The Making of Americans, Being a History of a Family's Progress

by Gertrude Stein

  I have known several of a kind of them of the resisting engulfing kind of them men and women of this kind, I have known completely some of them this kind of them, I have known absolutely entirely completely one of such of them, I have known pretty entirely completely another of this kind of them, I have known men I have known women of this kind of them of one kind of the engulfing resisting kind in men and women, and these have it that vanity is complete in them, pride is not in them, vanity is complete in them, seizing anything they are thinking they are needing in living is complete in them, elegance is very completely in them, desiring completely successful feeling is completely in them in such of them, feeling what they are needing to give to themselves or any one distinction is very completely in them, feeling about anything itself is not very much in then, realising the complete meaning, feeling the complete elegance of distinction feeling it completely in them, seizing everything anything they are needing for such complete realising of distinction in themselves and in every one is completely in them, vanity as I am saying is completely in them, simplicity in realising that they are completely elegant and completely needing distinction is very important in realising any one of such a kind of them. It is a very important thing to know it of these then that they have complete vanity in them, that they have complete feeling for the thing for anything any one is needing to really give to them real distinction. These then are as I was saying one kind of the engulfing resisting kind of them, they are completely then engulfing resisting some of such of them and the thing they are completely engulfingly resistingly winning is anything everything that can give to them distinction. They have vanity completely in them so completely in them that they have in them perfectly simplicity in seizing anything they are needing. They have vanity and elegance so completely in them that they have not any pride in them they do not need to have pride in them to protect them to themselves inside them from anything. They have vanity completely in them, some of them have some engulfing passion in them some have very little engulfing passion in them, such of them have not any affection really in them, such of them mostly are not thinking about feeling in them anything of itself in them, they have elegance of being, they have complete vanity inside them, they have completely in them the realisation of every one who is a distinguished one, of themselves as having distinction in them. Some of such of them are judging every one by the intelligence in them, all of such of them, are always judging every one, they must always be judging every one such a one, all the being in them is the learning by them the distinction they must by the being in them be seizing. They have not in them such of them the feeling for a thing itself, they have not loving for anything itself, they have in them the needing of seizing distinction, they have in them a complete need of judging for they must always be judging every one as to whether that one has distinction in her or in him, by judging they can decide then about this thing about every one, they cannot have the feeling for the thing that any one by loving that thing has come to have distinction in her or in him, they have in them only the need in them of judging whether some one has come to have distinction and always such a one has complete vanity in being, they have not any need of any pride inside them to protect themselves inside them and so then, such a one, as I am saying such a one is complete seizing judging ever}' one for distinction. They have then such ones the instinct for realising distinction, for judging people and things that merit distinction, they have not these then most completely not the emotion of the things that gives to people distinction. Consequently for them, learning is to teach themselves or have some one teach them to recognise and realise the things that those people realise who have achieved distinction and that can only be done by such of them by their learning to realise detail in thinking and feeling, so that these judging some one as a distinguished one can enter into that one's distinction by realising what that one judged to be distinguished by them is thinking and feeling. These have then to learn carefully what it is they have seized and are seizing, these can then go on successfully living, always these are judging, mostly these are completely seizing what they are needing. I am hoping always hoping to be making a complete history of all men and women completely, completely and more completely of them, these then that I have been just describing are connected quite closely connected all of them with the kind that Alfred Hersland is of men and women. These I have been describing are very clearly in me, pretty nearly completely clearly in me and I am pretty nearly completely understanding them and some of them certainly are of such a kind of them I will be describing again and again.

  I still am going to be describing a considerable number of kinds of men and women and some now are not very engulfing of the resisting kind in men and women. Of some of these that I am now going to be describing I am going to be describing inquisitiveness in them. Inquisitiveness in men and women is very interesting. Some have very much of this in them, some of these I am going to be describing have it almost as complete being in them the amount of inquisitiveness in them, and the meaning of inquisitiveness in them. I am now going to be describing a considerable number of men and inquisitiveness and loving and affection in them and slowness and succeeding and failing in their living is very important in them in the understanding of them. There will be then now a very considerable number more of men and women with resisting being in them that I will be liking to be describing. To begin again now with diminishing this considerable number. I am beginning now again.

