The Mysterious World of the Penny-Novel-Journals

What do you think Wilkie Collins meant by "the white phantom"?

What could have prompted the writer to refer to the white phantom?

Answer:

In his essay on “The Unknown Public” in Household Words in August 1858, Wilkie Collins assumed a great gulf fixed between the middle-class literary audience and the working-class readers. He referred to the working-class readers as "the white phantom," symbolizing their mystery and unfathomable nature in the literary world.

Wilkie Collins used the term "the white phantom" to describe the working-class readers who were part of the penny-novel-Journals audience. The term suggests that these readers were elusive and mysterious, almost like ghosts in the literary landscape. Collins believed that there was a significant gap between the middle-class readers and the working-class readers, with the latter being largely unrecognized and overlooked by the literary establishment.

The phrase "the white phantom" likely stemmed from Collins' perception of the working-class readers as ethereal figures who existed outside the realm of traditional literary circles. Their presence was felt but rarely acknowledged, hence the use of the word "phantom" to emphasize their invisibility in the eyes of the literary elite.

Collins may have been prompted to refer to the white phantom in order to draw attention to the disparity in recognition and representation between different segments of society in the literary world. By highlighting the existence of this unseen audience, Collins aimed to shed light on their importance and value as readers, despite being marginalized by mainstream literary discourse.