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Where the World Is Not Where the World Is Not Cultural Authority and Democratic Desire in Modern American Literature K I M S A V E L so N T H E O H I O S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y P R E ss / C O L U MB us Copyright © 2009 by The Ohio State University. All rights reserved. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Savelson, Kim. Where the world is not : cultural authority and democratic desire in modern Amer- ican literature / Kim Savelson. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8142-0746-8 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. American literature—20th century—History and criticism. 2. Pragmatism in lit- erature. 3. Democracy in literature. 4. Idea (Philosophy) in literature. 5. Inventions in literature. 6. Social change in literature. 7. United States—Intellectual life—20th century. 8. Literature and society—United States—History—20th century. I. Title. PS228.P69S38 2009 810.9’384—dc22 2008055804 This book is available in the following editions: Cloth (ISBN 978-0-8142-0746-8) CD-ROM (ISBN 978-0-8142-9189-4) Cover design by Melissa Ryan Text design by Jennifer Shoffey Forsythe Type set in ITC Stone Serif Printed by Integrated Book Technology, Inc. Cover art: Lizanne van Essen, Collage, Firmament The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials. ANSI Z39.48-1992. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For Noah and Ella And for Dede In these days of purposes and vexed moral problems it is hard for an author to keep himself untainted by the world. It is hard to hold fast to art pure and simple. An artist should be able to lift himself up into the clear firmament of creation where the world is not. He should be among men but not one of them, in the world but not of the world. Other men may think and reason and believe and argue, but he must create. —Willa Cather CO N TE N TS Acknowledgments xi Introduction Democracy Stumbling: Inventing, Democratic Desire, and the Will to Believe 1 Chapter 1 A Plea for Pure Culture: The Pure Science Ideal 23 Chapter 2 The Romance of Process: Means Meets Ends in Frank Norris’s McTeague 41 Chapter 3 “Where the World Is Not”: Cultural Interest and Disinterest in Willa Cather’s The Professor’s House 60 Chapter 4 Classes and Masses: Willa Cather’s “Purely Cultural Studies” and the “New Commercialism” 77 Chapter 5 “Missionaries of Culture”: Du Bois’ “Higher Aims” in Ellison’s Invisible Man 109 Coda 141 Notes 143 Bibliography 181 Index 189 A C K N O W LEDGME N TS could not have finished Where the World Is Not: Cultural Authority and I Democratic Desire in Modern American Literature without the help and support of many people. It would be virtually impossible to list them all here. Nonetheless, I will attempt to thank some of the people who con- tributed to the process. Early attempts at formulating the ideas in this book were encouraged by Michael T. Gilmore, Jacqueline Jones, Eugene Goodheart, and Wai Chee Dimock. These inspirational scholars provided invaluable critiques of my work and helped, periodically, to renew my confidence in the project. Bryan Reynolds, scholar and lifelong comrade, also maintained a strong belief in this book and did not accept any excuses from me, period. Each member of my family—my dear five brothers (Kenny, Eric, Daniel, Gary, and Brian) and my dedicated father, Robert Savelson, plus my in- law sisters—have supported me in big and small ways, all being the kind of family members who give “family” a good name. And even though she is no longer “with” us, I could not go without thanking the most influ- ential artist and writer in my life, my mother, Dede. Dede, whose life was cut short just as I was accepting my first academic appointment, was my very close friend as well as my parent; she was a tireless source of emo- tional support, intellectual vigor, artistic vision, and humor. I miss talking with her every single day, and continue to try to live with her energy and creativity. Lucky for me that I have friends like Michele Moe and Karen Teicher, who have made life full and fun, even though we rarely see each other. And thanks to Dana Weintraub, who has helped make our new home a warmer place since we moved. Once arriving at Stanford, I found my new academic home, the Program in Writing and Rhetoric, to be a superb community of scholars and teachers; I am very grateful to Andrea Lunsford and Marvin Diogenes for creating and nurturing this -xi- xii ★ Ack N ow LE D GMEN ts cooperative, dynamic community. Thanks to them, the Stanford Program in Writing and Rhetoric is truly remarkable. At The Ohio State University Press, Heather Lee Miller was an early supporter of the project, combining