Chapters from My Autobiography
Chapters from My Autobiography are twenty-five pieces of autobiographical work published by American author Mark Twain in the North American Review between September 1906 and December 1907. Rather than following the standard form of an autobiography, they comprises a rambling collection of anecdotes and ruminations. Much of the text was dictated.
These chapters comprise only a fraction of the autobiographical work written by Twain. Other material, which was unpublished and in a disorganised state at the time of Twain's death in 1910, was progressively collated and published over the next 100 years in various forms.
Chapters
Chapter 1
Chapter 1 appeared in the September 7, 1906 issue of the North American Review. Twain tells his readers that his autobiography won't be about “showy episodes” in his life, but rather about common experiences from the life of an average person. Then he writes about a conversation he has with American author and lifelong friend, William Dean Howells, and tells him that this autobiography will help set the standard for future autobiographies and will still be read for thousands of years to come. Howells agrees with him that this work will indeed be that revolutionary. Then he goes on to talk about how his family grew up in Jamestown.Chapter 2
Chapter 2 appeared in the September 21, 1906 issue of the North American Review. This Chapter focuses mostly on Twain's first experiences as an author, which started in 1867, when Charles H. Webb, editor and reporter, suggested that he published a volume of sketches. He knew him through the story called “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” which was published in The Saturday Press, and later copied in newspapers in America and England. However, even though people knew this story, Twain was not famous yet. After Carleton refused to publish Twain's work, the sketches ended up being published by Webb himself. In 1868, Elisha Bliss, from the American Publishing Company of Hartford, asked Twain to publish a book recounting the Quaker City Excursion he just went on. The company did not publish it right away because they thought that it might have an impact on the house's reputation. Twain insisted, and they ended up publishing it in 1869, which, according to Bliss, took the publishing house out of debt. When he was fourteen years old, Twain's sister had a party at their house, and was supposed to dress up as a bear in order to perform in a small play. He went to change in a room, and practiced his role, not knowing that there were two girls in that room, who saw him. When he understood what happened, he was ashamed. He never knew who the girls were, and after this event, he suspected all the girls he knew.Chapter 3
Chapter 3 appeared in the October 5, 1906 issue of the North American Review. This chapter focuses on two of the most important women in the author's life: his wife Olivia, and one of his three daughters: Susy. Twain begins this chapter by reminiscing on his deceased wife: he is writing the day before their thirty-sixth anniversary. The first two pages of this chapter can be considered as a eulogy of Twain's wife. He then draws a parallel between her death and that of his daughter Susy who succumbed to meningitis at age twenty-four. A significant detail about her death is that her last word was “Mamma.” Twain relies on the bond which existed between his wife and his daughter to write an even longer eulogy of his Susy, emphasizing her intelligence and quick thinking even as young child, and her having inherited her mother's positive qualities. He almost apologizes for only wanting to focus on the positive aspects of her life. Very interestingly, Twain's other children Langdon, Clara, and Jean are only mentioned for context, and Twain does not give the reader many details about himself. Therefore, this chapter is mostly a biography of his deceased wife and daughter.Chapter 4
Chapter 4 appeared in the October 19, 1906 issue of the North American Review. This chapter begins with Twain remarking on how honored he felt when his daughter Susy started compiling a biography of him. He then begins explaining some of the entries from it, saying that he will not be making any alternations to her text in order to maintain its purity. He details how reviewers often misjudged him during this time. Susy chooses to spend part of her biography defending him against these criticisms. Twain then goes on to explain how Susy captured his temper. She does this specifically by describing a situation in which Twain becomes frustrated and sarcastic about the security system in his home never working efficiently. Other stories are summarized, such as Twain's ability to tell a story based on images/paintings in their home, as well as tales of Twain's interactions with their peculiarly named cats. Twain ends the chapter by again praising Susy's honesty, saying about her, “This is a frank historian.” He seems generally delighted and flattered throughout the chapter that his daughter chose to become his biographer at such a young age as 15.Chapter 5
Chapter 5 appeared in the November 2, 1906 issue of the North American Review. This chapter provides some context about Twain's siblings: Orion, Margaret, Pamela, Benjamin, and Henry. Margaret and Benjamin both died young. Twain then goes on to tell a lot of Orion's life story, mainly dealing with his internal struggles. He was a very eager man, but he also suffered from “deep glooms.” He was also very indecisive in what sort of career he wanted. He attempted to learn the printer's trade, how to be a lawyer, and how to be an orator. His indecisiveness carried into his religion and politics as well. It's mentioned several times throughout the chapter that although he was indecisive, he was always sincere, truthful and honest. He had an incredible drive to please others. After his father's death he returned home to help support his mother and youngest brother, Henry. Twain then moves into a brief description of his apprenticeship during this time, describing its benefits along with his relationship with his boss and his fellow apprentices.Chapter 6
Chapter 6 appeared in the November 16, 1906 issue of the North American Review.Chapter 7
Chapter 7 appeared in the December 7, 1906 issue of the North American Review.Chapter 8
Chapter 8 appeared in the December 21, 1906 issue of the North American Review.In this chapter, Mark Twain describes living and working in Nevada as the City Editor for Mr. Goodman's Virginia City Enterprise. He was twenty-nine years old at the time. Dueling was in fashion, and several of his coworkers at the paper got involved and encouraged him to as well, which he eventually did while working on an editorial for Shakespeare's birthday in 1864. Another editor, Mr. Laird the for the Virginia City Union, working on a similar editorial. Issuing a challenge for a duel in traditional fashion, the men met to duel, but did not go through with it. Shortly after Twain's failed attempt at a duel, a new was passed that carried a two-year jail sentence with dueling. Since Twain had engaged in challenging someone to a duel on several occasions, he fled the territory and did not engage in dueling activities again.
