Gestrude Stein Biography
Uploaded by bdogg on Apr 25, 2007
Gestrude Stein Biography
The fifth and youngest child of the Daniel and Amelia Stein family, Gertrude Stein was born on February 3, 1874 into upper middle class surroundings in Allegheny, Pennsylvania.
When she was 3 years old the family moved to Vienna and then on to Paris before returning to American in late 1878
Her father moved the family to Oakland, California soon after their return. Her brother Leo, 2 years her senior, and Gertrude found like interest and became close allies through much of their early lives.
Gertrude was 8 years old when she made her first attempt at writing. Reading became an obsession for her beginning with Shakespeare and books on natural history. Gertrude’s love affair with words would later reveal itself in her own works. In school she was fascinated with the structuring of sentences
“I suppose other things may be more exciting to others…I like the feeling the everlasting feeling of sentences as they diagram themselves.”
In 1891 her father died suddenly, and the oldest brother Michael assumed the position of earning a living for the family. The Stein family moved to San Francisco where Gertrude became intrigued by the theater and opera. In 1892, she moved to Baltimore to live with a wealthy aunt.
Gertrude entered Radcliffe College in 1893. As a student she developed a special philosophical relationship with her teacher, William James.
On a particularly nice spring day during final exams in James’ course she wrote at the top of her paper… “Dear Professor James, I am sorry but I really do not feel a bit like an examination paper in philosophy today.”
The next day she received a postcard from James saying, “I understand perfectly how you feel I often feel like that myself.” And then gave her the highest mark in his course.
She became more interested in philosophy and psychology courses and then she decided on a career in medicine and enrolled at Johns Hopkins University. She later studied medicine in Europe and eventually dismissed the whole area.
She returned to America to live with friends in New York. It was here that she wrote her first novel “Q.E.D”. It would, for some reason, be lost for 30 years and not be published until 4 years...