Alison Tate-A Semblance of Sense, Julia Kristeva's & Gertrude Stein's Analysis of Language

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Languag e & Comm unicat ion , Vol. 15, No. 4, pp. 329-342, 1995Copyright © 1995 Elsevier Science Ltd

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0271-5309(95)00014-3

A S E M B L A N C E O F S E N S E : K R I S T E V A ' S A N D G E R T R U D E S T E I N ' S

A N A L Y S I S O F L A N G U A G E

A L I S O N T A T E

I n t r o d u c t i o n

O n e o f t h e a r e a s i n w h i c h p s y c h o a n a l y t i c t h e o r i e s o f l a n g u a g e h a v e b e e n e x t r e m e l y i n fl u e n ti a l

i s in theor iz ing the tex tua l innov at ions o f mod ern is t wr i t ing . Th is i s no t surpr i s ing , g iven tha t l i te ra rym o d e r n i s m h a s l o n g b e e n h e l d t o p r o b l e m a t i z e b o t h l a n g u a g e a n d s u b j e c t i v i t y a n d t h a t

p s y c h o a n a l y t i c t h e o r y o f f e r s a w a y o f l in k i n g a t h e o r y o f t h e s u b j e c t to a t h e o r y o f l a n g u a g e . ' T h e

w o r k o f J u l i e t K r i s t e v a h a s b e e n t a k e n u p b y f e m i n i s t c ri ti c s o f m o d e r n i s m , i n p a rt ic u l a r, f o r t h e

i d e a s p r e s e n t e d i n R e v o l u t i o n i n P o e t i c L a n g u a g e ( 1 9 8 4 ) o f f e r a w a y t o t h e o r i z e n o t o n l y p o e t ry ,

m o d e r n i s m a n d t h e s u b j e c t b u t a l s o t o r e la t e t h e s e t o f e m i n i n e s u b j e c t i v i t y a n d t h e b o d y .

H o w e v e r , I fi r st s ta r te d w o n d e r i n g a b o u t t h e l im i t a t io n s o f K r i s t e v a ' s a p p r o a c h t o m o d e r n i s m

w h e n r e a d in g D e K o v e n ( 1 98 3 ) w h i c h i s in m a n y r e s p e c ts a n e x c e l le n t b o o k o n t h e m o d e r n i s t

e x p e r i m e n t a l w r i t er , G e r t r u d e S t e i n, a n d w h i c h a p p r o a c h e s S t e i n t h r o u g h t h e i d e a s o f K r i s te v a .

In t r y ing t o exp l a in t he e f f ec ts o f S t e in ' s i d io sync rat ic syn t ax , i n on e pa s sage o f expos it ion , D eK ove n

depar t s f ro m the K r is tevan perspec t ive . Ins tead , in order to poin t ou t tha t one charac te r i s t ic of S te in ' s

wr i t ing i s t he p roduc t i on o f s en t ences t ha t a r e syn t ac ti c a ll y accep t ab l e bu t w h ich do no t m ake s ense ,

s h e re s o r t s, u n e x p e c t e d l y , to C h o m s k y a n d h is c o n c e r n t o d i s ti n g u i sh b e t w e e n g r a m m a t i c a l a n d

s e m a n t i c m e a n i n g i n t h e d e s c r i p ti o n o f ' t h r e e d e g r e e s o f g r a m m a t i c a l i t y ' ( p. 5 6 ). I n o t h e r w o r d s ,

a t t h e p o i n t w h e r e D e K o v e n a c t u a l l y w a n t s t o s a y s o m e t h i n g c o n c r e t e a b o u t t h e e f f e c t s o f

p a r t i c u la r k i n d s o f d e p a r tu r e s o r d e v i a n c e f r o m c o n v e n t i o n a l s t r u c tu r e o r s t y le , K r i s t e v a ' s m o d e l

s eem s t o f a il he r . On e co nce rn o f t h i s ar t ic l e , the r e fo r e , i s t o exa m ine t he l im i t a t i ons o f Kr i s t e va ' s

a p p r o a c h t o m o d e r n i s t l a n g u a g e a n d w h y t h e s e o c c u r . W h a t w i l l b e a r g u e d i s t h a t K r i s t e v a

b a s i c a l l y d r a w s o n a s t r u c t u r a l i s t m o d e l o f l a n g u a g e a n d t h e u n c o n s c i o u s , u t i l i z i n g w h a t i s

e s sen t i a l l y a code and de v i a t i on f r a m ew ork , and i t i s t h i s t ha t r e s t r i c ts t he ab i l i t y o f he r a ccou n t

t o e x p l a i n s p e c i f i c e f f e c t s o f m o d e r n i s t d i s l o c a t io n o f l a n g u a g e .

K r i s t e v a 's t h e o r y o f l a n g u a g e a n d s u b j e c t iv i ty

I w a n t i n t hi s s e c t i o n t o o u tl i n e K r i s t e v a ' s a c c o u n t o f s u b j e c t i v i ty a n d m o d e r n i s t p o e t r y b u t t o

c o n c e n t r a t e o n t h e p a r t i c u l ar c o n c e p t i o n o f la n g u a g e w h i c h e m e r g e s f r o m i t. I t is K r i s t e v a ' s e a rl y

w o r k , a n d p a r t i c u l a r ly R e v o l u t i o n i n P o e t i c L a n g u a g e , b a s e d o n h e r s u b m i s s i o n f o r h e r d o c t o r a t

d ' t t a t i n 1973 (F rench ed i t i on : 1974 ; En g l i sh t r ans l a t i on in 1984 ) t ha t I cons ide r he r e , a l t houg h

i t i s a p p a r e n t t h a t h e r e m p h a s e s h a v e c h a n g e d o v e r t h e y e a r s a n d i t i s n o t c l e a r to m e w h e t h e r s h e

Correspondence relating to this paper should be addressed to Alison Tate, Department of Communications, Universityof Humberside, Aquine House, Inglemire Avenue, Hull HU6 7LU, U.K.

329



330 ALISON TATE

wo uld s t il l w an t t o c l a im th i s an a ly s i s a s m ore t han exp lo r a to ry . -~ Bu t i t i s Revo lu t i on i n Poe t i c

Language which , as Fe lsk i (1989, p . 33) poin ts ou t: ' has undou btedly been one o f the m ost inf luent ia l

o f r e cen t a rgum en t s on t he r e l a t i onsh ip be twe en de s i r e and l angu age ' and wh ich i s s t il l imp or t an ti n t h e o r i z in g m o d e r n i s m .

R e v o l u t i o n i n P o e t i c L a n g u a g e i s m o n u m e n t a l a n d a m b i t i o u s . I t s e a r c h e s f o r a t h e o r y w h i c h

w i l l e x p l a i n t h e f o r m a t i o n a n d o p e r a t i o n o f s u b j e ct i v it y in l a n g u a g e a n d w h i c h w i ll e n c o m p a s s

t h e u n c o n s c i o u s f o u n d a t i o n s o f th e s u b j e c t, d r a w i n g , f o r th i s, o n r e a d i n g s o f F r e u d a n d L a c a n .

As p a r t o f it s ove ra r ch ing t heo ry i t conce rns i t s e l f c en t r a l l y w i th va r i ous t r ad i t i ona l ph i l o soph i ca l

p rob l em s o f mean ing and r e f e r ence , agency and vo l it ion v i a r ead ings o f P l a to , F r ege , Hege l , Husse r l,

and H je lm s l ev . Th i s h i s t o r i c a l ' t he t i c ' t r ad i t ion co nce iv e s sub j ec t i v i t y a s a un i f i ed consc iou snes s

ab l e t o p rod uce r ea son t h roug h t he p ropos i t i ona l s t r uc tu r e s emb edd ed i n syn t ac t i c o rde r . An e a r l y

c r i t i que o f Kr i s t e va by W hi t e ( 1978 , p . 4 ) po in t s t o t he r eve r se , da rk s i de o f t he t r ad it i on :

For as long as it existed, this thetic tradition of high rationalism has been mocked and haunted by alien sp ir it s. ..

forces, desires and activ itie s which must be censore d or ostracised if the rational state is to be maintained. Plato

[in The Republic] has to excl ude as dangerous the desire for sensual pleasure, laughter, the representative of death

and of madness, and those two art forms, music and literature, which may express or incite these subversive powers.

The sch ism has marked every major western conception of the human. The problem for any thinker who does not

merel y champion one of these sides in a simpl e minded way is to attempt to think the relations between them, to

comprehend, in both its senses, the rational and irrational, the sentence and the song.

Thi s i s wh a t K r i s t eva a t temp t s t o do , d r awing on bo th s i de s o f t he t rad i ti on i n o f f e r i ng a s chema t i c

mod e l o f t he ' s emio t i c ' and t he ' s ym bo l i c ' a spec t s o f the sub j ec t , p r e sen ti ng t he r ea lm o f t he s emio t ic

a s , b road ly , equ iva l en t t o t he unconsc ious ; t ha t o f t he symbo l i c a s equ iva l en t t o t he consc ious ,

r a t i ona l and soc i a l . Bo th a spec t s o f sub j ec t i v i t y a r e bound up w i th l anguage . T he s em io t i c is t hes i te o f a r ti cu l a t ion and vo l i t ion , bo th o f l angua ge and de s i r e , t he space w i th in wh ich l angu age and

t h e s u b j e c t d e v e l o p ; t h e s e m i o t i c c h o r a i s P l a t o ' s m a t e r i a l ' r e c e p t a c l e o f b e i n g ' , a b o d i l y a n d

dis t inc t ive ly fem ale space . I t i s the s i te of gene t ic and inna te t ra it s, the spac e of opera t ion o f sensory-

m o to r imp u l se s , o f p r im ary p roces s e s such a s ana l i t y and o r a l i ty , the dea th i n s t i nc t and t he de s i r e

f o r p l e a s u r e a n d o f t h e i m p u l s e s w h i c h c o n s t i t u t e t h e b a s i s f o r l a n g u a g e b e f o r e l e x i c a l a n d

s y n t a c t ic o r g a n i z a ti o n : t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f s o u n d s a n d r h y t h m s .

