Fading: A Way.

Gertrude Stein's Sources for "Three Lives"

Author(s): Lawren Farber
Source: Journal of Modern Literature, Vol. 5, No. 3 (Sep., 1976), pp. 463-480
Published by: Indiana University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3831078
Accessed: 22-01-2016 21:59 UTC

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/
info/about/policies/terms.jsp

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content
in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.
For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Indiana University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Modern Literature.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 130.113.111.210 on Fri, 22 Jan 2016 21:59:30 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
LAWREN FARBER
SEATTLE,WASHINIGTON

Fading: A Way.
Gertrude Stein's Sources
for Three Lives

FORTHE BASIS
of her Three Lives Gertrude Stein has chosen three
historicallives at randomand faded their particulardetails (alongwith
details fromother lives)untilthey are almostunrecognizablein orderto
show the tenacity of psychological factors as they are present from
generationto generation.Eventhoughfaded away, the originallives are
always "present"just as our forefatherfsfeaturesand spiritsare present
from generationto generation.
As with most of Stein'screations,everythingin her ThreeLivestakes
on an interlockingintersectingsignificanceas it progresseseverything.
ThreeLiveschartsthe course of just how Stein firsttested the limitsof
narrative,which she defined in hersecond Narrationiectureas follows:
Narrativeconcerns itselfwith what is happeningall the time, historycon-
cerns itselfwith what happensfromtime to time. Andthat is perhapswhat
is the matterwith historyand that is what is perhapsthe matterwith narra-
tive.l

Stein'stheoriesof historyof languageor of narrationare all exemplified

in each "life" of the book, but each theory takes on a greaterweight,
depending upon the section being examined. Thus Three Lives is an
amalgamof historyand language,an expression- an art embodying
everything. History, allegory, impressionistic-language-imagescon-
stantlyintersectin each life. Theiremploymentformsa circle, a Cubist

' GertrudeStein,"Lecture3," Narration (GreenwoodPress,1935), p. 34.

463

This content downloaded from 130.113.111.210 on Fri, 22 Jan 2016 21:59:30 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
464 LAWREN FARBER

helix pivoting on a theological interpretationof history all focused

about the most centraland brilliantof the lives, Melanctha.
The first "intersection"relies heavily on allegory. The Good Anna
uses the greatestnumberof historicalsources and allegoricalsleights-
of-hand as a means of firmlyestablishingthe bed-rock thesis of the
entirework:what is the state of grace in the modernworld?The Good
Anna establishesthis question by restructuring the symbolic aspects of
historicalsources by means of Germanetymology.While this is main-
tained in Melanctha, the implementationof allegoryand historyfor the
purposes of narrativehave been muted, reduced, to a more free-
wheeling experimentationwith words as painting.Melanctha abstracts
the Englishlanguagefurther,employingthe emotionalimpactof English
as paintersuse colors. Melanctha is the writer'spalette. Thisfadingor
reduction from intricate specific historical analogues to abstracted
language-impressionsis continued in The Gentle Lena, where the re-
duction itself becomes conclusion. Stein puts our eye to an elaborate
sand castle, slowly seeps the sea through,and leaves us watchingthe
recedingtide.
The entirework'scentralintellectualfocal point turnsupon theology
or theological history. Stein sharpens this focus by employing the
greatestpossible numberof religious-historical figuresso as to employ
the life-lessonthey have come to represent.Buta moreessentialreason
for the intricateuse of some two thousandyearsof religioushistorycan
be found in Stein'sthoughtson the Old Testamentas narrative.
In a kindof a way what has made the Old Testamentsuch permanently
good readingis thatreallyin a way in the Old Testamentwritingtherereally
was not any such thingtherewas not reallyany successionof anythingand
really in the Old Testamentthere is really no sentence existing and no
paragraphing,think about this thing, think if you liave not really been
knowingthis thingand then let us go on tellingaboutwhat paragraphsand
sentences have been what prose and poetryhas been. So then in the Old
Testamentwritingthere is reallyno actualconclusionthatanythingis pro-
gressingthat one thing is succeeding anotherthing, that anythingin that
sense in the sense of succeedinghappeningis a narrativeof anything,but
most writingis based on this thing most writinghas been a real narrative
writinga telling of the story of anythingin the way that thing has been
happeningand now everythingis not that thing there is at presentnot a
sense of anythingbeing successivelyhappening,movingis in every direc-
tion beginningand ending is not reallyexciting,anythingis anything,any-
thing is happeningand so reallyand truly is there any sentence and any
paragraphing is thereproseand poetryas the same thingor differentthings
is there now any narrativeof any successivething.2

2 Stein, "Lecture 2," p. 19.

This content downloaded from 130.113.111.210 on Fri, 22 Jan 2016 21:59:30 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
STEIN'S THREELIVES 465

