias cuya misterio se apoya, no "en lo que se dice", sino en "lo que no se dice"; los vacíos de información son un recurso que los autores modernistas explotaron con gran acierto. En esta novela James parece ir más allá, escribiendo una historia, no sobre los personajes que viven un conflicto, sino sobre los personajes que no lo viven (pero desearían vivirlo). Tal es el caso de la anónima protagonista de "En la jaula", obra escrita en 1998 y editada recientemente por Alba Editorial.
¿Ha sentido usted que su vida es aburrida y que parece que todo mundo está en constante movimiento excepto usted? Si su respuesta es "sí," podrá empatizar con esta joven mujer que trabaja como una humilde empleada de telégrafos en un popular almacén de Londres. Su "jaula" es el lugar donde gestiona los telegramas que han de ser enviados (un estrecho cubículo, separado del público por una malla metálica).
Ante la falta de una vida propia, excitante y satisfactoria, es común que recurramos a la observación o incluso intromisión de la vida ajena. En esta novela, la protagonista aprovecha su posición de telegrafista para conocer los movimientos de las personas que acuden enviar telegramas. Ante su posición de acceso a los mensajes (cuyas palabras debe contar y tasar), siente que ha adquirido algún tipo de poder. Su curiosidad se centra en aquellos clientes de clase social alta, cuya vida considera glamurosa y pecaminosa. Por ellos (los aristócratas) siente una especial fascinación pero también un desprecio moral. Su obsesión más grande es el Capitán Everard, un joven y bien parecido caballero que parece estar enredado en una relación comprometedora.
Como es costumbre en las novelas de James, todo se reduce a un punto de vista. Esto significa que la interpretación de los mensajes que llegan a manos de nuestra telegrafista puede ser incorrecta; Quizás exagera, o quizás las cosas sean mucho peor de lo que ella se imagina. Aparte de su egocéntrico placer vouyerista, la joven siente una responsabilidad por saber demasiado y se propone salvar (¿por amor?) a su capitán.
El autor describe con agudeza la psicología de las clases humildes. Aquella persona que se siente insignificante tratará de ocultar su precariedad y para ello puede dejarse llevar por la fantasía reivindicatoria de codearse con personas de una mejor posición social. En la mayoría de las sociedades existe una admiración hueca y enfermiza por las clases altas (que en este libro se manifiesta en el personaje de la Señora Jordan). No obstante, también existe una especie de revanchismo social, que puede manifestarse en el prejuicio de que "allá arriba" sólo puede existir la perversión y la inmoralidad. Quizás esta amarga animosidad sea sólo un mecanismo de defensa para poder sobrellevar una vida llena de carencias y aburrimiento.
La lectura no es tan simple como en otras ocasiones. En este libro James se entrega con mayor ahínco a las descripciones extensas y profundas. El primer capítulo es apabullante, pues consiste en un sólo párrafo de gran complejidad (uno se pregunta porqué James no es tan famoso como Edgar Allan Poe o Victor Hugo, siendo capaz de escribir de manera similar), sin embargo, esto no debería desalentar al lector, ya que a partir del segundo capítulo la lectura se vuelve un poco más simple. Aunque los párrafos largos parezcan un tanto intimidantes, los episodios son más bien cortos y la novela muy breve. El estilo del escritor (El Henry James viejo, el que dicta; el de las "parrafadas") podría chocar con aquellos lectores más prácticos y ansiosos.
Si se trata de fomentar la lectura de Henry James, tendríamos mejores resultados escribiendo reseñas ingenuas (del corte de "Me ha gustado mucho la historia y la recomiendo mucho"). Si nos esforzamos por describir hasta dónde llega el escritor con sus novelas, podríamos terminar asustando a los lectores. Lo extraño del caso es que el argumento de sus relatos es casi siempre sencillo y amable; la dificultad radica en su técnica descriptiva tan profunda, especialmente la de sus últimas obras. Mi sugerencia es iniciar con sus novelas anteriores como "Daisy Miller" y "Washington Square" para después leer sus obras de madurez como "Otra vuelta de tuerca" y "En la jaula". Leer a Henry James es toda una experiencia. No la posponga más tiempo.
