Critical Editions Produced by Students at Rider University
Egoism is defined as “an ethical theory that treats self-interest as the foundation of morality”(Dicitonary.com). The Egoist was a periodical magazine that was originated in London, England by Dora Marsden and Harriet Shaw Weaver who later took over. Dora Marsden was “an English anarcho-feminist, a suffragette and a philosopher of language” (Wikipedia). The Egoist was a continuation of a previous periodical called The New Freewoman, which was a feminist magazine that discussed social issues and controversies. It was in circulation from 1914-1919 during World War I. The Egoist is particularly known for making a large contribution to modernist literature, especially after it was taken over by Ezra Pound in the second half 1914. It essentially turned into a literary magazine featuring works by people like James Joyce and other modernist writers.
Ezra Pound was both a poet and a critic, who is known mainly for his books of poetry. Pound developed his own movement called Imagism which heavily influenced The Egoist. Pound developed this movement after reading and reviewing a poem by a woman named Hilda Doolittle in the year 1912 (Poets.org). What interested Pound about her poems was their crisp and sharp language. The Egoist under Pound’s control became a literary magazine featuring many serial works and authors like James Joyce’s “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” and Muriel Ciolkowska’s wartime columns.This range of works shows us the diversity of The Egoist and that it truly discusses anything that may appear to be taboo. The Egoist was also an influence on the modernism movement . According to the Encyclopedia Brittanica modernism is defined as “a radical break with the past and the concurrent search for new forms of expression”. Prior to the modernist movement artist were focused on realism. Realism is defined as ‘the treatment of forms such as colors, space, in such a manner to emphasize their correspondence to actuality or their ordinary visual experience”(dictionary.com). Modernism, in contrast to realism, broke away from the idea creating something that could be seen in nature. Modernism allowed artist and writers imaginations go wild and create things that would seem “unusual”.
When the war began in 1914, an issue of The Egoist was published every two weeks. Before the war progressed the Egoist was only published once a month. Before the war began The Egoist had over 2,000 subscribers, but by the time the war ended in 1919, The Egoist only had 400 subscribers. The number of issues publish of the Egoist also decreased as the war progressed as well as the content within them. It is not clear why the number of subscribers decreased after the war but a few things can be inferred. First, The Egoist was very popular in the beginning because of all the movements that were occurring appealed to a lot of people. World War I was also occurring simultaneously and and after a while people were used to the content and maybe because of this lack of interest no less people subscribed.
The specific issue of The Egoist that we are focussing on is Volume 1 no. 17, which is dated September 1, 1914. The issue begins with an article titled “Culture” by Dora Marsden. This article describes culture in ways that cause the reader to think about where the culture actually began. The article proposes arguments that stimulate questions like who created the idea of culture and why can’t we create our own? The article reads:
There are, of course, those who say that castes, noble, kingly, or priestly, and Empires are one thing, but that Culture is something other and apart: something great, eternal ; something to do with mind and the soul of man. Culture is Thought (322).
With this idea, we can identify culture as something that begins in the mind, and if that is true then whose job is it to create “culture?” The article presents the idea that if we all continue to follow one culture, there will always be one head person who created that idea. However, every person has their own thoughts, which can create newer ideas. The article causes readers to think about culture and makes people think about why one person’s ideas are more superior than someone else’s. After reading this article, we realized that Marsden clearly believes in egoism and the idea of self-interest. It is clear that she wanted writers to express new ideas in order to expand the idea of “culture” and open new views to society. While many of these thoughts and views were seen as controversial, Marsden believed that the more The Egoist contributors wrote, the more the culture would expand. This also can be connected to the idea of modernism, which can be defined as “a style of art, architecture, literature, etc., that uses ideas and methods which are very different from those used in the past” (Webster).
