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 <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> Virus-free. www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=link> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2> 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. >