Algunos escritores han tenido la virtud de escribir historias cuya misterio se apoya, no "en lo que se dice", sino en "lo que no se dice"; los vacíos de información son un recurso que los autores modernistas explotaron con gran acierto. En esta novela James parece ir más allá, escribiendo una historia, no sobre los personajes que viven un conflicto, sino sobre los personajes que no lo viven (pero desearían vivirlo). Tal es el caso de la anónima protagonista de "En la jaula", obra escrita en 1998 y editada recientemente por Alba Editorial.
¿Ha sentido usted que su vida es aburrida y que parece que todo mundo está en constante movimiento excepto usted? Si su respuesta es "sí," podrá empatizar con esta joven mujer que trabaja como una humilde empleada de telégrafos en un popular almacén de Londres. Su "jaula" es el lugar donde gestiona los telegramas que han de ser enviados (un estrecho cubículo, separado del público por una malla metálica).
Ante la falta de una vida propia, excitante y satisfactoria, es común que recurramos a la observación o incluso intromisión de la vida ajena. En esta novela, la protagonista aprovecha su posición de telegrafista para conocer los movimientos de las personas que acuden enviar telegramas. Ante su posición de acceso a los mensajes (cuyas palabras debe contar y tasar), siente que ha adquirido algún tipo de poder. Su curiosidad se centra en aquellos clientes de clase social alta, cuya vida considera glamurosa y pecaminosa. Por ellos (los aristócratas) siente una especial fascinación pero también un desprecio moral. Su obsesión más grande es el Capitán Everard, un joven y bien parecido caballero que parece estar enredado en una relación comprometedora.
Como es costumbre en las novelas de James, todo se reduce a un punto de vista. Esto significa que la interpretación de los mensajes que llegan a manos de nuestra telegrafista puede ser incorrecta; Quizás exagera, o quizás las cosas sean mucho peor de lo que ella se imagina. Aparte de su egocéntrico placer vouyerista, la joven siente una responsabilidad por saber demasiado y se propone salvar (¿por amor?) a su capitán.
El autor describe con agudeza la psicología de las clases humildes. Aquella persona que se siente insignificante tratará de ocultar su precariedad y para ello puede dejarse llevar por la fantasía reivindicatoria de codearse con personas de una mejor posición social. En la mayoría de las sociedades existe una admiración hueca y enfermiza por las clases altas (que en este libro se manifiesta en el personaje de la Señora Jordan). No obstante, también existe una especie de revanchismo social, que puede manifestarse en el prejuicio de que "allá arriba" sólo puede existir la perversión y la inmoralidad. Quizás esta amarga animosidad sea sólo un mecanismo de defensa para poder sobrellevar una vida llena de carencias y aburrimiento.
La lectura no es tan simple como en otras ocasiones. En este libro James se entrega con mayor ahínco a las descripciones extensas y profundas. El primer capítulo es apabullante, pues consiste en un sólo párrafo de gran complejidad (uno se pregunta porqué James no es tan famoso como Edgar Allan Poe o Victor Hugo, siendo capaz de escribir de manera similar), sin embargo, esto no debería desalentar al lector, ya que a partir del segundo capítulo la lectura se vuelve un poco más simple. Aunque los párrafos largos parezcan un tanto intimidantes, los episodios son más bien cortos y la novela muy breve. El estilo del escritor (El Henry James viejo, el que dicta; el de las "parrafadas") podría chocar con aquellos lectores más prácticos y ansiosos.
Si se trata de fomentar la lectura de Henry James, tendríamos mejores resultados escribiendo reseñas ingenuas (del corte de "Me ha gustado mucho la historia y la recomiendo mucho"). Si nos esforzamos por describir hasta dónde llega el escritor con sus novelas, podríamos terminar asustando a los lectores. Lo extraño del caso es que el argumento de sus relatos es casi siempre sencillo y amable; la dificultad radica en su técnica descriptiva tan profunda, especialmente la de sus últimas obras. Mi sugerencia es iniciar con sus novelas anteriores como "Daisy Miller" y "Washington Square" para después leer sus obras de madurez como "Otra vuelta de tuerca" y "En la jaula". Leer a Henry James es toda una experiencia. No la posponga más tiempo.
