I have just read (or reread) The Autobiography of ALICE B TOKLAS by Gertrude Stein. I say or reread because I was convinced I had read it. However I could find no memory of it in the porridge inside my head.
Very early in the book I came across a passage which made me snort with mirth and recognition. The year was 1907 and Gertrude Stein and Alice B Toklas were living in Paris. Miss Stein had a cook, Helene. Helene objected to people, especially french people, inviting themselves to a meal - particularly if they asked before hand what there was for dinner. She did not, for this reason, like Matisse.
'So when Miss Stein said to her, Monsieur Matisse is staying for dinner this evening, she would say, in that case I will not make an omelette but fry the eggs. It takes the same number of eggs and the same amount of butter but it shows less respect, and he will understand.'
And, more than a hundred years later Helene is still right. What a wonderful way of saying politely to people other than family and close friends, that inviting yourself to dinner is out of line.
Very early in the book I came across a passage which made me snort with mirth and recognition. The year was 1907 and Gertrude Stein and Alice B Toklas were living in Paris. Miss Stein had a cook, Helene. Helene objected to people, especially french people, inviting themselves to a meal - particularly if they asked before hand what there was for dinner. She did not, for this reason, like Matisse.
'So when Miss Stein said to her, Monsieur Matisse is staying for dinner this evening, she would say, in that case I will not make an omelette but fry the eggs. It takes the same number of eggs and the same amount of butter but it shows less respect, and he will understand.'
And, more than a hundred years later Helene is still right. What a wonderful way of saying politely to people other than family and close friends, that inviting yourself to dinner is out of line.
Oh SNAP EC - I've just borrowed this from work, and the cookbook, after J Winterson wrote about them in her book.
ReplyDeleteLove it!
ReplyDeleteMust add the book to my ever-growing 'Need to read someday' list.
I'm sure that the attitude still reigns here in French-Switzerland - trouble is, it seems to be with the chefs and waitresses at restaurants!
I fully agree. By the way, what for dinner tonight?
ReplyDeleteWow - I admire anyone who does not cowtow to famous people (like Matisse.) OK - that's on my reading list now. I love how you have yours posted on the right.
ReplyDeleteOops - that should be spelled "kowtow" - realized as I was sending. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, to have a cook.
ReplyDeleteAnd, if one were a cook, how fine to be a cook who could speak her mind.
How odd to hire someone to cook your meals, and to be able to take that for granted, if you had a certain income and history.
since i rarely cook, i suspect that is sufficient to keep people from inviting themselves over to my place. celery with chunky peanut butter is not going to fill my table with party crashers!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a brilliant cook with a brilliant attitude.
ReplyDeleteMany times I have read a book a second time and it seems like the very first read. I've changed a great deal in between, I guess, and the person who read the first isn't there any more. Plus I'm forgetful. Love the story, and I'm always glad to learn of another book to read. :-)
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard of this French habit of inviting oneself to dinner, but it just sounds to me like a cultural difference instead of being, as the cook took it, a boorish imposition.
ReplyDeleteI last read Stein in college.An unbelievable half century ago. I may have to try her again.
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ReplyDeleteThat was so interesting! I must read it now, and I do mean read it, as I'm certain I haven't read it before. I do relate though - as many times I have read 2/3 into a book and then said, Hey this seems familiar....worst is when it's a mystery and suddenly I remember Who Did It!
ReplyDeletelibrarygirl: What a coincidence. You will have to let me/us know what you think of it.
ReplyDeleteKath: Made me smile. A lot.
J Cosmo Newberry: Here? Who knows, smililng.
Lynn: Helene met some people (and cooked for them too) who were making my jaws drop. Picasso for example was a frequent visitor.
Frances: Such an alien concept for the majority of us now. And yes, I also loved that Helene not only spoke, but acted according to her feelings.
daisyfae: Celery stuffed with things has quite a lot of charm. Having a cook has more though.
Martin Willoughby: She does, doesn't she?
DJan: I do that too - particularly with murder mysteries but there is usually some feeling of familiarity before I finish. Not this time.
Snowbrush: It seems that Helene believed that the French should know better. She accepted it from foreigners (particularly Americans). So it seems that it is not a French habit (or was not a French habit).
Joanne: It was a fascinating read not less for the bit players - everyone from Leonard Woolf to Braque and Juan Gris and Picasso and Matisse and and and
Anon: This is not the right place to be making those comments. I am NOT the woman they are addressed to.
Melissa Ann Goodwin: Oh yes, but as I said to DJan I finished it without the faintest hint of deja vue. Which is rare if I have read a book before.
If someone invited themselves to tea/dinner at my place all they'd be served would be two pieces of dry toast and a glass of water. Yes its totally out of line, in fact its real cheeky :-).
ReplyDeletePeople never invite themselves to my place for dinner, they know there's not much food here.
ReplyDeleteI'm adding the book to my "must read" list.
Windsmoke: It depends on the circumstances but I did love the differentiation between fried eggs and an omelette.
