The Impossibility of Knowing Mark Twain(theparisreview.org)
theparisreview.org
The Impossibility of Knowing Mark Twain
https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2018/01/09/impossibility-knowing-mark-twain/
23 comments
Read Huckleberry Finn if you haven't. It is a more grown up book than Tom Sawyer. Probably one of the five most important American novels.
Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is surprisingly bitter, but also a good read.
Also plenty of short stories are worth reading if you don't have time for a novel. A short amusing one about home security: https://americanliterature.com/author/mark-twain/short-story...
Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is surprisingly bitter, but also a good read.
Also plenty of short stories are worth reading if you don't have time for a novel. A short amusing one about home security: https://americanliterature.com/author/mark-twain/short-story...
Thanks for those. I remember reading Huck Finn, and it had that same feeling, but definitely more grown up.
And thanks for the recommendations :)
And thanks for the recommendations :)
The article says:
> In the course of his long career, Sam Clemens lost as many friends as he made. He did not suffer fools or rivals gladly, especially if they wore crinoline.
Is "if they wore crinoline" an oblique way of saying "if they were women," or is it a turn of phrase meaning something else? I ask because I don't feel like many would understand (perhaps I'm wrong, given the forum?) the significance of "crinoline," a material that, as far as I know, is no longer in regular use...
I would lean toward it meaning "if they were women," but the lists after that phrase are generally men, with only two women.
> In the course of his long career, Sam Clemens lost as many friends as he made. He did not suffer fools or rivals gladly, especially if they wore crinoline.
Is "if they wore crinoline" an oblique way of saying "if they were women," or is it a turn of phrase meaning something else? I ask because I don't feel like many would understand (perhaps I'm wrong, given the forum?) the significance of "crinoline," a material that, as far as I know, is no longer in regular use...
I would lean toward it meaning "if they were women," but the lists after that phrase are generally men, with only two women.
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On first pass I took that to mean if they were rigid/formal people. May not be what was intended, but that's how it sat with me.
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I'd guess that "wore" should be printed as "were". And further that it's intended to be a figurative use of the word meant to convey that he disliked people who were stiff or formal, like a crinoline. Disliking women has nothing to do with it.
The author seems rather fond of that phrase, which shows that it's not a typo.
This essay is excerpted from The Life of Mark Twain: The Early Years. The relevant quote it:
> In the course of his long career, Sam Clemens lost as many friends as he made. He did not suffer fools or rivals gladly, especially if they wore crinoline. He targeted them indiscriminately—from religious leaders (e.g., Mary Baker Eddy, John Alexander Dowie, De Witt Talmage), politicians (William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, Tim Sullivan), fellow writers and lecturers (Bret Harte, Kate Field), to literary pirates (John Camden Hotten) and military leaders (Frederick Funston).
From "Twain in His Own Time" (same author), we see very similar text, but not identical - https://books.google.com/books?id=Po0GV2mONToC&pg=PR17&dq=%2... :
> In the course of his long career, Mark Twain lost as many friend as he made. He did not suffer fools or rivals gladly, especially if they wore crinoline. He targeted them indiscriminately - from religious leaders (for example, Mary Baker Eddy, John Alexander Dowie, DeWitt Talmadge), to politicians (William McKinley, Tim Sullivan), to fellow writers and lecturers (Bret Harte, Kate Field), to literary pirates (John Camden Hotten), to military leaders (Frederick Funston)."
From "Kate Field: The Many Lives of a Nineteenth-century American Journalist" (same author: - https://books.google.com/books?id=y3j5MT6gM5EC&pg=PA82&dq=%2...
> ... and coedited the Buffalo Express. He did not suffer rivals gladly, especially those who wore crinoline. In early January ...
This essay is excerpted from The Life of Mark Twain: The Early Years. The relevant quote it:
> In the course of his long career, Sam Clemens lost as many friends as he made. He did not suffer fools or rivals gladly, especially if they wore crinoline. He targeted them indiscriminately—from religious leaders (e.g., Mary Baker Eddy, John Alexander Dowie, De Witt Talmage), politicians (William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, Tim Sullivan), fellow writers and lecturers (Bret Harte, Kate Field), to literary pirates (John Camden Hotten) and military leaders (Frederick Funston).
From "Twain in His Own Time" (same author), we see very similar text, but not identical - https://books.google.com/books?id=Po0GV2mONToC&pg=PR17&dq=%2... :
> In the course of his long career, Mark Twain lost as many friend as he made. He did not suffer fools or rivals gladly, especially if they wore crinoline. He targeted them indiscriminately - from religious leaders (for example, Mary Baker Eddy, John Alexander Dowie, DeWitt Talmadge), to politicians (William McKinley, Tim Sullivan), to fellow writers and lecturers (Bret Harte, Kate Field), to literary pirates (John Camden Hotten), to military leaders (Frederick Funston)."
From "Kate Field: The Many Lives of a Nineteenth-century American Journalist" (same author: - https://books.google.com/books?id=y3j5MT6gM5EC&pg=PA82&dq=%2...
> ... and coedited the Buffalo Express. He did not suffer rivals gladly, especially those who wore crinoline. In early January ...
Interestingly, the last quote seems to be the original one as it appears in a book published earlier. And it seems to refer to women, at least those wearing crinoline, because it is used to introduce Twain’s dislike for Kate Field.
The author might have become enamoured with this phrase, re-using it when it doesn’t make so much sense.
The author might have become enamoured with this phrase, re-using it when it doesn’t make so much sense.
