You will write if you will write without thinking of the result in terms of a result, but think of the writing in terms of discovery, which is to say that creation must take place between the pen and the paper, not before in a thought or afterwards in a recasting... It will come if it is there and if you will let it come. (Gertrude Stein)
Gertrude Stein has been an extraordinary person in many respects: it is not only her biographical background that is impressing and which shows what a strong and self-confident woman she was, such as her foundation of the American Fund for French Wounded during the First World War. Also by her work Tender Buttons, written in 1914, she has successfully created an entirely new kind of literature. Yet her playful, but at the same time not immediately understandable way of writing is considered as hermetic, being pretty difficult to read. This is why Sprigge writes that “[b]oth as artist and as woman Gertrude Stein has always been a subject of controversy. Ridiculed on the one hand she is acclaimed on the other as the creator of a literary style that has set its mark in twentiethcentury prose and poetry...” (xiii).
This style has largely been influenced by cubist painting and her friendship with Pablo Picasso. Tender Buttons is thus of course an homage to him, and there are many similarities between cubism and Stein's writing. However, it is the aim of this essay to point out both in what way the art movement contributed to her work, and how she is at the same time able to overcome this male tradition by stepping away and changing it.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Cubism
3. Gertrude Stein
Target and Research Scope
This essay explores the stylistic and thematic intersections between the artistic movement of Cubism and the literary techniques employed by Gertrude Stein in her work Tender Buttons. It aims to demonstrate how Stein translated the fundamental Cubist principles of fragmentation, restructuring, and the rejection of traditional perspective into a linguistic medium, thereby challenging conventional narrative forms and gendered literary traditions.
- The historical and theoretical development of Cubism as an art movement.
- Gertrude Stein's stylistic innovations and her rejection of conventional narrative.
- The parallels between Cubist visual art and Stein's "Cubist poetry."
- Detailed analysis of the FOOD section of Tender Buttons to exemplify these theories.
Excerpt from the Book
Gertrude Stein
At it's publication, Tender Buttons became a work that was vividly discussed. On the one hand, some people could appreciate her new style of writing, recognizing that it bears resemblance to the way cubist artists created their works, about which I am going to talk later on. But on the other hand, her book has also been mocked upon, being subject to several parodies, as the letter of the editor A.C. Fifield shows:
Dear Madam, I am only one, only one, only one. Only one being, one at the same time. [...] I cannot read your M.S. three or four times. Not even one time. [...] Hardly one copy would sell here. Hardly one. Hardly one. Many thanks. I am returning the M.S. by registered post. Only one M.S. by one post. Sincerely yours, A.C. Fifield
One can easily see that he puns on what he believes to be mere repetition of words in Tender Buttons, a meaningless mess of randomized phrases. However, he did not take into account that Gertrude Stein chose every word carefully, using "a poetic economy of expression [...]. All her life she declared a passion for exactitude, and she tells us that she now imposed upon herself a strict discipline, never using a word that was not an exact word" (Sprigge 95).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Provides an overview of the essay's objectives, positioning Gertrude Stein's work within the context of Cubist influence and literary controversy.
2. Cubism: Examines the origins, core philosophy, and visual techniques of the Cubist movement, specifically focusing on the rejection of common-sense reality and the inclusion of the time dimension.
3. Gertrude Stein: Analyzes how Stein applied Cubist principles to her writing in Tender Buttons, comparing her linguistic strategies to those of visual artists and examining specific passages from the FOOD and MILK sections.
Keywords
Gertrude Stein, Tender Buttons, Cubism, Modernism, Poetic Economy, Literary Tradition, Fragmentation, Perspective, Temporal Distortion, Avant-garde, Parataxis, Language Experimentation, Visual Art, 20th Century Literature, Feminine Perspective
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this scholarly work?
The work investigates the stylistic parallels between the Cubist movement and the writing style of Gertrude Stein, specifically in her text Tender Buttons.
What are the central thematic fields covered?
The essay explores the intersection of literature and visual art, the transition from Victorian to Modernist aesthetics, and the subversion of traditional gender roles in creative writing.
What is the primary research goal?
The goal is to show how Stein's use of language mirrors the Cubist approach to dismantling reality, essentially creating a new form of literary Cubism.
Which methodology is applied?
The author uses a comparative analysis of art history and literary theory, focusing on close reading of specific textual passages combined with critical secondary literature.
What is addressed in the main body?
The main body breaks down Cubist theories—such as simultaneity and the rejection of linear perspective—and applies them to a textual analysis of Stein’s work, particularly her FOOD and MILK segments.
Which keywords characterize the paper?
Key terms include Modernism, Cubism, fragmentation, poetic exactitude, and the structural rejection of traditional narrative conventions.
How does the author interpret Stein's use of repetition?
The author argues that what critics initially dismissed as "meaningless repetition" is actually a deliberate poetic tool used by Stein to create focus, depth, and a "continuous present."
How is the "cookbook" format integrated into Stein's work?
The author points out that Stein adopts the paratactic style and structural organization of a cookbook to ground her work in the domestic realm while subverting its expectations.
- Quote paper
- Manü Mohr (Author), 2011, Gertrude Stein and cubist poetry - Her response to a male tradition, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/231879
