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I Am Not Who "I" Pretend to Be: The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas and its Photographic Frontispiece

I Am Not Who "I" Pretend to Be: The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas and its Photographic... corinne andersen IAmNotWho‘‘I’’PretendtoBe TheAutobiographyofAliceB.Toklas and its Photographic Frontispiece A photograph by Man Ray (fig. 1) serves as the frontispiece for the first edition of The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas (1933).In the image, a severely cropped ver- sion of Man Ray’s original composition, a waifish Alice B. Toklas, in a loose-fitting, floor-length dress, enters the study where Gertrude Stein sits at her desk, envel- oped in her work. Although Stein dominates the foreground of the photograph, the caption fails to acknowledge her presence. It simply reads, ‘‘Alice B. Toklas at the door, photograph by Man Ray.’’ With the frontispiece, Stein establishes a comparison between two purport- edly direct modes of referentiality: autobiography and portrait photography. The medium of photography, in general, complements Stein’s deconstruction of auto- biography as a genre. The frontispiece, in particular, reads as The Autobiography en abyme. The frontispiece, with its seemingly askew caption, highlights the discrepancy between the book’s title and its content. According to Stein’s own specifications, her name did not appear on the spine, front cover, or title page of the first edi- tion. Since the first publication, publishers have exhibited a palpable anxiety about this absence. While not a household name, by http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The Comparatist University of North Carolina Press

I Am Not Who "I" Pretend to Be: The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas and its Photographic Frontispiece

The Comparatist , Volume 29 – Jan 25, 2006

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Publisher
University of North Carolina Press
Copyright
Copyright © 2005 the Southern Comparative LIterature Association.
ISSN
1559-0887

Abstract

corinne andersen IAmNotWho‘‘I’’PretendtoBe TheAutobiographyofAliceB.Toklas and its Photographic Frontispiece A photograph by Man Ray (fig. 1) serves as the frontispiece for the first edition of The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas (1933).In the image, a severely cropped ver- sion of Man Ray’s original composition, a waifish Alice B. Toklas, in a loose-fitting, floor-length dress, enters the study where Gertrude Stein sits at her desk, envel- oped in her work. Although Stein dominates the foreground of the photograph, the caption fails to acknowledge her presence. It simply reads, ‘‘Alice B. Toklas at the door, photograph by Man Ray.’’ With the frontispiece, Stein establishes a comparison between two purport- edly direct modes of referentiality: autobiography and portrait photography. The medium of photography, in general, complements Stein’s deconstruction of auto- biography as a genre. The frontispiece, in particular, reads as The Autobiography en abyme. The frontispiece, with its seemingly askew caption, highlights the discrepancy between the book’s title and its content. According to Stein’s own specifications, her name did not appear on the spine, front cover, or title page of the first edi- tion. Since the first publication, publishers have exhibited a palpable anxiety about this absence. While not a household name, by

Journal

The ComparatistUniversity of North Carolina Press

Published: Jan 25, 2006

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