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Gertrude Stein's Otherness

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The Other infiltrates our existence to the point at which we question ourselves about our very own Otherness ,escaping the self is impossible and in that sense, we can never know the other and perceive their universe from their point of view. Othering is due less to the dissimilarity of the other than to the point of view of the person who perceives the Other as such. In this context, Otherness is defined as the unknown, as the opposite to oneself or as the outsider marked by outward signs like race and gender. As such, Otherness has also been associated with marginalized people, those who by their difference from the leading group, have been rejected, casted away and robbed of their voice in the social, religious, and political world. The theory of the Other has been widely debated in the arenas of philosophy (e.g., Levinas, Sartre,) also, to a minor extent in the psychological fields (e.g., Lacan) but it remained quite a new subject to sociological researches. The original notion of the Other was an effective one, that considered it essential for the formation of one’s …show more content…

Rather than obey to the tenets of traditional poetry or prose writing, Stein paved the way for the modernist school, combining unique syntactical structure with contrasting elements of diction. It is no secret that Gertrude Stein found a companion and partner in Alice B. Toklas. Their relationship, unconventionally apparent for the time, was the inspiration for a number of Stein's works. Critic Elizabeth Fifer comments on sexuality in Stein's work, saying, "The joyfulness and humour of her treatment of sexual themes breaks down social and linguistic barriers. The shock of juxtaposition of her unusual style forces Stein, as an observer and participant, into new and unexpected perspectives”. She reversed the roles and broke all taboos about her sexuality in her

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