In neuroscience, there is a phenomenon known as the blind spot. What this refers to is a small gap in our visual field, meaning we cannot get visual input from that area. The interesting thing about this is that although it is always present, we do not notice this gap in perception because our brain fills in with what it thinks should go there. Thus, in every moment, what we perceive to be reality is in fact false because we are not actually seeing what we think we are.
I think this discussion of perception and reality ties into Gertrude Stein well, and even into the topics that we have discussed before. The part that triggered this thought in me came when Stein, discussing her recent release of The Making of American, says “I knew it was a wonderful book in english, but it is even, well, I cannot say almost really more wonderful but just as wonderful in french” (p. 250). Reading this, it seems strange that the reality of one’s work is dependent on language. If one understands a book to be good, then it should be just that, wonderful and good. The idea that one person’s reality of a work can be influenced by perception and is dependent on the medium through which it is expressed undermines the whole notion of reality in the first place.
In addition to questioning our understanding of objects and descriptions, Stein leads us to questions the reality of everyday experience. For example, Stein admits to enjoying Fry and Lewis’ accounts of what was “exactly the same story only it was different, very different” (p. 123). Here, Stein illustrates that we all have our own perceptions of what has happened. But is our understanding reality? Can we ever really grasp what is real if we can only see things through our own experience?
2 comments:
Rather than answering one of several good questions, I just wanted to reinforce the point with one of Stein's little shticks: image and reality influence each other. One particular passage I think exhibits this well is on p. 132, where Stein has a minor tirade on the use of commas and how she gives commas to who she chooses. It is kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy, really: the fact that a man commented on her writing inspires her to make art that addresses his comment. Stein's ability to make art that interacts with the world is incredible.
In class, we discussed the fact that she may have written her book to better understand herself. She indicates this on the last page of the book, when she adopts Alice's autobiography. Because she knows that Alice will never end up writing her own autobiography, she takes a it as a golden opportunity for self-scrutiny; her art became our reality.
The new question of perception and reality seem to relate to most sections of the book, giving us a new understanding of what could be going on. I am struck with the idea that what is going on at this moment can seem so devastating but looking back on it years from now we might laugh. It is like the story Stein tells about the Battle of Marne. For the three people who tell her about the Battle, what was important was not that a war was being fought so close to their homes, but that they couldn't get a taxi. Perhaps their perception would change over time.
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