The Cords of Vanity · Chapter
He Puts His Tongue in His Cheek explained
The narrator defends his decision to write a commercially successful novel, 'The Apostates,' as a deliberate act of artistic compromise.
What happens
The narrator defends his decision to write a commercially successful novel, 'The Apostates,' as a deliberate act of artistic compromise. He argues that modern fiction is a drug for the semi-literate and that true art lies in circumventing the limitations of the audience. Charteris challenges him to write a more sincere work about his own ancestry, but the narrator insists on writing with his 'tongue in his cheek' to achieve popularity and financial gain. The chapter also reveals the narrator's emotional detachment from his mother's death and his financial disappointment upon learning she left him little inheritance.
Themes in this chapter
Artistic Identity and Escapism
The narrator grapples with his identity as a writer, choosing commercial success over artistic integrity, while Charteris advocates for sincere art.
Vanity and Self-Deception
The narrator admits his novel is 'balderdash' yet takes pride in its success, and he deceives himself about his emotional response to his mother's death.
Social Class and Provincialism
The narrator's disdain for the 'wrong sort of people' who liked his book reflects class-based judgments about taste and provincialism.
Characters to notice
- Unknown Narrator
Defends his commercial approach to writing, reflects on his mother's death with detachment, and discusses his novel 'The Apostates'.
- John Charteris
Engages in a debate with the narrator about art versus commerce, urging him to write a sincere book about his ancestors.
- Agnes Faroy
Mentioned as part of a messy romantic entanglement that preoccupies the narrator at the time of his mother's death.
- George Bulmer
Uncle George sends news of the narrator's mother's death and her depleted inheritance.
- Roderick King Hill
Illustrated the first publication of 'The Apostates' in The Quaker Post.
- Claire Bulmer Townsend
Mentioned in a letter from Uncle George as possibly afraid to tell the narrator about his mother's finances.
Key passages
“I protest that the man who makes these people read on until they see how 'it all came out' is a deal more than an artist; he is a sorcerer.”
The narrator argues that a writer who can compel reluctant readers to finish a book is more like a magician than an artist.
Part of the narrator's defense of writing commercially successful fiction.
“It is all very well for you to sneer, and talk about art. But there are already in this world a deal more Standard Works than any man can hope to digest in the average lifetime.”
The narrator dismisses Charteris's artistic ideals, claiming there are already too many classic books for anyone to read.
Reflects the narrator's pragmatic view of literature as entertainment rather than art.
“Write the trashy book, then. I never argue with children; and besides, I do not have to read it.”
Charteris gives up arguing and sarcastically tells the narrator to write his commercial novel, since he won't be forced to read it.
Charteris's condescending response to the narrator's defense of commercial writing.
“The main trouble with you, John Charteris, is that you will never recover from being fin de siècle.”
The narrator accuses Charteris of being stuck in the late 19th-century aesthetic movement.
Highlights the generational and artistic divide between the two characters.
