[PDF] Readers and Reading in America: Historical and Critical Perspectives

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Readers and Reading in America:

Historical

and Critical Perspectives DAVI D D . HAL L THE HISTORY OF READING as it is pursued in the United State s mean s differen t thing s t o differen t people . T o surve y th e field i s t o b e reminde d o f th e elasdcit y o f th e subject ; fo r som e wh o stud y it , readin g ha s t o d o wit h literac y an d thu sbecomes an aspect of social history or the history of educadon; for others , i t pertain s t o th e hermeneudc s o f interpretadon ; fo r sdl l others , th e distribudo n an d ownershi p o f printe d matter , chieñ y books , i s th e rea l concern . Ho w i t i s w e understan d wha t readin g i sabout, or means, depends on the nature of our inquiry - whether w e ar e historian s o f working-clas s culture , educadona l insdtu - dons , religio n an d mentalité, o r th e pohdc s o f texts . Thes e pos - A s publishe d here , thi s essa y i s a muc h revise d versio n o f a pape r prepare d fo r a conferenc eheld in Paris, January 29-31, '993 under the sponsorship of the Ministry of National

Educatio

n an d Culture ; on e sectio n o f thi s conferenc e ha d t o d o wit h th e histor y o f reading , m y assignmen t bein g t o repor t o n th e stat e o f scholarshi p i n Americ a (a n assignmen t I interprete d generousl y s o a s t o includ e scholarshi p fro m elsewher e tha t ha s bee n influentia lin America), as others did for Germany, the Netherlands, Great Britain, etc. The statements prepare d fo r th e conferenc e ar e bein g publishe d i n Histoire de la lecture, ed . Roge r Chartie r an d Olivie r Corpe t (Paris : IME C an d Maiso n de s Science s d e L'Homme , 1994)
. I a mgrateful to Roger Chartier and Olivier Corpet for inviting me to participate in Áe colloque an d t o m y fello w presenter s (especiall y J.-Y . MoUier , Han s Eric h Bödeker , an d Jea n Mari e

Goulemot

) fo r contribution s tha t enlarge d m y understandin g o f th e subject . Th e essa y tha t follow s i s anothe r paymen t o n m y longstandin g deb t t o Charder' s scholarship ; som e o f hi srecent reflections on reading are embodied in 'Popular Culture: A Concept Revisited,'

Intellectual

History Newsletter #1 5 (1993) , 3-13 . Car l Kaestl e an d Joa n S . Rubi n hav e provide d immediat e assistanc e fo r this , th e America n version . DAVI D D . HAL L i s professo r o f America n religiou s histor y an d Bartlet t lecture r i n Ne wEngland church history at the Divinity School of Harvard University, chairman of the

Editoria

l Boar d o f th e America n Antiquaria n Society-sponsore d collaborativ e wor k A

History

of the Book in America, an d coedito r o f Volum e 1 i n th e series .

Copyrigh

t © 199
4 b y America n Antiquaria n Societ y 33
7

338 American Antiquarian Society

sibilide s giv e energ y an d importanc e t o th e field eve n a s the y wor k agains t coherenc e an d effecdv e comparison . I begin , therefore , b y nodn g tha t th e America n scholar s wh o stud y th e histor y o f readin g d o no t agre e o n th e boundarie s o f th e subjec t o r o n wha t it s histor y ha s been. ' T o simplif y thi s mess y situadon , t o cu t m y wa y throug h th e tangl e o f possibilides , I hav e hmite d mysel f t o repordn g o n si x aspect s o f ou r scholarship . I n closing , I wan t t o reflec t o n th e socia l an d cultura l consequence s o f th e divisio n o f labo r an d o n th e reladonshi p betwee n hterar y theor y an d th e histor y o f th e book . 1 . Reading as an aspect of intellectual history. Fo r a ver y lon g dm e an d condnuin g t o th e presen t day , readin g ha s bee n a synony m fo r th e recepdo n an d diffusio n o f ideas . Tha t is , describin g th e book s tha t wer e availabl e wa s importan t t o intellectua l historian s con - cerne d wit h mappin g majo r pattern s o f thought , thes e bein g fo r th e mos t par t pattern s withi n learne d culture . Seekin g evidenc e o f thes e idea s i n earl y America , historian s hav e turne d t o hst s o f book s tha t wer e use d a t college s hk e Harvar d an d Yal e o r relie d o n th e probat e inventorie s o f th e Protestan t clerg y wh o consdtut e ou r first an d longest-lasdn g learne d class . Occasionall y th e ke y ha s bee n th e librar y o f a n individual - fo r example , th e remarkabl e collecdo n assemble d b y Jame s Loga n o f Philadelphia. ^ I t wa s suc h evidenc e tha t enable d Perr y Mille r t o discer n th e 1 . Importan t critica l an d bibliographica l reflection s tha t supplemen t m y ow n ar e tw o essay s b y Car l F . Kaestle , 'Studyin g th e Histor y o f Literacy * an d 'Th e Histor y o f Readers. '

Kaestl

e e t al. , Literacy in the United States: Readers and Reading sime 1880
(Ne w Haven : Yal e

Universit

y Press , 1991)
. 2 . Samue l Elio t Morison , Harvard College in the Seventeenth Century, 2 vols . (Cambridge , Mass. : Harvar d Universit y Press , 1936)
; Richar d Warch , School of the Prophets: Yale College, ijoi-iy^o (Ne w Haven , Yal e Universit y Press , 1973)
; Edmun d S . Morgan , The Gentle

Puritan:

A Life of Ezra Stiles, iy2j - ijf$ (Ne w Haven : Yal e Universit y Press , 1962)
, ch . 3 ;

Frederic

k B . Tolles , Meeting House and Counting House: The Quaker Merchants of Colonial

Philadelphia

1682-i/ój
(1948 ; repr. . Ne w York : W . W . Norton , 1963)
, chs . 7- 8 (wit h man y usefu l reference s t o othe r scholarship) ; Frederic k E . Brasch , Jame s Logan , ' A Colonia l

Mathematica

l Scholar , an d th e Firs t Cop y o f Newton' s Principia t o Arriv e i n th e Colony, '

Proceedings

of the American Philosophical Society 86(i943):3-i2;Èdwi
n Wol f 2 nd . The Library of James Logan of Philadelphia, ló/^-i/^i (Philadelphia : Librar y Compan y o f Philadelphia , 1974)
. Anothe r vei n o f scholarship , exemplifie d b y Richar d Beal e Davis' s Intellectual Life in the Colonial South, 3 vols . (Knoxville , Term. : Universit y o f Tennesse e Press , 1978)
, employ s thes e kind s o f evidenc e t o pain t i n broa d stroke s a pictur e o f 'intellectua l life. ' Her e an d i n al l succeedin g note s th e reference s ar e illustrative , no t comprehensive .