The issue goes on to include writers like James Joyce, John Rodker, and Muriel Ciolkowska. Each of these writers go against the norm of society by discussing issues in society that are often viewed as controversial. For example, Joyce’s “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” is featured in this issue. This text tells the story of a man, who acts on his temptations rather than following the strict views of society. John Rodker writes poetry in the issue such as “The Vibro Massage,” which turns an everyday enjoyable event into something that sounds gloomy and torturous. Ciolkowska’s “Fighting Paris” discusses Ciolkowska’s meeting with a boy who fought in the war. While she is aware of the terrible things the boy encountered at war, she responds by saying “each one must do his duty” (332). This explains society’s view on the war and how all boys are expected to fight in the war, regardless of what they have to endure by doing so. This is one of the first times we get a negative image of the war in a public medium. Society posed the war to be a great thing to do for the country, but failed to mention the terrible things that people would experience throughout the war. The Egoist begins to share information about the war that wasn’t shared publicly before. This positive image of war, created by society, was beginning to end. Overall, this issue uses different texts to discuss controversial topics that go against the norms of society. Each of these ideas discussed in the issue, support the idea of egoism, modernism, and support Marsden’s article on culture. The issue discusses common topics in new ways, with hope to expand the mind of society and allow room for more accepted views in their culture. While society has formed strict expectations and views, the writers in this issue attempt to spread newer views and gain acceptance in more than one way of thinking.
Muriel Ciolkowska and The Egoist
Muriel Ciolkowska’s Column is one of the few serial works that are featured within The Egoist. She is featured throughout The Egoist from the beginning of the WWI until the war ends in 1919. Ciolkowska’s column in The Egoist serves the purpose of a civilian perspective of the war. Her columns are diary entries that she writes about once a week about what she has witnessed in her everyday life and the encounters she makes. In the 17th issue of The Egoist, Ciolkowska sheds some light on the social aspect of how civilians felt about going to war and the reactions from other civilians who couldn’t go to war like woman had when someone said that they weren’t going into the war. Ciolkowska’s column in The Egoist exposes the negative aspects of World War I that were previously hidden from society. Ciolkowska’s column began to expose the effects of the war through interactions with civilians and soldiers to be.
Muriel Ciolkowska’s column within The Egoist consist of her interactions with people pre War World I and post War World I. Her column consists of journal entries where she discusses significant things that have happened to her and the things and people she has witnessed while doing her everyday chores and errands. When the war begins Ciolkowska’s column is titled “Fighting Paris”, and in these columns she speaks a about the war, the men preparing to go to war and how it affects her and the other civilians around her. She also discusses the change of the city life as everyone is in a scrabble preparing to deploy for war. As the war progresses Ciolkowska’s title to her column changes to “ Passing Paris” where she discusses post war interactions and the aftermath of the war and how it has affected her and other civilians and the men that have now experienced war.
In this particular issue of The Egoist, Ciolkowska has included a few days of her observations and interactions with others from July 30th 1914 to August 4th 1914. The war has just started two days before she writes her first journal entry. Ciolkowska speaks on the panic that has already began to arise between people. She says, “ I read in the papers that you have to pay for your drinks in advance at the cafes, many people expecting change for notes for a hundred francs on paying for a bock”( Ciolkowska 332). When wars break out money exhaustion is always an issue and it is seen that people were worried they wouldn’t get their money as Ciolkowska witnesses. In this issue she also has interactions with the men who are preparing to become soldiers. From the perspective of Ciolkowska those who read The Egoist gain an perspective of how civilians were living at this time as well as how they interacted with the men who were preparing to be fight at the warfront.
In the beginning of Ciolkowska’s column she describes the way that men are scrabbling and preparing for war. In the beginning of the war everyone had pride and wanted to go to war to show their devotion for their country and Ciolkowska speaks on this extreme pride . She says, “ Meet a lady who tells us she knows some young men have already been called to join their regiments….I regret that he should leave without my being able to say good-bye”(332). Ciolkowska and the woman she mentions don’t appear to be alarmed at the fact that the men are leaving to go to war, nor do they seem concerned. In the beginning of war, no one including Ciolkowska knew how the war would turn out,, nor how gruesome World War I would be.