Thisexplainsthe difficultyof approachingthe plethoraof statementsto

be found in Three Lives: that ideas have no succession while narration
has come to have succession. Therefore,Three Lives is an experimentin
integratingrandom ideas on the state of grace in the world Stein saw
with what has come to be the regimentedartof narrative.
The resultof this new conceptualizationof narrativeis feeling. The
feeling, the high emotion generated by the entire work, washes us in
reverie.It makes us weep inside and yet we know not why. Such emo-
tions cause us to carefullycomb each paragraphfor clues as to why we
feel so much more rawvisceralemotion than is warrantedby the rather
sparse linear plot. We thereforebegin to probe the heavy preponder-
ance of Germanwords used in The Good Anna. Thesewords ead us to
historicalfigures,and by the end of the firstlife we find thatour focus is
where the focus of historycame to rest in 1900. Then,the world'sfocus
was climaxing towards German domination. Stein's continued im-
plementationof Germansource materialthroughoutThree Lives forces
the reader's mind to sit firmly on the modern German state. She is
constantlyforcingus to examine and re-examinethroughthe symbolism
of Germanand Englishetymology,throughthe randomimplementation
of world religioushistory,throughminutedetails in the threevery linear
plots, and throughthe productof all this- the magnetic,revolutionary
conceptualizationof history/narrative on the one essential question:
what is the state of grace in the modernworld?
The Good Anna beginsthis examinationof gracethroughthe allegor-
ical use of the Germanlanguage.The lastnamesof almosteverycharac-
ter in The Good Anna are a combination of German words which
expresseach character'splace in the work. Dr. Shonjen is a translitera-
tion of two Germanwords, "schon" and "schone." "Schon" means
"nice, fine, lovely," and "schone" means to "take care of (look after)
something;to treatsomethingwith considerationor care." Thisdefines
both Dr. Shonjen's characterand Anna's relationshipto him. When
Annadecides she mustleave his employ, it is because of his marriageto
Miss Weingartner "weine" to "weep or mourn," "gartner,""a gar-
dener":a new whiningcaretakerhas supercededAnna's place.
Anna'sbest friend,Mrs.Lehntman,comes fromthe German"lehen,"
"lehn" and/or "lehne." "Lehen" is "a fief," "lehn" an "oath of al-
legiance," and "lehne" a "supportor prop, a slope or declivity."Mrs.
Lehntmanis Anna's supportthroughoutthe book, just as Anna is Mrs.
Lehntman'sfief.
Mrs. Lehntman needed Anna just as much as Anna needed Mrs.
Lehntman,but Mrs.Lehntmanwas more readyto riskAnna'sloss, and so

This content downloaded from 130.113.111.210 on Fri, 22 Jan 2016 21:59:30 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
466 LAWREN FARBER

the good Annagrew alwaysweaker in her powerto control.

In friendship,power always has its downwardcurve. One's strengthto
managerisesalwayshigheruntiltherecomes a time one does not win, and
thoughone may not reallylose, still fromthe time that victoryis not sure,
one's power slowly ceases to be strong.3

YetMrs.Lehntman'smysteriousentanglementwith the unnameddoctor

and herworkwith waywardwomen causes Bridgepointto whisperand
hint at a moraldeclivity.
Anna'sown last name comes fromthe German"federn,""to fit with
springs,to spring;to smother someone in feathers;to be elastic, re-
silient,flexible."This is an apt descriptionof the trueAnna,smothering
everyone with her care yet somehow more resilientto change herself
than capable of producingchange in others.
The GermansourceforMrs.Drehten'sname also aptlydescribesher:
"Drehten,""a revolvingdoor."
The Christiannamesalso describethe trueinnercharacters.The three
servant girls, the Wadsmithchildren, and the Lehntmanchildren all
have namesthatdescribethe qualitiesof their Butit is the Chris-
souis.4

tian meaningof the most importantcharacters'names in thisfirstlifethat

forms the transitionfrom allegory to history as literarysymbol. For
example, in the firstlife, Anna is the active agent, the busy doer, yet no
one reallyand trulylistensto her. Her effect is really none at all. Miss
Mathilda,however, says littleand in termsof action does nothing,and
yet everybodylistensto her and everythingbeginsto change at herwill.
The opening paragraphtells us this.
The tradesmenof Bridgepointlearned to dread the sound of "Miss
Mathilda,"for with that name the good Annaalwaysconquered.5

Why?Why should such a busy characteras Anna have no effect and

3 GertrudeStein,Three Lives .(NewDirections,1933), p. 54.

CharlotteM. Yonge,in History of Christian Names (London,1863), gives the followingmeaningsfor these
4

Christiannames.(Thelanguagethe meaningis derivedfromis given in parentheses.)

Molly(Heb.)"bitter,"I, p. 79.
Lizzie(Scot.,Heb.)"God'soath,"I, p. 91.
Sallie(Eng.,Heb.)"princess,"I, p. 48.
Jane(Eng.,Heb.)"Graceof the Lord,"I, p. 112.
Edgar(Eng.,Teut.)"happyspear,"II,p. 342.
Julia(Eng.,Lat.)"downybearded,beardless,"I, p. 317.
Willie (Eng.,Teut.)"helmetof resolution,"II,p. 228.
Johnny(Eng.,Heb.)"the Lord'sgrace,"I, p. l l l.
5 Stein,Three Lives, p. 11.

This content downloaded from 130.113.111.210 on Fri, 22 Jan 2016 21:59:30 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 N'S THREELIVES
STEI 467

such a sublimelysublimatedcharacteras Miss Mathildabe the cause of

everything? The answer rests in the names and in their historical
analogues.
"Anna"is a name for "gracet'in almost every Europeanlanguage.6
Anna, gracet needs people, but the people of Bridgepointdon't need
grace.
'iMathilda"comes fromthe Teutonicfor "main heroine"or "mighty
heroine."7With the elusive characterizationof Miss Mathilda,Stein's
Germandictionarybegins to coalesce into a Germanreligioushistory.
The tenth-centuryGermanSt. Mathildawas a woman of deep religious
upbringingwho marriedHenrythe Fowler,Kingof Saxony. She lived
more like a nun than a queen and was reve.redby everyone at the royal
court everyone except her sons. While her husbandneverchecked or
questioned her liberalalmsgivingand extremeacts of charity,upon his
death her two rivalsons always accosted her to be a bit more frugal.In
fact, that was all they could agree on, as her preferredson, Henrythe
Quarrelsome,repeatedlyendeavoredto revoltagainsthis elder brother,
Otto the Great.St. Mathildatook solace in that they agreed on some-
thing,even if only in her persecution,and when hersons complainedof
her using her pensiontoo freely,she renouncedit and shut herselfaway
in the convent she founded.The harpingof St. Mathildatssons explains
the scolding of Anna.The cloisteringof St. Mathildaalso gives us a key
to one perplexingaurain The Good Anna. Withonly minorexceptions,
this is a story exclusively about women. The reiterationof titles (Miss
Mathilda,Mrs. Lehntman,Mrs. Drehten,thegood Anna)sets an uncon-
scious tone in the readermuch like the conscious thoughtsarousedby
or "saint."
titles such as "sister,t'@@mother,"
St. Mathildawas widely known for her exemplaryChristianlife and
also for being clairvoyant:predictingher husband'sdeatht her son's
(Henrythe Quarrelsome),and hergrandsonts(the Bishopof Mainz).But
the most fascinatingaspect of this saint is her historicalsignificance
ratherthan her more minorreligioussignificance.She was the motherof
two headsof Germanstates,one of whom became Otto the Great,Holy
Roman Emperor.She was also the maternalgrandmotherof Hugh
Capet, head of the Capetian line of Frenchkings. Not only has Stein