Readers and Reading in America 339

scholasti c rationalis m an d Ramis t logi c that , t o hi s initia l surprise , loome d s o larg e i n th e intellectua l fabri c o f Puritanism . Similarly , Henr y May' s magisteria l analysi s o f th e multipl e strand s o f The

Enlightenment

in America relie d o n th e content s o f booksellers ' stocks . Chartin g current s o f ethica l theor y i n seventeenth - an d eighteenth-centur y America , Norma n Fierin g dre w o n privat e inventorie s an d th e content s o f colleg e libraries , an d hi s revisionis t stud y o f Jonatha n Edward s take s accoun t o f th e 'catalogue ' Ed - ward s kep t o f book s h e wante d t o read. ' Th e man y possibilitie s fo r thi s kin d o f scholarshi p exten d int o th e twentiet h century , a s

Cynthi

a Russet t demonstrate d i n he r descriptio n o f a semina r a t

Harvar

d i n th e 1930
s devote d t o readin g Vilfred o Pareto' s The Mind and Society i n translation." * I n th e centurie s tha t lea d u p t o ou r own , learne d cultur e i n

Americ

a depende d o n book s tha t European s wrot e an d published . Ho w thes e book s mad e thei r wa y t o Americ a ha s intereste d histo - rian s o f libraries , boo k collecting , an d th e boo k trades . Thes e form s o f scholarshi p carr y u s beyon d th e histor y o f idea s int o th e socia l histor y o f culture , a s i n makin g eviden t th e structur e an d rol e o f certai n sites - libraries , booksellers , households , salons , clubs , 'circles, ' 'connections, ' coteries , learne d societies , an d th e like - wher e importe d book s wer e accumulate d an d exchanged. ' 3 . Perr y Miller , The New England Mind: The Seventeenth Century (Cambridge , Mass. :

Harvar

d Universit y Press , 1939)
; Henr y R . May , The Enlightenment in America (Ne w York : Oxfor d Universit y Press , 1976)
; Davi d Lundber g an d Henr y May , 'Th e Enlightene d Reade r i n America, ' American Quarterly 2 8 (1976) : 262-93
; Norma n Fiering , Moral

Philosophy

at Seventeenth-Century Harvard (Chape l Hill : Universit y o f Nort h Carolin a Press , 198
1 ) ; idem , Jonathan Edwards and British Moral Philosophy (Chape l Hill : Universit y o f Nort h Carolin a Press , 1981)
. Edward s note d i n th e 'Catalogue ' (Edward s ms. , Beineck e

Library

, Yal e University ) whic h book s h e wa s actuall y abl e t o secur e an d read . Methodolog - ically , ther e hav e bee n fe w sequel s t o Zoltá n Haraszd , John Adams and the Prophets of

Progress:

A Study in the Intellectual and Political History of the Eighteenth Century (Cambridg e :

Harvar

d Universit y Press , 1952)
, perhap s becaus e th e evidence , i n thi s instanc e Adams' s margina l comment s i n book s h e owned , survive s fo r relativel y fe w individuals . 4 . Cynthi a E . Russett , The Concept ofEquilibrium in American Social Thought (Ne w Haven : Yal e Universit y Press , 1966)
, chs . 7-9 . 5 . Th e literatur e o n th e histor y o f librarie s ma y provid e th e bes t acces s t o thi s socia l history . Se e Michae l Harri s an d Donal d G . Davis , Jr. , American Library History: A Bibliog- raphy (Austin : Universit y o f Texa s Press , 1978)
. A mode l stud y o f a bookselle r wh o catere d t o th e learne d i s Elizabet h Carrol l Reilly , 'Th e Wage s o f Piety : Th e Bosto n Boo k Trad e o f Jerem y Condy, ' i n Willia m L.Joyc e e t al . Printing and Society in Early America (Worcester :

America

n Antiquaria n Society , 1983)
, 83 - 131
.

34O American Antiquarian Society

A well-studie d an d importan t exampl e i s th e circulado n o f book s an d periodical s i n th e 1830
s amon g th e person s wh o becam e know n a s Transcendentalists.' ^ Fro m anothe r vantage , thi s schol - arshi p fills i n th e stage s i n th e 'communicadon s circuit ' tha t book s travers e i n passin g fro m writer s t o readers . Th e histor y o f readin g a s a branc h o f th e histor y o f learne d cultur e thu s become s grounde d i n th e socia l an d economi c histor y o f th e boo k trades. ^ Al l o f thi s wor k i n intellectua l histor y an d th e socia l histor y o f learne d cultur e i s parallele d o r eve n pioneere d i n th e scholarshi p o n th e intellectua l an d socia l histor y o f ancien régime France : i n pardcular , th e wor k o f Danie l Momet , Danie l Roche , an d Rober t

Damton.

^ 2 . Reading as an aspect of popular culture. I n recen t year s historian s hav e turne d awa y fro m learne d culture , wher e book s undoubtedl y mattere d an d wher e th e evidenc e o f readin g an d literac y seem s abundant , t o as k wha t book s hav e mean t t o th e lowe r socia l orders , t o th e workin g class , t o thos e wh o wer e possibl y illiterate . Shoul d readin g figure i n th e stud y o f popula r culture ? Th e wa y w e g o abou t answerin g thi s quesdo n i s closel y relate d t o studie s o f th e rat e o f literac y an d o f th e producdo n an d con - sumpdo n o f printe d matter . W e hav e com e t o realiz e that , fo r earl y

America

, studie s o f literac y base d o n signatur e count s underesd - mat e th e percentag e o f person s wh o coul d read , but possibl y no t write . Th e disdncdo n betwee n th e skill s o f readin g an d wridn g 6 . Thu s Margare t Fulle r borrowe d 'volume s o f Coleridg e an d Carlyle ' from Emerso n an d len t hi m Germa n book s o n Goethe , thoug h sh e als o depende d o n Jame s Freema n Clark e fo r a se t o f Goethe' s works . Charle s Capper , Margaret Fuller: An American Romantic Life, vol . 1 , The Private Years (Ne w York : Oxfor d Universit y Press , 1992)
, 201
, 238
. 7 . Studie s o f boo k productio n an d distributio n i n Americ a ar e summarize d i n th e essay s collecte d i n Needs and Opportunities in the History of the Book: America, i6^p-i8y6, ed . Davi d D . Hal l an d Joh n B . Henc h (Worcester : America n Antiquaria n Society , 1987)
. Ronal d J . Zbora y carrie s thi s for m o f analysi s a ste p furthe r i n A Fictive People: Antebellum Economic

Development

and the American Reading Public (Ne w York : Oxfor d Universit y Press , 1993)
. 8 . Danie l Momet , Les Origines Intellectualles de la Révolution Française iyis-iy8y (1933 ; Paris : Colin , 1967)
; Danie l Roche , 'Encyclopédiste s e t Académiciens : Essa i su r l a Diffusio n

Social

e de s Lumières, ' i n Livre et Société dans la France du xviii siècle, U, ed . Françoi s Fure t (Pari s an d Th e Hague : Mouton , 1970)
, 73 - 94
; idem . Le Siècle des Lumières en Province:

Académies

et Académiciens Provincaux, 1660-ij8(),
2 vols . (Pari s an d Th e Hague : Mouton , 1978)
; Rober t Damton , The Business of Enlightenment: A Publishing History of the 'Encyc- lopédie,' iyy¡ - ¡8oo (Cambridge : Harvar d Universit y Press , 1979)
.

Readers and Reading in America 3 41

becam e importan t onc e i t wa s understoo d tha t childre n i n earl y

Americ

a learne d t o rea d befor e the y learne d t o writ e and , fo r th e mos t part , learne d t o rea d i n thei r household s o r a t school s infor - mall y constitute d an d attende d ver y briefly . Notwithstandin g th e limitation s o f th e signature-coun t method , suc h studie s sugges t tha t b y th e secon d hal f o f th e eighteent h century , th e grea t major - it y o f adul t male s i n th e norther n colonie s o r state s wer e literat e i n bein g abl e bot h t o rea d an d write . Surprisingly , femal e literac y i n Ne w England , th e regio n fo r whic h w e hav e th e mos t carefu l studies , ha d reache d eight y percen t o r highe r b y 1790
, afre r risin g steadil y throughou t th e century. ^ M y qualitativ e surve y o f seven - teenth-centur y material s le d m e t o conclud e tha t mor e person s (me n an d women ) wer e abl e t o read , tha n not , i n seventeenth-cen - tur y New England . ' " Wit h illiterac y thu s remove d from th e story , historian s hav e turne d thei r attentio n t o boo k productio n an d distributio n and , usin g serie s o f estat e inventorie s mad e afre r death , t o ownership . O n th e sid e o f productio n an d distribution , Margare t Spufford' s analysi s o f th e Londo n bookseller s who , afte r 1660
, speciahze d i n th e chapboo k an d balla d trad e ha s influence d historian s lik e mysel f wh o g o o n t o argu e tha t certai n 'chea p books, ' mos t especiall y th e 9 . Se e Glori a L . Main , 'A n Inquir y int o Whe n an d Wh y Wome n Learne d t o Writ e i n

Colonia

l Ne w England, ' Journal of Social History 2 4 (1991) : 578-89
; Joe l Perlman n an d Denni s Shirley , 'Whe n di d Ne w Englan d Wome n Acquir e Literacy? ' William and Mary

Quarterly,

3 d sen , 4 8 (1991) : 50-67
. Thes e studie s alte r th e figures for wome n give n i n

Kennet

h Lockridge , Literacy in Colonial New England: An Inquiry into the Social Context of

Literacy

in the Modem West (Ne w York : W . W Norto n & Co. , 1974)
. Se e als o Willia m J .

