The Autobiography of Mark Twain · Chapter
The Machine Episode explained
Twain recounts his long and costly involvement with James W.
What happens
Twain recounts his long and costly involvement with James W. Paige's typesetting machine, detailing the financial losses, the complex character of Paige, and the failures of his business partner H——.
Themes in this chapter
Character and Morality
Twain's detailed moral assessment of Paige and H——, highlighting contradictions between genius and dishonesty.
Hypocrisy and Human Nature
The hypocrisy of H——, who appears honest but is described as a 'chicken-livered slave' without moral sense.
Mortality and Loss
The financial and temporal loss Twain endured over more than a decade, reflecting on wasted years and money.
Characters to notice
- Mark Twain
Narrator and investor in Paige's typesetting machine, reflecting on his financial risks and losses.
- James W. Paige
Inventor of the typesetting machine, described as a brilliant but flawed visionary with contradictory traits.
- Charles L. Webster
Twain's partner, involved in the project and correspondence regarding the machine.
- John P. Jones
Senator from Nevada who considered investing in the machine but was turned away due to Paige's last-minute changes.
Key passages
“I was always taking little chances like that—and almost always losing by it, too—a thing which I did not greatly mind, because I was always careful to risk only such amounts as I could easily afford to lose.”
Twain frequently made small speculative investments, accepting losses as long as they were within his means.
Twain's attitude toward financial risk and his willingness to gamble on inventions.
“He is a poet, a most great and genuine poet, whose sublime creations are written in steel. He is the Shakespeare of mechanical invention.”
Paige is a visionary genius whose inventions are as monumental as Shakespeare's plays.
Twain's hyperbolic praise of Paige's inventive talent, despite his flaws.
“Paige and I always meet on effusively affectionate terms, and yet he knows perfectly well that if I had him in a steel trap I would shut out all human succor and watch that trap till he died.”
Despite their friendly appearances, Twain harbors deep resentment toward Paige and would let him suffer if given the chance.
The bitter irony underlying Twain's relationship with Paige after years of financial loss.