In the Return of the Solider, Kitty is proud to have a husband that is a solider fighting in the war. Even after he losses his memory all she can think of is getting her “solider” back instead of her husband.When Chris is hypnotized to regain his memory Kitty says the following,
“Jenny ,Jenny! ” How does he look?”
“Oh….” How could I say it?”” Every inch a soldier.”
She crept behind me to the window, peered over my shoulder an d saw.
I heard her breath with satisfaction. “He’s cured!”she whispered slowly. “He’s cured!” (90)
Kitty is relieved to have her soldier back because she depends on him. Despite the fact that he went A.W.A.L and suffered from amnesia she was excited to have her solider back. Now that Chris is “cured” he can now go back to war. In this scene it is not fully expressed how gruesome the war was. The fact that Chris loses his memory and doesn’t remember his last 15 years of life is the main focus of the story instead of the putting the on the war and that it was the cause of Chris misfortune.
Civilian’s who couldn’t go to war like women and children, expected a lot from the able body men that could go to war. Men who didn’t go to war or made excuses as to why they couldn’t go to war were heavily judged by society. The following is an excerpt from Ciolkowska’s column, a bittersweet interaction with a solider to be: “ Mr. G. C. is absent and brother, a married man with two little children, tells me on inquiry , that if their is a mobilisation he leave on the twelfth day. I sympathise with him and he replies with him:“ Each one must do his duty”( 322) . Not knowing was ahead of him, Mr. G. C’s brother accepted the fact that he would be have to go to war and that “ each must do his duty”. Ciolkowska points out the fact that he has a wife and two children. Even though she doesn’t explicitly say how detrimental this situation is, she makes it known to readers that he has a family. If anything is to happen to him while he is “doing his duty” he would be leaving a family behind.
Ciolkowska also makes it know how ready some men were to go to war. Even though they didn’t know what would await them on the war front.” His face is already transformed; it is hard and settled and his manner is brief and practical.” Ciolkowska begins to describe the pride that men had when preparing for war. Everyone was ready to fall in line and step up to the plate to fight for their country. While the men were preparing to go the woman were preparing themselves as well. When wars are discussed the pain people feel before letting go and saying goodbye to their soldiers is never discussed. Ciolkowska exposes this feeling woman had in her column, exposing the reality of what it was like for what it was like for people who had to say goodbye. Ciolkowska says on page 333 of no. 17 issue of The Egoist, “ The streets are already crowded with weeping women and men carrying parcels (containing service boots) or portmanteux”. This raw emotion of people letting isn’t what the people like the government promote when they promote war. They only promote the good it would do for the country, the benefits and praise thy will receive from loved ones when they came back as heroes.
Ciolkowska is also faced with a hard decision to make about her own soldier going to war. She is stuck at a fork in the road when trying to make the decision on what she should say to her significant other to stay or go to war:
“Anxiety as to the whereabouts of H.S.C who has the duty to accomplish to his country, too, occupies my mind. He was the provinces;where is now? The other day he wrote: “I will not go to the front if you do not wish me to”, for he belongs merely to so-called auxiliary corps. How shall I decide? All night long I ask myself the same questions. “Won’t enough be slaughtered as it is?” Then:” How can I want him to avoid what others are only too ready to face and he not less than any? How can I demand that?”
Ciolkowska is perplexed because of the social pressures around her. She is given the decision to tell her significant other whether or not he should in fact go fight in the war. Everyone is excited for war and all the men she has interacted with throughout her column appear ready as well as prideful to be fighting in the war. Ciolkowska doesn’t want to tell her significant other to not go to war if he is ready to go along with the others. Ciolkowska expressing her feelings on her significant other going to war also exposes a side to the war people weren’t privy to and that was the fact that she wasn’t happy about the idea of her significant other going to war.
Another aspect of wartime that Ciolkowska exposes in her column are the riots that occurred as men were leaving to go to war. While having lunch Ciolkowska witnesses the following, “…We hear a terrible, almost alarming noise. It is a mob of young ruffians and women who are smashing in the shutters and windows of a dairy-shop” (334).Riots occurring while men were being deployed wasn’t something that was exposed when promoting war. Instead it is shown the role switch between men and women and how people had different opportunities that the war provided. The fact that war created jobs is what was discussed while men were fighting at the front, not how riots broke out amongst the civilians.