  Curiosity and suspicion these two things are often very interesting, this one that I am now beginning describing had these very completely in him, and always then this one had these more simply in him than any one knowing him was realising, he had inquisitiveness in him for the mere satisfaction of asking and knowing, he had suspicion in him because suspicious feeling was a pleasant feeling in him, he used inquisitiveness and suspicion in living, that is certain, no one knowing him could deny that of him, but often he was not using such things, he was just inquiring, he was just asking because his attention was caught and he liked to know everything and he liked asking and often suspicion was in him because suspicion was an easy way to be feeling for him about everything and a very pleasant feeling to have inside him. This one was of the resisting slightly engulfing kind in men and women, resisting and engulfing was equally in him. In many I have been describing engulfing is stronger than resisting, in this one resisting and engulfing was pretty nearly equally divided in him, he was thick but not too thick not too dry in his being, he could take complete impression from everything he was learning, he was always asking, he was continually suspecting, he was quite successful in living. This is now to be a little a description of the questions he was always asking, of the suspicion always in him.

  Some men and women are inquisitive about everything, they are always asking, if they see any one with anything they ask what is that thing, what is it you are carrying, what are you going to be doing with that thing, why have you that, thing, where did you get that thing, how long will you have that thing, there are very many men and women who want to know about anything about everything, I am such a one, I certainly am such a one. A very great many like to know a good many things, a great many are always asking questions of every one, a great many are to very many doing this with intention, a great many have intention in their asking, a great many just have their attention caught by anything and then they ask the question. Some when they are hearing any one talking are immediately listening, many would like to know what is in letters others aie writing and receiving, a great many quite honest ones are always wanting to know everything, a great many men and women have a good deal suspicion in them about others and this has in them not any very precise meaning. A great many are liking to know things but do not do much asking, a great many have not any such a feeling. A great many have a very great deal of suspiciousness in them, a great many have almost not any of this being in them. This one that I am now describing was one who was always asking and mostly always every one was won
dering what was this one meaning by the questions he was asking and often later this one would perhaps be using information he had had from asking questions but asking questions in him was not a thing in him that came from wanting to be using some time information he was gathering, very often asking questions in him was simply from a catelling of his attention by something. Once this one asked some one he was visiting, just suddenly,—and this door here does that lead into the hall or directly out into the garden,—and that was all he said then about this thing and afterwards every one was thinking he would be using this against them but really then this one was wondering did the door lead to the hall or directly to a garden. If such a one, one having this kind of a way is of the resisting engulfing type and fairly successful in living and slow and sudden and quite suspicious of every one, almost certainly then every one will think it to be true of such a one that this one always is asking questions for purposes of winning, perhaps of cheating, certainly for some distant manoeuvering. This is very common. There are very many having in them rather engulfing rather resisting being who are slow and sudden, who are a little absent when any one is asking them anything, who are suspicious and quite trusting, who are often asking questions for in their being being in slow action and always more or less moving they have it that their attention is always a little wandering waiting for something inside them to do something and so then these of them are very busy having their attention caught by anything and asking questions about everything and very often every one knowing such of them are very suspicious of them and mostly these then too have constant suspicion in them as constant as the questioning in them. This is very common then with this kind of being. I am not yet through with my description of this kind of resisting engulfing men and women.

  A great many men and women have very much suspicion in them of everything of every one. A great many men a great many women have steadily suspicion in them of everything of every one. A great many have this in them from the beginning of living in them. A great many very many of the resisting, dependent independent very earthy men and women have complete suspicion, little steady suspicion of everything of every one always in them. They do not have it from experiencing in them they have it in them as a natural thing, they have it in them like a child walking and certain that every step they are going to be tumbling. This is very common, very many men very many women very many having resisting being in them have it in them to be suspicious always of every one of everything. This is in them very often when they are quite kindly quite trusting, very many then having resisting being have it to have very naturally in them always in them always steadily in them from their beginning that they are suspicious of every one of everything, always suspicious always steadily suspicious inside them, this one then that I am describing has suspicion always in him, there will be now a description of several of this kind in men and women. I am now going on with my description of one, who was naturally a completely suspicious one.

