Pastoral InfluencesĢ Identifying the general presence of pastoral elements in Stein’s corpus and her pastoral influences is useful to the understanding of the presence and function of pastoral sounds in the texts analyzed here. It is in part for this reason that an in-depth study of Stein’s pastoral influences and production is useful to reaffirm her leadership in early twentieth-century literature. In Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris (2011), Stein is presented in her role of salon hostess rather than as writer and creator herself. This image of Stein as literary coach is so prevalent that sometimes readers and critics forget Stein’s own literary corpus. Stein is perceived as the mother of the “Lost Generation,” 1 and there are numerous anecdotes of her guiding and helping up-and-coming modernist writers (Benstock 169-170 Hemingway Moveable 15 Cowley 119 Mellow 249). Yet Gertrude Stein has been attributed the image of Modernist Shepherdess even outside of the context of pastoral studies. Ultimately, the pastoral sounds present in these texts invite the readers to join in a countryside afternoon promenade led by the shepherdess herself. This study will demonstrate that buried within the difficult Steinese language, pastoral elements, such as those of specific sounds of cowbells, tinkling waterfalls, and birdsong or human song, help readers find their way along the narrative through its soundscape. Then, resting on these influences, we may turn our attention to her pastoral productions, notably those involving pastoral sounds, in the works Four Saints in Three Acts The World is Round Paris France and Wars I Have Seen. To play the reader’s part in Stein’s pastorals, we must first identify her pastoral influences. We might even go as far to say that Stein hides a few pastoral traps within her Modernists texts, where we would least expect to find them. Investigating this particular use of pastoral countryside with war themes sheds light on Stein’s continuous mise en scène of the pastoral, and her production of pastoral sounds. Gifford suggests that: “ pastoral refers to any literature that describes the country with an implicit or explicit contrast to the urban” (Gifford 2).

Applying this pastoral approach to Stein is possible through the lens of Terry Gifford, which enables us to consider the pastoral modes used outside of the traditional pastoral periodic definitions. In her own way, Gertrude becomes the modernist shepherdess of a mechanized pastoral soundscape. In these pieces, Stein pays particular attention to the war sounds as they interweave with more traditional pastoral sounds. While these themes of war do not usually rhyme with pastoral images, two works from Gertrude Stein’s corpus specifically couch descriptive images of the French countryside within the context of World War II: Paris France (1940), and Wars I Have Seen (1945). Yet, some of Stein’s works are not particularly humorous, notably those where she chooses to relate her life experience during wartime. Her corpus is highly intertextual, and with each progressive reading or re-reading, we can start to laugh at Stein’s inside jokes. Moreover, Stein is one of those authors whose reading rewards are best appreciated in the long term.

1 The terminology is used frequently the “Lost Generation” expression can be traced to the epigraph (.)ġ Those of us who read Gertrude Stein, and enjoy it, have learned that it is best to do so with an open sense of humor.

Enfin, on verra que les sons pastoraux présents dans ces textes invitent les lecteurs à participer à une promenade d’un après-midi à la campagne menée par la bergère elle-même. Pour comprendre les sons pastoraux chez Stein, nous analyserons d’abord ses influences pastorales, pour aborder ensuite ses productions pastorales, notamment celles qui impliquent des sons pastoraux, dans Four Saints in Three Acts, The World is Round, Paris France, et Wars I Have Seen. Cette étude démontre que, dans la langue exigeante de Stein, on entend des éléments pastoraux, tels que des sons spécifiques (cloches de vaches, musique de cascades, chant d’oiseaux, ou voix humaine), qui guident le lecteur à travers le paysage sonore évoqué par le récit. À sa façon, Stein devient la bergère moderniste d’un paysage sonore pastoral mécanisé. L’étude de ces associations révèle une mise en scène continue de la pastorale et la production des sons pastoraux. Gertrude Stein représente des paysages campagnards « pastoraux », qu’elle associe à des thèmes de guerre.

The trail of the lonesome pine june age