T h e s e m i o t i c i s l in k e d t o b u t a l s o e n v e l o p s t h e s y m b o l i c w h i c h i s th e r e a l m o f c o n s c io u s n e s s ,

l anguage , t he soc i a l , r a t i ona l i t y and l aw , and t he neces sa ry r e s t r i c t i ons and r ep re s s ions t ha t

en t e r i ng t he soc i a l sphe re en t a il . K r i s t eva t r a ces t he fo rma t ion o f t he sub j ec t on to log i ca l ly , i n t e rm so f th e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t he i n d i v id u a l c h i ld . T h r o u g h a r e -r e a d i n g o f L a c a n ' s r e a d i n g o f F r e u d , s h e

t races the ch i ld ' s en t ry in to the sy mb ol ic , incorpora t ing the theor ies o f the m ir ror s tage and cas t ra tion ,

so , f o r exam ple , i t i s du r ing t he mi r ro r s t age t ha t t he ch i l d beg ins t o pos i t h is ima g ined e go , w h ich

in tu rn l e ads ' t o t he pos i t i ng o f the ob j e c t ' ( and t hus wo r ld r e f e r ence ; p ropos i t i ona l a c t i v i t y ) . ' Bu t

s u b j e c t i v i t y i s a l s o c o n t i n u a l l y r e f o r m e d i n d i s c o u r s e . A l t h o u g h l a n g u a g e i s q u i n t e s s e n t i a l l y

sym bo l i c , i ts s em io t i c g round ing con t i nua l l y b r eak s t h rough , r ep r e sen t i ng de s i r e , ir r a t iona l i t y and

t h e b o d y , m a n i f e s t e d i n c e r t a in f o r m s o f n o n - s y m b o l i c a r t i c u la t io n c l o s e l y c o n n e c t e d t o t h e

s e m i o t i c: t o l a u g h t e r, c r y i n g , r h y t h m a n d g e s t u r e . H e n c e s i g n i fi c a ti o n i n v o l v e s b o t h t h e s e m i o t i c

a n d t h e s y m b o l i c a n d ' l in g u i s t i c c h a n g e s c o n s t i t u t e c h a n g e s i n t h e s t a te o f t h e s u b j e c t - - h i s

r e l a t i on t o t he body , t o o the r s , and t o ob j ec t s ' ( 1984 , p . 15 ) . Tex t s a r e p r ac t i c e s : a way o f' t r ans fo rming na tu r a l and soc i a l r e s i s t ances , l im i t a t i ons and s t agna t i on ' ( p . 17 ) .

Bu t som e k inds o f t ex t a r e m ore e f f ec t ive in t h i s r e spec t t han o the rs . Ce r t a in p r ac t i c e s o f l anguage

and , i n pa r t icu l a r , l i te r a tu r e and poe t ry , o f f e r po t en t i a l f o r con t r ac t w i th t he fun dam en ta l p roc es se s

o f s i gn i f i c a ti on and i n Revo lu t i on i n Poe t i c Languag e Kr i s t eva concen t r a t e s on demo ns t r a t i ng t h is



A SEMBLANCE OF SENSE 331

i n r e l a t i on t o t he ' h i gh ' mode rn i s t ax i s w i th in F rench l i t e r a tu r e (C61 ine , Ar t aud , Ma l l a rm6 and

Lau t r6mon t ) . Such poe t ry d i sp l ays how semio t i c f e a tu r e s ope ra t e w i th in t he r ea lm o f t he symb o l i c ;

t hey r ep re sen t t r ansg re s s ion o f t he l ingu i s t ic co de w h ich i s bound up w i th t he symbo l i c : the soc i a l

o rde r o f r a t iona l i ty , r e a son , law and o rde r . K ey m ode rn i s t t ex ts beco m e in s tances o f wha t Kr i s t eva

c a l ls ' l i m i t t e x t s ' , c l o s e to t h e b o u n d a r i e s o f l a n g u a g e , ' d e f i n e d b y b o u n d a r i e s a d m i t ti n g o f

u p h e a v a l , d i s s o lu t i o n a n d t r a n s f o r m a t i o n ' ( 1 9 8 0 , p . 2 5 ) . F o r K r i s t e v a ' p o e t i c la n g u a g e i n it s m o s t

d i s r u p t i v e f o r m ( u n r e a d a b l e f o r m e a n i n g , d a n g e r o u s f o r t h e s u b je c t ), s h o w s t h e c o n s t r a in t s o f a

c iv i l i s a t ion dom ina t ed b y t r anscenden t a l r a t i ona l it y . Conseq uen t l y i t i s a m ean s o f ove r r i d ing t h is

c o n s t r a i n t ' ( 1 9 8 0 , p p . 1 3 9 - 1 4 0 ) . A n y t h i n g w h i c h d i s r u p t s th e s y m b o l i c i s r e v o l u t i o n a r y ; h e n c e

such poe t ry ga in s i ts r evo lu t i ona ry power . As m ascu l i n i t y i s tr ad i t i ona l ly equ a t ed w i th r a t i ona l i t y

and l aw , f emin in i t y i s a s soc i a t ed w i th t he s emio t i c , t r ansg re s s ion , and r evo lu t i on .

T h e r e s u l t is a d e s c r i p t io n o f th e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f s u b j e c t i v i ty t h r o u g h l a n g u a g e w h i c h i s p a r tp h y s i o l o g i c a l / m a t e r i a l , p a r t c o n c e p t u a l a n d t h e o r e t ic a l . I t is g r o u n d e d i n m e t a p h o r s o f th e b o d y ,

f o r th e c h o r a i s d e p i c te d a s a m a t e r n a l , f e m a l e s p a c e , b u t t h e s e m i o t ic a n d s y m b o l i c a r e , at th e

s a m e t im e , a b s t r a c t c o n c e p t i o n s o r m e t a p h o r s . T h i s i s a t h e o r y th a t w e a v e s a c r o ss o l d d i c h o t o m i e s

i n a c o m p l e x m a n n e r a n d o n e w h i c h i s n o t s i m p l y th e r e s ta t e m e n t o f a s i m p l e o p p o s i t i o n b e t w e e n

f e e l i n g a n d r e a s o n o r f e lt e x p e r i e n c e a n d l o g i c a l o r d e r w h i c h N y e ( 1 9 8 7 ) , f o r e x a m p l e , s e e m s t o

a s s u m e . N o r , i n d e e d , d o e s K r i s t e v a p r e s e n t a s i m p l e c o n t r a s t b e t w e e n a n a s o c i a l p r e l i n g u i s t i c

unconsc ious and a r a t i ona li t y emb edd ed i n t he soc i a l iz a t i on t ha t l e a rn ing l angu age i nvo lves , a non -

the t i c / the t i c con t r a s t , as W hi t e t ends t o sugges t , f o r vo l i t i on , Hu sse r l ' s ' i nd i ca t i o n ' o r ' po s i t i n g ' ,

i s e m b e d d e d i n t h e s e m i o t ic . 4

A s tr u c t u r a l i s t m o d e l ?

O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , K r i s t e v a ' s a p p r o a c h e n s h r i n e s s o m e v e r y t r a d it i o n a l id e a s a b o u t b o t h

l a n g u a g e a n d p o e t r y w h i c h d e m a n d c r i t i c a l e x a m i n a t i o n . T h i s i s m o s t e v i d e n t i n r e g a r d t o t h e

t r e a t m e n t o f l a n g u a g e , f o r K r i s t e v a i s a t h e r m o s t u n a m b i g u o u s a n d c o n c r e t e i n h e r a c c o u n t i n

a l l o c at i n g a s p e c t s o f l a n g u a g e t o t h e s e m i o t ic o r t h e s y m b o l i c . A s N y e p o i n t s o u t , s h e ' s t a y s f u ll y

wi th in t he ph i l o soph i ca l t r ad it i on t ha t supposes a r ad i ca l b r ea k be twee n l angua ge and c r i e s , moan s

a n d o t h e r i n a r t i c u la t e e x p r e s s i o n s ' ( 1 9 8 7 , p . 6 7 5 ) .

M ore p rob l em a t i c , f o r l ingu i s t s, i s tha t K r i s t eva , in f ac t , goes be yo nd t h i s i na r t icu l a t e / a rt i cu l a te

d i s t inc t i on , a t t r i bu t i ng t o the s em io t i c : laugh t e r , i n tona t i on , r hy thm , sound p a t t e rn ing , pause s an d

s i le n c e . A l t h o u g h i t m a y b e q u e s t i o n e d i f t h is l is t o f i te m s h a s m u c h i n c o m m o n , o n e c a n s e e ap r i n c i p l e o f c l a s s if i c a t io n : t h e s e a r e f e a t u r e s t r a d i ti o n a l l y r e g a r d e d a s n o n - s i g n i f y i n g , n o n -

s e m a n t i c , u n c o d e d f e a t u r e s e x t r a n e o u s t o l a n g u a g e . B u t t h i s i s f o l k - li n g u i s ti c s . T h e s e a r e in f a c t

f e a t u r e s t h a t i n t h e m a i n w o u l d b e r e g a r d e d w i t h i n l i n g u i s t i c s a s , a s ' p a r a l a n g u a g e ' o r ' n o n -

s e g m e n t a l ' a s p e c t s o f la n g u a g e , f e a t u r e s th a t w o u l d b e w i d e l y r e g a r d e d a s c o m m u n i c a t i v e . T h e y

a re , t ha t is , ne i t he r non - s ign i fy ing , non - sem an t i c no r uncod ed , and , t o an ex t en t tha t Kr i s t eva does

n o t a c k n o w l e d g e , t h e y a r e p a r t o f li n g u is t ic c o m m u n i c a t i o n ?

Take , for exam ple , the ro le of in tona t ion: the com bina t ion o f rhythm , p i tch and s t ress tha t produces

w o r d s t r e s s o r ' s e n t e n c e t u n e s ' . W o r d i n t o n a t io n i s v e r y o b v i o u s l y p a r t o f th e s o u n d s t ru c t u re o f

t h e v o c a b u l a r y o f a g i v e n l a n g u a g e ; t h u s p a r t o f t h e c o d e d s t r u c tu r e o f l a n g u a g e t h a t K r i s t e v ai d e n ti fi e s w i t h t h e s y m b o l i c . S e n t e n c e i n t o n a t io n h a s i n t h e p a s t b e e n a r g u e d t o b e p r e d o m i n a n t l y

' e m o t i o n a l ' i n n a t u re b u t m a n y a c c o u n t s h a v e i l l u m i n a t e d i t s g r a m m a t i c a l r o l e, f o r e x a m p l e , in

d e l i m i t i n g p h r a s e s a n d c l a u s e s w i t h i n c o n n e c t e d d i s c o u r s e , i n m a r k i n g s e n t e n c e f u n c t i o n ( e . g .

s t a t e m e n t o r q u e s t i o n ) , o r i t s s e m a n t i c r o l e , f o r e x a m p l e i n i n d i c a t i n g i n f o r m a t i o n u n i t s , o r



332 ALISON TATE

con t r a s t o r emp has i s ( s ee Ha l l iday , 1967 ; Tag l i ch t , 1984 ). Ju s t a s syn t ax i s pa r t o f a l anguag e , so

a r e t he a pp rop r i a t e i n tona t iona l p a t t e rn s f o r t he a r t icu l a ti on o f such syn t ac t i c s t ruc tu r es . I n tona t i on

i s s o c i a l ly a n d r e g i o n a l l y v a r i a b l e a s w e l l , a s a g r o w i n g n u m b e r o f s o c i o li n g u i s ti c s t u d i es s h o w ,

a n d t h u s c o n v e y s o c i a l m e a n i n g s w h i c h , a g a i n , o n e w o u l d e x p e c t t o f a l l w i t h i n t h e r a n g e o f

K r i s t e v a ' s s y m b o l i c ( se e , f o r e x a m p l e , L o c a l , 1 98 2; J o n e s - S e r g e n t , 1 9 8 3) .

