Mr. Zehr

For what it is worth I second your comments on the tendencies of the
"littery" scholars.

I feel I'm not qualified to speak on Mark Twain other than his short
sojourn in Washington City and return visits. But I feel I can speak on an
associate of Twain's, Frederick Douglass.

Yale professor David Blight who specializes in speculative Civil War memory
history has been making the rounds promoting a book I've heard about for
nearly a decade but is yet published.

Blight has said he wanted to book's title to be "biography of voice"
(paraphrase) or something similar. Simon & Schuster reportedly said, nope
on the title. Blight, who has an affinity for James Baldwin as a literary
figure, discusses Douglass as a "littery" figure who was a craftsmen of
vocabulary. That said, Blight has made a number of psuedo-psychoanalytic
claims about Douglass' first marriage, his relationship with European women
and even his extended family.

As a small-time local biographer I understand there are historical
oligarchies across towns, cities, states and countries. These oligarchies
distort and speculate history with their own biases. To call Twain a
"latent pedophile" is close to libelous or slanderous, right? Would one
have have said that to Twain's face or written that if he was around to
respond.

And I used a couple of Prof. Scharnorst's compendiums of Twain interviews
and accounts from contemporaries. Good work. And his book on Kate Field is
good. Just because you may have stayed in a Holiday Inn Express doesn't
make folks the shrinks of the dead.

It is refreshing to be a part of this listserv and forum to know that some
people do care about just straight facts and research and context of place
and association.


