This paper shows how Cather parallels Thea's chronological development with a discourse on the pathology of voice, hinted at in the first chapter in Dr Archie's treatment of Thea's respiratory organ and then made evident towards the end when Thea's success is rendered in terms of mechanical sound. Thea lacks autonomy, becomes a specimen to be examined through a lens. The keen interest in her throat resembles the 19^th century urge for documenting the prostitute's body. If Cather is a female bildungsroman, it leaves us with fragments as from a dissection.