Gilmore

, 'Elementar y Literac y o n th e Ev e o f th e Industria l Revolution : Trend s i n Rura l Ne w England , 1760-1830,
' Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society 9 2 (1982) , 87
- 178
; an d fo r othe r nineteenth-centur y trends . Le e Solto w an d Edwar d Stevens , The Rise of

Literacy

and the Common School in the United States: A Sodoeconomic Analysis to i8yo (Chicago :

Universit

y o f Chicag o Press , 1981)
. Th e importanc e o f th e distinctio n betwee n readin g an d writin g i s demonstrate d i n Margare t Spufford , 'Firs t Step s i n Literacy : Th e Readin g an d Writin g Experience s o f th e Humbles t Seventeenth-Centur y Spiritua l Autobiog - raphers, ' Social History 4 (1979) : 407-35
. Ther e i s caus e fo r concer n tha t th e percentage s i n Gilmor e an d Perlmann' s studie s tha t correc t Lockridge' s hav e ye t t o b e incorporate d int o women' s history . 10 . Davi d D . Hall , Worlds of Wander, Days of Judgment: Popular Religious Belief in Early New England (Ne w York : Alfre d A . Knopf , 1989)
, ch . 1 . Bu t se e E . Jennife r Monaghan , 'Literac y Instructio n an d Gende r i n Colonia l Ne w England, ' i n Reading in America: Literary and Social History, ed . Cath y N . Davidso n (Baltimore : John s Hopkin s Universit y Press , '989) . 53-8o
-

342 American Antiquarian Society

almana c an d psal m boo k i n th e seventeent h an d eighteent h cen - turies , wer e produce d an d distribute d i n sufficien t quandt y t o ensur e tha t copie s cam e int o almos t ever y household. " Bible s wer e als o readil y availabl e i n a variet y o f formats , som e o f the m quit e inexpensive . A s fo r probat e inventories , thos e fo r earl y New

Englan

d indicat e tha t hal f o r mor e o f al l household s containe d books , a figure tha t compare s favorabl y wit h Englis h an d cond - nenta l percentages.' ^ Som e historian s hav e use d thi s flow o f prin t an d th e underlyin g hterac y i t presume s a s th e stardn g poin t fo r a descripdo n o f popu - la r culture , popula r religion , o r mentalité. I n effect , thes e historian s appl y t o th e cultur e o f ordinar y peopl e som e o f th e expectadon s o f intellectua l history , thoug h i n th e en d payin g les s attendo n t o th e intricacie s o f an y singl e tex t an d mor e t o th e themad c structur e o f certai n categorie s o f chea p books , includin g almanacs , 'wonder ' stories , an d 'penn y godlies. " ^ Bu t ca n a n adequat e histor y o f popula r cultur e b e constructe d out o f wha t w e kno w abou t producdon , distribudon , an d owner - ship ? On e constrain t i s tha t inventorie s an d othe r evidenc e o f consumpdo n d o no t provid e a complet e pictur e o f th e form s o f prin t tha t entere d household s o r communides . Eo r example , w e lac k systemad c knowledg e o f th e borrowin g o f book s o r th e shar - in g o f newspaper s an d periodicals."' * Ma y i t not b e assume d tha t 11 . Margare t Spufford , Stnall Books and Pleasant Histories (Athens : Universit y o f Georgi a Press , 1982)
; Hall , Worlds of Wonder, passim . No t unti l th e secon d hal f o f th e eighteent h centur y di d th e America n boo k trad e begi n t o distribut e significan t quantitie s o f chapbook s an d ballad s o f th e kin d Spuffor d describes . 12 . ' A Not e o n Boo k Ownershi p i n Seventeenth-Centur y Ne w England, ' i n Hall , Worlds of Wonder, 247-49
. 13 . Spufford , Small Books and Pleasant Histories, chs . 7-9 ; Hall , Worlds of Wonder, chs . 2-3 ; C . Joh n Sommerville , Popular Religion in Restoration England, Universit y o f Florid a Socia l Scienc e Monographs , no . 15 9 (Gainesville , Fla. , 1977)
, wit h usefu l mediodologica l reflections . Th e produc t tha t i n Franc e ha s attracte d comparabl e attentio n i s th e bibliothèque bleue. 14 . I n a ye t unpublishe d essa y o n th e eighteenth-centur y Ne w Englan d ministe r

Ebeneze

r Parkman , Ros s Beale s draw s o n Parkman' s extensiv e diar y t o demonstrat e th e frequency o f exchange s o r loan s i n whic h Parkma n participated . Borrowin g wa s als o crucia l t o th e readin g don e b y Ell a Clanto n Thoma s o f Georgi a i n th e middl e o f th e nineteent h century . Am y M . Thomas , 'Wh o Make s th e Text ? : Th e Productio n an d Us e o f Literatur e i n Antebellu m America ' (Ph.D . diss. . Duk e University , 1992)
, ch . 2 .

Readers and Reading in America 343

thes e practice s serve d t o mak e more , no t less , available ? O n th e othe r sid e o f th e ledge r i s th e awkwar d fac t tha t a significan t fractio n o f probat e inventories - th e percentag e varie d fro m on e localit y t o th e next , but i n earl y New Englan d wa s a s hig h a s fort y percent - mak e n o referenc e t o books.' ' Doe s thi s situatio n lea d u s awa y fro m book s an d towar d ora l traditio n or , a t th e least , impres s o n u s th e imperfec t relatio n betwee n th e circulatio n o f book s an d th e popula r mind?" ^ Thes e question s becom e eve n mor e tantalizin g whe n w e explor e th e histor y o f readin g fro m th e earl y nineteent h centur y onward . Here , a s well , th e broade r issu e i s th e relatio n betwee n readin g an d socia l history . Ho w ar e th e circumstance s o f ethnicity , region , religion , an d clas s reflecte d i n pattern s o f productio n an d con - sumption?' ^ Doe s th e dat a revea l shar p difference s betwee n groups , o r poin t t o th e presenc e o f a cultur e commo n t o mos t

Americans

? Le t m e designat e th e las t o f thes e possibihtie s th e 'liberal ' in - terpretation . I t celebrate s a n ever-mountin g tid e o f productio n tha t carrie d printe d matte r int o al l comer s o f th e land . Th e agent s o f tha t expansio n include d profit-minde d entrepreneurs ; tract , Bible , an d othe r mora l refor m societies ; polidca l parties ; an d th e civi l state , thi s las t i n conjunctio n wit h fre e publi c schooling . O n th e sid e o f consumption , th e longstandin g barrie r o f pric e gav e wa y a s income s rose , th e cos t o f productio n droppe d sharply , an d 15 . ' A Not e o n Boo k Ownership, ' i n Hall , Worlds of Wonder. Se e als o Josep h Ket t an d