6 YongeRI, pp. 102-106.

7 Yonger 1l, pp. 415416.

This content downloaded from 130.113.111.210 on Fri, 22 Jan 2016 21:59:30 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 468 LAWREN FARBER

chosen a most exemplaryChristian,but also the fountainheadof tenth-

centuryWesternEuropeannationsas a charactersource.8
Bothas a characterin the novel and as a personain history,Mathilda
is a silentforce.The personin the best positionto do something
greatfor
Christianityand the world chooses to remaina mute recluse.
The measure of Miss Mathilda'splace in the novel as the main
heroinecomes with anotherexplorationinto "grace"or Anna.St. Anna,
the grandmother of Jesus, had been publicly reproached for
her
childlessness.When it was revealedto herthat she would beara child,
she promisedit to God.9Butthe dedicatedMaryof Christianityis a
large
passive creaturein The Good Anna.
Anna heard that Miss Mathildawas a great big woman, not so
big
perhapsas her MissMary,still she was big, and the good Annaliked
better so. She did not like them thin and small and active and them
looking in and always prying.10 always

MissMaryis also not Anna'schild. LikeMissMathilda,Mary

Wadsmith
is an employerof grace. ButAnna-doeshave surrogatechildren:
Baby,
Peter,and Rags. These dogs prove the key to the significance of
the
message of The Good Anna. Anna's fondest pet is Baby, a possible
derivative from the Greek "Barbaros" (Babs or Babe) meaning
"stranger" and also fromthe Hebrewfor "God's Oath.''1l God's oath
hereis blind and decrepit,a true Struldbrug.
Thereis nothingmoredrearythan old age in animals.Somehowit is all
wrong that they should have grey hair and witheredskin, and blind
eyes, and decayed and uselessteeth. An old man or an old woman old
almost
always has some tie that seems to bind them to the younger, realer
They have childrenor the remembranceof old duties, but a dog that'slife.
and so cut off from all its world of struggle,is like a dreary, old
deathless
Struldbrug,the drearydraggeron of death throughlife.l2

TheStruldbrugsare the freak immortalsthat serve as the focus

for
Swift'siecture on aging and death in Part111,chapterX, of Gulliver's
Travels. They are doomed to never d ie. Instead, they lose thei r
memories and functions,becomingtawdry,pitiablethingsjust as Baby
does.

8 HerbertThurston, S.J.,and Donald Attwater,eds., Butler's Livesof

the Saints (Kenedy, 1962), 1,pp. 592-593.
9Thurston, 111,pp. 189-190.
'° Stein, Three Lives, p. 58.
Yonge, 1, pp. 26>261.
12 Stein, Three Lsves, p. 74.

This content downloaded from 130.113.111.210 on Fri, 22 Jan 2016 21:59:30 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
STEIN'STHREELIVES 469

Thisleaves Ragsand Peter.Thename"Rags"isfromthe Teutonic word

forjudgment.13"Peter"is fromthe Latinfor "stone"fromthe consecra-
tion of St. Peter:"Thouart Petros(a stone), and on this Petra(a rock)I
will build my church.''14In this madrigalof Christianhistory,as Stein
interpretsit at the turnof the century,we see the supremematriarchof
Europe,St. Mathilda,who refusedto interferewith her Germansons'
sins of state, again remaininga mute force, again refusingto intercede
with the sins of society. We also see "the foolish young man Peter,"
Stein'sallegoricalsymbol for the RomanCatholicChurchin the twen-
tieth century:
Peter was a very useless creature,a foolish, silly, cherished, coward
male. Itwas wild to see him rushup and down in the back yard,barking
and bouncingat the wall, when therewas some dog out beyond,butwhen
the very littlestone there was got inside of the fence and only looked at
Peter,Peterwould retireto hisAnnaand blothimselfout betweenherskirts.
When Peterwas left downstairsalone, he howled. "I am a.llalone," he
wailed, and then the good Anna would have to come and fetch him up.
Once when Annastayeda few nightsin a house not faraway, she had to
carryPeterall the way, for Peterwas afraidwhen he found himselfon the
streetoutside his house. Peterwas a good sized creatureand he sat there
and he howled, and the good Anna carriedhim all the way in her own
arms.He was a cowardwas this Peter,but he had kindly,gentleeyes and a
prettycollie head, and his furwas very thickand white and nice when he
was washed.And then Peterneverstrayedaway, and he looked out of his
nice eyes and he liked it when you rubbedhim down, and he forgotyou
when you went away, and he barkedwhenevertherewas any noise.
When he was a little pup he had one nightbeen put into the yardand
that was all of his origin she knew. The good Anna loved him well and
spoiled him as a good germanmotheralways does her son.15