January 28, 2019
This novella is available for free download to Kindle format from Amazon, plus you can download it free of charge from The Gutenberg Project (GP). However, the “Push to Kindle” extension on my Firefox browser is not, as of this writing, playing nice with the GP site. It unfairly and inaccurately accused me of being in Germany, where squabbling over copyright has lead the GP to block download attempts. Access denied. In any event, I pushed it to Kindle in two parts from Full Text Archive. The right justification on the resulting product was a little wonky, but it didn't make this convoluted slab of 1898 prose significantly more impenetrable than it already is.
“I hate myself for loving you” is how Joan Jett put it in the Paleolithic-era hit. While some have this sort of relationship with flesh-and-blood paramours, I have a similar, but much easier-to-manage, relationship with the unreliable-narrator tales of H. James. Even though I wanted to reach right through the pages of “Turn of the Screw” and “The Madonna of the Future”, grasp James by his fussy cravat, and yell “dammit, just say what you mean already!”, I still came back for more in the form of this curious novella, which is getting slightly more attention recently due to its curiously modern-sounding setting. The heroine sits in “the cage” all day receiving, reading, and sending telegrams at a fancy London shop. It doesn't take a great deal of imagination to update her to the lady behind the cypher-locked door in the IT department of your employer or internet service provider, able to access your messages, your attachments, and perhaps even your keystrokes if the whim strikes her.
Unlike the tales mentioned above, this tale lacks a framing device that serves to signal (at least I think that's their purpose) that hey, look, this story might not have to be taken at face value. So it's even more of a mystery what the hell is going on. What should we think about the nameless telegraph lady who is the protagonist? There's evidence to support mutually exclusive interpretations, including but not limited to:
– she is a smart but poor woman stuck in soul-sucking deadend job and boring romance,
– she is a pathetic innocent whose fiction-derived impression of aristocrats are no match to the malevolence of the genuine article,
– she is a clueless and mean-spirited dolt who reads other people's mail and doesn't feel bad about it,
– she is a young woman squeezing a desperate last moment of excitement and mystery out of life before resigning herself to grinding lower-middle-class tedium.
So which is it, Henry, huh? Just tell me. Please. I promise I'll never muss your cravat again.
“I hate myself for loving you” is how Joan Jett put it in the Paleolithic-era hit. While some have this sort of relationship with flesh-and-blood paramours, I have a similar, but much easier-to-manage, relationship with the unreliable-narrator tales of H. James. Even though I wanted to reach right through the pages of “Turn of the Screw” and “The Madonna of the Future”, grasp James by his fussy cravat, and yell “dammit, just say what you mean already!”, I still came back for more in the form of this curious novella, which is getting slightly more attention recently due to its curiously modern-sounding setting. The heroine sits in “the cage” all day receiving, reading, and sending telegrams at a fancy London shop. It doesn't take a great deal of imagination to update her to the lady behind the cypher-locked door in the IT department of your employer or internet service provider, able to access your messages, your attachments, and perhaps even your keystrokes if the whim strikes her.
Unlike the tales mentioned above, this tale lacks a framing device that serves to signal (at least I think that's their purpose) that hey, look, this story might not have to be taken at face value. So it's even more of a mystery what the hell is going on. What should we think about the nameless telegraph lady who is the protagonist? There's evidence to support mutually exclusive interpretations, including but not limited to:
– she is a smart but poor woman stuck in soul-sucking deadend job and boring romance,
– she is a pathetic innocent whose fiction-derived impression of aristocrats are no match to the malevolence of the genuine article,
– she is a clueless and mean-spirited dolt who reads other people's mail and doesn't feel bad about it,
– she is a young woman squeezing a desperate last moment of excitement and mystery out of life before resigning herself to grinding lower-middle-class tedium.
So which is it, Henry, huh? Just tell me. Please. I promise I'll never muss your cravat again.
