Mark Twain and Homosexuality

Author(s): Andrew J. Hoffman

Source: American Literature, Vol. 67, No. 1 (Mar., 1995), pp. 23-49
Published by: Duke University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2928029
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Andrew
J. Twain
Mark and
Hoffman Homosexuality

InA. S. Byatt'snovelPossession, twocontemporary

scholarschasedownthecentury-old ghostofa relationshipbetween two
Victorianpoets.'The chasebeginswith thediscoveryofa draftof a letter
implying thepoetsknewoneanother, although thebiographies ofeach
saytheydidnot.Untilotherresearchers followingtheirtrailcatchup
withthem,thescholar-protagonists wrestlebothwiththebaffling clues
towhathappened andwiththeir todisclosetheir
obligation discoveries to
theircolleagues.Suspenserequires thattheprotagonists rejecttheobli-
gationtosharetheirthoughts withtheiracademic colleagues;theyshare
theirspeculationsonlywithoneanother. isalltheyhaveuntil
Speculation
theyfind a hiddencacheofloveletters,andeventhentheyhavenoproof
ofa sexualconnection untiltheydiscoverthewoman-poet's pregnancy,
recorded inthelong-lost journalofa French cousin.In theend,Byatt's
scholarsarefortunate: theyfindtheprooftheydesireandreceivelittle
reprooffortheirbehavior. Byatt,however, leavesa nubinhercodaby
includinga meeting betweenthepoet-father andhisdaughter; thetwo
scholarsbelievetotheendthatheneverknewwhatbecameofhischild.
Thoughreadersknowthetruth, theprotagonistsareleftto suffer with
theirignorance.
Myresearchfora biography ofSamuelLanghorne Clemensbrought
Byatt'snoveltomind, whenI cameacrossa seriesofoddnotes,
especially
letters,newspaper squibs,andcoincidences concerningMarkTwain's
yearsas a reporterinNevadaandCalifornia. Thesebitsandpieceswere
notvirginmaterial, ofwhichverylittleremains in Twainscholarship.
Butthough I foundalmosteverything insecondary sources,tomethese
disparatefragments tolda newstory.I sawthemas evidence-circum-

American Volume67, Number

Literature, ?D1995byDuke
1, March1995.Copyright
Press. CCC 0002-9831/95/$1.50.
University

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24 American
Literature

stantial,
butincontestable; inconclusive, butsuggestive-that Clemens
hada seriesofstrong, loving,andromantic relationshipswithothermen.
Thiswas a shocking, perhapstransforming, revelation, perhapseven
moreshocking thanthatstumbled uponbythescholars inPossession.
ThoughLeslieFiedlerlongagodiscussedthehomoerotic imagery in
therelationshipbetween HuckandJim inAdventures ofHuckleberry Finn,
hearguedonlythatthehomoerotic servedallegorical,literary purposes.2
Hisincendiary thesis,thatthelovebetween HuckandJimreflected the
American romancewiththedarksoulwithin, receiveda surprisingly
moderate responsefrom Twainscholars,3 perhaps becauseuntil recently
thebiographicalbasisofalmost allTwaincriticism made itdifficult
togive
thetheory fullerconsideration. SinceClemenshadno homoerotic ex-
perience,Fiedler'sargument, however andprovocative,
insightful repre-
sentedthedistance between free-spirited critical
interpretation andfact-
basedresearch intoauthorial intention. ButFiedler'sthesisreadsquite
whenconsidered
differently intandem withmyhypothesis ofClemens's
sexualexperimentation. In fact,evidenceofClemens's homoerotic at-
tachments might change altogether howscholars viewthelifeandworkof
MarkTwain.Verylittlehasaltered thefundamental portrait ofClemens
inkedbyAlbert Bigelow Paine,hisauthorized biographer, in1912,4 butif
Clemenshadhomosexual experience whenhewasinhislatetwenties-
experience hiddeninTwain's laterrecollectionsoftheperiod, undetected
bypastbiographers, andperhapsexpunged byClemenshimself or the
heirstohispapers-thenwerequire a comprehensive revision ofwhatwe
agreeweknowaboutClemens, and,byextension, ofallthebiographically
basedinterpretations ofMarkTwain'sworks.
To saythatthisperspective is newunderstates thedegreeto which
itdisturbsthecurrent visionofMarkTwain.Twainscholarship haspre-
ferredtoleaveClemens's sexuality unplumbed. He wrotenexttonothing
concerning theeroticlife,andverylittle ofthatwasautobiographical. To
thedegreethatbiographers haveventured to describeClemens'slove
lifebefore,
after,oroutside hismarriage, theyhavereliedonknowledge
oftherelationship betweentheauthor andhiswife.Theirmarriage of
morethanthirty yearswasa beautiful andloving partnership inbothpri-
vateandpublic life,ifnotthepalaceofpeaceandloveClemens described
afterLivy'sdeath.Extrapolating ourknowledge ofthisrelationship back
intoearlieryearsandprojecting ourknowledge ofsomeattachments to
womeninClemens's adolescence andearlytwenties forward hasledto
theconclusionthatinterest inwomencharacterized hisperiodoutWest