Ciolkowska was not the only one to expose what war was like through her writing. In the war poem ” Dulce et Decorum” by Wilfred Owen, he discusses what he witnesses in while in the trenches. Prior to go to war, no one knew what they would face on the other side of the trenches. The following excerpt is Owens describing the death of one of his platoon:
“Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling, Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time; But someone still was yelling out and stumbling, And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime… Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light, As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.”
Owens watches someone die right before his eyes. In the beginning when people were being recruited to go to war the reality that some of them wouldn’t come back was not made privy to them. Instead soldiers were lead to believe that that they would be doing a service to their country and would possibly come back as war heroes.
Ciolkowska’s column in The Egoist is multifaceted , she gives readers so much in a few short pages. She gives her personal account as well as the accounts of others she witnesses as men are being recruited and sent to their regimes. Not only does she expose the war for what it really was but she also gives readers the perspective of a civilian, a perspective that isn’t often seen. Most perspectives of war are given through the eyes of soldiers and put into a light of positivity. Ciolkowska’s column is raw and aims to tell readers what the everyday struggles and experiences civilians were faced with. She also gives some insight into how men awaiting to be deployed for war felt during this time as well as they interacted with one another and each other.
Modernism in The Egoist
Modernism can be defined as “a style or movement in the arts that aims to break with classical and traditional forms” (Webster). The Egoist is a magazine that introduces modernism and promotes the idea of egoism, which is “an ethical theory that treats self-interest as the foundation of morality” (Webster). As I read through Volume 1 No.17 of The Egoist, which is dated September 1, 1914, I realized that writers had an internal battle between society/culture and one’s self. While society created strict expectations, The Egoist began to focus on internal thoughts and temptations that sometimes differed from society’s norm. Throughout this issue it can be seen that writers of The Egoist, such as Dora Marsden, John Rodker, and James Joyce, introduce modernism in their writing by going against the norms of society and creating new ideas about controversial issues that were previously unspoken.
The issue opens with an article by Dora Marsden that is titled “Culture.” This article questions the idea of culture and what it really means. The article addresses the idea that one person created the idealistic culture that they were living in. Therefore, who is to say that it can’t be altered or changed by someone else? While addressing the ideas of culture, Marsden also discusses how writers have an impact on the culture as a whole. If writers follow the norms of society, there will never be a documented change. Marsden wanted The Egoist to be a medium for self-expression and new ideas to expand the culture. The article reads:
Now human “Culture” is the verbalist attempt to carry out a human selection on an exact analogy with the sub-human one. There is one missing factor, however, and this being the potent one, it falls to “culture’s” part to supply it. There is lacking a High Gardener; hence the ushering of the Gods into the game.
This passage explains that although society has agreed on a set of expectations, they have failed to realize that those expectations had to have started from one being. With that in mind, the question stands of how is that one person’s thoughts more superior than anyone else’s? This article causes readers to acknowledge their own self rather than the expectations by society. If this “culture” was created in result of one person’s inner thoughts, then why shouldn’t everyone be able to express their own? Marsden uses her writing to promote the ideas of egoism, modernism, and overall self-awareness. She wanted readers to follow their temptations rather than hide behind them.
