In the Cage is a novella about language—what is said and unsaid, its transmission and reception. At its plot’s core, of course, is telegraphy. This method of communication insists that readers too pay attention to the words used in the text that makes the narrative. In this paper, I explore telegraphy and diction, specifically how the diction of measurement is used not only for the work of the telegraphist, but also for her identity and social position, her relationship to her fianc e Mr. Mudge, and her longing for Captain Everard. By language of measurement, I mean a specific diction that includes words indicating quantification, specific number, numerical precision and imprecision, time, data, and currency and exchange. This also includes various levels of knowing and understanding, especially through use of adjectives and pronouns with counting or part/whole denotation such as “all” and “nothing.” The language of measurement appears first in the introduction to the telegraphist and her work. She notes that the mundanity of her job requires her to “count words as numberless as the sands of the sea” (James 117). She is counting words, as telegrams are paid for by the word, but it is unlikely that she registers their content. What might also contribute to the “numberlessness” is that the job of a telegraphist is never complete: customers continue to come in and there is no real closure. It makes sense, then, that her conception of time (“days and days... weeks sometimes”) is imprecise—days, messages, and customers blend together. Because the customers are busily coming in and out of the office, the telegraphist herself becomes “numberless.” She guesses that the customers do not really see her; she’s as invisible as an anonymous grain of “sand on the floor” (148). Grains of sand are certainly countable, but not without microscopes and much effort. Here, sand represents something vast and impossible. Of course, the telegraphist remains nameless. When, early in the novella, the telegraphist becomes interested in the messages sent by Lady Bradeen, she finds herself not only invested, but filling in the gaps in the messages: “She had surrendered herself moreover, of late,

中文翻译：

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亨利·詹姆斯在《笼中》中的测量语言

在笼子里是一部关于语言的中篇小说——所说的和不说的，它的传递和接收。当然，其情节的核心是电报。这种交流方法坚持要求读者也注意构成叙述的文本中使用的词语。在这篇论文中，我探讨了电报和措辞，特别是测量的措辞如何不仅用于电报员的工作，而且还用于她的身份和社会地位，她与未婚夫马奇先生的关系，以及她对埃弗拉德船长。通过测量语言，我指的是一个特定的词典，其中包括表示量化、特定数字、数值精确度和不精确度、时间、数据以及货币和交换的词。这也包括不同层次的认识和理解，特别是通过使用带有计数或部分/整体外延的形容词和代词，例如“全部”和“无”。测量语言首先出现在电报员及其工作的介绍中。她指出，她的工作平凡无奇，要求她“数词数数，如海中之沙”（James 117）。她在数字，因为电报是按字付费的，但她不太可能登记其内容。也可能导致“无数”的原因是电报员的工作永远不会完成：客户不断进来，并没有真正的关闭。因此，她的时间概念（“天和天……有时是周”）是不精确的——天、信息和客户融合在一起，这是有道理的。因为客户忙着进出办公室，电报员自己变成了“无数”。她猜测客户并没有真正看到她；她就像一粒匿名的“地上的沙子”一样隐形（148）。沙粒当然是可数的，但并非没有显微镜和大量的努力。在这里，沙子代表着巨大而不可能的东西。当然，电报员仍然无名。在中篇小说的早期，当电报员对布拉丁夫人发送的信息产生兴趣时，她发现自己不仅投入了，而且还填补了信息中的空白：“而且，她最近投降了自己，当然，电报员仍然无名。在中篇小说的早期，当电报员对布拉丁夫人发送的信息产生兴趣时，她发现自己不仅投入了，而且还填补了信息中的空白：“而且，她最近投降了自己，当然，电报员仍然无名。在中篇小说的早期，当电报员对布拉丁夫人发送的信息产生兴趣时，她发现自己不仅投入了，而且还填补了信息中的空白：“而且，她最近投降了自己，