With the Photographer - Summary & Analysis
Plot Summary
"With the Photographer" by Stephen Leacock narrates the humorous yet frustrating experience of an unnamed forty-year-old narrator who visits a photographer's studio to have his photograph taken. His simple intention is to obtain a photograph that his friends and family can remember him by after his death.
Upon arrival at the studio, the narrator is greeted without enthusiasm by the photographer, described as a drooping man in a gray suit. He is asked to wait for an hour, during which he browses through outdated magazines from 1912. This waiting period makes him feel like an intruder into the photographer's scientific pursuits.
When finally called into the inner studio, the narrator sits on a stool while the photographer positions his large, old-fashioned camera. The photographer immediately expresses dissatisfaction with the narrator's face, declaring it "quite wrong" and suggesting it would look better photographed at three-quarters full. What follows is a series of increasingly absurd demands: the photographer manipulates the narrator's head, asking him to droop his ears, close his mouth, expand his lungs, and alter various features.
At one point, the photographer approaches the narrator tenderly, causing him to close his eyes expecting to be kissed, only to have his face roughly turned in different directions. After forty years of living comfortably with his natural appearance, the narrator grows frustrated and confused by these constant criticisms.
Just as the narrator's anger peaks and he is about to leave, the photographer secretly captures the photograph, pleased to have caught his animated emotion. The narrator is told to return on Saturday to view the proof.
When he returns, the narrator is shocked to discover that the photograph bears little resemblance to him. The photographer has extensively retouched it—editing his eyebrows, mouth, and planning to adjust his ears using advanced techniques. The narrator protests, explaining that he wanted a true representation of himself, not an idealized fiction. However, the photographer fails to understand this desire for authenticity.
Extremely angry and feeling humiliated, the narrator declares the edited photograph a "worthless bauble," leaves it with the photographer, and exits the studio in tears.
Publication
"With the Photographer" was originally published in Stephen Leacock's collection titled "Behind the Beyond, and Other Contributions to Human Knowledge" in 1913. This collection was published by John Lane Company in both New York and London. The book also included other humorous pieces such as "Behind the Beyond" (a parody of problem plays), "Familiar Incidents," "The Dentist and the Gas," "My Lost Opportunities," "My Unknown Friend," and "Under the Barber's Knife".
The story is now part of the ICSE Class 10 English curriculum, included in the anthology "Treasure Chest: A Collection of ICSE Short Stories & Poems".
Context
About the Author
Stephen Butler Leacock (1869-1944) was born in Swanmore, Hampshire, England, and immigrated to Canada with his family at age six. He received his B.A. from the University of Toronto in 1891 and later earned a Ph.D. in political economy from the University of Chicago in 1903. He then joined McGill University in Montreal, where he became head of the department of economics and political science in 1908, serving until his retirement in 1936.
Although Leacock authored nearly twenty works on history and political economy, his true calling was humor. Between 1915 and 1925, he was the most popular humorist in the English-speaking world. His fame rests on works such as:
- "Literary Lapses" (1910)
- "Nonsense Novels" (1911)
- "Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town" (1912)
- "Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich" (1914)
Leacock's humor is typically based on a comic perception of social foibles and the incongruity between appearance and reality in human conduct. He was awarded the Mark Twain Medal for humour, the Royal Society of Canada's Lorne Pierce Medal, and the Governor General's Literary Award for non-fiction. His legacy continues through the annual Leacock Medal for Humour awarded in his honor.
Historical and Social Context
The early 20th century, when Leacock wrote this story, witnessed the rise of professional photography studios and the beginning of image manipulation techniques. Photography was becoming increasingly accessible to the middle class, and portrait photography was a formal, often intimidating experience. The story reflects the growing tension between authentic self-representation and the pursuit of idealized beauty—a concern that remains remarkably relevant in today's age of digital filters and photo editing.
Title
The title "With the Photographer" is deceptively simple yet highly significant. The preposition "with" suggests accompaniment and collaboration, implying a shared experience between two parties. However, the story reveals the opposite: rather than working together harmoniously, the narrator and photographer are in fundamental conflict.
The title also emphasizes the photographer's dominance in the relationship. The narrator is not simply visiting a photographer or having a photograph taken—he is "with" the photographer, suggesting he is subject to the photographer's control and vision. This power imbalance becomes the central source of the story's conflict and humor.
Furthermore, the title's matter-of-fact tone contrasts ironically with the absurd and emotionally charged experience that unfolds within the narrative. What should be a routine, straightforward transaction becomes a nightmare of manipulation and misunderstanding.
Narrative and Language
Narrative Style
The story employs first-person narration, which gives authenticity to the bitter experiences faced by the narrator. This narrative perspective allows readers direct access to the narrator's thoughts, insecurities, and growing frustration. The subjective viewpoint makes the reader sympathize with the narrator and experience his humiliation firsthand.
Leacock's narrative progresses chronologically, following the narrator through the waiting period, the photography session, and the final confrontation when viewing the retouched photograph. This linear structure allows the tension and absurdity to build steadily toward the emotional climax.
Language and Literary Devices
Leacock's writing is characterized by several distinctive features:
Humor and Satire: The story is fundamentally satirical, using gentle humor and irony to critique professional arrogance, societal beauty standards, and the dehumanizing aspects of commercial services. The photographer's obsessive attention to irrelevant details and his condescending attitude create a comical scenario that also serves as social commentary.
