THE MAKING OF JEWISH-AMERICAN PROGRESS IN GERTRUDE STEIN’S, THE MAKING OF AMERICANS: BEING A HISTORY OF A FAMILY’S PROGRESS

Author

ROCHEL L. GASSON, Duquesne UniversityFollow

Defense Date

11-13-2025

Graduation Date

Winter 12-19-2025

Availability

Immediate Access

Submission Type

dissertation

Degree Name

PhD

Department

English

School

McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts

Committee Chair

Dr. Linda Kinnahan

Committee Member

Dr. Deborah Mix

Committee Member

Dr. Emad Mirmotahari

Keywords

Gertrude Stein, The Making of Americans, Modernism, Jewish American identity, Feminism, Progress, Experimental form, Repetition, Judaic textual traditions, Martha Hersland

Abstract

This dissertation provides a comprehensive reading of Gertrude Stein’s The Making of Americans (TMOA), situating the novel at the intersection of literary modernism, Jewish American identity, and feminist thought. It argues that Stein reconceives American progress not as linear advancement but as a recursive, relational, and culturally grounded process. Through experimental form, repetitive syntax, and a sustained present tense, TMOA dramatizes the psychological and social complexities of immigrant families navigating assimilation while maintaining heritage. Characters such as the Old Man, his son, and the Dehning and Herland families reveal generational tensions, moral labor, and the ambivalences of upward mobility, illustrating progress as emerging through stillness, recurrence, and ongoing negotiation with history.

Stein’s Jewish heritage informs both narrative structure and thematic content. Drawing on archival materials—including Stein’s manuscripts, letters, and photographs—alongside Judaic textual traditions, this study demonstrates how TMOA echoes the rhythms and logic of Mishnah and Gemara. Linguistic repetition, motifs of cleanliness, and character “types” function as vehicles for cultural, ethical, and gendered reflection, linking personal, communal, and historical forms of advancement. A central focus is Stein’s woman-centered narratives, particularly the figure of Martha Hersland, which explore female subjectivity, relationality, and the constraints of patriarchal structures. These portrayals anticipate later developments in Jewish American feminist theory, demonstrating how Stein’s experimental narrative strategies critique fixed constructions of gender, identity, and social expectation. By integrating modernist literary innovation, Judaic textual consciousness, and feminist critique, the dissertation positions TMOA as a critical intervention in understandings of American modernity, cultural inheritance, and identity formation.

Ultimately, this study reframes TMOA as both a literary experiment and a meditation on Jewish American experience. Stein presents progress as a complex, recursive process rooted in memory, resistance, and ethical engagement. Her work challenges dominant frameworks of assimilationist and patriarchal progress, revealing that becoming American—and advancing as a cultural, ethical, and gendered subject—requires sustained negotiation with one’s past and present to ensure the future of the community. TMOA thus emerges as a foundational text in Modernist Jewish American feminism, offering enduring insights into identity, belonging, and transformative literary practice.

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Language

English

Recommended Citation

GASSON, R. L. (2025). THE MAKING OF JEWISH-AMERICAN PROGRESS IN GERTRUDE STEIN’S, THE MAKING OF AMERICANS: BEING A HISTORY OF A FAMILY’S PROGRESS (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/2382