The obvious message from all this is that people with power should
exercise it. Ignoringareasof influencecasts gravedoubtson the temper
of one's moral fiber. Accordingly,Miss Mathilda,the power figure of
The Good Anna, is bequeathed"judgmentt'and @'the church." Unfor-
tunately, Miss Mathildais on vacation, and these wvo precious com-
moditieshave been left in the custodianshipof Mrs.Drehten,the revol-v-
ing door, totally incapableof properlyemployingeitherfor the benefit
of the modernworld.
"Dear Miss Mathilda,"wrote Mrs. Drehten,"Miss Annie died in the
hospitalyesterdayaftera hardoperation.She was talkingabout you and

13 Yonge, 11,pp. 37X375.

14 Yonge, 11,pp. 244-245

15 Stein, Three Lives, pp. 67-68.

This content downloaded from 130.113.111.210 on Fri, 22 Jan 2016 21:59:30 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
470 LAWRE
N FARBER

Doctor and Miss MaryWadsmithall the time. She said she hc)pedyou
would take Peter and the little Rags to keep when you came back to
Americato live. I will keep them for you here MissMathilda,Miss Annie
died easy, Miss Mathilda,and sent you her love.''16

Thus, we are left in the limbo that hovered over pre-WorldWar I

Europeand America.While we would expect the historicalallegoriesto
continue into Melanctha at a similarbreakneckpace, the contraryis
true. The emotional intensity,if possible, is increased. To do so, the
plethora of sources had to be reduced to better concentrate Stein's
narrativeforces. As stated previously,to Stein, narrativeis largerthan
history,and so the narrativein Three Lives leaps beyondthe particulars
in historyto the larger,more importantlessons looming behind history.
We are still grapplingwith the state of grace in the world, but Stein
chooses no longer to illustrateit so specifically.The chess board has
been cleared of pawns.
Thusthe narrativeof the second life is far more impressionistic.First
we delve deeper into the limitsof language.The languageof Melanctha
has increased in emotional intensity.The images have become more
perplexing.While a greatdeal of this intensityis attributableto the great
numberof Biblical allusions, a very large part is due to Melanctha's
constructionas an impressionisticpaintingof words. Negro society is
paintedin thick impasto,and every characterbreaksthe bondsof color,
changing hues with moods much like the walls of Stein'satelierbeing
scanned by the eye. The first characteris pure color: Rose. She is a
mysteriousrose, a black raisedby whites. Mr. Herbert,blackand pow-
erful, and pale yellow Mrs. Herbertproduce a half-whitepower of a
woman, who is somehow always blue.
Melanctha is aimostall paletteknife:quick richcuts of Negrocolor in
Bridgepoint.Not only is this a brilliantportraitof Negrosocietytbutthe
languageemployed sings and dances beforethe eye. Yet there is a far
deeper messagewithinthe thick impasto.The message is revealedin the
sourcesfor MelancthaHerbert'sname. Melanctha is the firstreduction.
In this second life, Melanctha is the only characterwith significant
source materialattachedto her name. InThe Good Anna everyonewas
a littlepartof a puzzle. With Melanctha,Stein has bittenoff one large
piece of historywhole and reshapedit for her own purposes.

16 Stein, Three LBves,p. 82.

This content downloaded from 130.113.111.210 on Fri, 22 Jan 2016 21:59:30 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
STEIN'STHREELIVES 471

The firstsource for Melanctha'sname is the GermantheologianPhil-

lip Melanchthon.His originalname was PhillipSchwarzerd,but it was
the custom to change a scholar's name as a prize for achievement in
classic studies, so his mother's uncle (also his teacher) changed his
nameto Melanchthon,which isa Greektranslationof Schwarzerd,"Black
Earth."The firsttendril in Stein's trinityof grace in Germanyand the
world has been attached.17A great partof Melanctha'sallegoricalsig-
nificance is derived from PhillipMelanchthon'shistoricalposition as
second to Lutherin leading the Reformation.PhillipMelanchthon,the
scribe of the Reformation,a chief theological thinkerand reformerof
sixteenth-centuryGermany,has been abstractedinto MelancthaHer-
bert,". . . always seeking restand quiet, and always she could only find
new ways to be in trouble.''18
The preponderanceof Melanchthon'stheological writingsdealt with
the place of good works in a Christianlife and their relationshipto
salvation.He also focused deeply on the sacramentsof the Churchand
forged majordoctrinalstatementsthat became importantfacets of the
Reformeddoctrine.19As if this succession in theological thoughtwere
not enough to link Melanctha's message with that of The Good Anna,
Melanctha's last name can be traced to St. Heribert,Archbishopof
Cologne during Otto's reign. St. Heribertwas a man of charity and
humilityand also a man of state (Otto'schancellor).He was renowned
for neverallowing his stateoffice to interferewith his Churchdutiesand
was particularlyrenownedfor his positionas peacemaker,sermonizer,
and ministerto the sick: a low profile Becket,capable of walkingthe
line between Churchand state.20Stein's representationof this world's
good working Christianis introducednursingfriends and family into
and out of this world, yet none of them are thankful. Her care,
concern-her true Christianspirit remainsvirtuallyignoredor even-
tually reproached. Even her lover, the only characterdeveloped in
Melanctha as being more genuinely good and kind, eventually rejects
her (althoughthis takes on a greatersignificanceafterwe analyze the
characterof JeffersonCampbelI).
Yet, somehow, in reading these historicalanalogues, they do not

17 "Melanchthon,Phillip,"Encyclopedia Britannica (Chicago,l9il), XV,pp. 12>121.