Patrici

a McClung , 'Boo k Cultur e i n Post-Revolutionar y Virginia, ' Proceedings of the Amer- ican Antiquarian Society ^^ ('984) , 97-138
. 16 . I n previou s wor k I discounte d ora l traditio n an d emphasized , instead , th e importanc e of'prin t culture. ' I di d s o a t a tim e whe n th e former ter m wa s hein g use d t o signif y a chas m betwee n popula r an d hig h culture . A s tha t exaggeratio n subsides , th e ter m ma y regai n a mor e hmite d usefulnes s (bearin g alway s i n min d th e permeabilit y o f th e tw o modes) , a s indee d i t doe s i n Davi d Vincent' s exemplar y Literacy and Popular Culture: England 17S0 - if) 14 (Cambridge : Cambridg e Universit y Press , 1989)
. Se e als o Davi d D . Hall , 'Th e Worl d o f Prin t an d Collectiv e Mentalit y i n Seventeenth-Centur y Ne w England, ' i n New Directions in American Intellectual History, ed . Joh n Higha m an d Pau l Conki n (Baltimore : John s Hop - kin s Universit y Press , 1979)
, 166-80
. 17 . Small-scal e regiona l difference s withi n Windso r Distric t o f Vermon t ar e mappe d i n

Willia

m J . Gilmore , Reading Becomes a Necessity of Life (Knoxville : Universit y o f Tennesse e Press , 1988)
. O n a large r scale , th e difference s nort h an d sout h o f th e Mason-Dixo n Lin e i n th e nineteent h an d earl y twentiet h centurie s wer e considerable .

344 American Antiquarian Society

a s thes e cost s wer e shifre d t o advertisers . Enumeratin g th e ele - ment s o f expansio n a s the y unfolde d i n nineteenth-centur y Eng - land , th e literar y historia n Richar d Altic k proclaime d th e emer - genc e o f a 'democrac y o f print." * Amon g Americanists , thi s equatio n o f surgin g productio n an d consumptio n wit h democrac y i s almos t irresistible.' ^ Di d no t d e

Tocquevill

e discove r tha t th e newspape r ha d penetrate d th e fur - thes t reache s o f th e Michiga n frontier an d affir m that , compare d t o th e French , American s wer e muc h mor e avi d i n producin g an d readin g journalism ? ^ ° Eve n someon e o f quit e differen t politics , th e socia l criti c Raymon d Williams , employe d a simila r framework (thoug h hi s als o incorporate d element s o f resistanc e t o change ) i n The Long Revolution, wher e th e 'growt h o f th e readin g pubHc ' i n

England

, an d especiall y th e acceleratin g rat e o f growt h afre r 1830
, i s linke d t o th e 'democrati c revolution ' an d a 'cultura l revolution, ' tha t is , 'th e aspiratio n t o exten d th e activ e proces s o f learning , wit h th e skill s o f literac y an d othe r advance d communication , t o al l peopl e rathe r tha n t o hmite d groups.'^ ' Th e stor y culminate s i n a fresh surg e o f productio n aroun d th e tu m o f th e centur y an d th e emergenc e o f 'mass ' culture . Ye t th e anomalie s ar e many . Th e ne w Ag e o f Readin g s o hope - full y proclaime d a t th e outse t o f th e nineteenth centur y neve r encompasse d everyone. " A centur y later , whe n Rober t an d Hele n 18 . Richar d D . Aldck , The English Common Reader: A Social History of the Mass Reading

Public,

/ , i . 19 . Th e changin g structur e o f prin t cultur e ha s becom e a n elemen t i n wide r argument s abou t democratization : see , especially , Natha n O . Hatch , The Democratization of American

Christianity

(Ne w Haven : Yal e Universit y Press , 1989)
, ch . 5. 1 hav e criticize d som e version s o f thi s schem e i n 'Th e Politic s o f Writin g an d Readin g i n Eighteenth-Centur y America, ' i n Publishing and Readership in Revolutionary France and America, ed . Caro l Armbruste r (Westport , Conn. : Greenwoo d Press , 1993)
, 15 1 -66 . I n 'Model s o f Literac y i n th e Amer - ica n Schools : Socia l an d Historica l Condition s an d Consequences, ' Suzann e d e Castel l an d Ala n Luk e plac e th e transitio n fro m hierarch y t o democrac y a t th e en d o f th e nineteent h century . Literacy, Society, and Schooling: A Reader, ed . d e Castel l e t al . (Cambridge : Cam - bridg e Universit y Press , 1986)
, 87-109
. 20 . Alexi s d e Tocqueville , Democracy in America, ed . Phillip s Bradley, 2 vols . (Ne w York :

Vintag

e Books , 1954)
, 2 : 119-22
. 21
. Raymon d Williams , The Long Revolution (1961 ; repr. , Harmondsworth , Pengui n Books , 1965)
, Pt . 2 , ch . 2 ; an d ch . 11 . 2 2 . A s Zbora y emphasize s i n A Eictive People, citing , amon g othe r circumstances , th e continuin g limitation s o f cos t an d thu s o f class .

Readers and Reading in America 345

Lyn d surveye d readin g pracdce s i n Muncie , Indiana , onl y a fourt h o f thei r 'workin g class ' informant s reporte d 'expenditure s fo r book s othe r tha n school-book s b y member s o f thei r familie s dur - in g th e pas t twelv e months. ' Eve n thoug h a remarkabl e an d eve r increasin g numbe r o f periodical s circulate d i n Muncie , n o sub - scripdon s whatsoeve r wer e reporte d amon g a thir d o f th e working - clas s families , a s contraste d wit h a singl e nonsubscribe r amon g 'business ' families . An d bu t hal f o f al l familie s hel d borrowers ' card s a t th e publi c library.^ ' Th e Lynd s wer e intereste d i n othe r form s o f difference , som e bu t no t al l o f whic h wer e roote d i n class . Working-clas s familie s mainl y rea d on e se t o f magazines , business-clas s familie s another . Boy s preferre d magazine s that , fo r th e mos t part , girl s ignored , an d vic e versa . An d althoug h th e 'ceaseles s torren t o f printe d matter ' tha t deluge d Munci e i n th e mid-1920 s seeme d laudable , th e Lynd s regrette d th e disappearanc e o f certai n readin g pracdce s o f th e 1890s
, a s whe n Sunda y afternoo n discussion s 'brough t to - gethe r anywher e fro m tw o doze n t o a hundre d people , chiefl y me n .. . discussin g ever y subjec t fro m "Books , Wha t t o Rea d an d Ho w t o Rea d Them " t o th e Origin of Species.... N o longe r d o a Youn g

Ladies

' Readin g Circle , a Chrisda n Literar y Societ y (o f fifty), a

Literar

y League , a Literar y Hom e Circle , a Literar y Firesid e Clu b mee t weekl y o r bi-weekl y a s i n 1890.
' Instead , th e 'culture ' o f readin g i n th e 1920
s consiste d o f 'th e vicariou s entr y int o other , imagine d way s o f living ' vi a ficdon, a for m o f readin g th e Lynd s associate d vsdt h leisure , women , 'constan t movi e attendanc e . . . an d th e prim e popularit y o f comed y an d societ y films.'^'* Th e ambivalenc e tha t mark s th e page s of Middletown - did th e 'torren t o f printe d matter ' overrid e clas s differences , o r not ? Ha d cultur e decline d o r advanced? - i s echoe d i n othe r report s o f popula r reading . Observer s remar k tha t inexpensiv e book s an d periodical s wer e viddel y available , reaching , i n th e cas e o f newspa - 23
. Rober t S . an d Hele n Merrel l Lynd , Middletown (Ne w York : Harcourt , Brac e an d

Company

, 1929)
, 229-31
. Fo r dat a o n expenditure s o n readin g b y differen t incom e group s throughou t th e twentiet h century , se e Kaestl e e t al. . Literacy in the United States, 166 - 79
. 24
. Lyn d an d Lynd, Middletown, 231-37
, 240-41
.