W e f i n d t h e s a m e k i n d o f p r o b l e m w i t h o t h e r f e a t u r e s th a t K r i s t e v a a l l o c a te s t o t h e s e m i o t ic :

t hey a r e w ide ly r ecogn i zed a s cu l t u r a l l y and soc i a l l y va r i ab l e i n d i s t r i bu t i on and /o r t hey have

i m p o r t a n t f u n c t io n s i n i n t e r a c ti v e d i sc o u r s e . T h e r e h a s , f o r e x a m p l e , b e e n m u c h w o r k o n s i l e n c e

and speech i l l umina t i ng t he c ro s s - cu l t u r a l va r i a t i on i n t he ex t en t t o wh ich s i l ences a r e t o l e r a t ed

o r f ound app rop r i a t e i n d i f f e r en t s i t ua t i ons and i nd i ca t i ng t ha t s i l ence i n d i f f e r en t cu l t u r e s ha s

d i f f e r en t mean ings ( s ee Bas s o , 1970 ; Re i sma n , 1974 ; Bau m an , 1983 ). S imi l a r l y , t he r e i s a l ong

t r ad it i on o f w ork on t he d i s tr i bu ti on and s i gn i f i c ance o f paus ing i n conve r sa t i on i nves t i ga t i ng bo tht h e c o g n i t i v e s i g n i f ic a n c e o f p a u s i n g i n re l a t io n t o s p e e c h p l a n n i n g a n d t h e s o c i al m e s s a g e s t h a t

m a y b e c o n v e y e d b y p a u s e s ( p a u s i n g a s a s i g n o f d i f f id e n c e o r ' p o w e r l e s s n e s s ' ; p a u s e s a l so a s

r e l a t ed t o r he to r i ca l de l i ve ry , emphas i s and d r ama t i c e f f ec t ) .

Th e po in t t o be s tr e s sed , then , is no t so muc h t ha t ma ny o f t he fea tu r e s wh ich Kr i s t eva a l l oca t e s

to t he unconsc ious a r e sym bo l i c bu t tha t, sym bo l i ca l l y coded o r no t, t hey a r e comm unica t i ve . Som e

h a v e c o g n i t i v e o r g r a m m a t i c a l fu n c t io n s . M a n y d i s p l a y p a t te r n e d s o c i a l a n d c u l tu r a l v a r i a b il i ty ;

t hey t hus func t i on a s soc i a l i nd ice s . I n t he m a in t hey c om e w i th in t he ca t ego ry o f d i scou r se f ea tu r e s

to wh ich i t is impo ss ib l e t o a l l oca t e s i ng l e f i xed mea n ing ( t ha t i s , t he r e is no f i xed fo rm / func t i on

r e l a t i o n s h i p ) b u t t h i s i s n o t t o s a y t h a t s u c h f e a t u r e s d o n o t h a v e c o n t e x t u a l m e a n i n g s ( s e e

G um perz , 1982, 1992 , on ' co m m un ica t i v e cue s ' ) . I t i s wor th cons ide r i ng he r e t he d i s t inc t i on t ha t

i s of ten drawn b e twe en sentence an d u t te rance meaning , fo r in fac t m any o f the fea tures tha t Kr i s teva

s u g g e s t s a s s e m i o t i c w o u l d b e c o n s i d e r e d t o h a v e m e a n i n g n o t w i t h in t h e a b s t ra c t s e n te n c e u n i t

( s en t ence mean ing ) bu t w i th in t he d i s cou r se and i n t e r ac t i on a s i t a c tua l l y un fo ld s i n con t ex t

( u t te r a n c e m e a n i n g ) . T h e y a r e, v e r y c l e a rl y , p a rt o f t h e s o c i a l o r s ig n i f y i n g d o m a i n o f l a n g u a g e

and , pe rha ps m os t imp or t an t l y , mos t a r e i n t e rac t i ona l f e a tu r e s : t he ro l e o f s i l ence , o f l augh t e r , o f

pau se s and he s i t a t i ons ha s t o be cons ide r ed n o t i n r e l a t i on t o t he i nd iv idua l spe ak ing sub j ec t , bu t

i n t e rms o f i n t e r ac t i ona l d i s cou r se o r i n t e r sub j ec t i v i ty .

This po in t i llumina tes a m ajo r conce rn abo ut K r is teva ' s account . I t i s on ly f rom a h ighly s t ruc tura l

p e r s p e c t i v e , a n a c c o u n t o f l a n g u e a s a n a b s t r a c t s y s t e m , t h a t t h e c o m m u n i c a t i v e ( a n d t h u ss y m b o l i c , i n K r i s t e v a ' s t e r m s ) r o l e o f t h e s e a s p e c t s o f l a n g u a g e c a n n o t b e r e c o g n i z e d . ~ K r i s t e v a

i s no t u sua l l y de sc r i bed a s a s t r uc tu r a li s t becau se o f he r concen t r a t i on o n t he s i gn a s p roce s s and

w e f ind tha t M oi (1986 , p . 3 ), for exam ple , a rgue s tha t she was 'ne ve r a s t ruc tua l i s t a t a ll , bu t ra ther

( i f labe ls a re to be used) a k ind of pos t - s t ruc tura l is t ava n t la le t t re '. I n ' T h e S y s t e m a n d t h e S p e a k i n g

S u b j e c t ' ( 1 9 8 6 , p . 26 ) K r i s t e v a c l a i m s t h a t h e r o w n a p p r o a c h ( ' s e m a n a l y s i s ' ) , s t u d y i n g la n g u a g e

a s ' d i s c o u r s e e n u n c i a te d b y a s p e a k i n g s u b j e c t ' i s a b le t o g r a s p ' it s f u n d a m e n t a l l y h e t e r o g e n e o u s

na tu r e ' . Sh e con t r a s t s t h is w i th s t r uc tu r a l i sm , wh ich ' by focu s ing on t he s t a ti c o r t he t i c phas e o f

l a n g u a g e p o s i t s i t a s a h o m o g e n e o u s s t r u c t u re ' . T h e n a t u r e o f h er a n a l y s i s o f s y m b o l i c la n g u a g e ,

h o w e v e r , f a il s to a c k n o w l e d g e f e a t u re s o f l a n g u a g e t y p i c a l l y id e n t if i ed w i t h e n u n c i a ti o n a n d

he t e rog ene i t y ; w ha t i s igno re d i s t he pa t t e rned soc i a l va r i ab i l i t y and t he p r ag m a t i c and d i s cu r s ivefunc t i ons o f t he f ea tu r e s a l l oca t ed t o the ope ra t i on o f unco nsc iou s de s i r e .

T h e d i s c r e t e i d e n t i f i c a ti o n o f f e a t u r e s o f a r t i c u l a t i o n a n d l a n g u a g e a s e i t h e r s e m i o t i c o r s y m b o l i c i s , t h e n, t h e w e a k e s t

p o i n t o f K r i s t e v a ' s a c c o u n t , b u t o n e w h i c h i s r e v e a l i n g a b o u t h e r p e r s p e c t i v e o n l a n g u a g e : f o u n d e d o n a n o t i o n




of a narrow linguistic code. primarily syntactic/propositional in nature and unable to recognize contextual,discursive or interactionally constructed meanings.

Kristeva would argue that a concentration on the social, coded aspects of language is facile and

shallow for it does not allow recognition of the role of desire, of excess, of the role of unconscious

drives and motivations. Her problem is, however, in trying to identify particular linguistic features

with the operation of the unconscious, she fails to recognize the extent to which these have an

important role in interactive communication.

Cameron (1992, p. 216) suggests that most of the features that Kristeva claims for the semiotic

are features o f spoken discourse and suggests that she is working, implicitly, with a model of langue

as written language. But this is a manifestat ion of the fact that is easier to regard written language

as monologic and non-interactive. Rather it would appear that Kristeva presents what is actually

a very traditional approach to language, a logical view of language as statement or predicationin which the apparently emotive or interactive features which do not appear to contribute to

predication are relegated to the subconscious. In Language, the Unknown (1989, pp. 260-261),

Kristeva criticizes the American linguistic tradition and Chomsky's work in particular for its narrow

definition of language as syntax and its lack of attention to meanings ('pure signifier without a

signified, grammar without semantics, indices instead of signs'). But her own approach, although

semantic in nature, takes a similarly idealized and abstract view of language. The question that

she herself asks of American linguistics seems to be one that might well be reversed, 'isn' t

Chomsyan-Cartesian analysis too blocked theoretically by its own presuppositions, and because

of that unable to see the plurality of signifying systems recorded in other languages and discourses?

(p. 260).

This fundamentally strncturalist approach is also evident in Kristeva's wide-reaching claims

for poetic language. The association of poetry with the semiotic is founded on its connection with

particular features of articulation such as rhythm, rhyme and sound patteming. The example of

rhythm is worth considering in detail for, again, it illustrates some of the problems with Kristeva's

attempt to categorize features of language regardless of genre, discourse or their functions in

particular contexts. The long tradition of associating rhythm not only with poetry but with the body,

movement, dance and music seems to legitimate its allocation to the semiotic chora. But one wonders

what exactly is the claim being made for it seems unlikely that Kristeva is arguing that rhythm

per se acts as a vehicle for the semiotic. Rhythm in poetry in most periods has, after all, been highly

conventionalized; interestingly, in 1925, Graves and Riding, far from linking it to the unconscious,

argued that 'metre considered as a set pattern approved by convention will stand for the claims

of society as at present organised ' (1927, p. 24). If the semiotic is manifested in certain features

of language, Kristeva then needs to explain why the metrical patterning in much conventional poetry

seems to have little connection with any irruption of desire. In discussing Artaud, in fact, she

distinguishes between semiotic devices that 'constitute a network of constraints that is added to

denotative signification' and the presence of 'classical poeticness (rhythm, meter, conventional

rhetorical figures)' which are not manifestations of the semiotic (1980, p. 41). The claim for the

semioticity of discrete features of language is at this point abandoned and it is difficult to see what

then links poetry to the subconscious.