May 20, 2026
I wasn’t expecting it, but this one blew me away . . . James is such a master on pretty much every level I can think of. Not only is everything written so perfectly, consciousness represented so precisely, delicately, vividly, but also just like the level of empathy James shows here is so crazy. Like, how could he so perfectly capture the life of a young British girl working in a telegraph office? How could he know that so well?? Even when it comes to the technical particulars of the workings of the position, James is so freaking specific and detailed.
I guess it should be mentioned that, yeah, this book is really dense; not The Wings of the Dove/The Ambassadors/The Golden Bowl level, but still way harder than 98% of "classic" literature, even so I can see how the more casual reader could be very intimidated/frustrated by this, and for the first time when it comes to James I kind of can begrudgingly accept the reviews of my fellow GoodReads peers, at least from that angle. Even coming directly from What Maisie Knew? I had to reread a lot of passages myself (and that was published only one year earlier!), but all this density and difficulty is completely in service of the “story” (or at least story as James conceived it). James so meticulously renders every little desire, moment of boredom, fantasy, resentment, projection, and curiosity that continuously shapes our narrator’s perception, and in turn our own. In classic James fashion, we never get a moral reading or judgment or message about anything either.
Honestly, just the density of everything happening here was incredible; every glance, pause, association, emphasis is there, and it all works to render such a deep and moving picture of this unnamed British working girl’s consciousness. It was honestly hard to believe at times that a mere human could have come up with all this; it was so totally beyond like my own conception even of what writing could do. Very few writers have ever instilled that feeling in me.
I guess it should be mentioned that, yeah, this book is really dense; not The Wings of the Dove/The Ambassadors/The Golden Bowl level, but still way harder than 98% of "classic" literature, even so I can see how the more casual reader could be very intimidated/frustrated by this, and for the first time when it comes to James I kind of can begrudgingly accept the reviews of my fellow GoodReads peers, at least from that angle. Even coming directly from What Maisie Knew? I had to reread a lot of passages myself (and that was published only one year earlier!), but all this density and difficulty is completely in service of the “story” (or at least story as James conceived it). James so meticulously renders every little desire, moment of boredom, fantasy, resentment, projection, and curiosity that continuously shapes our narrator’s perception, and in turn our own. In classic James fashion, we never get a moral reading or judgment or message about anything either.
Honestly, just the density of everything happening here was incredible; every glance, pause, association, emphasis is there, and it all works to render such a deep and moving picture of this unnamed British working girl’s consciousness. It was honestly hard to believe at times that a mere human could have come up with all this; it was so totally beyond like my own conception even of what writing could do. Very few writers have ever instilled that feeling in me.
March 9, 2026
(read for my american realism seminar). this is a bizarre story about a telegraphist who decodes rich people’s messages and judges the shit out of them but also kinda is obsessed with them. it’s actually pretty funny once you get past james’ insane verbosity.
March 3, 2025
genuinely didn’t know what was going on 50% of the time
April 25, 2023
I read this little novella because Deleuze and Guattari use it as an exemplary novella in a chapter of A Thousand Plateaux; they have good theories about James, and you could probably interpret this book very fully with it, namely with the elusive concept of 'the secret' as the central element of the complex relationship between the sexes. James is too good for continental philosophy, however, having written here a tale above all about the drudgery of having to go to work, and the rampant adventures of the imagination that take place within "the cage". A nameless lady working at a telegraph office begins speculating about the activities of her rich clients, and gets involved in a little detective-like power game with them. James is very brief about it, but the 'sleuthing' permits the beautiful convolutions of his style, and he intermittently employs magnificent and vivid metaphors about rays of shining lights. One could say that this, like Turn of the Screw from the same year, is an experiment in finding unique perspectives that allow more creative narratorial voice, which was the sort of experiment that permitted his famous last great novels.
The easiest edition to acquire was put out by some sort of UK publisher with a very slight, paltry introduction, and a number of typoes throughout. Beware this "hesperus" press.
The easiest edition to acquire was put out by some sort of UK publisher with a very slight, paltry introduction, and a number of typoes throughout. Beware this "hesperus" press.