a professional enthusiasm for my scholarly research with a personal interest in discussing our newborns. Later, expert editor Sandy Crooms took over at The Ohio State University Press, bringing the perfect set of skills to keep the momentum rolling. She deserves my warmest thanks. In addition to applying a sharp edito- rial eye, Sandy has been resolute, remarkably patient, and continuously motivating. She somehow was convinced I could finish this book while teaching and taking care of two young children. Sandy remained hopeful about the project even as I worked slowly, balancing my time between the book, my students, and the wonderful and amazing Noah and Ella. I happily thank Noah and Ella, my darling kids, for being magnifi- cent people and for understanding my need to work; I could not ask for sweeter or more exciting, adorable, sparkling children. They are a daily inspiration; they are my heart’s delight. Finally, for the things he has brought me, I am of course grateful to Todd Wright. Our life together has been a wild adventure since that day we met in front of Wright Field. Thank you, Todd. And long live Saltaire, Fire Island! I N TRODU C T I O N Democracy Stumbling Inventing, Democratic Desire, and the Will to Believe In the classical philosophy, the ideal world is essentially a haven in which man finds rest from the storms of life. When the belief that knowledge is active and operative takes hold of men, the ideal realm is no longer aloof and sepa- rate; it is rather that collection of imagined possibilities that stimulates men to new efforts and realizations . in the classic view the Idea belongs ready- made in a noumenal world. Hence it is only an object of personal aspiration or consolation, while to the modern, an idea is a suggestion of something to be done or a way of doing. — John Dewey, “Changed Conceptions of the Ideal and the Real” (1920)1 The idea of utility has long borne the stamp of vulgarity. — Leo Marx, “Technology: The Emergence of a Hazardous Concept Technology and the Rest of Culture” (1997)2 oward the end of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1925), T we learn that as a boy Jay Gatsby had thought about becoming an inventor: he imagined he would “study needed inventions” for two hours every night. This revelation is put in the context of an allusion to Ben- jamin Franklin, as it becomes clear that Gatsby had sought to emulate Franklin in following a strict daily schedule. Gatsby’s father, Henry Gatz, arrives at the West Egg mansion for his son’s funeral and proudly presents this boyhood schedule to Nick Carraway, proclaiming that his son “had a big future in front of him” and that “he always had some resolves like this” (Gatsby 174–75).3 It turns out that Gatsby devised his schedule— accounting for every hour of the day—in September of 1906, back when he was still Jimmy Gatz. The schedule reads: September 12, 1906 Rise from bed. ..............................................................6.00 A.M. -1- 2 ★ I N T R oduct I O N Dumbbell exercise and wall-scaling ............................6.15–6.30 “ Study electricity, etc. ...................................................7.15–8.15 “ Work. ...........................................................................8.30–4.30 P.M. Baseball and sports .......................................................4.30–5.00 “ Practice elocution, poise and how to attain it ............5.00–6.00 “ Study needed inventions .............................................7.00–9.00 “ As critics have often noted, the appearance of this timetable at the end of the novel underscores the theme of self-invention (and self-improve- ment) that Ben Franklin’s Autobiography is also known for. But what should we make of the particular importance of Gatsby being interested in actual, mechanical inventing, setting aside a full two hours a day to “study needed inventions”?4 If, in the words of Lionel Trilling, Gatsby “comes inevitably to stand for America itself” (Trilling, F. Scott Fitzgerald, 17), the prospect of his dreaming that he might one day become an actual inventor, and not merely a self-made man, is a detail of considerable sig- nificance. This detail introduces some notable complications to the prevailing idea that Gatsby’s character is above all a sheer, colossal dreamer, and in this, not very practical. While this quixotic reading of Gatsby seems almost mandatory, and remains a standard “take” on his character over the course of eighty years of criticism—deeply encouraged, to be sure, by the text itself—it is possible to read Gatsby’s romanticism differently, bringing out the implications of his associations with an instrumentalist, practical outlook.

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