Rather, Kristeva is working the formalist paradigm with a twist, characterizing poetry less in

terms of an internal typography of particular forms or features but rather in terms of a distinction

between everyday language and poetic language. The opposition is founded on the propositionality

and referentiality of the one and the sensuous and non-referential qualities of the other. No



334 ALISON TATE

m a t t e r h o w m u c h K r i s t e v a i n te n d e d t o e v a d e t h e p h i l o s o p h i c t r a d it io n s h e c r i ti c iz e s i n Revolution

in Poetic Language, sh e en d s u p r e t r ac i n g i t s d i s t i n c t i o n s , f i r s t l y w i t h i n i n d i v i d u a l su b j ec t i v i t y ,

s e c o n d l y i n id e n t i fy i n g t h e d if f e r e n c e b e t w e e n p o e t r y a n d o t h e r f o r m s o f l a n g u a g e . T h e s a m e k i n d

o f b i n a r y o p p o s i t i o n s a r e u s e d t o a r g u e t o c l a i m a r e v o l u t i o n a r y r o l e f o r p o e t i c m o d e r n i s m .

V ar i o u s c r it ic s h av e q u e r i ed K r i s t ev a ' s eq u a t i o n b e t w een l it e r ary an d so c i al r eb e ll io n , so t h a t Wh i t e ,

f o r e x a m p l e , c o m m e n t s t h a t ' t h e s te p w h i c h K r i s t e v a m a k e s f r o m t hi s a c h i e v e d p o e t ic d e s t r u c ti o n

of mas cul ine ra t iona l it y t o po l it i ca l p rac t i ce and femini sm , see ms to me a def t s l igh t o f pen , a mer e ly

s o p h i s t ic a l l i n k a g e . . , a n e g a t i v e p o l it ic s , a n e v a n e s c e n t d i s r u p t io n , i n c a p a b l e o f i d e n t i f y i n g i ts

o w n p o l i ti c a l a g e n t, m a s c u l i n e o r f e m i n i n e ' ( 1 9 7 8 , p . 1 6 ).

W h a t s h o u l d b e n o t i c e d , t h o u g h , is th a t th e a r g u m e n t f o r th e l in k b e t w e e n s o c i a l a n d p o e t ic

r e v o l u t i o n w o r k s t h r o u g h t h e e s t a b l is h m e n t o f e q u a t i o n s , o f w h i c h t h e f u n d a m e n t a l o n e is th e

h o m o l o g y b e t w e e n t e x t a n d i d e n ti ty , s o t h a t f o r th e r e a d e r o f A r t a u d , ' a ll i d e n ti ti e s a r e u n s t a b le :

t h e i d en t i t y o f li n g u i s t i c s i g n s , t h e i d en t i ty o f m e an i n g , a n d a s a r e su l t t h e id en t i t y o f t h e sp ea k e r '

(K r i s t ev a , 1 9 8 0 , p. 1 9 ) . A se r i e s o f b i n a ry o p p o s i t i o n s a r e t h en e s t ab l ish ed : b e t w een , fo r ex am p l e ,

s e m i o t i c / s y m b o l i c ; p o e t i c / n o n - p o e t i c , a n d f e m a l e / m a l e , a n d h o m o l o g i e s b e t w e e n t h e e l e m e n t s o f

t h e s e e q u a t i o n s a r e a s s u m e d . T h e r e i s a c o n c e p t u a l s l ip p a g e b e t w e e n l in g u i s ti c d i s l o c a t io n a n d

o t h e r k i n d s o f d e v i a t i o n , s o t h a t th e f o r m e r c a n b e t a k e n a s a n i n d e x o r m e t a p h o r f o r t h e l at te r.

I t i s th e s h u f f l in g o f te r m s b e t w e e n e q u a t i o n s t h a t a ll o w s K r i s t e v a t o c l a im t h a t t h e w r i te r s s h e

d i s c u s s e s i n t h e s e c o n d a n d t h i r d p a r ts o f th e F r e n c h e d i t i o n o f Revolution in Poetic Language,

a l t h o u g h m a l e , w r i te f ro m a f em a l e p o s i ti o n . T h e b ro k en t ex t o f m o d e rn i s t w r i t in g s t an d s a s a f i g u re

f o r t he p o s i t io n o f w o m e n i n p a t ri a rc h a l s o c ie t y, f o r ' w o m a n ' i s ' t h a t w h i c h c a n n o t b e r e p r e se n t e d ,

t h a t w h i c h i s n o t s p o k e n , t h a t w h i c h r e m a i n s o u t s i d e n a m i n g a n d i d e o l o g i e s ' ( 1 9 8 0 , p . 2 1 ) . I t is

a s im i l a r s h i ft o f t e r m s t h a t a l lo w s ' w o m a n ' t o b e e q u a t e d w i t h o t h e r m a r g i n a l i z e d o r d i sr u p t i v e

s o c i a l fo r c e s , a s K r i s t e v a m a k e s c l e a r : ' c a l l it " w o m a n " o r " o p p r e s s e d c l a s s e s o f s o c i e t y " , i t is

t h e s a m e s t r u g g l e a n d n e v e r t h e o n e w i t h o u t t h e o t h e r ' ( p. 2 4 ) . S o , l in g u i s t ic d i s r u p t io n e q u a t e s

t o th e d i s r u p t i o n o f t h e s e l f o r r a t i o n a l i ty a n d t o th e s y m b o l i c p o s i t io n o f w o m e n a n d t o a

c h a l l e n g e t o t h e s o c i a l o r d e r .

T h i s s t ru c t u ra l is t b i f u r c a t i o n a n d s l i p p a g e o f t e rm s , I w o u l d s u g g e s t , l im i t s K r i s t e v a ' s a n a l y s i s

o f m o d e r n i s t l a n g u a g e . T h e a n a l y si s is c o u c h e d i n te r m s o f o p p o si ti o n s , c o d e s a n d b r e a k i n g c o d e s :

a l l t h a t c a n b e s a i d a b o u t u n g r a m m a t i c a l i t y i n s u c h a c a s e i s t h a t i t i s u n g r a m m a t i c a l o r

t r a n s g r e s s iv e . A n y t e x tu a l e f f e c ts o f s u c h c o d e - b r e a k i n g i s t h e n a s s u m e d b y a m e t a p h o r i c a l

t r a n s p o s i t io n o f t e r m s i n v a r i o u s e q u a t i o n s : i f u n g r a m m a t i c a l i t y d i s r u p t s t h e l in g u i s ti c c o d e , t h e

sem i o t i c d i s ru p t s t h e sy m b o l i c ; f em i n i n i t y d i s ru p t s m ascu l i n i t y ; i r r a t i o n a l i t y d i s ru p t s r a t i o n a l i t y ;

r ev o l u t i o n d i s ru p t s t h e so c i a l o rd e r . B u t t h is i s o n l y t o s ay t h a t d ev i an ce i s d ev i an ce , i n w h a t so e v e r

f o r m i t i s c o u c h e d , f o r w h a t e v e r e f f e c t i s g a i n e d , i t r e s u lt s f r o m t h e b r e a k i n g o f t h e c o d e , n o t i n

t h e w ay t h a t t h i s i s d o n e .

M y c r i ti q u e , t h e n , is th a t K r i s t e v a ' s u n d e r l y i n g m o d e l o f la n g u a g e is n a r r o w l y p r o p o s i t i o n a l l y

an d l o g i ca l l y b a sed , an d t h a t t h is d o es n o t a l l o w h e r t o ex p l o re l i n g u i s t ic s i g n i f i c a t i o n ad eq u a t e l y .

A m o r e a d e q u a t e m o d e l , I s u g g e s t , w o u l d t a k e i n t o a c c o u n t v a r i a b l e c o n t e x t u a l a n d i n t e r a c t i v e

m e a n i n g s , a n d d r a w o n w o r k i n p r a g m a t i c s , s o c i o l i n g u i s t i c s a n d d i s c o u r s e a n a l y s i s . I n t h e r e s t

o f t hi s p ap e r I w a n t t o sh o w t h a t su ch an ap p ro ach a t l e a s t o f f e r s an o t h e r p e r sp ec t i v e o n t h e p rac t ic e

o f m o d e r n i s t w r i ti n g . T h e a l te r n a t iv e i n v o l v e s a d o p t i n g a m o r e s o c i a l ly a n d d i s c u r s i v e l y a w a r e

m o d e l o f l a n g u a g e w h i c h , a l t h o u g h i t d o e s n o t a d m i t ( o r n e c e s s i ta t e ) t h e u n c o n s c i o u s , a t l e as t i n



A S E M B L A N C E O F S E N S E 3 3 5

t h e f o r m K r i s t e v a m o d e l s i t, d o e s c o n c e r n i t s e l f w i t h t h e l i n g u is t ic c o n s t r u c t i o n o f s u b j ec t iv i ty .

A t t hi s p o in t , th e n , I f o l l o w D e K o v e n b a c k t o t h e w o r k o f G e r t r u d e S t e in .

S t e i n a n d s u b j e c t i v i t y

A f e w w o r d s i n it ia l ly a b o u t S t e i n a n d t h e p r o b l e m s t h a t s h e p r e s e n t s t o t h e c r it ic . H e r w o r k h a s

b een r ed i s co v e red l a rg e ly t h ro u g h t h e w o rk o f fem i n i s t l it e ra ry c r it ic i sm ; fo r m an y y ea r s h e r w r i ti n g s

w e r e r e g a r d e d w i t h s o m e d e r i s i o n a n d f o r a t im e t h e y w e r e l a rg e l y o u t o f p r in t. 7 I n m a n y w a y s

sh e r ep re sen t s an i n t e r e s t in g f em i n i s t c a se s tu d y . A n A m er i c an o f G e rm an ex t r ac t i o n , sh e i n it ia l l y

s t u d i ed u n d e r W i l l i am Jam es a t H a rv a r d b u t l at er , s e tt l in g i n P a r is , d ev o t ed h e r se l f t o w r i t i n g . S h e

w a s t h a t r ar e t h i n g in t h e e a r l y d e c a d e s o f th e t w e n t i e th c e n t u r y : a w o m a n o f i n d e p e n d e n t m e a n s ,

n o t o n l y a w r i t e r b u t a s a l o n i st a n d p a t r o n i n h e r o w n r i g h t. S h e w a s l e s b i a n b u t n o t f e m i n i s t a n d

h e r c o n s e r v a t i v e a f f i l i a t i o n s l e d h e r t o f a v o u r t h e P e t a i n r e g i m e i n F r a n c e . W h e t h e r p r o m o t i n g

h e r s e l f a s a ' c h a r a c t e r ' o r a s a w r i t e r , s h e a l w a y s i n s i s t e d o n h e r o w n s e m i n a l m o d e r n i s t r o l e ,c o m p a r i n g h e r s t a t u s w i t h t h a t o f h e r c l o s e f r i e n d , P ic a s s o .