January 28, 2020
I could not get into this book. It was so boring and the content was so dull to me. I feel so bad for not liking it but it was just not worth the read for me. I had to read it for class and it was a painful experience to get through. The writing style was difficult for me to understand and I found myself drifting off and having to reread so many passages. The overall theme and summary was decent but I don't think it was worth the amount of pages.
March 12, 2018
Read for university.
I simply despised it. I'm sorry, but James's writing is just awful. The use of commas makes the reading experience slow, tedious and confusing. The dialogue is one of the worse I've ever read.
Not a fan.
I simply despised it. I'm sorry, but James's writing is just awful. The use of commas makes the reading experience slow, tedious and confusing. The dialogue is one of the worse I've ever read.
Not a fan.
March 18, 2026
read the first 1/3 of this from the university library’s first edition(!!!!) copy from 1898(!!!!!!!) which they just let anyone check out(???????) and then the rest when my hold at the local library finally processed. meant to take my time with this one and really feel it out, but got hooked halfway in and blew through the whole novella in an evening. henry james is of course a master at abstraction & from what little of him ive read so far it seems a lot of his characters are “in the cage” so to speak—although its literalized in this one not only by the telegraph office, but also the lower class of the main character here…and of course the ways in which relationships are abstracted, mediated through glass, through telegrams, through imagination; and in some instances (literally/metaphorically) “barred off” altogether.
obviously ill have to intellectualize abt this stuff more specifically at a rapidly approaching point in my future but broadly struck by how touching james’ characters are. and as always theres a real sense of general melancholy which pervades his work esp re: relationships and experiences which are or seem or become huge and defining and important to your personhood…and which all too soon vanish from your life completely. oh man.
obviously ill have to intellectualize abt this stuff more specifically at a rapidly approaching point in my future but broadly struck by how touching james’ characters are. and as always theres a real sense of general melancholy which pervades his work esp re: relationships and experiences which are or seem or become huge and defining and important to your personhood…and which all too soon vanish from your life completely. oh man.
March 8, 2021
La scorsa primavera, tra gli ebook in omaggio della casa editrice Lindau, ho trovato questo titolo, a me fino a quel momento sconosciuto. Mi ha però sempre incuriosita James, quindi ho colto la palla al balzo, l'ho scaricato e finalmente l'ho messo in lettura.
Sicuramente leggerò altro di James: all'inizio ho fatto un po' di fatica a entrare nel suo stile, fatto di frasi dense e ricche di dettagli e allusioni, tanto che spesso ho dovuto rileggere le frasi o i passaggi più volte per essere sicura di aver capito tutto, ma poi, una volta presaci la mano, mi ha catturata. L'aspetto più interessante è sicuramente l'introspezione psicologica, non solo quella che James fa della protagonista ma soprattutto quella che la protagonista fa delle persone che la circondano. Impiegata del telegrafo, ha come principale divertimento (la sua personale forma di fuga e dalla monotonia del suo lavoro) quello di ricostruire le vite e i caratteri dei suoi clienti basandosi sul contenuto dei loro telegrammi. Questo dunque lascia a noi lettori il costante dubbio sull'effettiva veridicità di quanto la protagonista desume: quel personaggio è davvero così? i fatti sono davvero andati come immagina la protagonista? Il caso vuole che lei venga coinvolta direttamente in una di queste vite, ma l'esito della vicenda ci darà solo alcune di queste risposte.
Una lettura breve ma molto interessante.
Sicuramente leggerò altro di James: all'inizio ho fatto un po' di fatica a entrare nel suo stile, fatto di frasi dense e ricche di dettagli e allusioni, tanto che spesso ho dovuto rileggere le frasi o i passaggi più volte per essere sicura di aver capito tutto, ma poi, una volta presaci la mano, mi ha catturata. L'aspetto più interessante è sicuramente l'introspezione psicologica, non solo quella che James fa della protagonista ma soprattutto quella che la protagonista fa delle persone che la circondano. Impiegata del telegrafo, ha come principale divertimento (la sua personale forma di fuga e dalla monotonia del suo lavoro) quello di ricostruire le vite e i caratteri dei suoi clienti basandosi sul contenuto dei loro telegrammi. Questo dunque lascia a noi lettori il costante dubbio sull'effettiva veridicità di quanto la protagonista desume: quel personaggio è davvero così? i fatti sono davvero andati come immagina la protagonista? Il caso vuole che lei venga coinvolta direttamente in una di queste vite, ma l'esito della vicenda ci darà solo alcune di queste risposte.
