The Price of Salt

In The Telephone Book: Technology, Schizophrenia, Electric Speech (Nebraska University Press, 1989), the American queer theorist Avital Ronell presents the telephone as a jarring medium. The phone allows people to call one another and spread information, which she compares to spreading disease. As the phone lets a person hear another person’s voice without seeing their body, the medium also disembodies people and creates a haunting environment.

In The Price of Salt, the meaning behind the telephone changes. It starts as a positive symbol. Via the phone, Carol speaks to Therese at Frankenberg’s and arranges their first official meeting. In a sense, the phone brings them together. However, as the story unfolds, Therese and Carol experience the disquieting impact of the telephone, frequently receiving bad news about Harge’s actions. After Carol goes back to New York, the telephone becomes increasingly linked with unpleasant interactions. Over the phone, Therese expresses her love for Carol, and Carol replies with a flippant whistle. Another time, Carol sounds “harassed,” worrying that someone is tapping the phone. The stressful call causes Therese to wonder, “Was this the way they talked together? Were these the words they used?” (226). The phone perpetuates Therese’s feelings of alienation.