S t e i n ' s w o r k i s p a r t i c u l a r l y s u s c e p t i b le t o b e i n g r e - f r a m e d i n v a r i o u s c r i ti c a l p a r a d i g m s ( s ee ,

fo r ex a m p l e , S t e i n e r, 1 9 7 8 ; S ch m i t z , 1 9 7 4 , 1 9 8 8 ; D e K o v e n , 1 9 8 3 ) . W h a t is c l e a r, t h o u g h , is t h a t,

j u s t a s m u c h a s K r i s t e v a , s h e is c o n c e r n e d w i t h i s s u e s o f r e f e r e n c e , r e p r e s e n t a ti o n , m i m e s i s a n d

s u b j e ct iv i ty . P e r l o f f (1 9 8 1 ) e x p l o r e s S t e i n ' s w r i t i n g a s a n e x a m p l e o f ' r e f e r e n t ia l i n d e t e r m i n a c y ' ;

s h e h a s b e e n a r g u e d t o t r a n s la t e ' c u b i s t ' m o d e l s i n t o w r i ti n g ( s e e , f o r e x a m p l e , D o d g e , 1 9 1 3 ;

D u b n i c k , 1 9 8 4 ). C a r a m e l l o ( 1 9 8 8 ) s u g g e s t s th a t h e r m a j o r c o n c e r n w a s w i t h r e n d e r in g s u b j e c t i v e

e x p e r i e n c e w i t h f i d e l i t y , y e t t h i s i s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a c o n c e r n f o r a c c u r a t e a n d o b j e c t i v e

rep re se n t a t i o n o f r e a l i ty t o t h e ex t en t t h a t S t e in ap p ea r s t o r ep re sen t t h e p o i n t a t w h i ch an ex t r em e

s u b j e c t i v i s m m e r g e s i n t o o b j e c t i v i s m . H e r e x p e r i m e n t a l w r i t in g s a r e o f te n r e g a r d e d a s a fu r t h e r

d e v e l o p m e n t o f ' s t r e a m o f c o n s c i o u s n e s s ' t e c h n iq u e s w h i c h c a n b e s e e n a s t e a si n g a t t he

c o n v e n t i o n s o f r e a l i s m i n a n a t te m p t t o p r o d u c e a g r e a t e r r e a l i s m ( B r i d g m a n , 1 9 7 0 ). H e r o w n

c o m m e n t s o n h e r w o r k i n H ow Writ ing is W ritten (1 9 7 4 ) su p p o r t su ch an i n t e rp re t a t i o n , s t r e s s i n g

' e x a c t i t u d e ' a n d f i d e l it y t o e x p e r i e n c e .

H e r c o n c e r n w i t h t h e i s s u e o f id e n t i ty i n w r i ti n g e m e r g e s i n h e r e a r l y n a r ra t i v e e x p e r i m e n t s i n

co n v ey i n g a ' p ro g re s s i v e p re sen t ' . I t f i g u re s la t e r i n T h e Making o f Americans, a t th e h ea r t o f w h i ch ,

s h e s ay s , w a s ' th e q u e s t io n o f r e s e m b l a n c e s ' w h i c h w e r e ' th e e l e m e n t o f m e m o r y ' , a n d w h i c h

sh e fo u n d t o sh ack le t h e in i ti a l co n c e rn o f ' i m m ed i a cy ' ( 1 9 7 5 , p p . 1 5 5 -1 5 7 ) . T h e r ecu r r i n g r e fe r en ce

i n h e r w r i t in g o f th e t h ir ti es is t o th e M o t h e r G o o s e r h y m e o f t h e o ld w o m a n w h o r e tu r n s h o m ed i s o r i e n ta t e d a n d ' o n l y k n o w s t h a t sh e is s h e ' b e c a u s e h e r l it tl e d o g r e c o g n i z e s h e r : ' I b e c a m e

w o r r i e d a b o u t i d e n ti ty a n d r e m e m b e r e d t h e m o t h e r g o o s e I a m b e c a u s e m y l it tl e d o g k n o w s m e

a n d I w a s n o t s u r e b u t t h a t th a t o n l y p r o v e d t h e d o g w a s h e a n d n o t th a t I w a s I ( 1 9 8 5 , p . 2 5 9 ) .

H e r d e s i r e d c r e a t i v e s t at e o f ' e n t i t y ' i s to b e a c h i e v e d b y t h e e f f a c e m e n t o f a u t h o r ia l i d e n t i ty a n d

t h is i s b o u n d u p w i t h b o t h m e m o r y a n d a n o t io n o f th e O t h e r, c o n c e p t u a l i z e d a s ' a u d i e n c e ' :

A t a n y m o m e n t w h e n y o u a r e y o u y o u a re y o u w i t h o u t th e m e m o r y o f y o u r s e l f b e c a u s e i f y o u r e m e m b e r y o u r s e l f

w h i l e y o u a r e y o u y o u a r e n o t f o r p u r p o s e s o f c r e a t i n g y o u . T h i s i s s o i m p o r t a n t b e c a u s e i t h a s s o m u c h t o d o w i t h

t h e q u e s t i o n o f a w r i t e r t o h is a u d i e n c e ( 1 9 6 7 , p . 1 4 7 ) .

L i v e ly w o r d s

S t e i n ' s w o r k d i s p l a y s m a r k e d l y d i f f e r e n t s t y le s i n d i f f e r e n t p e r i o d s ; h o w e v e r , i n te r m s o f th ef e a t u r e s o f p o e t i c l a n g u a g e d i s c u s s e d a b o v e , o f m o s t i n te r e s t is th e s t y l is t ic p e r i o d t h a t D e K o v e n

c h r i s t e n s ' L i v e l y W o r d s ' . T h i s is m a r k e d b y ' c o l o r f u l , c o n c r e t e a d j e c ti v e s a n d n o u n s , in p l a c e o f

t h e p r i v il e g e d g e r u n d s a n d p a r t i c ip l e s , a n d s i m p l e p r e s e n t o r p a s t t e n s e i n p l a c e o f t h e u b i q u i to u s

p r o g r e s s i v e s ' . W o r k s i n t h is s t y l e a r e ' d e n s e w i t h m u l t ip l e , o p e n - e n d e d c o n n e c t i o n s o f l e x ic a l



336 ALISON TATE

meani ng (image, association, connotation, resonance)'. At the same time, 'they function powerfully

at the level of the signifier, through s ound and rhy thm ' (DeKo ven, 1983, p. 68). Tender Buttons

seems an in teresti ng test to exam ine in this respect for, according to Lodge (1977, pp. 151-152),

it marks a transiti on in Ste in's writin g 'f rom lengt h to brevity, from verbs to nouns, from prose

to poetry and (in our terms) from met onymic to metaphoric experient'.

Tender Buttons itself appears to be a domesti c catalogue, hi ghly object-orientated. It consists

of descriptive sections broken down into sequences by subheadings: 'Objec ts', for example, begins

with ' A Carafe, that is a Blind Glass ', followed by 'G lazed Glitter', 'A Substance in a Cushio n',

'A Box', 'A Piece of Coffee'; the list of titles is, in fact, too extensive to quote. The opening sequence

of Tender Buttons illustrates some of the problem s the reader encounters with this text:

A C a r a f e , t h a t i s a B l i n d G l a s s

A k i n d i n g l a s s a n d a c o u s i n , a s p e c t a c l e a n d n o t h i n g s t r a n g e a s i n g l e h ur t c o l o r a n d a n a r r a n g e m e n t i n a s y s t e mt o p o i n t i n g . A l l t h i s a n d n o t o r d i n a r y , n o t u n o r d e r e d i n n o t r e s e m b l i n g . T h e d i f f e r e n c e i s s p r e a d i n g ( S t e i n , 1 9 1 4 ,

p. 9).

One mi ght consider two different commentaries on this passage. The first is by one of Stein's

biographers, Robert Bri dgman, who chooses to take it as an exampl e of portraiture, com men ti ng

that Stein is here defen ding and illustr ating her new m ethod of representation:

It is a conservative esson, reasonablyavailable.The carafe is made of a glass tintedgrey-greenor purple, the colorof a bruise, a 'hurt' color. The carafe is a 'kind' of glass container,one not so familiaras a pitcher, which is partof the immediate amilyof containers,but "a cousin'. It is at once something o see and something hrough whichto see, a 'spectacle'. Its arrangement s part of a larger system which is not without order itself, even though itdoes not represent things in an ordinary way. The difference represented by this openingstill life is 'spreading',

spreading in the book itself and into the world at large (Bridgman, 1970, pp. 127-128).

A rather different interpret ation is offered by Schm itz (1974, p. 1205):

'The difference s spreading' not only foreshadows deconstructive hought; it recognises that between one term(a carafe) and a possible substitute a blind glass) exists a barrier, not an equals sign,and it is this differencewhichsupports all signification.Stein nterrogates his barrier n order to break open he imperial Signand leave a systemto pointing', a language hat no longer needs to contain he world in order to live in it.

Bridgman regards the passage as conveying a hyper-rich associative reality; Schmitz perceives

it as demonstrating the play of linguistic difference. Bridgman demonstrates that the lexical

polysem y of the text can reveal a logical chain of reasoning; Schmitz reads it symbolica lly as a

demonstration of the self-referentiality of language. Both interpretations illustrate DeKov en' s point

about the 'irreducibly multiple connec tions' evide nt in Stein's writing (1983, p. 10).

But where, in fact, does the dissonance of the passage lie? Two features are worth notice. Firstly,

the syntax itself is not particularly deviant; the sequence of verbless noun phrases is a familiar

stylistic variant, the punctu atio n is only mildl y idiosyncratic. Secondly, within the passage there

is an indeterminacy, not so much of reference, but of co-reference. For example, one might consider

the juxtaposed noun phrases of the first sentence. It appears that Bridgman reads these as

accumulat ing glosses on the title and thus as a series of metaphorical redefinitions: it is the 'caraf e'

that is a 'b lind glass', ' a kind in glass', 'a cousin' and 'an arrangement in a system of pointi ng'.

This, however, is not the on ly possibility: the series could be read as a list, or even as three adjacent

paired units, and there seems no obvious way of deciding which of these alternatives is to be

preferred. Certainly there are semantic connections to be traced between the noun phrases, as

Brid gman demonstrates , but this does not clarify whether co-referential links are intended or not.

A major area of uncertainty is deciding if noun phrases enter into appositional relationships or

are met onymic in representing discrete items.