Marsden’s “Culture” article defines culture as “thought,” and creates an idea that a writer’s work either reflects the culture of society or the writer’s inner self. With this in mind, I found John Rodker’s poetry to be extremely interesting in the sense that it fits this assumption perfectly. More specifically, Rodker’s poem “Vibro Massage” introduces a common experience that was typically seen in a positive light. In “Mechanical Vibration” by M.L.H. Arnold Snow it introduces the idea of vibration therapy, which is discussed in Rodker’s poem. Snow’s text reads:
THE EFFECTS OF MECHANICAL VIBRATION are as follows: 1. Cardiac activity is regulated. Blood pressure may be lowered reflexly. It may be raised also. 2. Contracts arterial blood vessels. If prolonged, dilatation results. Pulse rate may be lowered. 3. It induces many reflex effects as well as motor, sensory, secretary and vaso-motor effects. It lessens and removes hyperactivity of nerves. It diminishes pain and relieves congestion not due to organic conditions. 4. Diminishes and relieves muscular pain and stiffness. It can relax tense muscles and cause relaxed and atrophied muscles to become firm and increase in size. It tones up cardiac muscles. 5. Reflexly induces contraction of the lungs. Relieves pain and dyspnoea. Improves respiration. 6. Diminishes size of glands, directly and reflexly. 7. Contracts or dilates the liver, stomach and spleen. 8. Diminishes irritability of the bladder when not due to organic conditions. 9. Induces peristalsis. 10. Increases or diminishes lymphatic circulation according to the vibratory friction given, centripetal or centrifugal. 11. Assists in diminishing intraocular tension.12. Lessens nasal hyperemia. 13. Suction vibrations are valuable in removing pus from a boil, etc. (Chapter 5).
This passage explains all of the effects of a “vibro massage,” similar to the one discussed in Rodker’s poem. While this passage clearly explains that a vibro massage has positive results, it causes readers to question Rodker’s poem and analyze it deeply. While the massage is often seen as a relaxing and helpful act, Rodker describes his with words and phrases such as “afraid, stress, pain, hated hands, burn, and smell of death.” Rodker clearly discusses a massage, which is usually seen as an enjoyable event, in a way that makes it seem torturous. Using these negative images to describe something that is normally seen as positive leads readers to question what else lies beneath this poem. However, after reading Dora Marsden’s article we can assume that these negative images reflect the society’s culture of the time period or Rodker’s inner self. Although a poem can be interpreted many different ways, my personal belief is that it reflects the negative image of this time period. As it was published during the first World War, and other articles in this issue discuss the issues of the war, readers are aware of the terrible issues throughout society in result of the war. For example, many men were expected to fight in the war, and those who didn’t were often seen as cowardly. Along with this, those who were fighting in the war were forced to endure terrible experiences that no one else in the world could ever understand. World War One had a tremendous impact on everyone in society and death was a major result. In the novel “Mrs. Dalloway” by Virginia Woolf it discusses the dark sides of the war that weren’t previously discussed in society. Although the novel was not published in The Egoist, I chose to reference it because of its ability to connect with different people who lived through World War 1. Throughout the novel we learn about people who fought in the war and people who had loved ones in the war. Throughout the novel we learn that World War One not only caused a tremendous amount of deaths in the actual war, but also resulted in suicides due to post war issues. Septimus is a character in the novel who suffers from shell shock in result of fighting in the war. The novel shows how he is feeling and how other people view him for it. The novel reads:
People must notice; people must see. People, she thought, looking at the crowd staring at the motor car; the English people, with their children and their horses and their clothes, which she admired in a way; but they were “people” now, because Septimus had said “I will kill myself”’; an awful thing to say. Suppose they had heard him? She looked at the crowd. Help, help! She wanted to cry out to butchers’ boys and women. Help! Only last autumn she and Septimus had stood on the Embarkment wrapped in the same cloak and, Septimus reading a paper instead of talking, she had snatched it from him and laughed in the old man’s face who saw them! But failure one conceals. She must take him away into some park (Woolf, 137).
In this passage we notice the sense of embarrassment she felt when Septimus was clearly going through a large amount of pain. The novel introduces the reality that the War was a life changing experience for every person in society. While people who fought in the war were expected to fight with pride and live up to a certain standard, their loved ones were effected as well in many ways. These expectations held in society led people to not understand the pain soldiers withheld after the war. Having this knowledge on the war allowed me to sympathize with Rodker. He took this simple, and enjoyable, task and turned it into a terrible image and compared it with death. Rodker made it clear that during this time period, even the most simple things in life could no longer be enjoyable. Rodker used his poetry to emphasize the hidden issues in society and speak out on the true emotions of people during this time.
