Liz Cettina at the LARB:
The original 1915 edition of The Song of the Lark ends with a scrapbook in progress. By the novel’s conclusion, the protagonist, Thea Kronborg, has become an accomplished singer in New York City and the pride and joy of her hometown, the fictional Moonstone, Colorado. Thea’s success is especially significant for her aunt Tillie, who champions Thea throughout her childhood and is partly driven by a fascination with celebrities. When Thea is young, Tillie scrapbooks news clippings about actors and actresses, like vision boards crafted for Thea, through whose success her aunt will live vicariously. The creation of a scrapbook of Thea’s accomplishments confirms that the vision has been realized: Thea has made it.
Thea’s scrapbook is filled with news clippings and photographs, presenting a holistic sketch of her success and her person. While her aunt creates the earlier scrapbooks out of fandom or aspiration, she compiles Thea’s as a kind of proof: “If Moonstone doubted, she had evidence enough: in black and white, in figures and photographs, evidence in hair lines on metal disks.” The scrapbook solidifies and preserves Thea’s reputation, and if people need more evidence, she has it.
more here.
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