S u c h p r o b l e m s c o n t i n u e i n th e s u b s e q u e n t s e n t e n c e s. ' A l l th i s ' , i n l in e 2 , a p p e a r s t o r e f e r b a c k

t o th e f i rs t s en t en ce so t h a t ' n o t o rd i n a r y ' an d ' n o t o rd e red ' s eem t o h av e t h e i r r e f e r en t i n th e i n it ia l

s e q u e n c e , h o w e v e r t h is h a s b e e n u n d e r s to o d . I n t he t h ir d s e n t e n c e o n e c a n n o t e a m b i g u i t y o v e r

w h e t h e r ' d i f f e r e n c e ' i s t o b e t a k e n a s l e x ic a l l y r e l a te d t o th e ' n o t r e s e m b l i n g ' o f th e s e n t e n c e

p reced i n g it. B o t h o f t h e co m m en t a t o r s q u o t ed ab o v e ap p ea r t o i n t erp re t th e d i f f e r en ce a s o n e a l r ead y

i m p l i e d o r s t a te d , a l t h o u g h t h e y e q u a l l y a s s u m e i t r e f e r s t o a m o r e s y m b o l i c d i f f e r e n c e a s w e l l.

T h e o b s c u r i t y o f t hi s e x tr a c t , i t s e e m s , r e l a t e s l e s s t o o b s c u r i t y o f r e f e r e n c e t h a n c o - r e f e r e n c e .

T h e p h r a s e s a n d s e n t e n c e s a p p e a r t o b e c o n n e c t e d ; t hi s i s s i g n a l le d b y t h e c o n j u n c t i o n ' a n d ' a n d

b y w h a t a p p e a r t o b e c r o s s -s e n t e n t i a l r e f e r e n t ia l t ie s . B u t , in f a c t, th e c o n n e c t i o n s a r e a m b i g u o u s

a n d a r e n o t c l a r i f i e d a s t h e t e x t d e v e l o p s . Y e t i t i s a p p a r e n t t h a t t h e t e x t i s s u s c e p t i b l e t o

i n t e rp re t a t i o n : o n e m i g h t , i n f a c t , su sp ec t t h a t i t s o p en n es s t o i n t e rp re t a t i o n i s a d i r ec t r e su l t o f

i ts a m b i g u i t y . W h a t i s p e r h a p s m o s t s t r ik i n g a b o u t th i s s h o r t e x t r a c t f r o m Tender Buttons i s them u l t i p l i c it y o f tex t u a l co n n ec t i o n s t h a t ap p e a r t o ex i s t, p ro d u c i n g a w e b o f p o t en t i a l r e l a t i o n sh i p s

r a t h e r t h a n c l e a r t h r e a d s o f i d en t it y . T h e c o n c e p t o f te x t u a l c o h e r e n c e p r o v i d e s a m a j o r c l u e t o

the inde te rm inacy o f S t e in ' s wr i t ing , for , i f t here i s a cons t an t fea ture t o be t raced a cross her m arked ly

d i f f e r e n t s ty l e s, i t i s w h a t m i g h t b e c a l l e d a ' s e m b l a n c e o f s e n s e ' .

I f w e ' l o o k a t so m e o f S te i n ' s o t h e r ex p e r i m en t a l w r i t in g t h is m ay b ec o m e m o r e ev i d en t . I n ' P o e t ry

a n d G r a m m a r ' ( 1 9 6 7 , p . 1 3 3 ), S t e i n p r o d u c e s a li st o f s e n te n c e s t h a t s h e i d e n t if i e s a s p a r ti c u l a r ly

' s u c c e s s f u l ' . C o n s i d e r i n g t h is l i st , it a p p e a r s t o b e t h e l o g i c o f s y n t a x t h a t i s i m p l i c it l y h e l d u p

t o r i d ic u l e . F o r i n s ta n c e , t h e r e s o u r c e s o f t h e l a n g u a g e f o r p r o d u c i n g g r a m m a t i c a l b u t a b s u r d o r

i ll o g ica l s ta t em en t s is d em o n s t r a t ed i n t h e ex am p l e s : ' A d o g w h i ch y o u n ev e r h ad b e fo re h a s s i g h ed '

a n d ' H e l o o k s l ik e a y o u n g m a n g r o w n o l d ' . O t h e r s e n t e n c e s i ll u st ra te t h e c a p a c i ty o f la n g u a g e

t o f o r m t a u t o l o g o u s o r p a r a d o x i c a l s t a te m e n t s a s in : ' A b a y a n d h il ls a r e s u r r o u n d e d b y h a v i n g

t h e ir d i st a n c e v e r y n e a r ' . A g a i n , ' I f a s o u n d is m a d e w h i c h g r o w s l o u d e r a n d t h e n s t o p s h o w m a n y

t im e s m a y i t b e r e p e a t e d ' a n d ' I t l o o k s l ik e a g a r d e n b u t h e h a d h u r t h i m s e l f b y a c c i d e n t ' e x p l o i t

t h e a p p a r e n t l o g i c a l i ty t h a t c o n n e c t i v e s c a n i m p o s e o n a s en t e n c e . T h e i n d e t e r m i n a n c y o f d e ic t i c

r e f e r e n c e i s e v i d e n t i n t h e s e n t e n c e : ' O n c e w h e n t h e y w e r e n e a r l y r e a d y t h e y h a d o r d e r e d i t t o

c l o s e . '

T h i s i s a r e v e a l i n g c o l l e c t i o n o f e x a m p l e s , f o r m o s t o f t h e ' l o g i c a l ' p r o b l e m s e x e m p l i f i e d h a v e

b e e n t h e s u b j e c t o f p h i l o s o p h i c a l o r l in g u i s t i c d e b a t e a t s o m e t i m e o r o th e r . T h e a b i l i ty o f

s e n t e n c e s t o p r e s u p p o s e c o n d i t i o n s a t o d d s w i t h t h e m a i n a s s e r t i o n , f o r e x a m p l e , i s a c l a s s i cp h i l o s o p h i c a l p r o b l e m r a i s e d b y F r e g e a n d e x p l o r e d b y R u s s e l l ( 1 9 0 5 ) ( s e e a ls o L e v i n s o n , 1 9 8 3 ,

p p . 1 6 7 - 2 2 5 ; P e c h e u x , 1 9 8 2 ). T h e t a u t o l o g y o f d ef i n it io n s i s s o m e t i m e s d i s t i n g u i s h e d a s ' a l e t h i c '

o r ' a p o d e i c t i c ' m o d a l i t y ( s e e L y o n s , 1 9 7 7 , p . 7 9 1 ) . T h e p r o b l e m s r a i s e d b y c o n j u n c t i o n a r e

e x p l o r e d v a r i o u s l y i n, f o r e x a m p l e , L a k o f f ( 1 9 7 1 ) , M a r t i n ( 1 9 8 3 ) a n d H a l l i d a y ( 1 9 8 5 ) ; f o r s o m e

o f t h e p r o b l e m s t h a t d e ix i s r a is e s f o r p h i l o s o p h y , s e e L y o n s ( 1 9 7 7 , p p . 6 3 6 - 7 2 4 ) a n d L e v i n s o n

( 1 9 8 3 , p p . 5 4 - 9 6 ) .

O t h e r e v i d e n c e o f S t e i n 's f a s c i n a ti o n w i th t h e p a r a d o x e s o f s y n t a x c a n b e i d e n t if ie d ; f o r

e x a m p l e , h e r c o n c e r n t o p r o b e t h e m e a n i n g r e l a t io n s i n h e r e n t n o t j u s t w i t h in a s e n t e n c e b u t a l s o

i n s e q u e n c e s o f s e n t e n c es . S h e o f t e n a p p e a r s t o t a k e a p a r t i c u la r s t r u c t u r e a n d u s e i t a s a s e n t e n c e

f r a m e o r m a t r ix i n o r d e r to g e n e r a t e a s e q u e n c e o f s e n t e n c e s . F o r e x a m p l e :

In the inside there is sleeping, in the outside there is reddening, in the morn ing there is meaning, in the evening

there is feeling. In the even ing there is feeling (Stein, 1967, p. 171).



338 ALISON TATE

T h e i n v i t a t i o n t o co n s t ru e m ean i n g fu l t ex t , in th i s in s t an ce , i s a fu n c t i o n , f i rs t ly , o f t h e ' i n t h e . . .

t h e r e i s ' s e n t e n c e f r a m e a n d , s e c o n d l y , o f t h e s y n t a c t i c a n d s o u n d r e p e t i t i o n w h i c h i n v i te s

s e m a n t i c p a r a ll e ls t o b e d r a w n b e t w e e n p h r a s e s a n d s e n t e n c e s . T h e r e a r e o t h e r i n s ta n c e s i n

w h i c h S t e i n ' s s e q u e n c e s o f s e n t e n c e s r e s e m b l e t h e p a tt e r n o f v e r b a l c o n j u g a t i o n s :

I w i l l n o t l o o k a t t h e m a g a i n .

T h e y w i l l n o t lo o k f o r th e m a g a i n .

T h e y h a v e n o t s e e n t h e m h e r e a g a i n .

T h e y a r e i n t h e r e a n d w e h e a r t h e m a g a i n .

(S t e in , 1 9 6 7 , p . 1 4 1 )

T h e s e e x a m p l e s a r e r e m i n i s c e n t o f th e k i n d o f d ri ll s u s e d i n la n g u a g e t e a c h i n g i n w h i c h s e n t e n c e

p a t te r n s t a k e p r e c e d e n c e o v e r m e a n i n g ; h e r e , t h e f o r m a l p a t te r n i n g e l e m e n t o f s e n t e n c e s t r u c tu r e

i s b e i n g u sed t o g en e ra t e a s eq u en c e o f t ex t j u s t a s , in o t h e r c ir cu m s t an ces , an u n d e r l y i n g m e t r i c a l

s eq u en ce can g en e ra t e t ex t. B u t S t e i n co u l d a l so b e h e ld t o b e ex p e r i m en t i n g w i t h t h e w ay i n w h i ch

s y n t a c t i c f o r m g i v e s s t r u c t u r e t o e x p e r ie n c e . W h a t s h e is a w a r e o f is t h e w a y t h a t, i n t h e b a l a n c e

a n d t h e r e l a ti o n s h ip b e t w e e n c l a u se s , s e n t e n c e s c a n b e s e e n t o im p o s e c e r ta i n h i e r ar c h i e s o f c a u s e

and ef fec t , o r re l a ti ons o f subord ina t ion and ind epend ence , wh ich a re l ingui s t ic i n na ture , no t der ived

f r o m t h e w o r l d . R e v i e w i n g S t e i n ' s p r a c t ic e , o n e r e a l iz e s t h a t s h e t re a ts a r a n g e o f o t h e r l i n g u is t ic

f e a t u re s i n a s i m i l a r w a y : t h a t is , th e y a r e u s e d t o i m p o s e a s e m b l a n c e o f m e a n i n g o n a n o t h e r w i s e

suspe c t d i sc ours e or , a l t e rna t ive ly , var i ed in ord er t o d i s rup t a cohere n t tex t . In e i ther case the resu l t

is to p o s e p r o b l e m s a b o u t t h e r e l a ti o n s h i p b e t w e e n t h e f o r m a l f e a t u r e s o f l a n g u a g e a n d m e a n i n g .

