The Mysterious Friend: Mark Twain on War, Religion, and the Human Condition

Timothy J. Madigan

University of Rochester Press

This is the recap of a talk given at the Sept 14, 2003 CDHS monthly meeting.

For many, Mark Twain's name conjures up images of an endearing twinkly-eyed humorist. Hollywood films such as A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court reinforce this notion. However, as Tim Madigan, our September speaker, pointed out, one will find much more than just humor in Twain's writings. Madigan is the editorial director of the University of Rochester Press and co-founder of the Rochester-based Mark Twain Gang, a monthly discussion group. He spoke to us about "The Mysterious Friend: Mark Twain on War, Religion and the Human Condition."

Madigan's talk focused on Twain's later years. He described how his social commentary became more pronounced after his wife, who became ill, no longer exerted editorial influence. The War Prayer, The Mysterious Stranger (see "On War," page 9) and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court all employ humor, but it is of a darker nature. Its aim is to express Twain's outrage at imperialism and the oppressive and cooperating forces of organized religion and totalitarianism. The War Prayer is a vivid picture of the ugliness of war fervor. It was written in 1905 as a criticism of the war with Spain, but Harper's magazine found it too controversial to publish. It uses the language of religion to show that a prayer for victory is inseparable from a prayer to inflict suffering and destruction on others. Connecticut Yankee portrays the Catholic Church as an oppressive force working hand-in-hand with tyrants to keep the masses in a state of ignorance. Originally intended as a time-traveling fairy tale, the work took on a more serious tone after Twain's preparatory research uncovered the horrors of medieval life. When compared to the movie version, clearly the main character in the novel is much more complex than the one portrayed by Bing Crosby.

While many of Twain's stories describe religion as a hindrance to personal growth, they also show his grasp of its underlying psychology. In Extract from Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven, his description of heaven explains its power over the human imagination. In contrast, other passages of the same story and also sections of Letters from Earth show the nonsensical and laughable side to the various beliefs about heaven.

Tim ended with another passage from The Mysterious Stranger that he says offers "a hint of salvation:"

"Will a day come when the human race will detect the funniness of these juvenilities and laugh at them – and by laughing at them destroy them? For your race, in its poverty, has unquestionably one really effective weapon – laughter. Power, money, persuasion, supplication, persecution – these can lift at a colossal humbug – push it a little – weaken it a little, century by century; but only laughter can blow it to rags and atoms in a blast. Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand."

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