Symbols Last Night at the Telegraph Club Malinda Lo

Lily's Newspaper Clippings: A Symbol of Hidden Desire in Last Night at the Telegraph Club

What Are Lily's Newspaper Clippings?

Lily Hu's newspaper clippings are a small, carefully hidden trove of images she has secretly torn from magazines and newspapers. She stores them inside Arthur C. Clarke's The Exploration of Space, a gift from her aunt Judy. The collection consists of three items:

  • A Telegraph Club advertisement featuring Tommy Andrews, a male impersonator, described as a handsome figure in a tuxedo.
  • A photograph of Katharine Hepburn from an old Life magazine, lounging in trousers and a blazer with a masculine attitude.
  • An article from Flying magazine about two former Women Airforce Service Pilots who run an airfield together; the photo shows them sitting close, one holding the other's hand.

Each clipping captures a version of gender nonconformity or queer possibility. Lily cannot consciously explain why she needs them, but she feels "a hot and restless urge to look—and, by looking, to know" (chapter 18).

Where the Clippings Appear in the Novel

The clippings recur at pivotal moments in Lily's arc:

  • Chapter 1: Lily first spots the Tommy Andrews ad in a newspaper at the Eastern Pearl restaurant. Something "went still inside her," and she tears it out, washing ink from her hands to hide the act.
  • Chapter 2: At home, Lily unfolds the ad in her bedroom alcove. She also retrieves her other two clippings from The Exploration of Space and lays them out together, studying them.
  • Chapter 18: After obtaining a fake ID with Kath's help, Lily removes the ad from the book again. The paper has begun to soften at the edges. She shows the full collection to herself, reinforcing her resolve to visit the Telegraph Club.
  • Chapter 25: At the club, Lily watches Tommy perform live. The clipping is no longer enough; she now experiences the real thing.
  • Chapter 39: A sensational front-page headline ("Teen-Age Girls 'Recruited' at Sex Deviate Bar") reports the police raid on the Telegraph Club. The same newspaper that once carried Tommy's ad now carries a story that threatens exposure.
  • Chapter 40: Lily shows the newspaper to her mother to confess. Her mother's hands become stained with newsprint, symbolizing how the secret has transferred to the family.

How the Symbol's Meaning Changes

Initially, the clippings represent curiosity and fascination. Lily is drawn to images that hint at a life outside the expectations for a "good Chinese girl." She does not yet have words for what she feels.

As the story progresses, the clippings become a private confirmation of identity. By collecting and repeatedly looking at these images, Lily builds a visual language for her own desires. The clippings function as a talisman—proof that women like her exist.

After she visits the Telegraph Club and develops a relationship with Kath, the clippings shift from a secret source of hope to a point of vulnerability. The newspaper that once contained the ad now contains the damning headline about the raid. When Lily confesses to her mother, she uses the now-crumpled newspaper as evidence of where she has been. The clippings' meaning changes from private empowerment to public risk.

Character and Theme Connections

Character Links

  • Lily Hu: The clippings are the physical embodiment of her inner world. They fuel her self-exploration and give her courage to seek out the Telegraph Club, where she meets Kath.
  • Kathleen Miller: Though Kath never sees the clippings, she contributes to the secrecy by obtaining a fake ID for Lily. Kath represents the real relationship that makes the clippings' fantasy tangible.
  • Shirley Lum: Shirley remains unaware of Lily's collection. She teases Lily for having "a boy's tastes" when she sees a moon-colony illustration, causing Lily to take it down. This contrast shows how Lily hides her deepest self from even her closest friend.
  • Grace Hu (Lily's mother): The climax of the symbol occurs when Grace handles the newspaper reporting the raid. She crumples it and throws it away, but her hands get stained. Lily's confession forces Grace to confront a truth she cannot accept.

Theme Connections

  • Secrecy and Identity: The clippings are hidden inside a science book—a subject that Lily genuinely loves but that also serves as a literal cover. The act of hiding mirrors the larger secrecy required of queer people in the 1950s.
  • Queer Desire and Self-Discovery: Each image offers a different model of gender expression. Tommy Andrews in a tuxedo, Hepburn in trousers, the two WASP pilots in matching sunglasses—these are Lily's first glimpses of butch/femme culture and same-sex partnership.
  • Family Duty vs. Personal Truth: Lily knows she should be a "good Chinese girl," but the clippings pull her toward a different truth. The confrontation in chapter 40 forces her to choose between her mother's vision and her own.
  • The Red Scare and McCarthyism: The newspaper headline about the Telegraph Club raid illustrates how the Lavender Scare—the persecution of homosexuals—was fueled by the same anti-Communist hysteria. Lily's secret clippings are now linked to a crime in the public eye.
  • Chinese American Identity and Assimilation: Lily's parents own a restaurant catering to tourists; they avoid places like Broadway nightclubs. The clippings of mostly white figures show Lily reaching beyond the boundaries of Chinatown, both geographically and culturally.

4 Study Questions with Answers

Question 1: Why does Lily store her clippings inside a science book rather than somewhere more obvious?

Answer: The book—The Exploration of Space—is a legitimate possession that her parents encourage (a gift from Aunt Judy). It also reflects Lily's genuine interest in astronautics and her future career at JPL. By hiding the clippings there, she keeps her queer curiosity literally under the cover of a sanctioned intellectual pursuit. This physical hiding mirrors the emotional compartmentalization she must maintain in her daily life.

Question 2: How does the meaning of the Tommy Andrews clipping change between chapter 1 and chapter 40?

Answer: In chapter 1, the ad sparks a visceral, wordless attraction—"something went still inside her." It is a private talisman of desire. By chapter 40, the same newspaper (now containing the raid headline) becomes evidence of her transgression. The clipping has moved from a source of hope to a weapon of confession, forcing Lily to reveal her identity to her mother.

Question 3: What do the other two clippings—the Hepburn photo and the WASP article—add to the collection that the Tommy Andrews ad alone does not?

Answer: The Tommy Andrews ad presents a professional male impersonator, a performance. The Hepburn photo shows a famous actress casually defying gender norms in her private dress. The WASP article shows two ordinary women in a loving, domestic partnership (one holding the other's hand, working side by side). Together, the three clippings offer Lily a spectrum of possible lives: a performer, a celebrity, and real women like her. They suggest that queer identity can exist both spectacularly and quietly.

Question 4: Why is the detail about the ink staining Lily's hands—and later her mother's hands—so significant?

Answer: In chapter 1, Lily washes ink from her fingers to hide what she has done. The stain is temporary, but the act of scrubbing shows her need to erase evidence. In chapter 40, Lily's mother's hands are stained by the same newspaper when she throws it in the trash. The ink has transferred—Lily's secret now marks her family. The stain becomes a symbol of how secrecy and desire cannot be fully contained; they leave a trace, even if you try to wash them away.