Ship Fever

Letter writing: An analysis of a communication method
A letter between man and wife has the capacity to be powerful, intimate and beautiful. However, in the case of Arthur's letter to Lauchlin in the opening pages of Andrea Barrett's Ship Fever, the language Arthur uses when addressing his wife Susanna is cold and removed. Due to the circumstances of Arthur overseas and Susanna at home in Quebec, letter writing proved to be the only possible form of communication between them at the time. While the exchange of letters provides the writer with the ability to have slow and indirect communication with the receiver, Arthur distanced himself from his wife and chose to address his letter to Lauchlin instead. Thus, in this instance, letter writing served as a barrier between Susanna and Arthur; Arthur not only fails to write his wife directly, but also mentions her to Lauchlin in a brief and obtuse manner. Upon receiving the letter, Lauchlin, who seemingly has more compassion for Susanna than Arthur does, chooses to appease Susanna and deliver the letter’s message in a more sympathetic manner. Ultimately, the way in which Arthur communicates, or fails to communicate with his wife signifies a distant and problematic relationship between them that continues to manifest itself in the remainder of the novella.
The very essence of letter writing is a distant method of communication in and of itself for a few reasons. Firstly, letter writing can be used to barricade the true emotions of a person. For example, when one reads a letter they may not necessarily be able to decipher the writer’s tone or conjure the sentiments intended by the sender. Secondly, the period that elapses between the time a letter is written, sent, received and finally read is vast. Moreover, a letter’s time span is especially lengthy when either the sender or receiver is at sea, as was the case of Arthur’s letter to Lauchlin in which: “ winter had delayed the mail even longer than usual” (Ship Fever, 161). Lastly, as oppose to face-to-face communication, there is a minimum amount of words one could include in a letter since letter writing is both more time-consuming than verbal conversation and tedious in general. Thus, in Arthur’s defense, since he was, “traveling from country to country” (Ship Fever, 159) perhaps he had little time to write to his wife directly.
In addition to letter writing being an indirect form of communication, Arthur exacerbates this distance by taking certain measures that removes him further away from Susanna. For example, although writing was an already lengthy process since he was overseas, Arthur did take the time to write to Lauchlin. However, instead of using kind words when discussing Susanna, Arthur referred to his wife using distant and withdrawn language. Arthur can further be seen as distant from Susanna by forgoing any potential intimacy with his wife while they were separated. As discussed previously, letter writing can serve as an intimate form of expression between man and wife. However, by only communicating with Lauchlin, Arthur makes Lauchlin privy to personal information that could have maintained or even enhanced his relationship with Susanna while he was away. Further, throughout the novella Arthur’s character is portrayed as confident and controlling, where he is seen as "so confident was he of his place in the world" (Ship Fever, 161). For example, Arthur utilizes the phrase "I expect" (Ship Fever, 160) in his letter when referring to Susanna's feelings, a terminology both distant and self-assured. Arthur expected Susanna was lonely, yet failed to apologize for his absence. Moreover, Arthur seemed especially removed from caring for his wife by only asking about Susanna at the very end of his letter. Arthur should have been eager to inquire about Susanna’s wellbeing; his wife’s welfare should have been his top priority instead of beginning his letter with a description of how he was doing. Additionally, by distancing himself from Susanna, not only does Arthur fail to include Susanna in what he is experiencing abroad, but he also worries her tremendously. Arthur is away on a difficult excursion that would naturally cause worry to Susanna. Susanna, who anxiously awaits some sort of communication from her husband, finally hears a word from Arthur in a letter addressed to Lauchlin. Inevitably, this makes Susanna feel unloved and uncared for by her husband. Further demonstrating his apathy towards Susanna’s needs, Arthur then informs Lauchlin nonchalantly of the potential of an extended journey stating that: “With luck I will leave here in April, but it is possible I may go to London...” (Ship Fever,161). While a prolonged trip would clearly upset Susanna, Arthur mentions it only at the end of the letter as if it is not a big deal.
Though it is clear that Arthur has hurt Susanna, Lauchlin attempted to salvage their relationship by acting as an intermediary between the two. Lauchlin, who is clearly more sensitive to Susanna's feelings than Arthur, edits the letter prior to reading it to Susanna so that she won’t get upset, going as far as to add sentiments of love and intimacy to the letter that Arthur didn't bother to include. When Lauchlin apologizes for reading the letter out loud, Susanna responds by stating, "How else would I know what was going on?" (Ship Fever,162). Susanna’s cynical response signifies her acknowledgement of Arthur’s shortcomings and her outward dissatisfaction with his lack of communication with her directly. In conclusion, the novella “ship fever” provides the reader with the ability to closely analyze a way in which one particular communication method, letter writing, served as an important indication of a husband’s failure to properly attend to his wife’s needs. It is evident that Arthur should have used letter writing to maintain his relationship with Susanna while away; Arthur could easily have written to Susanna directly or used more endearing language in his letter to Lauchlin. Ultimately, however, Arthur chose the more selfish route and distanced himself from his wife, creating a separation between them that is farther apart than any number of seas.