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 25
MarkTwainandHomosexuality

as well.Evidence ofthisperiod leavesnoconclusive proof ofanyromantic

attachment, butviewedwithout assumption
theprejudicial thathetero-
sexualityis thedefault unlessoneprovesotherbehavior, theevidence
suggeststhatbetween1862and1865Clemensengagedin a seriesof
romances withmen.Further evidence suggests at leastoneconnection
ofthissortduring theyearsofhismarriage.
The necessarily conditional voiceofthisargument is, however, frus-
trating.LikethatofByatt'sscholars, myevidence is, at thispoint,cir-
cumstantial. Withoutproofof myhypothesis-and I mustemphasize that
thereis none,though I regard theevidence as compelling-Twain schol-
arshaveonlytwochoices:todisregard thepossibility entirely andgo on
withtheoldassumptions, ortoenternewandunfamiliar territory. Inthis
territory,howoneproceedsdependsuponhowconvincing onefinds the
evidence.Among thosewhohaveheardmyargument, somehave found
theevidence persuasive andareamazednoonenoticed itbefore. Others
havefound myhypothesis laughable, writingoffthematerial moreas evi-
denceofWestern humor thanofsexualexperimentation. I myself remain
onlypartiallyconvinced; I see roomfordoubt.Butdoubt implies thepos-
ofacceptance,
sibility anditis thatpossibilitywhich opensthebiography
ofClemenstoreevaluation andreinterpretation.
Merelysuggesting thepossibility ofClemens's homosexual experience
has provoked debateand,in somecases,personalattack.One cannot
alterthevisageofan iconwithout Peoplebothinandout-
retribution.
sideacademiahavesprung to thedefenseofMarkTwain'sreputation,
treatingmyhypothesis abouthissexuality as though itwereanattackon
hischaracter. Others,seeming to takea higher road,maintain thatno
scholarhastheright tooutline so
something"explosive" without absolute
proof.Botharguments contest myroleas theoriginator ofthehypothe-
sis ratherthantheevidenceitselfor theargument whichorganizes it,
neitherofwhich hasreceived muchattention. After myinitial shockthat
workoffered professionally hadbeentakenso personally, I havegrown
accustomed totheseattacks. Insteadofprovoking me,theyintrigue me:
I findtheman interesting toolforunderstanding theeffects ofa new,
unsettlingidea.Something as simple(andinmanywaysas unexciting)
as thenotion thata young American man,freefrom therestraint ofhis
family,might indulgeinsomesexualexperimentation becomesa powerful
testcase forassessingattitudes towards gender andsexuality inliterary
scholarship-at leastwhentheyoungmaninvolved willbecomeMark
Twain.

