This paper defines the
autobiography as one person's decision to chronicle his/her life by writing down the sum of their
experiences, which allows readers to gain knowledge about him/her. The writer of this paper focuses on Gertrude Stein's writing in "The
Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas" which has since proven to be years ahead of
feminist, literary and psychological theory. Stein was one of the first feminist fiction writers to bring the discussion of self-writing and its language to the forefront. The book chronicles the life of Stein and her long-time companion while focusing on the idea of self-definition. The title alone represents the parody Stein was creating by using the language of autobiography against itself. This paper examines Stein's method for breaking down both the societal constraints that foreclose on us and the walls of a genre that women, especially lesbian, expatriate writers, cannot identify with.