On Mon, Apr 23, 2018 at 6:54 AM, Martin Zehr <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> A comment on one aspect of the book, at least as conveyed through Barb's
> review, is the anachronistic tendency of "littery" scholars to bolster
> their views through reliance on psychoanalytic trash, but then, I repeat
> myself.  As for Attention Deficit hyperactivity disorder,  to date there is
> NO objective criteria for it's diagnosis, which is usually applied only
> after a retrospective clinical history,  and then often to individuals who
> demonstrate a talent for NOT being able to get tasks accomplished,  a
> description one would hardly associate with Twain.
> Axe ground,
> Martin Zehr
>
> On Mon, Apr 23, 2018, 5:43 AM Barbara Schmidt <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
> > BOOK REVIEW
> >
> >
> > _The Life of Mark Twain: The Early Years, 1835-1871_. By Gary
> Scharnhorst.
> > University of Missouri Press, 2018. Pp. 686. Hardcover. ISBN
> > 978-0-8262-2144-5. $36.95.
> >
> >
> > Many books reviewed on the Forum are available at discounted prices from
> > the TwainWeb Bookstore, and purchases from this site generate commissions
> > that benefit the Mark Twain Project. Please visit <
> http://www.twainweb.net
> > >.
> >
> >
> > Reviewed for the Mark Twain Forum by
> > Barbara Schmidt
> >
> >
> > Copyright (c) 2018 Mark Twain Forum. This review may not be published or
> > redistributed in any medium without permission.
> >
> >
> > _The Life of Mark Twain: The Early Years, 1835-1871_ is the first volume
> in
> > a planned 3-volume edition from Gary Scharnhorst, university professor,
> > editor, and noted Mark Twain scholar. It is a well-written and
> > well-documented attempt to untangle the facts from the myths and legends
> > that surround the early life of Samuel Clemens. Much of the information
> > that has been published about Clemens's early life originated with
> Clemens
> > himself who embellished, embroidered, and misremembered facts in his own
> > writings and autobiography. His hand-picked biographer Albert Bigelow
> > Paine, who lived nearby him during his last years and assumed the role
> of a
> > surrogate son, exercised a rigid determination to please the Clemens
> family
> > and protect their reputation. Paine's 1912 biography has been rightly
> > criticized for being less than objective.
> >
> >
> > Scharnhorst supports his arguments for a new multi-volume biography of
> > Clemens with unflinching disdain for Paine. He refers to Paine as "a
> young
> > sycophant without a pedigree" (xviii), a man who had a "lack of
> > professional training" (xxiii), and a "hagiographer" (439). Scharnhorst
> > judges Paine using twenty-first century standards. It is a common
> attitude
> > displayed by many of today's scholars who overlook nineteenth century
> > realities. Such treatment of Paine was recently discussed by Mary Eden in
> > her excellent article in the _Mark Twain Journal_ (Spring 2018).
> >
> >
> > Scharnhorst states his goal is to provide a multi-volume biography of
> > Clemens from his personal and "single point of view on an expansive
> canvas"
> > (xxvi). While some scholars such as Greg Camfield have suggested that
> > specialized, tightly focused, single-volume biographies are the best way
> to
> > capture the complexity of Clemens's life, Scharnhorst disagrees and feels
> > such coverage only leads to "wildly different conclusions." He compares
> the
> > wide array of current biographies written by a multitude of scholars to
> > constructing a "grotesque Cadillac from spare parts from different
> models"
> > (xxvi). However, Scharnhorst makes clear in his preface that readers
> should
> > expect "no bombshells" or "dark secrets" in this first volume. He is
> > correct--the material should be familiar ground to many scholars.
> >
> >
> > Scharnhorst's preface also makes clear that his point of view is contrary
> > to those of many scholars today--such as Shelley Fisher Fishkin who feels
> > that Clemens and his works are still relevant and that he is "more a
> > creature of our time than of his" (xxvii). Scharnhorst disdains the Mark
> > Twain impersonators in white linen suits and fright wigs who mimic "a
> > middle-aged bankrupt" and he has no love to share for "coffee-table
> > compilations of his maxims" (xxviii). Scharnhorst's approach prompted one
> > early reader of an advance reading copy of the book to comment, "As I
> read
> > parts of his book I could not shake the feeling that GS doesn't like
> > Twain."
> >
> >
> > Examining Clemens's life up to 1871, the book's eighteen chapters cover
> his
> > ancestry, childhood, journeyman printing work, steamboat piloting, the
> > Civil War experiences, life in Nevada and California, Sandwich Islands
> > trip, Holy Land excursion, platform lecturing, his courtship and
> marriage,
> > and newspaper work in Buffalo, New York. Among Scharnhorst's strengths
> are
> > his flair for providing interesting historical context and his keen