18 Stein,Three Lives, p. 89.
19 Encyc/opedia Britannica, pp. 120-121.
20 Thurston,I, pp. 60S610.

This content downloaded from 130.113.111.210 on Fri, 22 Jan 2016 21:59:30 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
472 LAWREN FARBER

seem quite enough to determinethe messageof Melanctha. Mostof the

plot's "action" in Melanctha deals with worldly love and not Godly
love. Melancthaseems to be more concerned with an importantpara-
graphfrom The Good Anna than it does with theological reformsand
historicalparallels.
In friendship,power always has its downwardcurve. One's strengthto
managerisesalwayshigheruntiltherecomes a time one does notwin, and
thoughone may not reallylose, still fromthe time that victoryis not sure,
one's power slowly ceases to be strong.It is only in a close tie such as
marriage,thatinfluencecan mountandgrowalwaysstrongerwiththe years
and nevermeet with a decline. Itcan only happenso when thereis no way
to escape.2l

As Stein puts it:

Whydid the subtle,intelligent,attractive,halfwhite girlMelancthaHer-
bertlove and do for and demean herselfin serviceto this coarse, decent,
sullen,ordinary,blackchildishRose,andwhy was this unmoral,promiscu-
ous shiftlessRosemarried,and that'snot so commoneither,to a good man
of the negroes,while Melancthawith her white blood and attractionand
her desire for a rightpositionhad not yet been reallymarried.22

The answer, in part, is that MelancthaHerbert'sname is not quite

pure.Itis neitherMelanchthonnor Heribert.Thereexistsanothersource
for hernamethatallaysa largeportionof the seeminglydisparatenature
of Melanctha'ssource names and what we feel to be a centraltheme
in Melanctha.
John Dryden'splay "Marriagea la Mode"exploresthe theme of true
love and the sacramentof marriage.The piot of the play is of the usual
incrediblyembroiled Restorationtype and the subject matteris a tan-
dem treatmentof heroic tragedy and comedy of manners.One plot
explores the frivolityof court life; the other the playful seventeenth-
centuryattitudetoward marriedlove.
There'ssomethingof antipathyin the word Marriageto the natureof love;
marriageisthe mereladleof affection,thatcools itwhere'tisneverso fiercely
boilingover.23
The messageof the play, while germaineto the plot of Melanctha, is far
less significant than the utterances of one of Dryden's characters,

21 Stein, Three Lives, p. 54.

22 Stein, Three Lives, p. 86.
23John Dryden, Marriagea la Mode, in Four Comedies, eds. L. A. Beaurline and Fredson Bowers (University of
Chicago Press, 1967), IV, 1, 171-178.

This content downloaded from 130.113.111.210 on Fri, 22 Jan 2016 21:59:30 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
STEIN 'S THREELIVES 473

Melantha.Melanthaserves as Dryden'svoice for his thoughtson the

state of language in seventeenth-centuryEnglandand as the object
lesson for his thoughtson courtshipand love. The characterMelantha
has to be wooed very delicately in two languagesin orderto steer her
very stronghead towardsthe hopeful lover. Melantha,like Melanctha,
is constantlyprefacingher remarkswith "let me die" or similarepithets
regardingher own death. Eachof Melantha'sspeeches is a rich double
entendreon EnglishmeaningsthroughFrenchwords. Melanthaalways
intendsthe Frenchbut the audience perceives the English.
MELANTHA.O, here's her Highness!Now is my time to introducemy
self, and to makemy courtto her,in myFrenchphrases.Stay,let me read
my catalogue Suitte, figure, chagrin,naivete, and let me die for the
Parenthesisof all.
PALAME DE(ASIDE). Do, persecuteher;and I'll persecutethee as fast in
thy own dialect.
MELANTHA.Madam,the Princess!let me die, but this is a most horrid
spectacle, to see a person who makes so granda figure in the Court,
withoutthe Suitteof a Princess,and entertainingyou Chagrinall alone;
(Naiveteshould have been there, but the disobedientword would not
come in.)
PALMYRA.What is she, Artemis?
ARTEMIS.An impertinentLady,madam;very ambitiousof being known
to your Highness.
PALAMEDE (TO MELANTHA).Letme die, Madam,if I have not waited
you herethese two long hours,withoutso much as the Suitteof a single
Servantto attendme; entertainingmy self with my own Chagrin,till I had
the honourto see your ladyship,who are a personthatmakesso consid-
erable a figurein the Court.
MELANTHA.Trucewith yourdouceurs,good servant;you see I am ad-
dressingto the Princess;praydo notembarrassme-embarrass me! what
a delicious Frenchword do you make me lose upon you too! (TOTHE
PRINCESS) Your Highness,Madam,will please to pardonthe Beveue
which I made, in not soonerfindingyou out to be a Princess:but let me
die if thisEclaircissement
which is madethisday of yourquality,does not
ravishme; and give me leave to tell you-
PALAMEDE.But firstgive me leave to tell you, Madam,that I have so
greata tenderfor you person,and such a panchantto do you service,
that-
MELANTHA.What,must I still be troubledwith yourScottises?(There's
another word lost, that I meant for the Princess,with a mischief to
you . ) . . .24

Melantha'sconversationswith her suitorare a comic renditionof the

off-again-on-againdialogues of Melancthaand JeffersonCampbell.

24 Dryden, V, 1, 95_132

This content downloaded from 130.113.111.210 on Fri, 22 Jan 2016 21:59:30 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
474 LAWRENFARBER

Themosttellingspeechof Melantha,however,is:
I'll sacrificemy life for FrenchPoetry.25
Let me die, but I'll congratulatehis Majesty:how admirablywell his
Royaltybecomes him!Becomes!thatis longsied, butourdamn'dlanguage
expressesnothing.26

Thisis Stein'sviewof thestateof theEnglishlanguagejustasThree Lives

is an expressionof Stein'sview of the stateof the world.TheunwiKing
wordgamesof Dryden'sMelanthaare t}e backdropfor Stein'sown
wordgames in The Good Anna and for those gameswaxingserious
throughabstraction in Melanctha.
Aswithall wholes,Melancthais greaterthanthe sumof herparts.As
character,she is morethanDryden'sexpounderon languageandcourt-
ing, or the theologicalreformerPhillipMelanchthon, or St. Heribert,
statesman-cleric.Steinexpressesthisfarmoretellingly.
You can slowly change any {3neby their name changingto any other
name,and so slowlyjustknowingthe nameof anythingand so makingany
one rememberaboutsuch a thingthe thingwhose name its nameanybody
has happenedto be mentioningcannot reallyvery much interestany one,
not reallyvery much, and so perhapsnarrativeand poetryand prosehave
all come where they do not have to be consideredas being there.27

