Memory and Autobiography

Where it surfaces

• Early Fragments

  Twain directly addresses the limitations of biography and the challenge of capturing a person's true inner life.

• The Autobiography of Mark Twain

  Twain explores the process of recalling and narrating his own life, questioning the reliability of memory.

• Early Years in Florida, Missouri

  Twain recalls his earliest childhood memories of Florida, Missouri, reconstructing the village's layout, economy, and social practices.

• Chapters Begun in Vienna

  The chapter is part of Twain's autobiographical dictation, focusing on recollection and personal narrative.

• Early Days

  Twain explores the fallibility of memory, recalling false childhood memories and reflecting on how the mind retains impressions.

• Playing "Bear"—Herrings—Jim Wolf and the Cats

  Twain vividly recalls specific childhood incidents and his emotional responses, shaping his autobiographical narrative.

• Jim Wolf and the Cats

  Twain recalls a vivid childhood incident from nearly fifty years earlier, reflecting on how the story evolved through publication and plagiarism.

• Ralph Keeler

  Twain's personal recollections of Ralph Keeler and their shared experiences form the core of the chapter.

• A Viennese Procession

  Twain reflects on his sixty years of watching processions, linking this event to past experiences in India and London.

• Chapters Added in Florence 1904

  Twain explores the fallibility of memory and the process of constructing an autobiographical narrative.

• Author's Note

  Twain outlines his technique for weaving together present diary entries and past memories, emphasizing the charm of contrast.

• A Memory of John Hay

  Central theme of the chapter; Twain discusses Hay's advice on autobiography and his own repeated attempts and failures to write one.

• Notes on “Innocents Abroad”

  Twain explores the fallibility of memory, recounting how he unconsciously plagiarized Holmes's dedication and later forgot the source.

• Interval of Two Years

  Twain is engaged in the act of dictating his life story, reflecting on memory and the passage of time.

• January 9, 1906

  Twain reflects on the challenge of recalling and organizing his life events for the autobiography.

• New York, January 10, 1906

  Twain discusses the nature of autobiography, emphasizing that it should capture the storm of thoughts and feelings rather than just facts.

• The Prophetic Dream

  Twain dictates a vivid personal memory from 1858, reflecting on the nature of prophetic dreams and their role in his life story.

• New York, January 15, 1906

  Twain examines the reliability of memory and the tendency to embellish stories over time, as illustrated by Doctor Burton's warning.

• Mrs. Morris's Illness Takes a Serious Turn

  Twain discusses his method of dictating autobiography, mixing news and history to preserve vivid details and emotional impact.

• New York, January 15th, Continued

  Twain discusses his method of dictating autobiography as a blend of diary and history, emphasizing the value of immediate, fresh recollection over faded notes.

• Mark Twain

  Twain examines his own changing memory and judgment of his past speech, and the unreliability of others' memories.

• New York, February 1, 1906

  Twain's detailed recollection of his first sight of Livy, their wedding, and the early years of marriage.

• New York, Friday, February 2, 1906

  Twain reconstructs Susy's childhood through detailed anecdotes, emphasizing the role of memory in shaping his narrative.

• New York, Monday, February 5, 1906

  Twain's personal recollections of Dr. John Brown and his daughters, shaping his autobiographical narrative.

• Playing 'The Prince and the Pauper'

  Twain fondly recalls these childhood performances and the imaginative play of his daughters.

• Wednesday, February 7, 1906

  Twain revisits old notebooks and clippings, and treasures Susy's childhood biography as a personal historical record.

• New York, Friday, February 9, 1906

  Twain dictates from memory, quoting Susy's childhood writings and recalling past events with vivid detail.

• New York, Monday, February 12, 1906

  Twain uses Susy's biography as a springboard to recall and analyze his own childhood memories and misdeeds.

• New York, Tuesday, February 13, 1906

  Twentieth reads from Susy's biography and reflects on his own past, blending personal recollection with his daughter's account.

• New York, Wednesday, February 14, 1906

  Twain vividly recalls the accident and courtship from his youth, weaving personal memory into his autobiography.

• Tuesday, February 20, 1906

  Twain uses death notices and a letter to trigger memories of his past, reflecting on the passage of time and the fading of glory.

• New York, Thursday, February 22, 1906

  Twain wanders freely through memories of Atwater, David Gray, and Susy's writings, emphasizing the autobiographical method.

• Monday, February 26, 1906

  Twain draws on Susy's biography and his own recollections to recount past events, blending personal memory with autobiographical narrative.

• Monday, March 5, 1906

  Twain's detailed recollection of past events, including the White House incident, Paris house, and family rituals, as part of his autobiographical dictation.

• Wednesday, March 7, 1906

  Twain reflects on past events through Susy's biography, blending her youthful perspective with his own mature commentary.

• Thursday, March 8, 1906

  Twain uses a letter from a former schoolmate to trigger detailed recollections of his Hannibal boyhood, including Tom Blankenship, Injun Joe, and school days.

• Friday, March 9, 1906

  Twain recalls schoolmates from sixty years past, noting fleeting glimpses of faces and the passage of time.

• Friday, March 16, 1906

  Twain vividly recalls schoolmates, first loves, and childhood adventures from sixty years prior.

• Wednesday, March 21, 1906

  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.

• Friday, March 22, 1906

  Twain uses Susy's biography and his own recollections to reconstruct past events, highlighting the fallibility and emotional weight of memory.

• Friday, March 23, 1906

  Twain recalls past letters and personal memories of Harriet Beecher Stowe, weaving autobiography with anecdote.

• Monday, March 26, 1906

  Twain explains his deliberate, jumbled system for autobiography, aiming to capture common experiences and keep the past and present in constant contrast.

• Thursday, March 29, 1906

  Twain reflects on his early life, correcting his own errors in recollection, and weaves personal anecdotes into a broader narrative.

• Wednesday, April 4, 1906

  Twain explicitly discusses his autobiography as a mirror and contrasts it with conventional autobiographies, emphasizing self-reflection and memory.

• Friday, April 6, 1906

  Twain reflects on the difficulty of writing an honest autobiography, both for himself and for Orion, and the selective nature of memory.

• Endnotes

  Endnotes reference autobiographical nature of Twain's earlier works and his dictation process.