The Autobiography of Mark Twain · Chapter
Tuesday, February 20, 1906 explained
Mark Twain reflects on the passage of time and mortality after reading a death notice for Mrs.
What happens
Mark Twain reflects on the passage of time and mortality after reading a death notice for Mrs. Mary Wilkes, widow of Rear-Admiral Wilkes, and a letter from Jean Burlingame Beatty about his tribute to her grandfather, Anson Burlingame. He recounts his first meeting with Burlingame in Honolulu in 1866, their collaboration on reporting the Hornet disaster, and Burlingame's advice to 'always climb.' Twain also shares a joke from Burlingame's son that became a popular lecture anecdote.
Themes in this chapter
Memory and Autobiography
Twain uses death notices and a letter to trigger memories of his past, reflecting on the passage of time and the fading of glory.
Mortality and Loss
The death of Mrs. Wilkes and the reflection on Wilkes's faded fame highlight themes of mortality and the transience of life.
Character and Morality
Twain praises Burlingame's noble character, integrity, and statesmanship, emphasizing moral virtue.
Characters to notice
- Mark Twain
Narrator reflecting on his past, his meeting with Anson Burlingame, and the Hornet disaster reporting.
- Anson Burlingame
Diplomat and statesman whom Twain met in Honolulu; praised for his character and advice.
- Theodore Roosevelt
Mentioned as a contemporary figure whose fame is compared to Wilkes's past glory.
- Jane Lampton Clemens
Not directly mentioned, but Twain's childhood in the village on the Mississippi is referenced.
Key passages
“It is death notices like this that enable me to realize in some sort how long I have lived. They drive away the haze from my life’s road and give me glimpses of the beginning of it—glimpses of things which seem incredibly remote.”
Obituaries make Twain acutely aware of his own age, clearing the fog of memory and revealing distant moments from his youth.
Twain reflects on mortality and the passage of time.
“Avoid inferiors. Seek your comradeships among your superiors in intellect and character; always climb.”
Burlingame advised Twain to surround himself with people of higher intellect and moral character, always striving to improve.
Key advice from Burlingame that Twain says he followed for forty years.