Melanctha,as the combinedsymbolof all thesesources,also serves

as the meansfor Stein'sexplorationintothe possibledepthsfor new
symbolic meaning which grows out of their being combined or
"faded."
Onthe basisof Melanctha's actioninthissecondlifeitwouldbe very
easy to construeheras a trueChristsymbol.It is hardto finda more
sufferingcharacterin twentieth-century Butit is difficultto
literature.
sustainanysuchconclusionin lightof the analoguesforhercharacter.
Still,the readerfeels that,with the extremeamountof sufferingand
mentalanguishin Melanctha, someone mustbe functioningas the
Christsymbol.Melanctha, despitehersuffering andthe sourcesforher
essence,is toowaywardto be a true Christ symbol.Alltheothercharac-
tersareequallywayward,fullof anger,or too peripheral to be consid-
eredthe Christof this section all exceptJefferson Campbell. Hereis
one of Stein'sgreatinnovations. JeffersonCampbellis the only Negro

25 DrfdentIV,3, 172.
2S Dryden, V, 1, 543-545
27 Stein,"Lecture 2," Narrationwp. 29.

This content downloaded from 130.113.111.210 on Fri, 22 Jan 2016 21:59:30 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
STEIN'STHREELIVES 475

who does not integratewith the impastopaintingof Negrosociety. He is

dark, but he lacks pigment true color. With few exceptions, his de-
scriptionis either colorless or "like" other colors without being actual
colors.
". . . Why, Melanctha,how could you ever like me if you thoughtI ever
could be so like a red Indian?" . . . "Good Lord and Jesus Christ,
Melanctha?"cried JeffCampbell."I certainlynever can know anything
about you real, Melanctha,you poor little girl." . . . "I know, I know,"
murmuredMelanctha,clingingto him. "I knowyou are a good man,Jeff.I
alwaysknowthat,no maKerhow muchyou can hurtme.... Hush,you are
only a greatbig boy, JeffCampbell,and you don't know nothingyet about
real hurting.... Hush,Jeff,you don't know nothingat all aboutwhat you
are... ."28

Similarly,JeffersonCampbell'scharacterand emotions are out of place

in the Negro microcosmof Bridgepoint.Neither his language nor his
bearing is distinctivelyNegro. He simply will not blend. He is Stein's
embodiment of Christ in our time. Not the traditionalliteraryChrist
figurewhose makeupparallelsthe life of Christas seen in the Gospel,
Campbell'sis the makeup of what Christhas become in the modern
world distant, removed, benign in his goodness, a too lightly con-
sideredparadigm.JeffersonCampbellhas littledirecteffect on the soci-
ety portrayedin Melanctha.His knowledgeas a doctor could heal the
sick, but this has little to do with his inner self. In fact, Jefferson
Campbelljust sits out the last with each patient.Christ,like a doctor, is
only called upon when someone is in extremeneed, and often it is too
late. The only significantthing this "Christ"does is change Melanctha,
but to what effect?
In the beginning of Melanctha,she is in quest of knowledge. Jane
Harden, her "visual" twin, converts herto a "soul" twin, and
Melancthabecomes as hardand roughas any of the other characters.
MelancthaHerbertwas sixteenwhen she firstmetJaneHarden.Janewas
a negress,butshe was so white thathardlyany one could guess it.Janehad
had a good deal of education.She had been two yearsat a coloredcollege.
She had had to leave because of her bad conduct. She taughtMelanctha
many things.She taughther how to go the ways that lead to wisdom.29

Jane Harden'sname is a significantkey to the most importantmessage

of Melanctha:the hardeningof one's soul. As her name testifies,Jane
Harden'shearthas been hardenedby life.

28 Stein Three Lives, pp. 141-142

29 Stein,Three Lives, p. 103.

This content downloaded from 130.113.111.210 on Fri, 22 Jan 2016 21:59:30 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
476 LAWREN FARBER

Janewas a roughenedwoman.She had powerand she likedto use it, she

had muchwhite blood andthatmade hersee clear, she likeddrinkingand
thatmade her reckless.Herwhite blood was strongin herand she had grit
and enduranceand a vitalcourage.She was alwaysgame, howevermuch
she was in trouble.She likedMelancthaHerbertforthe thingsthatshe had
like her,andthen Melancthawas young,andshe hadsweetness,and a way
of listeningwith intelligenceand sympatheticinterest,to the storiesthat
JaneHardenoften told out of her experience.30

Melanctharemainswithout knowledge until tutored by Jane Harden.

Jane hardensMelanctha'sheartso she can function in life. Melanctha
functions very well up through her relation with JeffersonCampbell
when her hardnessis softened.Buthe softensitto a pointwhere she can
no longerfunction in society. Afterthis she cannot form a satisfactory
friendshipor love relationship,being consumed by all in contact with
her. And Steinwittily pointsto this in the conclusion:
Melancthawent back to the hospital,and therethe Doctortold her she
had the consumption,and beforelong she would surelydie. Theysent her
where she would be taken care of, a home for poor consumptives,and
there Melancthastayed untilshe died.31

The girlof the "breakneck" couragedies alone, a pitifulconsumptive.

