Yes, there has already been too much "pop psychoanalysis" in Mark Twain
criticism, although the phrase itself is a redundancy.  "Splitting"
personalities seems to me to be a highfalutin attempt to "explain" the
obvious- that authors and humorists of Twain's era commonly used pseudonyms
and constructed characters.
Consider:

David Ross Locke-           Petroleum V. Nasby
Henry Wheeler Shaw-      Josh Billings
Charles Farrar Browne-    Artemus Ward
Robert Henry Newell-       Orpheus C. Kerr
Benjamin Penhallow Shillaber- Mrs. Partington
William Wright-                Dan DeQuille

Habit and convention are the most defensible explanations for Sam's
adoption of the "Twain" brand and character, after trying many others,
e.g., W. Epaminondas Adrastus Blab, and, as Kevin Mac Donnell has cogently
argued, even the particular choice of pseudonym was likely "borrowed," from
Artemus Ward, no less.

Freud was purported to have observed that "Sometimes a cigar is just a
cigar," and, although he probably didn't say that, it would have been one
of the few contributions of psychoanalysis to literary criticism worth
remembering.
Respectfully,
Martin Zehr

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On Sun, Oct 1, 2017 at 6:25 PM, Doug Aldridge <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I don=92t know of any study of Sam=92s relationship with Henry, and as fa=
> r as I=20
> know his autobiography gives the most insight. But your question got me=20=
>
> thinking. Did Sam=92s survivor-guilt after Henry=92s death contribute to =
> the=20
> splitting of his personality into the respectable SLC and the irreverent =
> MT=20
> as he tried to bring Henry back to life?  In other words, was Henry
> (the=20=
>
> model for Sid Sawyer in Tom Sawyer) also the model for =93S. L.
> Clemens,=94=
> =20
> respectable gentleman and twin of Mark Twain?  Although I think there has=
> =20
> already been too much pop psychoanalysis in Mark Twain criticism, it=92s =
> an=20
> interesting question, although probably, I suspect, an unanswerable
> one.=20=
>
> Good luck, and I hope this helps. Life intervened in my case, too.
>