ReplyDeleteRiver: Does your 'must read' list grow as fast as mine does?
That's on a par with the fed-up housewife who tells the very late husband, "Your tea is in the oven." and it turns out to be a salad.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I could lose weight if I had a cook that shoved a plate at me 3 times a day so I didn't have to think about food at all.
Dang. I was just about to invite myself to dinner.
ReplyDeleteJahTeh: How I love the fed-up housewife. And yes, I think I could lose some weight if appropriate meals materialised. Not going to happen though.
ReplyDeleteMurr: You have a problem with fried eggs?
Confirms my feelings that I never cared much for Matisse.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid I'd feel absolutely obliged to make a fuss, an omelet is the least I would do. And mutter complaints while I was doing it, of course.
ReplyDeletePaper Chipmunk: I do like some of Matisse's work a lot. Probably not enough to cook him an omelette though.
ReplyDeleteFriko: Someone else who obviously relates to the fried egg/omeletter thing. Omelettes do seem to have more class(?) AND to be more hospitable.
Great anecdote!
ReplyDeleteWhat a gem!!! There are so many ways to express one's view!
ReplyDeletebloomolly: Welcome and thank you.
ReplyDeleteChristine: Wasn't it a beauty?
let me commend to you the recent Woody Allen film 'Midnight In Paris' which has several scenes in the home of Ms Stein and the lines are hilarious, eg:
ReplyDeleteShe is haggling with Matisse over the price of a painting and says to the Woody character "do you think it's worth the 50 francs?" and he says
"I would like a half dozen at that price".
Ann O'D: The movie was truthful. Apparently Gertrude and her brother were skilled hagglers and rarely paid as much as 50 frances for Matisse, Bracque, Picasso ....
ReplyDeleteGertrude Stein seems like an interesting persoon!
ReplyDeleteNice re read...politely inviting yourself is out of line:)
ReplyDeleteDear EC,
ReplyDeleteYour post left me smiling at the wiles and ways of those who feel self-assured as that cook did. She knew her worth. I hope Matisse soon realized it.
Now another book for that list that so many commenters have: books to read when there is time and pause and inclination.
Peace.
LadyFi: She was a fascinating person who lived in an interesting time and place and made the most of both.
ReplyDeleteKim @ Stuff: I am hospitable. I just don't like to be forced into it - when it may not be a good time for a variety of reasons.
Dee Ready: Oh yes, that list. That evergrowing list. Not sorry to have found this one - indeed not sorry to revel in books more generally.
Ha! I love this! Would that we had need for such things, but alas! As long as there are self-inviters, we'll have need for fried eggs. :)
ReplyDeleteDeb: Thanks. I am still smiling at the concept.
ReplyDeleteMemory can be quite elusive at times.
ReplyDeleteHelene, sounds like a wise women with a penchant for knowing how to be suttle with her message to a self-invited guest.
Thank you for stopping by and following.
Have a beautiful day, be Well and Happy.
Pam :)
Pam: Welcome and thank you.
ReplyDeleteSuperb quote - as one would expect.
ReplyDeleteI, too have had that experience of having/not having read a book, though in my case it was a play - Lorca's Blood Wedding.
Holy crap, I read this last month!!!
ReplyDeleteToo cool.
Pearl
Hehehe, I absolutely agree, I must apply the tactic to Spatz! I'm often reading books I think I've already read and only find out three quarters of the way through or not al all. Still, they're always good books.
ReplyDeleteThere was a great article in a recent 'Smithsonian' magazine about the Stein family in Paris.
ReplyDeleteThat excerpt is priceless.
Dave King: Thank you, and nice to see you again.
ReplyDeletePearl: What a coincidence. Librarygirl is also reading it now.
All Consuming: Rereading/reading, its all good.
Susan Kane: The Stein family do appear to be a fascinating group. I am glad you liked the excerpt. It is still making me smile.
What a lively blog you have! Thanks so much for dropping by mine. Gotta love that Feathered Nest!
ReplyDeleteCathy Ollife-Webster: Welcome and thank you. I agree, Delores is a gem.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome...I just might have to read that book!
ReplyDeleteSarcasticTestGuy: I wasn't disappointed, and I hope you wont be.
ReplyDeleteI have a billion drop in visitors most regularly which is why my fridge is always stocked and my wine always drunk! Helene is impressive!
ReplyDeleteGemma: Helene does indeed sound most impressive. As do you, with your busy life. If I had half a billion drop ins I would snap and either attack them with a machete or run screaming down the street.
ReplyDeleteSO very French of her... now that I think about it, yes, fried eggs do show less respect than an omelette.
ReplyDeleteI watched the old Julia Child tape on eggs, from her cooking show, The French Chef, a couple months back, and decided to try making her 3 egg omelette; the thing is, it is simple, and actually FASTER than frying eggs! It only takes 30 seconds to make an omelette. That was one angry cook!
Spectra: Isn't it wonderful how little has changed in over a hundred years and across several cultures. Omelette for dinner - pleased to see you here, fried eggs - I can't be bothered to go to any effort for you.
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