The Myth of Modernism Revisited: Gertrude Stein as the Symbol of Modernism in Contemporary Fiction
The Myth of Modernism Revisited: Gertrude Stein as the Symbol of Modernism in Contemporary Fiction

Summary/Abstract: Gertrude Stein (1874–1946) was one of the most important figuresof Modernism. Her texts, as well as her personality, attracted the attention of hercontemporaries and continue to inspire researchers and authors. The aim of thearticle is to outline the steps of revisiting the myth of Modernism (GertrudeStein). This article focuses on two contemporary novels that discuss the lifeof this significant modernist author: Monique Truong’s The Book of Salt (2003)and Hassan Najmi’s Gertrude (2014). Both novels directly and indirectly relateto Gertrude Stein’s The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas (1932). The social contextof the contemporary novels is based on the theme of the “otherness,” a significantissue in the Stein-Truong-Najmi paradigm, which involves the readers in thegame of allusions. Both contemporary authors pay tribute to Gertrude Stein, herliterary salon and her “myth” by emphasizing the importance of Stein’s influence on modernist culture. Literary, historical and social determinants that havebeen chosen for this comparative analysis provide the discussion points on theeffect of modernism on contemporary fiction, which very often displays ratherturbulent coexistence of different cultures and civilizations.

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