Coming into contact for the first time
with Gertrude Stein’s work will likely leave the inattentive reader feeling
confused and disoriented. The experience
is that of being transported into an alternate reality where the world is
recognizable but where things work somehow differently. The inability to figure out the dynamics of
this new reality and failure to decode the seemingly queer elements will doom
the reader to wonder aimlessly unable to connect with this new location.
One of the elements that contribute to the complex literary style
present in Stein’s work is the decontextualization of words. Stein experiments with words by taking them
out of familiar settings and placing them within new associations. As a result of this experiment, words are
reclaimed and infused with new meanings.
This process is actually reminiscent of semiotics, the study of language
as signs, pioneered by Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure. For Saussure, language is an arbitrary system
composed of a series of signs. These signs are in turn the result of the
association between the signifier, which is the form of the sign; and the
signified, the concept it represents. (Saussure 67) For Saussure, both the
signifier and the signified are purely 'psychological' (14 -15, 66) and
therefore, the meaning they convey cannot be tied to an absolute truth or
reality.
This frame of thought is helpful when
trying to make sense of the project behind the peculiar writing style of Paris France. This reference does not imply,
however, that Stein’s inspiration was originated in semiotics or even in
linguistics for that matter. Stein was quite the language revolutionary by her
own merit. In her plethora of lectures, the American writer shows a sweeping
contempt for grammar conventions. For
example, her feeling about commas was that, “at the most a comma is a poor
period that lets you stop and take a breath but if you want to take a breath
you ought to know yourself that you want to take a breath." (Poetry and
Grammar 221) This contempt is perhaps, more beautifully stated, in the following
excerpt:
“...capital letters and quotations
marks are useless. They are hangovers from the days when people didn't read
very well, that all goes into the question of life and death of punctuation
marks, if you don't know a question without a question mark what is the use of writing
the question? ...the average reading mind does not need them. (Watts 94)
Relocating this discussion to the realm of Paris France, I would like to bring attention to a quote from this
text that might shine some lightning into Stein’s inquisitive approach towards
language. The quote is in a passage that
refers to the English studies of French girls and how they choose Hamlet for
their translation assignments. The
narrator speculates that the reason behind this choice is that a great number
of archaic English words found in said text are “completely French words”
(74-75) and follows with the insight that: “I have often thought a lot about
the words that make the English language, and much as I have thought about it,
a war makes it even more definite, as in this Hamlet.” (75)
I consider this quote to be an acknowledgment on Stein’s part of her
profound interest in the way words work within a language system. She also seems to be implying that no matter
how much she or anyone thinks about the meaning of words, random events such as
a war or other historical factors end up creating or transferring terms across
languages in arbitrary and sometimes even spontaneous occurrences. The anecdote
of the French girls illustrates that the arbitrary nature is not only inherent
to the form of the sign but also of the concept it represents. For the French girls, a set of archaic words
has great significance in their study of the English language while those same
signs seem to be completely irrelevant to others given the fact that these are
terms that, “the English language to-day no longer uses.” (75)
Both the fluidity and randomness of the signified provide Stein with a
sort of elastic clay that can be manipulated, shaped, deconstructed, and reconstructed
to give form to her language project. Sara
J. Ford explains that Stein juxtaposes words in a way that removes them from
their usual context or order and places them within new relationships and
associations. (50) Linda Wagner-Martin
complements this idea and points out that Stein “[lets] language find its own
patterns, to express whatever meaning the reader might favor, viewing written
art as a system of true and mutable communication.” (Oxford University Press) This
fluidity of patterns allows Stein to experiment with words, peeling off
ordinary and stale meanings to infuse them with new and more interesting
ones.
Note: This is an extract of a paper that I wrote for a class called The 20th Century International Novel. If you are interested in acquiring this essay, you can contact me at www.adamslanguagesolutions.com
References
Ford, Sara J. Gertrude Stein and Wallace Stevens: The Performance
of Modern Consciousness. Routledge, 2011.
New World Encyclopedia. “Art for art's
sake.” http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org
Oxford Dictionaries. “Fashion.” http://www.oxforddictionaries.com
Saussure, Ferdinand de. Course in
General Linguistics (trans. Roy Harris) London: Duckworth, ([1916] 1983)
Stein, Gertrude. Paris France. Liveright,
1996.
Stein, Gertrude. “Poetry and Grammar,” in Lectures in America. New York: Random House, 1935.
Wagner-Martin, Linda. “Stein's
Life and Career” from The Oxford
Companion to Women's Writing in the United States. Oxford University Press,
1995.
Watts, Linda S. Gertrude Stein: a
study of the short fiction. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1999. http://www.english.illinois.edu