Along the lines of what we were discussing in class yesterday, I find Gertrude Stein’s inherent patriotism intriguing. Despite the fact that she has spent the vast majority of her life living in or visiting different places in Europe, she always considers herself completely American. Though the people she interacts with are European, though she lives in Paris for most of her life, she never identifies with a different nationality. She refuses to read French (p.144) or any other language and will only write in English (p.70). Her longest novel is called The Making of Americans, not the making of Parisians or Europeans. Moreover, she is extremely proud to be an American, constantly reminding those she spends time with of her nationality, despite living in a culture that views Americans as not the most sophisticated or appealing of people.
Tying this in to what we were discussing about not truly being able to see yourself because you are to close, perhaps she is only truly able to appreciate America because she does not live there. By being separated from her homeland, only then is she truly able to appreciate its attributes.
3 comments:
I agree that her patriotism is a huge part of her writing. One especially poignant example is when she says that, "America having begun the creation of the twentieth century in the sixties of the nineteenth century is now the oldest country in the world" (78). She clearly indicates that America is a trend-setting presence in the world; interestingly enough, it was that American presence that ended World War I and that probably influenced her patriotism. Because of Stein's usual stance on emotional anchors, does anyone else find it odd that she clings so loyally to America, or does this somehow tie into her theme of defamiliarization?
I too agree with Katie that patriotism greatly influences her writing in this book. In addition to mentioning her long novel, The Making of Americans, several times per chapter, she institutes the idea of American dominance. Dan eloquently used the quote I had planned on incorporating into my post, but I found there to be a few more subtle examples throughout the book. When describing Constance Fletcher, an English woman, Stein says, "She could and did intrigue in the italian way better than even the italians..." (p.131). Stein implies that the english writer could beat foreigners at their own game. Was Stein so keen on America while she lived there, or did her perspective change when she looked at America from across the pond?
This is what confuses me. Stein as a writer seems to disdain cultural stereotypes by not capitalizing the adjective forms of nations. However, as the character inside the book, Stein appears to be very patriotic.
As Katie said, one of the reasons for Stein's patriotism is that she is away from her homeland. She likes "living with so very many people and being all alone with english and myself" (70). Sometimes she seems to almost enjoy the fact that she lives outside America because ironically in that way she feels truely American.
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