English 015 - Americans Abroad
Confidence
Confidence
Category: 04B: Autobiography of ABT | Matt Nickel
Confidence is the one thing that Gertrude Stein does not lack. In The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, the author Gertrude Stein shows her confidence during parties, critiquing art but especially during World War I. She never has any fear for her life and this confidence leads to a sense of invincibility.
She is so confident her life is never in danger she stays in Paris during the Battle of the Marne when Paris is under immediate threat by the Germans (page 147). In this situation, most Parisians had already evacuated but instead she stayed. Her confidence in the allies causes her to create a sense of invincibility for herself. During the Battle of Verdun she states, “I had been so confident and now I had an awful feeling that the war had gotten out of my hands” (page 166). She only gains more confidence with this allied victory and even feels invincible enough to travel to the front lines to help out in the hospitals. By traveling to the front lines and helping the wounded, Stein risks her life. However, she is never troubled by the thought of death and carries an aura of invincibility around her.
Posted by on October 13, 2003 at 11:34 PM