Tender Buttons

“In Tender Buttons and then on and on I struggled with the ridding myself of nouns, I knew nouns must go in poetry as they had gone in prose if anything that is everything was to go on meaning something. And so I went on with this exceeding struggle of knowing really knowing what a thing was really knowing it knowing anything I was seeing anything I was feeling so that its name could be something, by its name coming to be a thing in itself as it was but would not be anything just and only as a name” (242).

This quote, by Gertrude Stein, is the embodiment of her work, Tender Buttons. Anyone who has read Tender Buttons understands that it is not an easy task to decipher the meaning behind the odd and seemingly incoherent descriptions of objects. After first reading Stein’s book of poetry, it takes deep, insightful contemplation to figure out what the purpose of the entire work is. If one goes into reading Stein’s book after reading this quote, though, they may very well have a better grasp of the material and its purpose. It is a welcomed explanation of why Stein’s poetry was written in such a strange manner. There are many places throughout the book that exemplify Stein’s quote. Her experimentation with language and discovery is obvious in each of the poems contained in Tender Buttons.
The first poem in Stein’s collection is called A Carafe, that is a Blind Glass. It is evident simply from the title of the poem that Stein is experimenting with the use of nouns and her discovery what an object really is. She describes the carafe in the first line of the poem as “a kind in glass and a cousin”. This, really, doesn’t make any obvious sense. However, if one is aware of what Stein is trying to do with her poetry, the purpose of this statement is understandable. In her quote, Stein states that she “went on with this exceeding struggle of knowing really knowing what a thing was really knowing it”. By this, she means that she was attempting to discover what “a thing” is, aside from the usual understanding of it. For instance, a carafe can be much more than a drink container. Stein pushes this idea by describing a carafe in a way that no one would ever think to describe it. She is not only experimenting with language, but also experimenting with perception.
The first line in the poem “A Long Dress” is, “what is the current that makes machinery, that makes it crackle, what is the current that presents a long line and a necessary waist”. This is definitely not the way that the average person would think to describe a dress. Once again, though, Stein goal is to tear apart the norms of poetry and use of nouns. A very important line in Stein’s quote is, “its name coming to be a thing in itself as it was but would not be anything just and only as a name”. In addition to her experimentation, Stein is also trying to destroy the idea of what a thing is. She does this by, as earlier stated, describing objects in the way that she perceives them. She is, therefore, not even really describing the objects. Rather, she is describing her thoughts about objects.
Gertrude Stein’s overall purpose in writing Tender Buttons in such a way is stated in her quote. She is not simply telling what an object is, she is telling what is could be and what she thinks of it. This is explicated throughout her book of poetry. Although it is a difficult read, and is very difficult to understand what is meant by the descriptions, it is easy to see Stein’s purpose in writing this book in such a strange style when one reads her quote.