> > awareness of who has written what in the past, whether it be major works
> on
> > Mark Twain or obscure journal articles written decades in the past. He
> > frequently challenges both past and present scholars when their views
> > differ from his own.
> >
> >
> > Early in his book, Scharnhorst declares that there is enough
> circumstantial
> > evidence to label Samuel Clemens a "latent pedophile, obsessed with
> > prepubescent lasses" (105). It is a psychoanalytic theory advanced as
> early
> > as 1977 by John Seelye in _Mark Twain in the Movies_ and in 1991 by Guy
> > Cardwell in _The Man Who Was Mark Twain_. Some readers will likely
> conclude
> > that Scharnhorst overreaches in his search for convincing evidence by
> > citing Clemens's affectionate letter to his sister-in-law Mollie Clemens
> > asking her to kiss his six-year-old niece Jennie for him. Scharnhorst
> > characterizes the letter as "creepy" (105). To further his argument he
> > labels the compliment Clemens gave his wife Livy calling her "slender and
> > beautiful and girlish" as "most unusual" (106). In a further observation
> he
> > states that Clemens's pet names for his wife seemed to "infantilize her"
> > (610). In the end, however, Scharnhorst concludes "no solid evidence of
> any
> > actual improper behavior toward young girls has ever surfaced" (107). In
> > further efforts at psychoanalysis, Scharnhorst theorizes that both
> Clemens
> > and his brother Orion may have suffered from attention deficit
> > hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). He quotes Clemens's statement, "I was born
> > excited" as well as a long passage from a memoir written by Clemens's
> > fellow journalist and roommate Dan De Quille who described Clemens as
> > "nervously overstrung." To further support this argument Scharnhorst
> points
> > out "As is common for children with ADHD, many of Sam's early friends
> were
> > younger than he was" (40).
> >
> >
> > Livy fares rather well under Scharnhorst's scrutiny with one minor
> > exception. Livy once told her daughter Susy that the letters Clemens sent
> > her during their courtship were "the loveliest love letters that were
> ever
> > written." Scharnhorst calls that "a hyperbolic statement that
> demonstrates
> > her own facility for fiction" (474).
> >
> >
> > Scharnhorst challenges and often corrects other biographers on a variety
> of
> > subjects. Among them are: Robert E. Weir and Andrew Levy regarding
> > Clemens's progressive thinking; Shelley Fisher Fishkin regarding what
> > Scharnhorst defines as a mistake of "presentism"--"reinventing him as if
> he
> > was our contemporary";  Andrew Hoffman regarding "silly speculation"
> > related to possible homosexual behavior; James C. Austin and Albert E.
> > Stone, Jr. regarding Clemens's early publications appearing on the East
> > Coast; Donnelyn Curtis and Lawrence Berkove regarding Clemens's defense
> of
> > the Chinese workers in California; Jim Zwick regarding Clemens's views on
> > Hawaiian annexation; Albert Bigelow Paine regarding advice Clemens
> received
> > from Anson Burlingame--which Scharnhorst feels rings hollow; Effie Mona
> > Mack, Albert E. Stone, Jr., Andrew Hoffman, Joseph B. McCullough, Janice
> > McIntire-Strasberg, Joe Jackson, and Ron Powers regarding Mark Twain's
> > early newspaper report of the _Hornet_ disaster and its importance to his
> > career; Franklin Walker, G. Ezra Dane, Charles Webster, and James Caron
> > regarding their misidentification of an Albert Bierstadt painting at
> > Yosemite that Clemens wrote about; Richard S. Lowry, Robert Regan, and
> > Dewey Ganzel regarding their "tolerating" Clemens's plagiarism in reports
> > from the _Quaker City_ tour of the Holy Land.
> >
> >
> > One scholar Scharnhorst does not openly challenge--if only through
> > omission--is Kevin Mac Donnell, who has advanced the theory that Clemens
> > took his pen name "Mark Twain" from a cartoonish character in a sketch in
> > _Vanity Fair_. When Mac Donnell published his theory in the _Mark Twain
> > Journal_ (Spring/Fall 2012) it received national media attention that
> > lasted through 2014. Ignoring the theory entirely, Scharnhorst sticks to
> > his own theory that the "Mark Twain" pseudonym originated when Clemens
> > charged his Nevada bar tabs--two marks for two drinks. That theory,
> > however, has been discredited. In January 2015 James Caron reported to
> the
> > Mark Twain Forum his discovery of a newspaper report that divulged the
> > bar-tab story originated with the Nevada journalist Alfred Doten who told
> > it for entertainment purposes to other reporters who never knew Clemens.
> >
> >
> > Much misinformation regarding Clemens originated from the "social media"
> of
> > the nineteenth century in the form of "news" written by local reporters
> > across Nevada and California who baited, hoaxed, bullied, and practiced
> > character assassination with one another with accusations of alcohol