In Stein's view of the modern world only those with stiff necks and
hardenedheartscan survive.The only other "soft-hearted"characteris
JeffersonCampbell.JeffersonCampbellhas always been i'soft." But he
does not have to function in society because he has risen to another
level, much like Miss Mathildain The Good Anna who is of a different
class and thereforeis not affected by the turmoilof Anna's class. The
relationshipof Melancthaand JeffersonCampbellis like that of Melan-
chton's Reformationand the RomanCatholic Church:although they
cannot stay together, they finally agree to separate on somewhat
amicable terms.
LikeChristin 1900, Dr. Campbellonly integrateswith real society
when askedto makDa house call. Otherwisehe readsor talksof unreal
things.
Dr. Campbellsoon got throughwith his reading,in the old newspapers,
and then somehow he beganto talk along aboutthe thingshe was always
thinking.Dr.Campbellsaid he wantedto workso thathe could understand
what troubledpeople, and not to just have excitements,and he believed
you oughtto love yourfatherand yourmotherand to be regularin all your
life, and not to be always wanting new things and excitements,and to
always know where you were, and what you wanted, and to always tell

30 Stein, Three Lives, pp.10v105.

31 Stein, Three Lives, p. 236.

This content downloaded from 130.113.111.210 on Fri, 22 Jan 2016 21:59:30 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
STEIN 'S THREELIVES 477

everythingjust as you meant it. That'sthe only kind of life he knew or

believed in, JeffCampbellrepeated."No I ain'tgot any use forall the time
being in excitementsand wantingto have all kindsof experience all the
time. I got plentyof experiencejust living regularand quiet and with my
family,and doing my work,and takingcare of people, and tryingto under-
stand it. I don't believe much in this runningaroundbusinessand I don't
want to see the colored people do it. I am a colored man and I ain'tsorry,
and I want to see the colored people like what is good and what I want
them to have, and that's to live regularand work hard and understand
things,and that'senough to keep any decent man excited."32

Clearly,JeffersonCampbell'sthoughtson Negro life are out of phase

with reality in Bridgepoint.
Althoughthe Bible admonishesman not to hardenhis hearttoward
graceas Pharohdid towardsthe Jews,33thathardeningis the only way to
survive in Bridgepoint,the modern Christianworld. The rhetoricand
even the specific imagery of some of the most importantBiblical
passages on hardeningof the heart is identical to the language and
imageryof Melanctha.34These Biblicalpassagesexplainthe mysteryof
"break neck" courage and other similar phrases used in this work.
Other passages, in i11 ustratingthe nature of a wayward Iife and ad-
monishing against it, pinpoint some crucial aspects of the nature of
characters like Jane Harden or young Melanctha.35The message of
Melanctha is what happens when an individual'sheart becomes soft-
ened by Christin a hardened society. That person is prey for being
consumed.
Since the subjects being pursuedare far more ephemeral than the
course of history,Melanctha is a far more difficultsection to interpret.
Insteadof specific historicalfigures(as in The Good Anna) Melanctha
personifiesthe intellectualidentitiesbehind certainhistoricaland liter-
ary figures.Stein, no longercontent to merely rewritehistory,has now
begun to reduce it to pure, abstractedlesson. The resultis much more
difficultto differentiate.The Good Anna posed the question of what is
the stateof grace in the world;Melanctha illustrates,in starkrelief,what
the state of grace is in the world: virtuallynonexistent.The world is a
trulyhardplace to live in. It is so hardthat those who find the state of

32 Stein, Three Lives, pp. l l 6-l l 7.

33 TheBible, Ex. 4-14.
34 James Hastings, ed., Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics (New York, l 919), V, pp. 256-260; X, pp. 225-
234. See The Bible, Ex. 13:13; Prov. 29:1; Heb. 3:7-19; Mt. 16:24ff; Jn. 12:25.
35 The Bible, Jas. 3; Prov. 29; Heb. 3:7-19; Luke 7:36-50.

This content downloaded from 130.113.111.210 on Fri, 22 Jan 2016 21:59:30 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
478 LAWREN FARBER

grace the true teachingsof Christ,those who take to heartthe teach-

ings of the Bible cannot function in it. Worse, they are prey to it.
Reducingher employmentof historystill further,we are given the
thirdlifc The Gentle Lena. The sourceslinkingthis lifeto the othertwo
are even moresparsethanthose found in Melanctha. The mostsubstan-
tial is Lena's name, "Mainz." In 1514 Albrechtof Brandenburgwas
elected Archbishopof Mainz for political and financial reasons. He
circulatedindulgencesto obtain money for the Church,and this entire
episode was a majorcause for Luther'stheses.3fiInadditionto this cause
of the Reformationas a "source link"for Three Lives, Luther'smentor,
PhillipMelanchthonhadtwo daughtersnamedAnnaand Magdelena.37
The characterof Lenais gentle and quiet. While the rhetoricdescrib-
ing the gentlenessand quietnessof Lena'scharactercan be attributedto
several New TestamentBiblical references,these are not substantial
enough on their own to make them a conclusive source for Lena's
natureas a character.38To adequatelycountenanceStein'sconceptuali-
zation of Lena,an examinationof the mythssurroundingthe life of Mary
Magdaleneis necessary.
In one legend she is put into a leaky boat at Jaffawith her brother,
Lazarus,and cast adrift,oarlessand rudderless.A miraclehadthem land
in the Greek islands.39Another legend removes Lazarusand has all
women land under similar conditions in Provence, where they
evangelized the inhabitants.MaryMagdaleneis reveredaccordinglyin
Provenceas the great proselytizer,the bringerof the faith. The legend
also cites another myth which says that Mary Magdalene began her
waywardways because her fiance renouncedherto become an apostle
of Christ.The New Testamentreferencesto her show her conversion
fromthis path throughChrist.40 A similarengagementbecomes Lena's
lot.
Stein's Lena takes a similar voyage as Mary Magdalene, one that
makesherdesperatelyi11.The highreliefof Stein'simplementationof the
Magdalenelegends make the third life a death's-headcomedy. When
Lena reaches America, she is harped at, pinched, and scolded by

36"Mainz," New Catholic Encyclopedia (McGraw-Hill, 1967), IX, pp. 8988.

