The Enormous Radio

Jim Westcott is a typical husband who lives an unremarkable life. He does what is expected of a middle-aged man of his generation, earning an “average of income” to be able to serve as the breadwinner for his wife and children. He is starting to show his years, but he makes sure to keep his gray hair “cut very short,” while wearing the style of clothing he “had worn at Andover” (33) when he was a much younger man. He further cultivates this youthful nature by acting “intentionally naïve” (33), and by pursuing rejuvenating activities to entertain his wife. He takes her to concerts and theater performances. He also avidly listens to music with her in the privacy of their own living room.

Jim is a husband who will do many things to keep his wife happy. He is a man who believes in the stabilizing power of happiness. Without that stability, his family life might be overwhelmed by other kinds of emotional states such as sadness, depression, or even despair. There is no respectability to be found in such unhappier moods, and so he makes sure to buy a new radio for his wife as soon as their old radio set breaks down. He is selective in what he shares with his wife. He tells her what he thinks she needs to know when he feels certain that she is ready to listen. He is not a man given to moments of tenderness or intimacy. He would rather listen to music during their dinners together than chat. He takes his wife out to concerts and to theater performances because these are loud venues where couples don’t speak with one another.

As his wife becomes obsessed with the radio, Jim’s perspective on this new leisure activity shifts. At first, he is willing to engage in the act of eavesdropping, and he finds the stories so entertaining he is left “weak with laughter” (37). By the next evening, his perspective begins to evolve when he sees that his wife “seemed sad and vague” (38). At dinner with friends, he notices that her face is filled with a “radiant melancholy” (39). He demonstrates a complete reversal when he admonishes his wife for continuing to engage in such an “indecent” (39) activity, especially given the fact that it causes her such distress. As a typical 1940s husband, he sees nothing wrong with husbands using violence against disobedient wives, and as the head of his household, he is willing to reprimand his wife when such actions are needed. In the end, he is unable to uphold the façade and carry the family’s financial burdens alone, so he aggressively dumps his woes—and personal judgments—on Irene.

Maids and nurses are commonplace in the Westcotts’ apartment building, and two domestic servants play prominent roles in this story. The first is Jim and Irene’s maid, Emma. She is a silent, almost invisible character who is characterized by the duties she takes on about the Westcott home. She cares for the children, cleans around the house, and prepares meals. She is never heard speaking, and she is never seen walking through spaces of leisure unless she is playing a subservient role for her employers. Her name isn’t revealed to readers for much of the story, only appearing in a later scene once Irene has fallen into her deepest point of depression. This suggests that there is a detached, social boundary between Emma and her employers that only dissolves once Irene herself has been cast down.

Emma’s presence and silence are juxtaposed with Miss Armstrong’s theatrical appearance. Her heavy English accent is heard on the radio as she recites “The Courtship of the Yonghy-Bonghy-Bò,” a nonsense poem about unrequited love by Edward Lear, for her young wards. Irene recognizes Miss Armstrong’s voice easily as she has had numerous conversations with her at the park. The way in which Irene describes their relationship makes it seem as if she thinks very highly of this other domestic servant. It is almost as if she considers this other woman a friend, one she has shared intimate secrets with. When the story comes to its sobering conclusion, it is Miss Armstrong’s comforting voice that Irene pines for once the extraordinary powers of the enormous radio are no longer available to her.