Calling from Newcastle
Mahatma Gandhi once said: “Be the change you wish to see in the world”. These, I believe, are very wise words from which we can still learn. Most people know what is right and what is wrong, but in the hurry of a hectic everyday life, we tend to relax our morality and when in Rome do as the Romans do. For instance, we have all heard dozens of people preach on inner glory being most important, and still we are often declined to meet people with prejudices based on their looks. This is the case in Julia Darling’s short story Calling from Newcastle (2004) where a young woman, Gloria, because of her overweight is having a hard time winning people’s acceptance.
The story takes place in the British city of Newcastle in northeastern England, and a reference to the new Gateshead Millenium Bridge tells us that the year is 2001 (p. 4, l. 115). It has a third person narrator and begins in medias res by introducing us to a telephone saleswoman, Gloria, who quickly turns out to be the main character of the story. Gloria has just finished high school and not only is she eighteen years old, she is also eighteen stone. Due to her weight, all of her job applications have been refused but at the call center where no one knows your size, she fits in perfectly (p. 1-2, ll. 22-33). At the call center she is met by colleagues who are all in similar positions. They are shy, they have neither been on top of the social nor the physical ladder but they are sweet voiced (p. 2, ll. 32-35). They are good persons who due to a lack of social skills (p. 2, ll. 47-48) sit in cubicles selling house insurances like captive animals. At first, Gloria is comfortable as long as she is ensured anonymity and she quickly proves to be a very talented seller because of her sweet and honest voice reflecting her inner (p. 3, l. 64). She does change though. After having red in the local paper that her colleague Gareth had hung himself, Gloria gets extremely angry with the management tending to ignore any social responsibility towards the staff. She realizes that a change requires action and what may seem like just a bunch of lilies turns out to be the seed of a new glory including a stronger Gloria (3, ll. 80-83).
About this time as well she lies about her locations. In other words, she gives people a reason to show her the envy and admiration, which they have never shown before (p. 4, ll. 88-95). This proves to be an efficient sales technique and she does it several times with the result of being top employee, but as her self-esteem grows, she starts telling the truth; that she is from Newcastle. She also shows renewed confidence by dressing more daring and by going out with her friends, and at the very end of the story it culminates in one wild, spontaneous act (p. 6, ll. 65-67). To Gloria this is not just a warning of a bomb scare; it is a warning to her colleagues not to end up a vacant, anonymous group of obeying servants. Gloria no longer needs the safety, which the call center has been providing during her process of mental development, and her true glory now finally unfolds. At this time she fully lives up to her name that has many meanings such as honor and adoration. These are all values that Gloria possesses but which are hidden by her practically non-existing confidence. This last act of hers is the closest we get to knowing the real Gloria, and it is the first time she really differs from the zoo animals, to which the employees at the call center can easily be compared. They sit in cubicles, they show no empathy - not even to their dead colleague, they never take a position and a man even shouts “the heffers are out!” after them (p. 6, l. 148). Another thing contributing to this zoological comparison is the herd of bullocks outside Gloria’s window that she enjoys gazing at. Her fascination of them might be caused by some sort of admiration of these carefree animals that represent everything she is not: They are gregarious animals and they are free, confident and unconcerned. They might not be the most charming, elegant animals but nevertheless they seem satisfied.
I believe the author wants to make it clear that there is a major difference between inner and outer values, which we tend to forget. We are for instance told that Gloria has a fat but friendly family compared to other families that are always at each other’s throats. Together with the statement that people from central London usually are the unfriendly ones, this gives us the impression that unfriendliness comes with wealth and good looks.
Throughout the text, Gloria undergoes a huge change and the very open ending seems to be quite a bright beginning for the new Gloria - of a new glory. She acts upon Gandhi’s advice and stands up against the highly judging society, from which she was excluded and reduced to sitting in a cubicle next to other inferior persons looking worse than the average. From the moment she accepts herself and takes the bull by its horns, she becomes a fully different person - a glorious young woman!