James Joyce is another writer whose work can be found throughout The Egoist. In the book “James Joyce a New Biography” by Gordon Bowker it explains that Ezra Pound wrote to Joyce stating that “we want it to be a place where a man can speak out” (211). Here, we see that Ezra Pound wrote to Joyce explaining what was expected from writers of The Egoist. This shows that not just anyone was selected to be a part of the periodical, but instead they looked for writers who were going to speak out instead of following the norm. Soon after this letter, Joyce began writing “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man,” which was almost immediately published in The Egoist. In this specific issue of The Egoist, it includes chapter three of “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.” In this chapter of the text readers can see that Stephen, the main character, is constantly battling his inner temptations and desires. While in previous chapters we learned that he lost his virginity to a prostitute, Stephen is still reflecting on this “sin” throughout this chapter. However, his temptations still remain and he continues to act on them. Throughout this chapter we notice that he is struggling to find himself and he begins to question where he stands in the eyes of the Lord. We realize that he is questioning his decisions, but still chooses to follow them and almost seems to not be able to control them. While society has created major expectations to follow, he chose to follow his own desires. This fits perfectly in relation to Marden’s culture article. While Marsden discussed the idea of how sharing someone’s inner thoughts can expand society’s culture, Joyce writes about someone who actually acts on the thoughts. Joyce takes these controversial ideas of temptation and turns them into action.
All in all, Dora Marsden, John Rodker, and James Joyce each participate in making this issue of The Egoist a perfect example of what the periodical was meant to be about. The issue begins with Marden’s article, which creates a definition for culture. The article goes on to set a standard for writers to follow in order to make a change and expand culture for all of society. This introduction article created a flow throughout the issue that tied modernism to the society’s culture during the time period. In Rodker’s poetry we can see how these ideas of culture can be represented through literature, which is what Marsden wanted writers to do. If every writer spoke out, new ideas would be presented, and the everyday norms would be expanded. In Joyce’s “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young man” we can see the transition of temptations turning to action. While each of these writers discuss these issues in different ways, they are each introducing modernism by going against the norms of society and creating new ideas about controversial issues that were previously unspoken.
This is an image of war propaganda, encouraging soldiers to go to war.
Duffy, Michael. “Firstworldwar.com.” First World War.com. N.p., 22 Aug. 2009. Web. 05 May 2016.
This is another image of propaganda encouraging soldiers to go to war, sressing the idea that they are needed.
“World War I Propaganda Posters.” World War I Reference Library. Ed. Sara Pendergast, Christine Slovey, and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 3: Primary Sources. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 169-188. World History in Context. Web. 5 May 2016.
This image shows a soldier being greeted by his family are coming home from the war.
“Virginia Nicholson.” Virginia Nicholson. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2016
James Joyce – Full Episode (TV-PG; 44:11) The full biography of author James Joyce.
Spartacus Educational.” Spartacus Educational. Spartacus Educational, n.d. Web. 05 May 2016.Annotations
Bowker, Gordon. James Joyce: A New Biography. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2012.
Ciolkowska, Muriel. “Fighting Paris.” The Egoist 1.17 (1914): 332-35. Modernist Journals
Duffy, Michael. “Firstworldwar.com.” First World War.com. N.p., 22 Aug. 2009. Web. 05 May 2016.Ciolkowska, Muriel. “Fighting Paris.” The Egoist 1.17 (1914): 332-35. Modernist Journals
Dulce Et Decorum Est.” Omeka RSS. The First World War Poetry Digital Archive, n.d. Web. 05 May 2016.
Joyce, James. Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man. The Egoist. 1.1-1.24(1914). Modernist
“Modernist Journals Project.” Modernist Journals Project. Ed. Harriet Shaw Weaver. N.p., 01
Sept. 1914. Web. 23 Mar. 2016.
Snow, M.L.H Arnold, M.D. “Mechanical Vibration.” Early American Manual Therapy Version 5.0. N.p., 1912. Web. 5 May 2016.Virginia Nicholson.” Virginia Nicholson. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2016.
Woolf, Virginia. Mrs. Dalloway. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1925. Print.