Chapter 9
Chapter 9 appeared in the January 4, 1907 issue of the North American Review. This chapter centers on Twain's ideas about how humans are designed for monarchical rule over democracy. He discusses how “the human race was always intended to be governed by kingship, not by popular vote” due to people's inclination toward power. To get this idea across, he tells the story of how he pretended to be hypnotized by a “mesmerizer,” a hypnotist referred to as Hicks, who visited his hometown when he was fifteen. He eventually became the only participant in his show because of his convincing performance, even though his hypnosis was only an act. He started to crave the attention he received, and he wanted the crowd to favor him over Hicks. Thirty-five years after the fact, he decided to tell his mother that it was a lie. To his surprise she said, “You were only a child then, and could not have done it.” He admitted to his faults, but his mother refused to believe that it was true.Chapter 10
Chapter 10 appeared in the January 18, 1907 issue of the North American Review. This chapter discusses Orion Clemens, who was Twain's eldest brother, antedating him by ten years. After a series of moves, he and his family found themselves living in Hannibal, Missouri, when he was twelve years old. At the age of fifteen, Orion had moved to St. Louis to learn the printing trade. During his apprenticeship, Orion would become good friends with Edward Bates, who later served in President Lincoln’s first cabinet. During his time in St. Louis, Orion was known to change his ventures to match his ever-changing interests. He would set out to be a lawyer one week, and next an orator. Despite his constant change of interest and desire, Orion would always put forth his best effort and maximum concentration, even if the interest changed after a week’s time.In this chapter, Twain uses the phrase "Lies, damned lies, and statistics", attributing it to Benjamin Disraeli. This usage is believed to have popularised the phrase.
Chapter 11
Chapter 11 appeared in the February 1, 1907 issue of the North American Review.Chapter 12
Chapter 12 appeared in the February 15, 1907 issue of the North American Review.Chapter 13
Chapter 13 appeared in the March 1, 1907 issue of the North American Review. Twain touches on his youth but focuses mainly on the summers he spent on his uncle’s farm a couple miles outside of Florida, Missouri, the town of his birth. The summers he spent here from about ages 6-13 were highly influential on his writing and his development as a person. It is here that he was exposed to the African American slave life, which affected him deeply. A slave, "Unc'l Daniel," had the most impact, serving as an inspiration for the character Jim in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and shaping his view of African Americans. He states: “It was on the farm that I got my strong liking for his race and my appreciation of certain of its fine qualities.” This farm was the model for the farm used in Huck Finn. In the town of Florida, he would also draw inspiration from people he met, developing them into characters such as General and Injun Joe.Chapter 14
Chapter 14 appeared in the March 15, 1907 issue of the North American Review. This chapter begins with an excerpt from Susy's biography of him in which she talks about how her sister Clara was always opposite from her. Clara always seemed to be braver than she was as she would stand perfectly still when having a sliver of wood removed from her finger while Susy would be very cowardly. Twain remarks on how Susy had a knack for remembering things very accurately. He then goes on to exclaim his pride in Clara's saying that she was brave, but nobody was braver than God. He was proud that Clara was becoming a great thinker and observer. Twain then moves into a long story about how his family once moved to Berlin, Germany, where he was invited to a dinner with Emperor Wilhelm II. Before going to the party, Twain became friends with one of the officials at the Foreign Office who he would call Smith. Smith was tired of having to work all the time and was considering resigning without getting a vacation. In the end during the party, Smith got his vacation and Twain was honored by the Kaiser, who praised "Old Times on the Mississippi". Twain then explains that he had broken the unspoken law in Germany that if someone entered a house after ten, they must pay a toll to the doorman for waking him. In the later entries Twain would reflect back on the imperial dinner with the Kaiser.Chapter 15
Chapter 15 appeared in the April 5, 1907 issue of the North American Review. This chapter begins with Twain describing his experience renting kittens for the summer time. He relates the three kittens he had at the time to the people around him. Twain claims that conformity is inevitable within most living creatures, especially in man: “They are afraid to be outside; whatever the fashion happens to be, they conform to it.” Twain then describes his innate desire to stand out in a conforming world. He mentions his old age briefly and ponders the thought that this quality could in fact benefit his hope to express himself freely, specifically through the act of potentially wearing a colorful wardrobe in the dead of winter. “We all conform to the prevailing insanity,” he writes, “and go about in dreary black, each man doing it because the others do it.” The chapter concludes with a few stories of young men he defeated in the game of billiards, discussing his secret behind winning so often. This streak went on until George Robertson visited from Boston and defeated Twain at last after doubling the bet four times in a row.Chapter 16
Chapter 16 appeared in the April 19, 1907 issue of the North American Review.In this chapter, Twain recounts having his word discounted since he was young. Somewhere between the ages of 7 and 12, he believes his mother learned the art of interpreting his stories. Twain quotes her by saying, "I discount him thirty percent for embroidery, and what is left is perfect and priceless truth, without a flaw in it anywhere." Approximately forty years later, as part of The Monday Evening Club, Twain told a story of a dream he had foreshadowing the death of his brother, Henry. In his dream, he saw his brother dressed in one of Twain's suits, in a metallic casket, lying across two chairs, with a bouquet of roses on his breast, mostly white with a red rose in the center. Three weeks later, Henry had actually died and all of the details from his dream were present. Another member, Dr. Burton, asked how long he'd been telling the story and how often, explaining that he used to tell a story of his own and found pleasure in astonishing his audience. After 10 to 15 years, he reexamined the tale and found it to be one part fact and twenty-four parts embroidery. Even after the confrontation, Twain believed the accuracy of his tale.