346 American Antiquarian Society

pers , a s man y a s ninet y percen t o f thos e surveyed . Ye t i n th e sam e breat h thes e report s characteriz e th e readin g habit s o f th e peopl e a s debased . Reportin g i n 188
0 o n a New Englan d mil l town , th e

Unitaria

n ministe r Jonatha n Harriso n indicte d th e 'stor y papers ' tha t wer e popula r amon g th e younge r worker s a s 'vapid , silly , turgid , an d incoherent. ' Ver y nearl y th e sam e languag e turn s u p i n socia l scientifi c survey s o f th e i93os.^ 5 Th e libera l celebratio n o f abundance , democratization , and , b y implication , a commo n cultur e thu s shade s of f int o cultura l criti - cism . Reactin g t o thi s ton e o f dismay , som e historian s woul d em - plo y i t a s a datu m i n a n alternativ e versio n o f th e histor y o f reading , a versio n tha t narrate s th e effort s o f a n educate d elit e t o shap e an d reshap e th e cultur e o f ordinar y people.^" ^ Anothe r possibilit y i s t o ma p th e readin g practice s amon g distinctiv e sector s o f societ y an d o n th e basi s o f suc h evidenc e t o argue , fo r example , tha t th e work - in g clas s ha d it s ow n way s o f reading , it s ow n culture . Certainl y i t i s th e cas e tha t unions , radica l parties , ethni c communities , an d sectaria n religiou s group s hav e sponsore d dissentin g literar y cul - tures.^ ' Wha t w e ar e t o mak e o f thes e difference s remain s unclear . I n 25
. Jonatha n B . Harrison , Certain Dangerous Tendencies in American Life (Boston :

Houghton

, Osgoo d an d Co. , 1880)
, excerpte d i n Ala n Trachtenberg , ed. . Democratic Vistas

1860 - 1880

(Ne w York : Georg e Braziller , 1970)
, 166
; Michae l Denning , 'Proletaria n Liter - atures : Reflection s o n WorÈng-Clas s Readin g i n th e Ag e o f th e CIO, ' Lire en Amérique (Cahier s Charle s V , No . 1 4 [1992]) , 90-92
. 26
. Rober t A . Gross , Books and Libraries in Thoreau 's Concord (Worcester : America n

Antiquaria

n Society , 1988)
; Lawrenc e W . Levine , Highbrovi/Lombrotv: The Emergence of

Cultural

Hierarchy in America (Cambridge : Harvar d Universit y Press , 1988)
, 158-6
0 an d passim . I t coul d als o b e argue d tha t th e man y kind s o f evidenc e abou t reader s an d th e distributio n o f book s revea l th e perpetuall y conteste d plac e o f leamednes s o r 'hig h culture ' i n ou r societ y an d th e appea l o f a middl e ground - a s i n th e lectur e room s o f th e lyceum - wher e extreme s gav e wa y t o a comple x proces s o f accommodation . 27
. Working-clas s writin g an d readin g i n nineteenth-centur y Britai n ar e describe d i n R . K . Webb , The British Working Class Reader, i^^o - 18-^8: Literacy and Social Tension (Lon - don : Alle n & Unwin , 1955
) an d Marth a Vicinus , The Industrial Muse: A Study of Nineteenth

Century

British Working Class Literature (Ne w York : Harpe r an d Row , 1974)
. Se e als o

Michae

l Denning , Mechanic Accents: Dime Novels and Working-Class Culture in America (London : Verso , 1987)
. Th e 'textua l practices ' observe d withi n certai n religiou s com - munitie s deserv e attentio n o f th e kin d tha t contemporar y Primitiv e Baptist s receiv e i n Bret t

Sutton

, 'Literac y an d Dissent, ' i n Reading & Libraries: Proceeding of Library History Seminar VIII, ed . Donal d G . Davis , Jr . (Austin , Tex. : Graduat e Schoo l o f Librar y an d Informatio n

Science

, 1991)
, 183-98
.

Readers and Reading in America 347

Muncie

, Indiana , periodical s circulate d wit h increasin g frequenc y amon g working-clas s families , an d b y n o stretc h o f th e imaginado n ca n thes e periodical s b e represente d a s embodyin g a n altemadv e culture . Moreover , i n tha t cit y a rapidl y expandin g publi c librar y syste m ha d displace d th e workers ' hbrarie s o f th e i Sços.^ ^ I f w e ca n generaliz e fro m Muncie , th e histor y o f readin g pattern s i n th e first hal f o f th e twendet h centur y woul d see m t o demonstrat e overla p an d increasin g homogeneity , wit h th e rea l lose r bein g learne d cultur e an d th e rea l winne r th e nexu s betwee n readin g an d leisure , o r readin g an d th e 'cultur e o f consumpdon. ' I wan t t o emphasiz e tha t thes e ar e speculadons . N o matte r wha t framewor k o f interpretado n prevails , w e nee d t o acknowledg e tha t book s elude , eve n a s the y als o mak e manifest , th e categorie s o f socia l history . I n th e contex t o f hi s revisionis t interpretado n o f popula r cultur e i n earl y mode m France , Roge r Charde r ha s calle d o n historian s t o dissolv e 'exclusiv e reladonship s betwee n specifi c cultura l form s an d pardcula r socia l groups ' o n th e grounds , i n part , tha t th e consumpdo n o f chea p book s o r 'bestsellers ' extend s acros s socia l lines . ^ ^ Thi s argumen t i s perdnen t t o th e histor y o f readin g i n th e nineteent h an d twendet h centuries . A paralle l ob - servado n i s tha t affirmadon s o f cultura l hierarch y withi n literar y culture , a s whe n cride s condem n 'trash, ' canno t b e converte d int o th e terminolog y o f socia l class.^ ° 3 . Reading as 'represented^ in texts. Unde r th e influenc e o f

Wolfgan

g Iser , Stanle y Fish , an d thei r fello w theorist s o f 'reade r response ' an d 'recepdo n theory, ' historian s hav e attempte d t o con - struc t a descripdo n o f readin g draw n fro m th e assumpdon s abou t tha t pracdc e embedde d i n printe d texts . Withi n th e Protestan t cultur e tha t I hav e studied , Anglo-America n Puritanis m o f th e seventeent h century , i t wa s commo n fo r author s t o addres s thei r 28
. Lyn d an d Lynd , Middletown, 23
4 an d fh . 21
, 235
. 29
. Roge r Chartier , The Cultural Uses of Print in Early Modem Erance (Ithaca : Cornel l

Universit

y Press , 1987)
, 3 . 30
. Tha t is , contrar y t o wha t i s suggeste d i n Denning , Mechanic Accents, w e canno t infe r tha t reader s o f th e dim e nove l wer e necessaril y lowe r class , o r o f th e workin g class , o n th e basi s o f gentee l condemnation s o f th e genre .