  Many having resisting being have it in them all their living when they are beginning and then on to their ending have it to have suspicion always naturally in them and this is a natural thing for them to have in them because they having resisting being have it in them to be knowing that always some one is doing attacking. Resisting being in them is in meaning that always some one some where is attacking, resisting being is in them in some of them, in very many men in very many women as having in them completely naturally always very much suspicion. Very many men and women have in them completely all their living very complete suspicious feeling very many men and women with resisting being. Very many men and women with attacking being have suspicion in them completely in them, sometime I will be telling very much of them. Very many men and women have hardly any kind of suspicious feeling ever in them. There are very many ways of having suspicious feeling many kinds of ways many degrees of such feeling, now I am giving a not very long description of one having in him very complete suspicious feeling, very much suspicious feeling about men, very much very complete suspicious feeling about women and this one was quite a successful one in living and this one had very much inquisitive feeling in him and this one was pretty completely resisting in his being pretty completely engulfing in his being and always very many felt it about him that every bit of asking in him and every bit of suspicion in him was really deep wisdom in him and always then he had completely resisting being in him completely engulfing being in him, complete suspicion in him, complete inquisitiveness inside him, and always then he had enthusiasm and very much feeling about something and always he was asking about everything and always he was having suspicious feeling in him and altogether he was sufficiently a wise one, and very often he was just asking because he saw something and very often he was just suspecting because he had resisting being in him. This is one then that is to me a completely interesting one. Every one is to me a completely interesting one, this one is to me very completely an interesting one. I like feeling the being in this one, sometime yes certainly sometime I will be telling all the feeling I have in the complete being in this one. As I am saying suspicious feeling is very interesting, very very interesting. Sometime later I will tell very much about one kind of them of the resisting kind of them that have it in them to have suspicious feeling as a completely interesting thing in them. I hope I will not be beginning now to tell about this kind of them. Perhaps I will tell a little about such of them in among this considerable number of men and women of the resisting kind of them I am just now describing. I really do not want to begin now about them. I will not begin now about them that is certain. I will completely understand them later and will be telling then about them. I certainly will not write anything now about them. That is now certain. I have been writing now about a considerable number of the considerable number I am now describing of the resisting kind of them. I will now begin a pretty short description of another one of them. That is to be a little description of one having rich resisting being and being a little too quick perhaps quite a little too quick in ripening. This one had in him quite, some inquisitiveness in him, not any suspicion in him. This is to be now quite a short description of him.

  This one then as I am saying was of the resisting kind of them, that is to say resisting was the way of winning in him, that is to say this one was in a way slow in reacting, that is to say this one in a way was needing to own those this one needed for loving, this was all true and this was all not true of this one and this one was completely of resisting being, this one was all made completely all of only resisting being. This one then really was very early a completely highly developed one, this one was very flowing in the completely creating power this one had inside him, this one was a quite inquisitive one, this one had hardly any suspiciousness in natural ordinary daily living in him, this one was really not owning the one this one needed for his loving. This one as I was saying was of the resisting kind of them, not of the engulfing kind of them, of completely sensitively resisting being and the resisting being and sensitive being was pretty nearly equal in this one, it was pretty nearly as sensitive as resisting but not quite completely so in this one it was a little more sensitive than resisting and so this one was quick in developing, early in flowering and this one was always trying to be a slower one and this one really never was in living a really slow one. This one was as I was saying not a suspicious one, resisting being was not strongly enough in him as protecting to give to him a suspicious feeling toward everything and every one. This one was not really owning the one this one needed for his loving. This one could only own one this one needed for loving by getting rid of the one this one needed for loving and then this one would not be having the one this one needed for loving and then where was this one, he was where he needed the one he needed for loving and taking her back again made him then lose the power of owning this one, the only way he could own this one was by getting rid of this one or by secretly letting some other one love him, in this way then this one to himself inside him could own the one he needed
for loving. He really could own the one he needed for loving by sending her away from him, he then did not have near him the one he needed for loving, to himself inside him then he could own that one by letting, by making some other one love him and mostly then he dreamed of this thing, he did this thing. This is now a clear complete description of one having resisting being.

  This is now to be a description of another one having resisting being, not engulfing resisting being, just resisting being, this one was a very nice one, a very pleasant gentle, sensitive, fairly resisting, sometimes angrily resisting one, this one had some suspicion in her in living, this one could have very often an injured feeling, this one had quite a good deal of inquisitive feeling in her, this one needed to own to a considerable degree those this one needed for loving, this one had children and children were to this one a piece of her cut off from her that were as it were equal to her and she was as they were, the same in living, thinking, feeling and being. This one as I was saying was a gentle, often injured, fairly angrily resisting one, quite inquisitive, with enough suspicious feeling to be defending other ones when it was not at all her business to be interfering and so this one a very nice a completely in a way honest one could do something that was not a pretty thing for this one to be doing. This is what this one did once in her living.