The Arduous and the Ordinary Embodying the Conversational Voice in the Long Nineteenth Century

This article aims to chart out a cultural history of the voice in conversation in the nineteenth century. Often understood as a period of decline of the ‘art’ of conversation, as it was defined in the eighteenth century (and studied by historians of the period), the nineteenth century was witness to a shift away from conscious cultivation. Conversation, in the nineteenth century, became the counterpoint to more formalized modes of speech like oratory and debate, and was defined as ‘natural’. As such, it also became an object of study for experts specializing in vocal health, who saw this ‘natural’ form of vocal expression as a place to see the voice in action at its least artificial. Based on the work of these experts – scientific treatises, early forays in laryngoscopy, educational work and self-help manuals – I propose an analysis of their largely normative texts that focuses on sound and vocal practice, rather than the development of scientific discourse and its disciplinary character. I borrow central concepts from sound studies, like that of the audile technique and aurality in order to do so, and place the vocalizing body at the center of this analysis.