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26 American
Literature

I wouldlikeheretoexplain thedevelopment ofthishypothesis andto

outlinesomeofitseffects. I offertheevidence hedgedwiththeneces-
saryqualifications andinthespiritofskepticism appropriate to anyact
ofinterpretation. Sincewe canhaveno proof, we mustrelyon shared
evidence, which I hopetopresent withas littlerhetoricalfogas possible.
Myoutlineoffuture directions thishypothesis makespossible-andin
somewaysnecessitates-isofcourseevenmorespeculative thanthe
hypothesis itself.
Myfirstpublicpresentation ofthisevidencewas at a conference in
Augustof1993,although I hadspoken indetailaboutmyhypothesis pri-
vatelywithseveralscholars earlier.In fact,I couldnothavearrived at
thishypothesis without thehelpofotherscholars.It was an unlooked-
forsurprise, theresultofa lacunainthehistory ofSamuelClemens. The
year1865almostdisappears inClemens's biography, although itbrought
hisfirst modestfamewiththepublication of"TheCelebrated Jumping
FrogofCalaverasCounty." MostofthatyearClemens spentinSanFran-
cisco,livingoncredit, writing newspaper correspondence which hasnow
mostly disappeared,5 andscribbling a veryfewletters. Hislaterrecollec-
tionsoftheperiodaredarkandsketchy. InRoughing It, MarkTwain's
1872myth ofSamClemens's sixyearsoutWest,1865occupiesonlyone
paragraph outof600 pages.6In 1875Clemens wroteto a friend suffer-
ingfinancialreversesthatdebtis "likecanceramongthetortures ofthe
body.I suffered itonce,tenyearsago,andI think I haveforgotten all
thecircumstances ofthattimebutthatone."7Andina latemarginal note
he recalleda suicideattempt earlyin1866andthefailure ofnervewhich
aborted it:he "wasn't manenough topullthetrigger."8 Buthisactivities
during 1865-howhefilled histime,withwhom, andevenwhereorhow
he lived-haveremained obscure.
Forhelpin reconstructing thisperiod,I calledon P. M. Zallofthe
Huntington Library inSan Marino,California. Mr.Zallhadcontributed
entriesaboutthisperiodtotheMarkTwainEncyclopedia, a compendium
ofalphabeticallyarranged factandtheory of
consisting briefessaysby
over150scholars.9 He directed metolookatthelivesofClemens's San
Francisco friends andfilledmeinonsomeimportant detailsconcerning
theevolution ofthegrouptowhich hebelonged.10 MarkTwainidentified
withtheBohemians, theSan Francisco branch a socialmovement
of in
NewYorkmodeledafterlifeon theLeftBankin'Paris.He hadbegun
hisassociation withthisgrouponjauntsto San Francisco whilestilla
reporter fortheVirginia City,Nevada,Territorial Enterprise,wherehe

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 27
MarkTwainandHomosexuality

worked from late1862until hemoved toSanFrancisco inMayof1864.He

spentmorethanthreemonths ofhisNevadatenure inSanFrancisco and
playedhosttonotableBohemians whomadethetrekacrossthe moun-
tains.Clemens'sBohemian buddiesincluded writersBretHarte,Ina
Coolbrith, Prentice Mulford, Joaquin Miller,andCharlesWarren Stod-
dard.The grouphadbegunwiththecirclesurrounding GeorgeDerby,
betterknown as John Phoenix, andderived itscharacter from thesteady
stream ofNewYorkBohemians, including Charles Webb,Artemus Ward,
andAdahIsaacsMenken, whocamewestoutofPfaff's Cellar,NewYork's
BohemiaCentral. EvenAdaClare,thewriter andactressdubbedQueen
ofBohemia, whoreigned at Pfaff's becauseshehadlivedintheheartof
ParisianBohemia, camewesttoSanFrancisco."1
By thetimeClemensmovedto San Francisco, itsBohemianism was
well-defined.Forthemostpart,theBohemians livedmarginally, drank
excessively,espousedeffete literary aesthetics,andboastedan espe-
ciallyhightoleranceforsexualambiguity. Thereis no questionthat
Clemensacceptedthefirst threeprecepts ofBohemianism. He moved
from oneaddressto another almostmonthly during hisfirstsixmonths
in thecity.His reputation forliquorconsumption spreadas faras his
reputationas a writer;hisworkfeatured drink regularly,andevenyears
laterSanFrancisco friendsClemens hadnamedtohisbeloved's father as
character referencesreturned theopinion "that[he]gotdrunkoftener
thanwasnecessary & that[he]waswild& Godless,idle,lecherous &a
discontented & unsettledrover." 12
Understanding thesexuality ofthiscoterierequiressomehistorical
perspective.Theirotherbehaviors leftdirectevidence;theirsexuality
didnot.Forexample, GeorgeDerby, anengineer bytradewhosehumor
as
writing "John Phoenix" greatly influenced Mark Twain,probably con-
ducteda relationshipwithhisassistant CharlesPoolebefore andduring
hismarriage; thecorrespondence between DerbyandPooleis suggestive
butinconclusive.13In Clemens's ownsocialgroup,we knowofCharles
Warren Stoddard andIna Coolbrith, whosharedquarters fora whileand
weremistakenly thoughta couplebutwhopreferred, almostexclusively,
members oftheirownsex.Sucharrangements evolved ina socialcontext
which relishedgender-role confusion.
The demographics ofSanFrancisco andNevadainthe1860sencour-
agedsuchbehavior. San Francisco hada population ofabout100,000,
over90% ofitmale.On thewholethesemenwereremarkably young
andwell-educated; menintheirtwenties comprised morethanhalfthe