I think that's a reasonable interpretation.
In looking for a connection between Twain and crinoline just now (spurred by your comment), I found https://webb-deane-stevens.org/swimming-against-the-tide-in-... :
> In celebration of Women’s History Month, the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum will host a lecture, “Swimming Against the Tide in Crinoline and Pin Curls: The Life and Spirit of Isabella Beecher Hooker,” ... Raised to believe that her place was at home, Hooker chaffed at the role. She was prickly. She refused to go quietly. She sided against her powerful family when her brother, a noted minister, was involved in a sex scandal that rocked the nation. Though he was a neighbor, Mark Twain avoided her, as did some of her family members.
On the other hand, there's also the book "Crusader in Crinoline: the Life of Harriet Beecher Stowe", and Stowe and Twain were next-door neighbors and friends.
In looking for a connection between Twain and crinoline just now (spurred by your comment), I found https://webb-deane-stevens.org/swimming-against-the-tide-in-... :
> In celebration of Women’s History Month, the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum will host a lecture, “Swimming Against the Tide in Crinoline and Pin Curls: The Life and Spirit of Isabella Beecher Hooker,” ... Raised to believe that her place was at home, Hooker chaffed at the role. She was prickly. She refused to go quietly. She sided against her powerful family when her brother, a noted minister, was involved in a sex scandal that rocked the nation. Though he was a neighbor, Mark Twain avoided her, as did some of her family members.
On the other hand, there's also the book "Crusader in Crinoline: the Life of Harriet Beecher Stowe", and Stowe and Twain were next-door neighbors and friends.
Reasonable interpretation. Nice research. I wish the author had expressed what they meant more clearly. That phrase is poorly deployed.
I don't think so. Art Garfunkel sings about wearing it;
What a dream I had, Pressed in organdy, Clothed in crinoline, Of smoky burgundy, Softer than the rain.
For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her
What a dream I had, Pressed in organdy, Clothed in crinoline, Of smoky burgundy, Softer than the rain.
For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her
https://books.google.com/books?id=pxs2AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA569&dq=%... has a letter from a coroner talking about the number of women "destroyed by fire from crinoline" and how "[i]n Austria some distinguished ladies appear to be determined not to receive any lady who wore crinoline."
From the various Google Books matches, I get the sense that some people were against crinoline. Eg, from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=CmWbmSzGNNsC&dq=%22w...
> "But," say the opponents of crinoline, "why carry a heavier burden than is absolutely necessary?" We reply that the tension of silks, ...
> Crinoline has been the most abused article under the sun, but ladies have been unanimous in its praise ..
From the various Google Books matches, I get the sense that some people were against crinoline. Eg, from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=CmWbmSzGNNsC&dq=%22w...
> "But," say the opponents of crinoline, "why carry a heavier burden than is absolutely necessary?" We reply that the tension of silks, ...
> Crinoline has been the most abused article under the sun, but ladies have been unanimous in its praise ..
Replying to myself, after a bit of research, it seems like "wearing crinoline" is actually a marker for being more concerned with fashion (e.g. hoop skirts). Perhaps a modern day equivalent would be saying that someone looks down on people who "wear lumberjack shirts with their hair high and tight" (e.g. hipsters).
Example: http://www.wondersandmarvels.com/2012/08/death-by-crinoline....
Example: http://www.wondersandmarvels.com/2012/08/death-by-crinoline....
Hey!
I rock flannel and love my military cut! Am not a hipster!
I rock flannel and love my military cut! Am not a hipster!
Interesting fact about Mark Twain that’s not well known: he was a member of the anti-imperial league, decried the invasion of the Philippines by the US
Another fun fact is that Mark Twain was good friends with Tesla.
It's a pity how little most people know Mark Twain. He was so much more than the guy who wrote Tom Sawyer. He had many different and uncommon lifes in his life...A lot of inspiring things too.
His 3 volumes autobiography is a long but amazing read, just like his letters. But my favorite is "Life on the Mississippi". All this is close to 2000 pages but it's worth reading.
His 3 volumes autobiography is a long but amazing read, just like his letters. But my favorite is "Life on the Mississippi". All this is close to 2000 pages but it's worth reading.
Life on the Mississippi is one of my favorites. It's rather discursive and lacks a strong story arc, but the descriptions of working on the river in the years before the Civil War are a window into a fascinating, lost world.
Not sure how popular this is, but I loved his essay 'What is man'
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/70/70-h/70-h.htm
Would definitely recommend this one.
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/70/70-h/70-h.htm
Would definitely recommend this one.
I’m 25% of the way through it. Over the years I find myself adopting the same perspective as the old man. However, I find the position he puts out is very tautological. Maybe it’s meant to be that way - a made-up dialogue of contrasting viewpoints, just a thought exercise for the reader?
The Mark Twain Project has made his autobiography (and other writings) freely available online:
http://www.marktwainproject.org/landing_writings.shtml
I listened to the audiobook version, as my preference/availability. Highly recommended.
http://www.marktwainproject.org/landing_writings.shtml
I listened to the audiobook version, as my preference/availability. Highly recommended.
But also because Tom Sawyer was the first book I had read as a child that put the taste of Southern grass in my mouth and the feeling of thick humidity reaching out and strangling me.
I don't always like writers from past times (the older they are, the harder the mental overhead in feeling the story), but he was one from another time that intoxicated me, even as a "millennial" hooked on comics and video games.
This article and other comments have inspired me to dig a bit more into the man.