348 American Antiquarian Society

reader s i n a n openin g statement , ofte n heade d 'T o th e Reader. ' Thes e openin g statement s instruc t th e idea l reade r o n ho w t o understan d an d pu t t o us e th e pros e tha t follows . Sinc e fo r th e mos t par t thes e wer e religiou s text s tha t describ e th e proces s o f redemption , th e substanc e o f thes e instruction s wa s th e traditiona l (i n th e sens e o f datin g fro m th e earl y Middl e Ages ) advic e t o mode l th e ac t o f readin g o n th e practic e o f meditation : t o inges t th e writte n word , t o 'chew ' it , t o rea d slowl y an d repeatedly . A s I an d other s hav e als o demonstrated , thes e rule s encompasse d a n under - standin g o f th e Bibl e a s sacred , livin g speech , a logocentri c Word tha t communicate d th e divin e wil l t o humankind . T o rea d th e printe d Bibl e wa s thus , b y analogy , t o 'hear ' th e Word . Al l othe r godl y book s coul d similarl y b e represente d a s aliv e o r vital , a s coul d th e ac t o f apprehendin g them , whic h depende d o n th e 'ey e o f faith. ' Th e interminglin g o f th e ora l an d th e printe d i n th e logocentri c Wor d (se e 2 Cor . 3:2-3 ) ha d it s correlat e i n th e ver y proces s o f leamin g ho w t o read , a proces s keye d t o recitin g alou d th e sound s o f letter s an d words . Puttin g thes e part s together - representa - tion s o f reading , writing , an d speec h o n th e on e hand , an d o n th e othe r th e metho d o f learnin g ho w t o rea d an d recorde d response s t o actua l books - th e historia n ca n arriv e a t a comple x descriptio n o f wha t readin g signifie d an d possibl y o f ho w i t wa s practice d withi n a particula r socia l an d historica l setting.^ ' W e ma y an d shoul d analyz e th e intersectin g representation s o f readin g an d writin g tha t occu r throughou t th e pas t fou r o r five centuries . Indeed , w e ma y conceptualiz e a histor y o f readin g fashione d ou t o f suc h representations . Crucia l t o thi s histor y woul d b e th e rule s tha t inher e i n literar y genres . Whe n th e 'histor - ica l romance ' entere d Enghs h literatur e afte r 1660
, th e genr e brough t wit h i t th e rul e tha t romance s wer e ligh t reading . ^ ^ A s o f th e middl e o f th e nineteent h century , certai n novel s reverse d thi s 31
. See , i n general . Hall , Worlds of Wonder, ch . i . 32
. Annabe l Patterson , Censorship and Interpretation: Writing and Reading in Early Modem

England

(Madison : Universit y o f Wisconsi n Press , 1984)
, 160-64
. ^ Patterso n point s out , th e romanc e als o represente d itsel f a s yieldin g a wholl y differen t se t o f meaning s t o th e serious , elit e reader .

Readers and Reading in America 349

rul e an d identifie d themselve s a s requirin g 'serious ' attention . A t th e en d o f th e centur y modernis t literatur e impose d a rul e o f irony . Fro m Rousseau' s La Nouvelle Héloise t o th e presen t day , th e senti - menta l nove l ha s demande d tha t it s reader s she d a tea r o r tw o . . . o r three. "

Equall

y crucia l t o thi s histor y woul d b e broade r ideologica l an d socia l pattern s tha t inscrib e themselve s i n th e practic e o f reading . On e o f thes e i s th e categor y o f 'useful ' tha t wa s presen t i n Anglo -

America

n cultur e b y th e middl e o f th e eighteent h centur y an d tha t becam e increasingl y significan t thereafrer . Anothe r i s th e 'repub - lican ' mod e tha t Thoma s Jefferso n wante d t o incorporat e withi n a syste m o f publi c schools . A thir d woul d b e 'leisure ' i n th e severa l form s i t too k a s o f th e secon d hal f o f th e nineteent h century : th e leisur e o f yout h imagine d i n a Winslo w Home r watercolo r o f a youn g gir l lyin g i n th e gras s o n a summe r da y readin g wha t ca n onl y b e a novel ; th e leisur e o f worker s temporaril y release d from th e rhjdim s o f factor y production , a s i n Jonatha n Harrison' s sketc h o f reader s i n a New Englan d mil l town ; th e leisur e arisin g fro m th e shar p separatio n betwee n wor k an d home . Th e repertor y o f possibilitie s woul d als o hav e t o includ e ideologie s o f oppositio n t o literac y o r readin g a s articulate d an d partiall y carrie d out wit h regar d t o chatte l slave s i n th e souther n state s befor e th e Civi l War.3 4 Suc h a histor y o f readin g i s withi n ou r reach . Bu t le t u s bea r i n min d tha t thi s histor y ha s t o d o no t wit h 'real ' reader s but wit h rule s withi n text s an d ideologica l representation s o f reading.' ' I t 33
. Louis e L . Stevenson , The Victorian Homefront: American Thought and Culture i860 - 1880
(Ne w York : Twayn e Publishers , 1991)
, ch . 2 ; Nin a Baym , Novels, Readers, and Review- ers: Responses to Eiction in Antebellum America (Ithaca : Cornel l Universit y Press , 1984)
; Rober t Damton , 'Reader s Respon d t o Rousseau : Th e Fabricatio n o f Romanti c Sensitivity, ' ch . 6 i n The Great Cat Massacre and Other Episodes in Erench Cultural History (Ne w York : Basi c Book s 1984)
. Th e permeabilit y o f genres , o r th e problem s bot h i n theor y an d i n practic e o f achievin g clea r definitio n o f them , ma y partiall y offse t thi s argumen t abou t rules . 34
. Jane t D . Cornelius , 'When I Can Read My Title Clear': Literacy, Slavery, and Religion in the Antebellum South (Columbia , S.C. : Universit y o f Sout h Carolin a Press , i99i).J . - Y

Mollie

r provide s evidenc e fo r Catholicis m i n hi s stud y o f Schoolboo k publishin g i n nineteenth-centur y France . Se e hi s contributio n t o Histoire de la Lecture. 3 5 . Kathry n Shevelo w make s thi s distinctio n i n Women and Print Culture: The Construction of Femininity in the Early Periodical (London: Routledge , 1989)
, fh . 12 , 201
: ' I mus t particu - larl y emphasiz e thi s poin t i n regar d t o readers . Althoug h th e textua l representation s o f

3 5 o American Antiquarian Society

i s anothe r matte r t o determin e whethe r actua l reader s rea d actua l book s i n keepin g wit h thes e rule s o r ideologies . ^" ^ A furthe r diffi - cult y i s th e 'ahistorica l propensity " o f recepdo n theory . A n Amer - ica n literar y crid e whos e phras e I hav e jus t quote d ha s recend y observe d tha t reader-oriente d cridcis m ha s 'divorced ' it s analysi s fro m 'considerado n o f [how ] interpredve , ideological , an d mate - ria l context s governe d th e form s o f reade r acdvity.. . fo r specifi c historica l audiences. ' Ho w an d wh y i t ha s don e so - b y privilegin g a n idea l reade r (th e cridc' s ow n stance ) o r els e a pardcula r interpre - tado n (invariabl y modernist/ideological ) o f a give n text - nee d no t b e indicate d i n detai l i n thi s essay. " Suffic e i t t o sa y tha t whil e som e o f u s wh o pursu e th e histor y o f readin g ca n find commo n groun d wit h hterar y historian s concerne d wit h th e hermeneudc s o f interpretadon , thi s commo n groun d exclude s th e dat a o n th e producdo n an d consumpdo n o f book s tha t i s centra l t o an y social histor y o f readin g an d t o th e histor y o f th e book . A s I indicate d i n previou s secdon s o f thi s essay , a socia l histor y o f readin g engage s wit h quesdon s o f difference . S o doe s th e her - meneudc s o f interpretado n i n thi s respect : th e rule s withi n text s ca n differendat e goo d readin g fro m bad , th e 'serious ' fro m th e facile . Th e hierarch y imphe d b y thes e disdncdons , a hierarch y tha t privilege s leamednes s an d complexity , lead s t o a furthe r ques - don : wa s th e skil l o f readin g similarl y differendated , a matte r o f reader s undoubtedl y bea r upo n actua l readin g practices , a s the y wer e intende d t o d o .. . m y focu s o n representatio n necessaril y i s a focu s o n reader s a s th e periodical s constructe d them - tha t is , o n intende d o r inscribe d readers. ' 36
. Som e historian s o f reading , mysel f included , hav e bee n attracte d t o persona l narra - tive s o f readin g tha t occu r i n letters , diaries , an d th e like . Thes e narrative s nee d t o b e understoo d i n ligh t o f th e rule s (a s I hav e terme d them ) tha t inher e i n genres . Otherwise , w e ma y gran t reader s a misleadin g autonom y an d particularity . 37
. Jame s L . Machor , ed. . Readers in History: Nineteenth-Century American Literature and the Contexts of Response (Baltimore : John s Hopkin s Universit y Press , 1993)
; th e quotation s ar e fro m Machor' s 'Introduction : Readers/Texts/Contexts, ' viii-ix , an d th e entir e intro - ductio n i s relevant . Welcom e thoug h the y are , th e repeate d invocation s o f 'historicall y specific ' b y th e edito r an d hi s contributor s shoul d b e contraste d wit h th e practica l failur e t o emplo y th e wor k don e b y historian s o n th e histor y o f reading , including , fo r example , an y o f th e wor k o f Roge r Chartier , no t t o mentio n muc h o f wha t ha s bee n writte n abou t readin g i n America . Fo r anothe r poin t o f vie w o n reader-respons e theory , se e Jonatha n Rose , 'Rereadin g th e Englis h Commo n Reader : A Prefac e t o a Histor y o f Audiences, '