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 Literature
28 American

city,andmanyofthemcamefrom well-to-do families backEast. More

thana fewhadescapedthecarnageoftheCivilWarbymoving to Cali-
forniaaftercompleting theirschooling, which meant, surprisinglyoften,
college.Thepeculiar carnivalatmosphere ofSanFrancisco blended with
theenormous wealthpouring intothecity goldandsilverfrom inland
andtradefromthesea-to createa socialisland,a placeunlikeany
other.Merchants thereattracted customers byhaving theirclerksdress
upas women. Thecity'shottest ticketintheearly1860swastoa perfor-
manceofa dramatic version ofByron's Mazeppa,withBohemian Adah
IsaacsMenken inthetitlerole."TheMenken" climaxed theplaybybeing
forcibly tothesemblance
stripped ofnudity, strapped tothebackofa live
horse,andtrotted around thestage.The spectacleofa woman, playing
a man,displaying herwoman's bodyina manly actofdaring epitomizes
thegenderambiguity whichfascinated thecity.ClemenssawMazeppa
inSanFrancisco ona visitandreported backindifferently totheTerrito-
Sometimelater,Menken
rialEnterprise. brought hershowtoClemens's
Virginia Cityforseveralweeks.Virginia Citywas a roughandthriving
mining townbuiltintothesideofMt.Davidson, siteofthelargestsilver
in
strike the Continental United States. It was a boomtown,populated
bystock-market sharps,engineers, miners, prospectors, andlawyers,
witha shareofprostitutes andnewspapermen thrown in.Butdespiteits
locationanda population of50,000,itwas infactonlya suburbofSan
Francisco.Virginia oweditslifeto theCitybytheBay:first the1856
vigilance committees chasedSan Francisco's roughnecks intoNevada,
thenSanFrancisco money madeworking thenewly discovered Comstock
claimspossible.Virginia CityapedSan Francisco moresandculture.
The goalofVirginia Cityminerswas notto owna mansion onfashion-
able A Streetbutto owna place on Nob Hill.Virginia City was San
Francisco morecrudely constructed: 2,500womento45,000men,wild
timestwenty-four hoursa dayinstead ofjustevenings, murder andother
violencerampant insteadoflimited to SanFrancisco's Barbary pirates.
Legendholds, even today, that murder accounted forthe 26 men
first
buriedinVirginia City.14
Clemens cametoVirginia Cityafter a fewmonths ofunsuccessful pros-
pecting.He hadwritten a handful ofcolumns under thepennameJoshfor
theEnterprise,whichthenoffered hima job. It is possiblethatthecol-
umnsso impressed editor JoeGoodman thathehiredClemens blind,but
morelikely thepaperwanted workprinting thenewTerritory's laws,and
Sam'sbrother OrionwasSecretary oftheNevadaTerritory (thecolumns

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 29
MarkTwainandHomosexuality