3' Encyclopedia Britannica, pp. 120-1 21 .
38 The Bible, 1 Thes. 2; Jas. 3; 1 Pet. 2:18ff; Luke 7:36-50.
39 Thurston, IV, pp. 57S577.
40 Thurston, III,pp. 161-163.

This content downloaded from 130.113.111.210 on Fri, 22 Jan 2016 21:59:30 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
STEIN'S THREELIVES 479

everyone she meets. Stein's great proselytizercannot get a word in

edgewise. Instead,she is drained,reduced,and proceedsto fade away.
The greenness of Lena'scharacter, its young raw simplicity, is sym-
bolized in the green paint she ingests. Green, the symbol for faith,
gladness, immortality,and resurrectionof the just,41all attributesof
Lena'sgentle soul, is poison in Bridgepoint.
Lenahad just picked up the fancy papermade accordionthat the little
girlhaddroppedbesideher,andwas makingit squeaksadlyas she pulledit
with her brown,strong,awkwardfinger.
"Why,whatis it,Mary,paint?"saidLena,puttingherfingerto hermouthto
taste the dirtspot.
"That'sawful poison Lena,don't you know?"said Mary,"that green
paintthat you just tasted."
Lenahad sucked a good deal of the green paint from her finger.She
stopped and looked hardat the finger.She did not know just how much
Marymeant by what she said.
"Ain'tit poison, Nellie, thatgreenpaint,thatLenasuckedjustnow," said
Mary."Sureit is Lena,its real poison, I ain'tfoolin' this time anyhow."
Lenawas a littletroubled.She looked hardat herfingerwherethe paint
was, and she wonderedif she had reallysucked it.
Itwas stilla littlewet on the edges and she rubbeditoff a longtimeon the
insideof her dress,and in betweenshe wonderedand looked at the finger
and thought,was it reallypoison thatshe had just tasted.
"Ain'tit too bad, Nellie, Lenashould have suckedthat,"Marysaid.42

Inthis processof fadinggraduallyto nothing,Lenaproducesa trinity

of children and dies bearingthe fourth.The mind reels at just what
Gertrude Stein would consider to be the fourth dimension of the
Trinity-Lena's still-bornattributethat kills her.
A short "life," the message is short as well. Man seems beyond re-
demption.Thechosenevangelizerisconsumedandworndown, ignored,
till she fades away, much like Christwould be ignored if he were to
reappearin the same formhe had. The stateof grace in the world is that
we are beyond grace. The world is a hardplace to live.
Yetthere is a source of hope and salvationin the world depicted by
Stein. The hope is in the little children.Stein is advocatingwhat Luke
8:16 admonishes, "Sufferlittle childrento come unto me, and forbid
them not: for of such is the kingdomof God." Her conceptualization
and treatmentof the children in Three Lives emphasizes exactly the
wording of Luke'scommand, for it is the children who "suffer."The
young childrenof The Good Anna endure in purityand goodness de-

41 Ivor H. Evans, ed., Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (Cassell, 1970), pp. 486, 249.
42 Stein, Three Lives, pp. 241-242.

This content downloaded from 130.113.111.210 on Fri, 22 Jan 2016 21:59:30 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
480

spite origin or the disposition of their parents.The Drehtenchildren

remainas good as the symbols of their names, despite the gargantuan
passivityof Mrs. Drehten.The Lehntmanchildren are similarlygood
despite the moraldeclivityof their mother.The Wadsmithchildrenare
argumentativebut good. Young Melancthadoes not hardentill mid-
adolescence.43Similarly,the Haydonchildrenbegin turninginto vipers
when they pass beyond the innocentyears. The three childrenof Lena
are a greatportionof the peace we feel amidstthe sadnessof the end of
The Gentle Lena. Stein'shope forthe world is in the littlechildrenand in
the traditionalfaith to be generatedat the hearth.Lenahas faded into
death, but Hermanhas recededto a shelterfromthe encroachingnasty
world.
HermanKredernow always lived very happy, very gentle, very quiet!
verywell contentalone with histhreechildren.He neverhada womanany
moreto be all the time aroundhim. He alwaysdid all his own workin his
house,when he was througheveryday withthe workhe was alwaysdoing
for hisfather.Hermanalwayswas alone, and he alwaysworkedalone, until
his littleones were big enoughto help him. HermanKrederwas verywell
contentnow and he alwayslivedveryregularand peaceful,and withevery
day just like the next one, always alone now with his three good, gentle
children.44
As with much of Stein, the beginningand the ending are essential
keys to the message. On the firstpage of The Good Anna we find the
sentence.
Lindheimswas Anna'sfavoritestore, for there they had bargaindays,
when flourand sugarwere sold fora quarterof a cent less for a pound,and
therethe headsof the departmentswere all herfriendsandalwaysmanaged
to give her the bargainprices,even on otherdays.45

German etymology reveals the significance of Anna's favorite store;

thus, 8'grace"(Anna)is tied to the lesson from Lena."Lind"is fromthe
Germanfor"soft, gentle, mild," and "heim" is Germanfor "home."
The salvationof the world is to be found in the values and goodness of
the gentle home, the home as a shelter. Likethe action in The Gentle
Lena, the final message of Three Lives is to recede. To live life as Stein
has alchemized it modernmanmust recede fromthe break-neckmad-
ness as seen in history.He must recede from the stark-nakedatavism
that is the state of grace in Bridgepointand the world.

43 Stein, Three Lives, p. 103.

44 Stein, Three Lives, p. 279.

45 Stein, Three Lives, p. 11.

This content downloaded from 130.113.111.210 on Fri, 22 Jan 2016 21:59:30 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions