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Waiting objects: letters as containers of time and care
Jocelyn Catty1, Laura Salisbury2
1Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, London, England, UK.
Medical Humanities
|January 6, 2026
Summary
Letters serve as "waiting objects," offering care and connection across time. Olga Jacoby
Area of Science:
- Psychosocial Studies
- Medical Humanities
- History of Medicine
Background:
- The epistolary paper examines the concept of the 'waiting object' through a collection of letters.
- Olga Jacoby's letters, written before her early death (1874-1913), were published posthumously in 1919 and re-edited in 2019.
- The study contextualizes these publications against major historical events: post-WWI, the Great Flu Pandemic, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the significance of a book of letters as a 'waiting object'.
- To analyze how Olga Jacoby's letters reflect her process of living well amidst impending death.
- To examine the acts of care performed by editors in preserving and recontextualizing Jacoby's work.
Main Methods:
- Interdisciplinary, psychosocial analysis of the relationship between time and care.
- Epistolary analysis of Olga Jacoby's letters ('Words in Pain').
- Historical contextualization of the letters' publication dates and societal events.
Main Results:
- Jacoby's letters reveal her efforts to care for the future, including her children and future generations.
- The act of writing, reading, and editing letters functions as a container for time and care.
- Letters, as waiting objects, can reanimate connections to a future the writer will not experience.
Conclusions:
- The study posits that letters can transcend time, offering care and connection to the future.
- Editorial acts in 1919 and 2019 demonstrate care for both the past and future.
- The concept of the 'waiting object' highlights the enduring power of written communication in managing vulnerability and interdependence.
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