Journal

of the History of Ideas 5 3 (1992) , 47-70
.

Readers and Reading in America 3 51

varyin g level s o f ability ? A commonsens e respons e i s yes . I t ma y als o b e commo n sens e t o assum e tha t thes e level s o f abilit y coincid e wit h difference s o f education , income , occupation , an d regio n a s thes e ar e reveale d i n socia l history . Ye t anothe r possibiht y i s tha t th e materia l for m o f printe d texts , tha t is , thei r mis-en-page o r typography , embodie s a hierarch y o f hig h an d lo w (learne d an d unlearned) . Accordin g t o thi s argument , th e for m o f chea p book s woul d dictat e (o r anticipate ) a limite d capacit y t o read.' * M y ow n preferenc e i s otherwise . I f i t i s commo n sens e t o ac - knowledg e tha t difference s o f abilit y figure i n th e histor y o f read - ing , i t als o seem s eviden t tha t reader s i n pas t times , a s i n th e present , move d easil y fro m on e hermeneutica l framewor k t o another . Piou s reader s o f th e Bibl e i n th e seventeent h centur y readil y understoo d secula r texts , an d th e mil l worker s wh o de - voure d stor y paper s coul d surel y comprehen d othe r genres .

Grantin

g alway s tha t learne d cultur e ha d it s distinctiv e mode s o f reading , actua l reader s d o no t see m constraine d o r dominate d b y an y singl e se t o f rule s o r ideology , perhap s becaus e o f th e 'compli - cated , polysémie ' qualit y o f al l text s themselves . ^ ^ A histor y o f readin g a s I hav e sketche d i t i n thi s sectio n woul d therefor e hav e t o acknowledg e tha t reader s negotiate d betwee n competing , an d perhap s conflicting , interpretiv e strategies , an d tha t thes e pos - sibilitie s fo r negotiatio n ar e a s prominen t a s th e boundar y Hne s w e ma y wan t t o mar k of f betwee n levels . 4 . Gender and reading: the 'resisting' reader. D o wome n rea d differentl y fro m men ? Thi s i s a questio n tha t ha s intereste d feminis t literar y critic s seekin g t o challeng e 'patriarchical ' read - 38
. Roge r Charder , 'D u livr e a u lire, ' i n Practiques de la Lecture, ed . Roge r Chartie r (Marseille : Rivages , 1985)
, 80-85
. Car i Kaestl e an d Willia m Trollinger , comparin g fiction i n th e Saturday Evening Post an d th e Atlantic Monthly i n 1920
, argu e tha t complexit y o f argumen t an d inferenc e ma y hav e bee n a constrain t tha t stratifie d th e readin g public . Se e

Kaestl

e e t al. . Literacy in the United States, ch . 7 . 39
. Th e phras e i s Janic e Radwa/s : Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy, and Popular

Literature

(Chape l Hill : Universit y o f Nort h Carolin a Press , 1984)
, 209
, wher e i t i s applie d t o reading . Tha t popula r o r mass-produce d book s retai n thi s qualit y i s demonstrate d b y Radwa y an d argue d fo r nineteenth-centur y material s b y Davi d Grimsted , 'Book s an d

Culture

: Carmed , Canonized , an d Neglected, ' i n Hal l an d Hench , Needs and Opportunities,

187-232

.

352 American Antiquarian Society

ing s o f hig h literatur e and , mor e broadly , th e patriarch y in hig h literatur e an d th e cultur e tha t produce d it . Thi s ideologica l crid - cis m become s a cal l fo r 'resistance, ' th e altemadv e bein g domina - do n b y th e real m o f th e masculine.'* " T o an y historia n o f popula r culture , thi s polarit y o f dominado n o r resistanc e ha s a wide r reso - nance , fo r thes e ar e ver y nearl y th e contrasdn g term s (th e usua l expression s ar e dominado n an d autonomy ) tha t theorist s o f popu - la r culture , mos t especiall y Roge r Charder , hav e sough t t o rework . I n th e cas e o f women' s reading , a n adequatel y historica l descrip - do n ha s take n secon d plac e t o ideologica l cridcism . Onl y recend y hav e a fe w literar y cride s realize d tha t wome n i n othe r period s o f dm e wer e no t engage d i n th e sam e polidc s o f gende r tha t the y themselve s find compelling . Jan e Tompkin s ha s insiste d tha t a famous , an d famousl y problemad c novel . Uncle Tom's Cabin, b e rea d i n keepin g wit h th e mora l an d aesthed c convendon s tha t

Harrie

t Beeche r Stow e share d wit h othe r Protestan t evangelica l wome n o f th e mid-nineteent h century."* ' Ye t a vei n o f ahistorica l analysi s persist s i n feminis t literar y cridcis m devote d t o describin g wome n readers . Jame s Machor , who m I hav e previousl y quote d o n th e hmitadon s o f reader-respons e theory , ha s note d tha t 'th e descripdo n o f th e readin g experience ' i n Judit h Fetterley' s The

Resisting

Reader i s itself' a historicall y specifi c interpredv e strategy : th e modernis t assumpdon.. . tha t th e essenc e o f America n ficdon i s it s condnua l fascinado n wit h th e mal e ques t fo r a retur n t o origins.'"* ^ Fetterle y i s amon g th e feminis t theorist s wh o hav e ar - gue d that , fo r women , th e experienc e o f readin g book s writte n b y wome n i s differen t fi-om th e experienc e o f readin g book s b y mal e authors - book s i n th e latte r instanc e tha t mus t b e 'resisted. ' Th e historia n Barbar a Sicherma n ha s pointe d out , however , tha t 40
. Se e i n genera l Gender and Reading: Essays on Readers, Texts, and Contexts, ed . Ehzabet h A . Flyn n an d Patrocini o P . Schweickar t (Baltimore : John s Hopkin s Universit y Press , 1986)
; Judit h Fetterley , The Resisting Reader: A Eeminist Approach to American Eictitm (Bloomington :

Indian

a Universit y Press , 1978)
. 41
. Jan e Tompkins , Sensational Designs: The Cultural Work of American Eiaion, i^po-iSóo (Ne w York : Oxfor d Universit y Press , 1985)
, ch . 5 . 42
. Machor , 'Historica l Hermeneutic s an d Antebellu m Ficdon : Gender , Respons e

Theory

, an d Interpretiv e Contexts, ' i n Machor , Readers in History, 57
.

