Gertrude Stein
“I know I am” (Burnett 51). This response form was given in answer to the question “You think you are a genius?” posed to her by the French artist Henri Matisse. This was the epitome of Stein.
Born in 1876, in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Gertrude was the fifth child, and youngest, to Daniel and Amelia Stein, German-Jewish immigrants. She was a bright girl, but was noted for “her lifelong indifference to rules” (Gombar 41), especially in school. The early death of her mother was the cause of this. Her father was the king of his castle, often acting as a tyrant, and Stein “credited her lifelong aversion to all authorities and father figures” (Gombar 41) to him.
Gertrude always had a ...
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wrote down their unedited, free-associative thoughts” (Gombar 42), was often the way Gertrude wrote many of her literary pieces.
In 1897, she was denied her bachelor’s degree, but the next year, she graduated magna cum laude with the class of 1898. Because of high recommendations from James and her other professors, she was granted admission to Johns Hopkins Medical School, where her brother was also studying. They lived together in Baltimore, and Leo would gather friends on the weekends for their infamous salons. Leo, from his familiar post leaning against the bookcase, would direct discussions that lasted five to six hours. Life was pleasant in their household, and Gertrude failed to notice Leo was changing. Within weeks, he was packed and on his way to Europe. For a while, Gertrude lived with another roommate, but she, too, got restless, and in 1903, she joined Leo in Europe.
After traveling in Europe and Africa, she settled with Leo in France. Their apartment at 27 ...
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Gertrude Stein. (2005, July 24). Retrieved November 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Gertrude-Stein/30567
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"Gertrude Stein." Essayworld.com. July 24, 2005. Accessed November 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Gertrude-Stein/30567.
"Gertrude Stein." Essayworld.com. July 24, 2005. Accessed November 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Gertrude-Stein/30567.
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