W h a t s e e m s t o b e m o s t im p o r t a n t i n m a i n t a i n i n g a ' s e m b l a n c e o f s e n s e ' , t h e n , is th e u s e o f t h e

k i n d o f f o r m a l m a r k e r s o f c o h e s i o n w h i c h a r e h e ld , i n v a r i o u s a c c o u n t s , t o c r e a t e t h e ' t e x t u r e 'o f t h e te x t ( s e e, f o r e x a m p l e , H a l l i d a y a n d H a s a n , 1 9 7 6 ). S i g n i fi c a n t ly , S t e i n h e r s e l f p o i n ts o u t

t h a t s h e f o u n d it ' i m p o s s i b l e t o p u t [ w o r d s ] t o g e t h e r w i t h o u t s e n s e. I m a d e i n n u m e r a b l e e f f o r ts

t o m a k e w o r d s w r i te w i t h o u t s e n s e a n d f o u n d it i m p o s s ib l e . A n y h u m a n b e i n g p u t t in g d o w n w o r d s

h a d t o m a k e s e n s e o u t o f t h e m ' ( 1 9 7 5 , p . 1 5 ) . E v i d e n t i n a ll S t e i n 's v a r i o u s s t y li s ti c e x p e r i m e n t s

is h e r c o n c e r n w i t h t h e f o r m a l f e a t u r e s o f t e x tu a l it y , m a r k e r s o f c o n n e c t i v i t y a n d t h e m e c h a n i s m s

o f t e x t g e n e r a t i o n a n d o r g a n i z a t i o n m o r e g e n e r a l ly .

A l t h o u g h S t e i n 's s u b v e r s i o n o f th e la w s a n d c o n v e n t i o n s o f g r a m m a r h a s b e e n c o m m e n t e d o n

m a n y t i m e s , w h a t h a s n o t b e e n s u f f i c i e n t l y e m p h a s i z e d i s t h e a p p a r e n t l y s y s t e m a t i c m a n n e r i n

w h i c h i n d i f f e re n t w a y s , o v e r t h e r a n g e o f h e r w o r k , s h e e x p l o r e s t h e in t e r a c t io n o f s y n t a x a n d

s e m a n t i c s . T h i s i s n o t a r a n d o m d i s l o c a t i o n o f l a n g u a g e : S t e in a p p e a r s t o m a n i p u l a t e p r e c i s e l y

t h o s e a s p e c t s o f l a n g u a g e w h i c h f u n c t i o n t o i m p o s e l i n g u i st ic o r d e r a n d d i s c u r s i v e m e a n i n g o n

real it y. T h i s co n s t an t p ro b i n g a t t h e w a y t ex ts co n s t ru c t co h e ren ce an d m ean i n g can b e d em o n s t r a t ed

i n r e l a ti o n t o m a n y a s p e c t s o f h e r w o r k . I n h e r e a r l y n o v e l i s ti c e x p e r i m e n t s i t i s t im e , a s p e c t a n d

m o d a l i t y w h i c h a r e e x p l o r e d . I n h e r ' L i v e l y W o r d s ' p e r i o d , r h y m e , r h y t h m a n d l e x i s a re e x p l o i te d

f o r t h e i r f o r m a l s t a t u s a n d c o h e s i v e s i g n i f i c a n c e . T h e p l a y o n t h e f o r m a l a n d c o n v e n t i o n a l

l i ngui s ti c cor re l a t es of mea nin g i s t oo de l ibera t e an d sus t a ined to be ignored . S t e in appears t o enga ge

i n a sy s t em a t i c ex p l o ra t i o n o r r ev o l t ag a i n s t li n g u i s t i c co n s t r a i n t s , b o t h sy n t ac t i c an d t ex t u a l , an d

i t i s p ro b ab l e t h a t m u ch o f h e r ex p e r i m en t a l w r i t i n g cen t re s , q u i t e d e l ib e ra te l y , o n p ro b i n g t h e w a y s

i n w h i c h l a n g u a g e s e r v e s t o id e n t if y , f ra m e , o r g a n i z e a n d i m p o s e i ts o w n ' s e n s e ' i n t h e r e n d e r i n g

o f e x p e r i e n c e .

S h o u l d o n e t h e r e f o r e a c c e p t S t e i n a s p r e d o m i n a n t l y a li n g u i s ti c e x p l o r e r , a s a c re a t i v e w r i t e r

p r o d u c i n g a p a t h o l o g y o f te x t u a l it y w h i c h f o r e s h a d o w s t h e l in g u i s ti c i n t e re s t i n th e g e n e r a t i o n

o f t e x t t h a t w a s t o e m e r g e h a l f a c e n t u r y l a te r ? I t is , o f c o u r s e , p o s s i b le . H o w e v e r , h e r c o n c e r n




w i t h p e r s o n a l it y , w i t h i d e n t it y a n d w i th e x p l o r i n g a n d r e n d e r i n g s u r f a c e c o n s c i o u s n e s s i s w e l l

a t t es t e d a n d c a n n o t b e i g n o r e d a n d i t s e e m s m o r e l i k e l y th a t b o t h e x p l a n a t i o n s o f h e r w o r k

conve rg e i n he r no t i on o f impe r sona l i t y in w r it ing . Fo r S t e in, t he no t i on o f impe r sona l i t y was bound

u p w i t h h e r c o n c e r n t o a c h i e v e ' e n t i t y ' b u t a v o i d ' i d e n t i t y ' i n w r i ti n g , a n d t hu s w i t h t h e a t te m p t

to eva de t he cons ide r a t i ons o f aud i ence . I n ' Po r t r a i t s and Repe t i t i ons ' ( 1967 , p . 170 ), she r e f e r s

t o t he s ta t e o f ' en t i t y ' a s t he pe r f ec t s ta t e o f wr i t i ng , ' a t the s a m e t ime t a l k ing and l i s t en ing ' . I n

W h a t a r e M a s t e r p i e c e s, s h e e n v i s a g e s t he p r e s e n c e o f th e a u d i e n c e a s p r e v e n ti n g t h e a c h i e v e m e n t

o f en t i ty :

I t i s ve r y i n t e r e s t i ng t ha t l e t t e r wr i t i ng has t he s ame d i f f i cu l t y , t he l e t t e r wr i t e s wha t t he o t he r pe r son i s t o hea r

a n d s o e n ti t y d o e s n o t e x is t t h e re a r e t w o p r e s e n t i n s t e a d o f o n e a n d s o o n c e a g a i n c r e a t io n b r e a k s d o w n . I o n c e

w r o t e i n w r i t i n g T he M ak ing o f Am e r i c ans I w r i t e f o r m y s e l f a n d s t r a n g e r s b u t t h a t w a s m e r e l y a l i t e ra r y

f o r m a l i s m f o r i f I d id w r i t e f o r m y s e l f a n d s t r a n g e r s i f I d i d I w o u l d n o t r e a ll y b e w r i t i n g b e c a u s e a l r e a d y t h e n

i den t i t y wou l d t ake t he p l ace o f en t i t y ( S t e i n , 1940 , pp . 14 7- 148) .

At th i s po in t , I wo uld sugges t , S te in ' s in te res t in linguis t ic representa t ion a nd l inguis t ic subjec t iv i ty

m e r g e . M a n y f e a t u r es o f d i sc o u r s e a r e i n t e r a ct i v e , r e la t i n g t o t he w a y t h e t e x t is f r a m e d b y t h e

wr i t e r f o r the r eade r and , a s a l r eady sugg es t ed , t he se a r e t he fea tu r e s t ha t cons t i t u t e a key a r ea o f

i n t e re s t i n r e la t i o n t o t h e c o n s t ru c t i o n o f s u b j e c t iv i t y in l a n g u a g e ; s o m e t h i n g w h i c h K r i s t e v a ' s

accoun t o f sub j ec t iv i t y does no t r e cogn i ze . I t is no t su rp r is i ng t ha t S t e in ' s conce rn t o evad e i den t it y

a n d a u d i e n c e r e c o g n i t i o n s h o u l d l e a d h e r to f o c u s o n a n d m a n i p u l a t e s o m e o f th e p a r a m e t e r s o f

d i s c o u r s e t h a t s h e id e n t if ie s a s e m b o d y i n g ' a u d i e n c e ' o r , m o r e b r o a d l y , c o n v e n t i o n a l , s o c i a l an d

l i ngu i s t ic r e s t r ic t i ons . An d one m igh t sugge s t t ha t , f o r S t ein , t he ' g i ve nn es s ' o f l angua ge r e s ide s

n o t o n l y i n a n i n h e r i te d s y n t a x b u t i n e v e r y a s p e c t o f d is c u r s i v e o r g a n i z a ti o n a n d c o h e s i o n f r o m

p u n c t u a t i o n t o p a r a g r a p h s .

W ha t i s a l so o f i n t e r e s t i s t ha t, i n he r d i f f e r en t s t y l i s t i c pe r i ods , S t e in exp lo r e s t he t ex tua l i t y

o f d if f e r e n t g e n r e s . I n f a ct , h e r w r i t in g c a n b e s h o w n t o c o n t a i n a w i d e r a n g i n g e x a m i n a t i o n o f

gen re t o t he ex t en t t ha t i t i s pos s ib l e t o a rgue t ha t gen re i s the cen t r a l f ocu s o f he r ana ly s i s . A t

t h e e n d o f t h e l e ct u re , ' W h a t i s E n g l i s h L i t e r a t u r e ' ( 1 9 6 7 , p . 5 6 ), s h e p r o v i d e s a f i n a l s u m m a t i o n

o f h e r t h e m e o f ' G o d a n d M a m m o n ' t h a t c o ul d b e r e a d as a p r o g r a m m e f o r th e i n te r ro g a ti o n o f

gen re :

A n d n o w a b o u t s e r v i n g g o d a n d m a m m o n . T h e w r i te r is to s e r v e g o d o r m a m m o n b y w r i ti n g t he w a y it h a s b e e n

w r i t te n o r b y w r i t i n g t h e w a y i t i s b e i n g w r i t t e n t h a t i s t o s a y t h e w a y t h e w r i t i n g i s w r i t in g . T h a t i s fo r w r i t i n g

t h e d i f fe r e n c e b e t w e e n s e r v i n g g o d a n d m a m m o n . I f y o u w r i t e th e w a y i t h a s a lr e a d y b e e n w r i tt e n t h e w a y w r i t i n g

h a s a l r e a d y b e e n w r i t t e n t h e n y o u a r e s e r v i n g m a m m o n b e c a u s e y o u a r e l i v i n g b y s o m e t h i n g s o m e o n e h a s

a l r e a d y b e e n e a r n i n g o r h a s e a r n e d .