Readers and Reading in America 353

wome n youn g an d ol d i n th e Progressiv e perio d include d 'boys ' books ' i n th e near-omnivorou s readin g i n whic h the y indulged . Sh e goe s o n t o argu e tha t thes e wome n gaine d a stron g sens e o f sel f fro m wha t the y rea d regardles s o f th e author' s gender ; readin g helpe d the m fashio n a n interio r space . T o anticipat e m y fifth point ,

Sicherma

n understand s readin g a s 'appropriation ' rathe r tha n a s 'resistance.'"* ' Th e literar y historia n Cath y N . Davidso n tell s a differen t story . Sh e link s tw o phenomena , th e increasin g productio n an d con - sumptio n o f novel s i n Americ a afte r 179
0 an d a presume d surg e i n femal e literacy , i n arguin g tha t wome n forme d th e primar y constit - uenc y fo r thi s genre . Drawin g o n wha t i s terme d 'ideologica l criti - cism, ' Davidso n make s th e furthe r argumen t tha t th e earl y novels , som e o f the m writte n b y women , coul d b e rea d 'subversively, ' tha t is , i n a manne r contradictor y t o th e mora l rul e tha t nove l readin g wa s immoral . Fo r actua l wome n readers , th e practic e thu s cam e t o signif y subversio n an d thei r ow n cultura l independence.'* ^ Th e historica l evidenc e o n whic h Davidso n relie s ma y b e mor e prob - lemati c tha n sh e allows , beginnin g wit h th e fac t tha t femal e literac y wa s alread y a t a hig h leve l i n th e norther n state s a hal f centui y befor e novel s becam e widel y available.'* ^ Ther e i s th e furthe r prob - le m tha t me n rea d novel s an d tha t th e officia l proscriptio n o f the m was , lik e man y suc h proscriptions , i n contradictio n wit h othe r value s withi n hig h culture . I t remain s t o b e pointe d out tha t a categor y designate d 'women ' i s a n oversimplificatio n tha t pay s littl e hee d t o socia l an d cultura l contexts , b e thes e economic , re - ligious , regional , racial , o r th e like . 5 . The reader as appropriator. I t i s a truis m o f th e ne w readin g 43
. Barbar a Sicherman , 'Sens e an d Sensibility : A Cas e Stud y o f Women' s Readin g i n

Late-Victoria

n America, ' i n Reading in America, ed . Davidson , 201-25
; ^n d 'Readin g an d

Ambition

: M . Care y Thoma s an d Femal e Heroism,'^wienca n Quarterly 6^ (1993) : 73-
1 "3 -

Comparin

g mal e an d femal e patron s o f th e Ne w Yor k Societ y Librar y i n th e mid - nineteent h century , Zbora y finds n o significan t difference ; an d specifically , tha t eac h grou p checke d ou t th e sam e quantit y o f fiction. A Fictive People, ch . 11 . 44
. Cath y N . Davidson , Revolution and the Word: The Rise of the Novel in America (Ne w York : Oxfor d Universit y Press , 1986)
. 45
. Se e above , not e 9 .

3 54 American Antiquarian Society

histor y tha t reader s remak e th e text . I n th e hand s o f someon e lik e Roge r Chartier , thi s premis e ha s rendere d problemati c an y an d al l argument s concernin g popula r cultur e a s th e mer e passiv e reflec - tion o f a dominan t culture . Similarly , i t ha s rendere d problemati c th e equatio n o f text s an d social levels . Couple d wit h a n awarenes s o f th e polysem y o f al l texts , thi s perspectiv e ha s allowe d historian s o f workin g clas s cultur e t o reclai m th e 'dim e novel ' a s embodyin g th e politic s of'artisana l republicanism.''^' ^ An d i t ha s enable d histo - rian s lik e mysel f t o rethin k th e plac e o f chea p book s i n th e fashion - in g o f popula r rehgion . Th e mos t compellin g stud y tha t proceed s from bot h o f thes e premise s i s Janic e Radway' s Reading the Romance: Women, Patriar- chy, and Popular Literature. Radwa y analyze s ye t anothe r standard - ize d product , th e romance , tha t bega n t o b e manufacture d i n grea t quantitie s i n th e 1970
s an d t o find million s o f reader s amon g women . Bringin g togethe r a n ethnograph y o f actua l reader s wit h a n interpretatio n o f th e text s t o whic h the y wer e attracted , Radwa y argue s tha t thes e wome n ar e abl e t o discriminat e amon g th e ro - mance s the y consume . I n th e en d her s i s a n argumen t abou t func - tion - of ho w reader s situate d withi n th e contradiction s o f a cul - tur e o f consumptio n overlai d wit h a n olde r cultur e o f th e wor k ethic , an d situate d als o withi n comphcate d representation s o f men , women , an d romance , us e th e convention s o f plo t an d characteri - zatio n t o satisf y certai n emotiona l an d socia l needs . 6 . Was there a ^reading revolution '.< " Thi s concept , mad e famou s b y Rol f Engelsing , concern s a majo r transformatio n tha t separate s th e mode m perio d (th e nineteent h an d twentiet h centuries ) from th e ol d regime.'* ^ Thre e America n historian s hav e implie d o r as - serte d th e existenc e o f suc h a revolution : myself , i n a n earl y essay;'* * Cath y N . Davidso n i n he r stud y o f wome n an d fiction; an d Wil - lia m J . Gilmor e i n a stud y o f Windso r District , Vermont , usin g a s 46
. Denning , Mechanic Accents. 47
. Rol f Engelsing , Der Burger als Leser: Lesergeshichte in Deutschland /joo - ;(?oo(Stuttgart :

Metzler

, 1974)
. 48
. Davi d D . Hall , 'Th e Use s o f Literac y i n Ne w England : 1600
- 1850,
' i n Joyc e e t al .

Printing

and Society in Early America, i -47 .

Readers and Reading in America 355

dat a th e probat e inventorie s tha t includ e books.'* ^ Davidson' s i s a limite d cas e becaus e th e wor d 'revoludon ' tha t i s i n th e dtl e o f he r boo k refer s obliquel y t o th e America n Revoludo n an d direcd y t o th e presume d greate r rol e o f wome n a s readers ; i t shoul d b e noted , moreover , tha t sh e doe s no t accep t Engelsing' s unflatterin g characterizado n o f 'extensive ' reading . Gilmore' s stud y demon - strate s th e 'commerciahzadon ' o f rura l hfe , a quickenin g o f th e flow o f good s tha t b y th e 1830
s ha d pushe d book s an d newspaper s int o mor e frequen t circuladon . Ye t hi s evidenc e fro m th e probat e inventorie s i s perplexin g fo r i t shows , a s d o othe r studie s o f boo k holding s i n thi s dm e period , tha t mos t househol d hbrarie s wer e dn y i n size , di d not chang e ove r dme , an d usuall y containe d th e Bible . Plus ça change, plus c 'est la même chose. Wha t shoul d b e pointe d out i n th e America n contex t an d n o doub t i n th e Europea n i s tha t th e asserdo n o f a readin g revoludo n i s als o (o r perhap s primarily ) a n asserdo n abou t othe r form s o f chang e i n societ y an d culture - fo r example , a transido n fro m th e rehgiou s t o th e secular , o r fro m self-sufficienc y t o th e 'commercial, ' o r ft-om scarcit y t o abundanc e i n materia l goods . Tha t is , th e proble m o f determinin g whethe r o r no t a readin g revoludo n occurre d lead s immediatel y int o a vidde r se t o f problem s eac h involvin g comple x task s o f conceptuali - I mysel f hav e allude d t o a chang e i n th e mod e o f reading , fro m th e devodona l mod e o f seventeenth-centur y Protestant s

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