Una lettura breve ma molto interessante.
August 10, 2022
Jiní čtenáři do komentářů napsali, že jazyk byl až moc květnatý, a tudíž se kniha špatně četla. Mně připadal květnatý tak akorát, abych se mohla dokonale naladit na atmosféru doby, ve které byli muži gentlemani a nosili kloubouky a vycházkové hole (podotýkám však, že jsem dílo poslouchala jako audioknihu).
Jednoduchá zápletka, ale přitom velmi zajímavá perspektiva: hlavní postava nemá jméno, jediné, co o ní víme, se týká víceméně jejího snoubence, kromě toho jejíma očima sledujeme vztah mileneckého párů, kterého se naše telegrafistka účastní spíše nepřímo, mnoho věcí si jen představuje a vymýšlí si různé teorie. Když se v závěru dozvídá, jak vše bylo, je z tohoto poznání v šoku. Na mě byl závěr trochu nevýrazný, i když nepopírám, že nepřinesl několik podnětů ohledně některých postav. Co se mi na knize líbilo nejvíce, je právě prokreslená psychologie postav.
Jednoduchá zápletka, ale přitom velmi zajímavá perspektiva: hlavní postava nemá jméno, jediné, co o ní víme, se týká víceméně jejího snoubence, kromě toho jejíma očima sledujeme vztah mileneckého párů, kterého se naše telegrafistka účastní spíše nepřímo, mnoho věcí si jen představuje a vymýšlí si různé teorie. Když se v závěru dozvídá, jak vše bylo, je z tohoto poznání v šoku. Na mě byl závěr trochu nevýrazný, i když nepopírám, že nepřinesl několik podnětů ohledně některých postav. Co se mi na knize líbilo nejvíce, je právě prokreslená psychologie postav.
October 30, 2020
Okay, I liked our unnamed clerk protagonist which is not the norm with Henry James' women. Also a surprising amount of chemistry in this novella? His writing is way too flowery for my tastes (I wouldn't even say it's pretty to read, it just seems like fluff), but this makes me want to give him another shot.
September 15, 2018
The butler did it.
December 4, 2023
James actually makes me feel like an idiot
Read
February 3, 2026read for class
cool concept, could be cooler in plot
cool concept, could be cooler in plot
Read
March 9, 2026Awfully boring
December 31, 2017
What a conjuring trick! Henry James, the third-generation scion of American plutocracy, cushioned comfortably all his life by a family trust-fund, socialising with the aristocratic elite of two continents, has a look at the life of a working-class telegraphist. The surprise is he shows exactly what such mechanically repetitive and financially marginal jobs are like.
Putting my Marxian hat on, the story dramatises the glamour of hegemonic ideology. Our heroine is ‘in the cage’ indeed. In supremely clever narrative sleight-of-hand, what the reader imagines the story will be - a certain kind of cross-class bad romance - turns out to be almost completely irrelevant. The real story turns out to be about the heroine and her woman friend. Romance doesn’t come into it. There is a ‘happier’ ending for one of them, but Henry is too realistic to suggest either has escaped the cage.
Putting my Marxian hat on, the story dramatises the glamour of hegemonic ideology. Our heroine is ‘in the cage’ indeed. In supremely clever narrative sleight-of-hand, what the reader imagines the story will be - a certain kind of cross-class bad romance - turns out to be almost completely irrelevant. The real story turns out to be about the heroine and her woman friend. Romance doesn’t come into it. There is a ‘happier’ ending for one of them, but Henry is too realistic to suggest either has escaped the cage.
October 11, 2011
A tale of an unnamed protagonist employed at a London telegrah office...
