# Wednesday, March 21, 1906 explained — The Autobiography of Mark Twain

> Chapter companion for The Autobiography of Mark Twain by Mark Twain.

## What happens

Twain reflects on mental telegraphy, prompted by a letter from Jock Brown, son of Dr. John Brown, seeking letters for publication. He recounts a failed search for Dr. Brown's letters, then shares a story of Joe Twichell's serendipitous encounter in Edinburgh and a vivid description of a military execution. The chapter also covers the founding of the Players' Club, Twain's expulsion due to mismanaged dues, and his eventual reinstatement as an honorary member.

## Themes in this chapter

### Memory and Autobiography

Twain's dictation weaves together memories of Dr. John Brown, Joe Twichell's adventures, and his own experiences with the Players' Club, illustrating the autobiographical nature of his work.

### Hypocrisy and Human Nature

Twain criticizes the arbitrary and insolent management of the Players' Club, highlighting human fallibility and institutional hypocrisy in his expulsion and reinstatement.

### Mortality and Loss

The search for Dr. John Brown's letters and the memory of Susy Clemens evoke themes of loss and the passage of time, while the military execution scene underscores the grim reality of death.

## Character check-ins

### Mark Twain

Dictates the chapter, reflecting on mental telegraphy, his correspondence with Jock Brown, and his experiences with the Players' Club.

### Dr. John Brown

Deceased Edinburgh physician; his letters are sought by his son Jock, and Twain recalls his family's fondness for him.

### Joe Twichell

Twain recounts Twichell's adventure in Edinburgh with his wife Harmony, and his description of a military execution during the Civil War.

### Susy Clemens

Mentioned as the child who had pleasant relations with Dr. John Brown during their stay in Edinburgh.

### Livy Clemens

Her letter to Dr. John Brown is referenced; she held him in love and reverence and preserved his letters.

### Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Present at the Players' Club founding luncheon; suggested the club's name 'The Players'.

### Edwin Booth

Attended the luncheon for the Players' Club formation; later made a bequest to the club.

### General Sherman

Among the founders present at the Players' Club luncheon.

### F. G. Whitmore

Twain's business agent in Hartford who handled his club dues.

## Key lines

> Certainly mental telegraphy is an industry which is always silently at work—oftener than otherwise, perhaps, when we are not suspecting that it is affecting our thought.

Twain suggests that mental telegraphy, or thought transference, operates constantly and often unnoticed, influencing our ideas without our awareness.

_Twain introduces the concept of mental telegraphy as a pervasive force in daily life._

> I imagine that we get most of our thoughts out of somebody else's head, by mental telegraphy—and not always out of heads of acquaintances, but, in the majority of cases, out of the heads of strangers; strangers far removed—Chinamen, Hindus, and all manner of remote foreigners whose language we should not be able to understand, but whose thoughts we can read without difficulty.

Twain theorizes that most thoughts originate from others via mental telegraphy, often from distant strangers whose languages are unknown to us, yet whose thoughts are easily accessible.

_Twain expands on mental telegraphy, proposing it as a universal means of thought exchange across cultures._

> This picture commends itself to me as being the truest one that any one has yet furnished of a military execution.

Twain endorses Joe Twichell's account of a military execution as the most authentic depiction he has encountered.

_Twain contrasts the romanticized view of executions with Twichell's raw, human portrayal._

> The board's whole proceeding had been like all the board's proceedings from the beginning—arbitrary, insolent, stupid. That board's proper place, from the beginning, was the idiot asylum.

Twain harshly criticizes the Players' Club board's actions as consistently capricious, disrespectful, and foolish, suggesting they belonged in an asylum.

_Twain expresses his frustration with the club's management over his expulsion._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_autobiography_of_mark_twain_se/chapters/volume-ii-wednesday-march-21-1906
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_autobiography_of_mark_twain_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_autobiography_of_mark_twain_se/chapters