Irony: The story is rich in irony, particularly situational irony. The narrator seeks a simple, authentic photograph but receives something unrecognizable. The photographer, whose job is to capture reality, instead distorts it beyond recognition. This ironic reversal drives the story's critique of artificiality and perfectionism.
Hyperbole and Exaggeration: Leacock employs hyperbole extensively to amplify the absurdity of the situation. The photographer's demands to "droop ears" and "expand lungs" are physically impossible exaggerations that highlight the ridiculousness of his quest for perfection. This technique creates immediate humor while emphasizing the narrator's powerlessness.
Understatement: Balancing the hyperbole, Leacock also uses understatement to create comedic effect. The narrator's matter-of-fact descriptions of outrageous situations create a dry, deadpan humor that enhances the satire.
Dialogue: The story features skillful use of short, clipped dialogue that reveals character and advances the plot efficiently. The photographer's curt commands contrast with the narrator's increasingly desperate protests, creating dramatic tension and humor.
Tone: The overall tone blends humor with underlying frustration and pathos. While the surface narrative is comic, there is genuine pain in the narrator's humiliation, making the story both entertaining and thought-provoking.
Themes
1. Identity and Self-Perception
The central theme explores the conflict between one's authentic identity and externally imposed ideals. The narrator seeks a photograph that represents his true self, but the photographer insists on altering his features to conform to an idealized standard of beauty. This highlights the tension between self-perception and how others perceive or wish to portray us.
The narrator's declaration, "This face is my face. It is not yours, it is mine," captures the essence of this struggle for authentic self-representation. After forty years of living with his natural appearance, he refuses to accept the photographer's judgment that his face is "wrong".
2. Insecurity and External Validation
The story explores how external judgments can trigger deep-seated insecurities. While waiting, the narrator reads magazines featuring idealized images of models, causing him to feel inadequate about his own appearance. This unrealistic comparison plants seeds of self-doubt.
The photographer's constant criticisms magnify these insecurities, making the narrator acutely aware of his vulnerability when his image is captured and judged. Initially, the narrator passively accepts the photographer's authority, demonstrating how easily external validation can undermine self-confidence. However, he eventually regains his confidence and asserts his dignity.
3. Perfectionism and Unrealistic Beauty Standards
Leacock satirizes society's obsession with perfect appearances and the absurd lengths people go to achieve photographic perfection. The photographer's meticulous and ultimately dehumanizing adjustments reveal how the pursuit of idealized beauty can distort natural human features and suppress individuality.
This theme remains strikingly relevant in contemporary culture, where digital filters, photo editing apps, and social media create unrealistic beauty expectations. The story critiques how technology can be misused to promote artificial standards rather than celebrate natural diversity.
Symbols
The Photograph
The photograph serves as the central symbol representing identity, self-image, and authenticity. Initially, the narrator envisions it as a memento that will help his loved ones remember his true self after death. However, the retouched photograph becomes a symbol of distortion, artificiality, and the loss of authentic identity.
The contrast between the narrator's desired photograph (authentic and true) and the photographer's creation (artificial and unrecognizable) symbolizes the broader conflict between genuine self-expression and socially imposed ideals.
The Photographer's Studio
The studio represents a space where identity is judged, manipulated, and transformed. It is not a neutral environment but rather a place where the photographer exercises control and imposes his vision. The outdated magazines, the waiting period, and the clinical atmosphere all contribute to an intimidating environment that undermines the narrator's confidence.
The Old Camera
The large, old-fashioned camera symbolizes the mechanical, impersonal nature of the photographer's approach. Unlike modern cameras that might suggest spontaneity and natural capture, this imposing machine represents the technical, controlled, and artificial process the photographer employs.
Conclusion
"With the Photographer" remains a timeless satire that humorously yet poignantly critiques perfectionism, professional arrogance, and society's obsession with idealized appearances. Through his characteristic blend of irony, hyperbole, and wit, Stephen Leacock exposes the absurdity of pursuing photographic perfection at the expense of authentic self-representation.
The story's central conflict—between the narrator's desire for a true likeness and the photographer's insistence on artificial improvement—resonates across generations. In Leacock's time, it satirized the pretensions of professional photography studios; today, it speaks powerfully to our culture of digital filters, photo manipulation, and social media perfectionism.
The narrator's journey from insecurity to self-assertion delivers an important message about self-acceptance and the courage to reject external judgments that contradict one's authentic identity. His final refusal to accept the distorted photograph affirms the value of natural, unpolished reality over artificial perfection.
Leacock's genius lies in making readers laugh while simultaneously making them think. The story's humor never obscures its serious underlying themes about identity, dignity, and the human need for authentic self-expression. By treating a seemingly trivial subject—a photography session—with such depth and insight, Leacock demonstrates how everyday experiences can reveal profound truths about human nature and society.
For ICSE Class 10 students, "With the Photographer" offers rich opportunities to analyze literary techniques such as satire, irony, first-person narration, and characterization. More importantly, it invites reflection on timeless questions about identity, self-worth, and the courage to be oneself in a world that constantly pressures us to conform to idealized standards.
Ultimately, Stephen Leacock's story reminds us that our authentic selves—with all our imperfections and idiosyncrasies—are more valuable than any artificially perfected image others might create for us. In the narrator's defiant tears and his rejection of the "worthless bauble," we find a powerful affirmation of human dignity and the right to be recognized as we truly are.