G e n r e s e e m s th e k e y e l e m e n t in p r o d u c i n g t e x ts f o r M a m m o n : ' t h e w a y w r i t in g h a s a l r e a d y b e e n

wr i t t en '. A nd t he no t i on o f ' g en r e ' p rov ide s an econo mica l w ay o f de sc r ib ing t he d ive r s i ty o f S t e in ' s

e x p e r i m e n t a l w r i t i n g , f o r a m a r k e d f e a t u r e o f h e r o u t p u t i s th e r a n g e o f g e n r e s t h a t s h e u t i li z es :

w o r k s o s t e n t a t i o u s l y p r e s e n t e d a s n a r r a t i v e s , p o e m s , l y r i c s , p l a y s , o p e r a s , a u t o b i o g r a p h i e s o r

de t ec t i ve s t o r i e s . She a l so bo r rows gen re s such a s po r t r a i t s and l andscapes f rom the o the r a r t s .

I n i ts e l f , t h i s range i s no t r em arka b l e f o r an expe r ime n ta l mo de rn i s t wr i t e r ; it cou ld b e a rgued t ha t

the cha l lenging of gener ic co nvent ions , l i t e ra ry form s and aes the t ic f ram ing i s a charac te r is t ic fea ture

o f m o d e r n i s m . B u t S t e in d o e s s h o w a n o b s e s s i v e c o n c e r n w i t h g en r e . H e r t i tl e s a re o f t e n

s u g g e s t i v e ; f e w a r e w i t h o u t g e n e r i c r e s o n a n c e : The Au tob iog raph y o f A l i c e B . Toklas; A N ove l

o f Thank You; Ida a Nove l ; Everyb ody ' s Au tob iography ; Wars I have Seen ; S tanzas i n Med i ta t i on ;

H o w W r i t in g i s W r it te n ; T h e G e o g r a p h i c a l H i s t o r y o f A m e r i c a o r t he R e l a t io n o f H u m a n N a t u r e

t o t h e H u m a n M i n d ; T h e M a k i n g o f A m e r i c a n s ; B l o o d o n t h e D i n i n g R o o m F lo or .



340 ALISON TATE

The uncertain relationship between the titles and the works so entitled points to the fact that

Stein is concerned to probe and subvert generic conventions. This discontinuity has been noted

before and has been considered a major flaw in her work; Bridgman (1970, p. 201), for example,complains:

• . , a s i s t h e r u le w i t h G e r t r u d e S t e in , t he l b r m s h e c h o s e t o a p p r o x i m a t e . . , s l o w l y b e g a n t o f ra y , t h e n d e t e ri o r a t e

• . . B e c a u s e s h e c o u l d n o t o r w o u l d n o t s u s t a i n h e r o r i g i n a l f o r m , s h e r a r e l y c a r r i e d h e r w o r k t h r o u g h t o a p r e d i c t a b l e

e n d .

Bridgman assumes that such effects results from Stein 's inability to utilize generic conventions;

however, one suspects that her 'failures' are too consistent to be credible. Rather, I would suggest

that many of Stein's linguistic dislocations can be associated with the exploration of the way

particular discourses within language function to organize and construct subjectivity and reality.

It seems that her work functions to explore key aspects of the generic construction of reality,

concentrating on key formal features of genre related to discourse organization, formal linguistic

markers and markers of connec tivity--he r own analysis o f the features of language which frame

reality and experience.

C o n c l u s i o n

The analysis offered above does not attempt to offer a Kristevan reading of Stein's work. This

may be possible although I do not see what it would look like. DeKoven's solution to the problem

of how to use Kristeva's work to illuminate Stein necessitated her gesture towards Chomsky. This

move, while not rewarding in itself, does represent an insight into Stein's own concerns with the

signifying qualities of linguistic structure, including not only syntax and lexis but a whole range

of other, associated textual cues. It also illuminates some odd continuities between Stein and Kristevawho share a fascination with the propositional, referential aspects of language and in subverting

them. What is different, however, is that it is Stein who seems much more conscious of the

meaningfulness of the textual, discursive, interactional features of different discourses and Stein

who, rather than accepting the inherited ('written') force of formal features of language within

particular genres and discourses, seems to tease and play with them, testing out the extent to which

their presence can guarantee the effects that are traditionally promised.

NOTES

' E x p l a n a t i o n s o f t he d i s i n t e g r a t i o n o f s u b j e c t i v i t y in m o d e r n i s m h a v e l o n g b e e n s o u g h t i n t e r m s o f ' a l t e r n a t i v e l o g i c s ' :e . g . ' a n a l y s i s b y c o n t r o l l e d u n r e a s o n ' ( K e n n e r , 1 9 6 8, p. 2 3 4 ) , " t he m u s i c o f i d e a s ' ( R i c h a r d s , 1 9 6 8 , p . 5 3 ) .

I n c o m p a r i s o n , i n K r i s t e v a ' s l a t e r Lxlnguage. the Unknown (1989), p s y c h o a n a l y s i s i s tr e a t e d a s a f o r m o f d i s c o u r s e . T h e

s e c t i o n o n p o e t i c s t a k e s a f i r m l y J a k o b s o n i a n p e r s p e c t i v e a l t h o u g h i t e x t e n d s h i s d e s c r i p t i o n o f t he p o e t i c f u n c t i o n o f l a n g u a g e

t o a r g u e t h a t , i n c e r t a i n c a s e s , t h e s e a r c h f o r t h e a u t o n o m y o f t h e s i g n i f i e r is t a k e n s o f a r th a t t h e p o e t i c t e x t c o n s t i t u t e s

a n e w l a n g u a g e , ' l e s s o b e d i e n t t o t h e r ul e s o f a g r a m m a r t h a n t o th e u n i v e r s a l l a w s ( c o m m o n t o a l l l a n g u a g e s ) o f t h e

u n c o n s c i o u s ' ( p . 2 9 0 ) .

T h e E n g l i s h t r a n s l a t i o n s o f K r i s t e v a s y s t e m a t i c a l l y e m p l o y t h e c o n v e n t i o n o f t he u n i v e r s a l ' h e ' f o r t he s i n g u l a r s u b j e c t s

o f n o n - s p e c i f i c g e n d e r , p r e s u m a b l y w i t h K r i s t e v a ' s p e r m i s s i o n . T h e c o n l u s i o n s t h a t m a y t h u s e n s u e i n d i s c u s s i o n s o f g e n d e r e d

s u b j e c t i v i t y a r e i n t e r e s t i n g t o c o n t e m p l a t e .

4 P a y n e ( 1 9 9 3 ) c o n v i n c i n g l y d e m o n s t r a t e s t h a t K r i s t e v a l o c a t e s t h e a c t o f ' p o s i t i n g ' , t h e t h e t i c , i n t h e s e m i o t i c ( i n

H u s s e r l ' s t e r m s : i n d i c a t i v e b u t n o t e x p r e s s i v e , i .e . p r o p o s i t i o n a l ) .

A l s o o f t e n i n c l u d e d i n p s y c h o l o g i c a l tr e a t m e n t s o f n o n - v o c a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n , w h i c h e n t a i l s t h e s a m e c o m m u n i c a t i v e

c l a i m ." A n d s i m i l a r l y , i t is n o t a b l e t h a t Language, the Unknown h a s n o s e c t i o n s o n p r a g m a t i c s o r s o c i o l i n g u i s t i c s ; t h e s e c t i o n

o n g e s t u r e d e a l s m a i n l y w i t h a h i g h l y s tr u c t ur a l f o r m o f ' k i n e s i c s ' , p r e s e n t e d a s ' a n a u t o n o m o u s s t r a t um i n t he

c o m m u n i c a t i o n n e t w o r k '.

: S e e S t e i n e r ' s i n t r o d u c t i o n t o t he V i r a g o e d i t i o n o f Lectures in America ( 1 9 8 8 ) w h i c h p o i n t s t o a n e a r l i e r ' s m a l l f lu r r y "

o f p u b l i c a t i o n s o n S t e i n i n t h e 5 0 s a n d e a r l y 7 0 s b u t a t t r i b u t e s th e i n t e r e s t in h e r w o r k i n t h e 8 0 s t o f e m i n i s t c r i t i c s . N e u m a n

a n d N a d e l ( 1 9 8 8 ) d a t e t h e r e s u r g e n c e o f i n t e r e s t i n S t e i n ' s w o r k t o t h e 1 9 7 0 s .




R E F E R E N C E S

B A S S O , K . 1 9 7 0 ' T o g i v e u p o n w o r d s ' : s i l e n c e i n w e s t e r n A p a c h e c u l t u re . S o u t h w e s t e r n J o u r n a l o f A n t h ro p o l o g y 2 6 ,

2 1 3 - 2 3 0 .

B A U M A N , R . 1 98 3 L e t Y o u r W o rd s b e F e w : S y m b o l i sm o f S p e a k in g a n d S i le n c e A m o n g S e v e n t e e n th - c e n t ur y Q u a k e r s.

C a m b r i d g e U n i v e r s i t y P r e ss , C a m b r i d g e .

B R I D G M A N , R. 1 97 0 G e r t r u d e S t e i n i n P i e c e s . O x f o r d U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , N e w Y o r k .

C A M E R O N , D . 1 99 2 F e m i n i s m a n d L i n g u i s t i c T h e o r y , 2 n d e d n . M a c m i l l an , L o n d o n .

C A R A M E L L O , C . 1 9 8 8 G e r t r u d e S t e in a s e x e m p l a r y t h e o r i s t. I n N e u m a n , S . a n d N a d e l , 1 . B . ( E d s) , G e r t r u d e S t e i n a n d

t h e M a k i n g o f L i t e ra t u r e , p p . 1 - 7 . M a c m i l l a n , L o n d o n .

C O X , C . B . a n d H I N C H C L I F F E , A . P. ( E d s ) 1 96 8 T . S . E l i o t : Th e Wa s t e La n d : a C a seb o o k . M a c m i l l a n , L o n d o n .

D E K O V E N , M . 1 9 83 A D i f f eren t La n g u a g e: G er t ru d e S t e in ~"Experimenta l Wri t ing . Unive rs i ty o f Wiscons in P res s , Mad ison .

D O D G E , M . 1 9 1 3 S p e c u l at i o n o r p o s t - i m p r e s s i o n i s m i n p r o s e . A r t s a n d D e c o r a t io n 3 , 1 7 2 - 1 7 4 .

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Alison Tate-A Semblance of Sense, Julia Kristeva's & Gertrude Stein's Analysis of Language

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