Summary from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_C... "An unnamed telegraphist works in the branch post office at Cocker's, a grocer in a fashionable London neighborhood. Her fiancée, a decent if unpolished man named Mudge, wants her to move to a less expensive neighborhood to save money. She refuses because she likes the glimpses of society life she gets from the telegrams at her current location.
Through those telegrams, she gets "involved" with a pair of lovers, Captain Everard and Lady Bradeen. By remembering certain code numbers in the telegrams, she manages to reassure Everard at a particular crisis that their secrets are safe from detection. Later she learns that, after the death of Lady Bradeen's husband, Everard will marry her, though he no longer seems that interested in her. She finally decides to marry Mudge and reflects on the unusual events she was part of."
Summary from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_C... "An unnamed telegraphist works in the branch post office at Cocker's, a grocer in a fashionable London neighborhood. Her fiancée, a decent if unpolished man named Mudge, wants her to move to a less expensive neighborhood to save money. She refuses because she likes the glimpses of society life she gets from the telegrams at her current location.
Through those telegrams, she gets "involved" with a pair of lovers, Captain Everard and Lady Bradeen. By remembering certain code numbers in the telegrams, she manages to reassure Everard at a particular crisis that their secrets are safe from detection. Later she learns that, after the death of Lady Bradeen's husband, Everard will marry her, though he no longer seems that interested in her. She finally decides to marry Mudge and reflects on the unusual events she was part of."
March 22, 2022
I struggled on to about a third of the way through this book but gave up in the end because I just wasn't enjoying it.
I feel pretty bad giving it one star because I feel deep down that it is a good piece of work and perhaps it's me that's the problem not the book!
I found it too wordy, long flowing sentences with lots of commas made it very difficult to read. It just didn't seem to flow. I never felt remotely close to the characters and even less affection for them. The story just seemed to get lost in words. I found if I read it really slowly (and out loud) it slightly improved the experience but reading at normal speed required frequent re-reads of many sentences and paragraphs.
So in the end I gave up. In my younger days I may have persevered a bit more but I just did not think this was a good or rewarding way to spend my leisure time! However, as I said at the outset, this may well be a beautiful piece of literature but not for me at this time of my life.
I feel pretty bad giving it one star because I feel deep down that it is a good piece of work and perhaps it's me that's the problem not the book!
I found it too wordy, long flowing sentences with lots of commas made it very difficult to read. It just didn't seem to flow. I never felt remotely close to the characters and even less affection for them. The story just seemed to get lost in words. I found if I read it really slowly (and out loud) it slightly improved the experience but reading at normal speed required frequent re-reads of many sentences and paragraphs.
So in the end I gave up. In my younger days I may have persevered a bit more but I just did not think this was a good or rewarding way to spend my leisure time! However, as I said at the outset, this may well be a beautiful piece of literature but not for me at this time of my life.
April 23, 2018
Maybe it was me but I just couldn't follow Henry James' blather. I have read some of his works when I was in high school, mostly because they were assigned, and didn't enjoy his style. My attempt to read his work again as a more mature reader still leaves me disatisfied.
The description of In the Cage was intersting enough so I thought I would give this one a try. I read 48% of it and kept wondering when we were going to get to what was described. This one goes on my "Did Not Finish List".
The description of In the Cage was intersting enough so I thought I would give this one a try. I read 48% of it and kept wondering when we were going to get to what was described. This one goes on my "Did Not Finish List".
January 3, 2021
Henry James' prose is so hard to get to grips with. I think this could have worked better as a short story rather than a novella. This being said, his complex portrayal of the main character is wonderfully multilayered and evokes many different emotional responses. The idealisation of others is once again shattered by reality. I would like to give it two and a half stars really, but the prose was just too dense and relentless to warrant three stars.
July 3, 2018
It is a well written story, but the subject matter I felt was quite wanting of a girl working in a telegraph office who lives vicariously through the telegrams she sends. The ending is nothing to be impressed by either.
May 18, 2011
account soon.
April 22, 2015
I’m a bit disappointed. The plot is easy but in spite of this the book results rather dull. It was neither engaging nor profound.
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