I want to challenge the assumption that an awareness of (and even a
focus on) the various difficult times in Clemens' life leads to a
"negative" portrait.  It does yield a more complex and human image.  We
should try to look at Clemens through a human lens, one that offers us a
view of both the good and bad, the joy and sorrow.

Too often, readers look at Clemens in absolutes.  The idea that "The
focus on the negative can produce a distorted  picture of the man" is, I
think, one of those absolutes.  We could also say that "The focus on the
positives -- on joy to the exclusion of sorrow, of family peace at the
exclusion of the reality of human relationships -- also leads to a
distorted picture of the man."

Let's be more willing to accept the reality of who Clemens was and how
he and his life, and his response to that life, changed depending on
time and situation and on both internal and external influences.

Michael J. Kiskis
Elmira College