Noisy things: The agency of objects in modernist literature

This dissertation examines the role of noisy objects and their agency in modernist literature from 1900 to 1939 and argues that such objects force an interrogation of what it means to have agency and what it means to be human. The use of the term "noise" is informed by F.T. Marinetti's Futurist writings and refers both to acoustic events and to an object's dynamism. The Introduction situates this study within a discussion of object theory, acoustic science, and early media technology. Chapter One examines the disruptive influence of objects upon the domestic space. In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's short stories, "The Leather Funnel" and "The Japanned Box," the objects exert their agency from within the home, while in Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent, the disruptive objects are located outside the domestic space. In both situations, the objects' agency forces a reaction from the human characters, thus blurring the line between human and object. Chapter Two focuses on James Joyce's attention to objects in Ulysses, with particular attention given to the "Circe" episode. The inclusion of objects, their dynamism, and their sounds allows for an examination of the many ways in which objects speak in modernity and is an example of Joyce's aesthetic of inclusivity. Chapter Three considers the role of media technologies in creating intersubjectivity in H.D.'s poems, "Projector" and "Projector II (Chang)," and in Virginia Woolf's novels, Mrs. Dalloway and Between the Acts. Both film and sound technologies have the ability to create the intersubjective moment. However, intersubjectivity challenges the autonomy of the self and can destabilize the privileged position of the subject. While both H.D. and Woolf were intrigued by the hope of intersubjectivity, both were aware of the danger when the intersubjective moment is generated by and dependent upon a machine. The Conclusion suggests that Marshall McLuhan and Quentin Fiore's assertion that media permeates every aspect of human life can be applied to noisy objects in general.