> > abusing, fornicating, and suffering from venereal diseases. Such reports
> > are at the heart of Scharnhorst's theory that a sexually active Clemens
> > contracted venereal disease. When a rival newspaper reporter for the San
> > Francisco _Bulletin_ scolded Clemens for coming from the Chinatown
> > district, Scharnhorst declares "There was no good reason for a white male
> > to frequent Chinatown except to patronize a bar or brothel" (206).
> > Scharnhorst concedes that evidence for Clemens's having contracted a
> > venereal disease is circumstantial. However, he reminds readers of that
> > possibility several times throughout the book whenever Clemens reported
> he
> > suffered from a cold or other ailment (207, 302, 369).
> >
> >
> > Other subjects on which Scharnhorst differs from previous scholars
> include
> > one regarding Clemens's father, John Marshall Clemens. Both Paine and
> > Clemens himself told the story of how the family's misfortunes required
> the
> > elder Clemens to sell a slave named Charley in January 1842. Scharnhorst
> > repeats the story as have other recent biographers. However, in 1989 Mark
> > Twain Project editors Dahlia Armon and Walter Blair cautioned that a
> close
> > reading of Clemens's letter to his wife Jane suggested that Charley was
> not
> > a slave, but a horse (_Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer Among the Indians_, pp.
> > 277-78.)
> >
> >
> > Another event that has inspired differing interpretations surrounds the
> > trip Clemens made in 1854 to Muscatine, Iowa, carrying a pistol to his
> > brother Orion's home. Scharnhorst again follows Paine's interpretation
> that
> > Sam carried the pistol without any real intent to harm Orion. However, in
> > _Mark Twain and Orion Clemens_ (2003) Philip Fanning believes Clemens's
> > intent was homicidal and supports his theory with a 1901 letter Clemens
> > wrote to his friend Joseph Twichell wherein he confessed, "I bought a
> > revolver once and travelled twelve hundred miles to kill a man" (Fanning,
> > p. 37).
> >
> >
> > While a number of Scharnhorst's theories are open to lively debate, small
> > errors do creep in. For example, a photo of Clemens holding a typestick
> is
> > described as Clemens holding a "typecase," which is a piece of furniture
> > (47); Clemens contributed only one article to _American Courier_ in 1852,
> > not "a pair," (64);  _The Celebrated Jumping Frog_ sold only about 4,000
> > copies in two years, not 14,000 (386). A number of photos are credited to
> > the author's collection when originals of these photos are owned by
> > archives elsewhere. One major error is the statement that during the
> > _Quaker City_ excursion and Clemens's visit to Spain in the company of
> > fellow passengers Julia Newell and Reeves Jackson, "he recorded almost
> > nothing about this week" (434). Scharnhorst coyly observes that Clemens
> did
> > not mention sleeping arrangements and speculates that "Sam preferred
> > discretion to disclosure" because fellow travelers Newell and Jackson, a
> > married man, had fallen in love. Clemens, in fact, did write a chapter on
> > Spain that was eventually edited out of _The Innocents Abroad_. The
> > forty-three page manuscript is in the Vassar College Special Collections.
> > It is a lively account of some Spanish misadventures and perhaps will be
> > included in a University of California Works edition of _The Innocents
> > Abroad_ at some future date.
> >
> >
> > Much of the welcome new material presented in this volume has been
> > unearthed from historical newspaper files that continue to flood into
> > internet databases. The availability of new data serves to supplement,
> > confirm and revise what has been previously written or theorized, and
> > Scharnhorst makes much use of it by quoting newspaper reviews of
> Clemens's
> > books and lectures. The book features extensive reference notes, a
> massive
> > bibliography of print sources and a comprehensive index. Although
> > Scharnhorst comments, "I cannot overstate the importance of the new
> > technology in revolutionizing literary studies" (xxvii), he lists no
> > internet resources in his bibliography. Whether or not one agrees with
> > Scharnhorst's points of view, scholars and libraries will do well to add
> > this one to their bookshelves as a well-written challenge to previous
> > scholarship that should not be overlooked.
> >
>



-- 
John Muller
202.236.3413
Capital Community News l Greater Greater Washington l Washington Syndicate

*Frederick Douglass in Washington, D.C: The Lion of Anacostia
<http://www.amazon.com/Frederick-Douglass-Washington-D-c-Anacostia/dp/1609495772/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=H42HP4SBZ8OA&coliid=I34OMAR1SV8L9G>*
[The
History Press, 2012]  Winner of 2013 DC READS
Mark Twain in Washington, D.C.: The Adventures of a Capital Correspondent
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