themselves havebeenlost,perhaps evidence thattheywereunremark-

In
able)."5 anycase, Clemens, who dressed as a dandywhilepiloting a
Mississippi riverboat,immediately assessedVirginia City'sculture and
adopteda Bohemian persona,dressing carelessly,sleeping irregularly,
anddrinking beerendlessly. Clemenswentto CarsonCityinNovem-
berof1862toreport ontheTerritorialLegislature, callinghimself Mark
Twainin printforthefirsttime.Pseudonyms werecommonplace not
onlyforpart-time contributors whomight wantto disguisethemselves
butevenforfull-time reporters;hiscolleague ontheEnterprise, William
Wright, wroteandlivedunderthenameDanDe Quille.Clemens's nom
de plumeowedmoreto therunning bartabforhistwo-fisted drinking
habitsthantohisfouryearsonMississippi Riversteamboats.16
WhileinCarsonCity,Clemensformed a closebondwithClement T.
Rice,a reporter fora rivalnewspaper, theVirginia CityUnion.In his
columns, ClemensdubbedRice"theUnreliable" andportrayed himas a
glutton,a sneak-thief,anda socialoutcast,butonefrom whomClemens
appeared nevertobe separated.17 Therelationship between thetwocon-
tinuedaftertheirreturn fromCarsonCity,andtheirnewspaper banter
madeentertaining reading.Thoughsupposedly journalisticrivals,they
almostcertainly shareda roominVirginia Cityandwerepretty much
inseparable companions fornearly a yearaftertheymet.A fewmonths
later,whenClemenstookhisfirst tripto San Francisco, he wentwith
Rice. Dan De Quille hadmeanwhile taken a leave to hiswifeand
visit
familyinIowa.JoeGoodman wrotea good-natured bon-voyage column
intheTerritorial Enterprise uponClemens's departure, butsoonafter-
wardwroteDe Quillefullofanxiety thatClemens hadabandoned Virginia
Cityfor good, having run away with Rice.18 De Quillereturned to the
Territorial
Enterprise forthwith.
Clemensdidreturn from SanFrancisco, inJuneof1863.InJuly a fire
burned him-andpresumably Rice-outoftheir rooms.Theyapparently
separated at thistime,though perhaps onlybecausetheycouldnotfind
temporary accommodations together.Bytheendofthesummer of1863,
however, a veryoddeventbrought therelationship to a stormy end.
Clemens hadbeenilloffandonformostofthesummer andfound himself
completely inSeptember,
debilitated perhapsbytheweek-long hoopla
surrounding JoeGoodman's twoattempts to duelTomFitch,editorof
therivalUnionandClement Rice'sboss. Thepublicnatureoftheduel
anditsillegalityhindered thefirstattempt, butinthesecondGoodman
crippledFitchwitha shottotheleg.Immediately aftertheduelbetween

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 Literature
30 American

theirrespective bosses,Clemens, sickabed,asked"Unreliable" Riceto

complete hisowncolumn.
Rice-whetheras a joke,a seriousrebuff, or a continuation ofthe
squabble between Goodman andFitch-began hissubstitutecolumn with
an apology, purportedly from MarkTwain,to allthepeopleTwainhad
insulted or injured in hisworkfortheEnterprise.19 This"apology" so
angeredClemensthathe pulledhimself outofbed to writea rebut-
tal,mercilessly castigating Riceandending hiscolumn withthewords,
"we have done!"20 This declarationreflected morethanjust a fitof
pique.Clemens apparently terminatedhisrelationship withRiceentirely;
theUnreliable, Clemens'sbosombuddyandinseparable companion for
nearlya year,disappears fromMarkTwain'slifeandwork.Although
Riceremained inVirginia Cityandwas presumably seenaroundtown,
Clemensmakesno further mention ofhim,exceptwhenhe appears
briefly as Boggs,a bumbling newspaper rivalinRoughingIt.21 Theepisode
leavesa question: Whatmakessomeonecutoffa friend likethat?
The same questionappliesto Clemens'srelationship withDan De
Quille.Verysoonafterthebreak-up withRice,ifthatis whatit was,
Clemensand Dan De Quillemovedin together, furnishingtheirtwo
roomsexpensively butwithonlyonebed.De Quillewrotea coysketch
fortheSanFrancisco Golden Era,a sortofliterary newspaper distributed
to all theWestern communities tiedto San Francisco. "IfI hadknown
thatMarkTwain'sshirtswereallwithout collars," De Quillewrites,"I
wouldneverhavegoneintopartnership withhiminrooms." Whenever he
refers toanitemthetwomenheldincommon, henotestheir jointowner-
shipparenthetically: "ourwashstand (Mark'sandmine)";"oursplendid
(Mark'sandmine)ovalmirror"; and"we(MarkandI) havethousands of
shirts." Inhismostexplicit accountoftheirlifetogether, henotes,"We
(MarkandI) havethe'sweetest' little
parlor andthesnuggest littlebed-
room... alltoourselves. Herewecomeeverynight andlive-breathe,
moveandhaveourbeing,alsoourtoddies."22
Thisarticle,published on 6 December1863,cameverysoonafter
Clemenshadreturned toVirginiaCityfrom a prolonged vacationinSan
Francisco anda stintinCarsonCity,againreporting ontheLegislature.
Clemens's absenceduring muchofthefallrenders thesleeping arrange-
mentsimmaterial untillateNovember. Afterthis,themensharedthebed
theybought together,though somescholars maintainagainstmostevi-
dencethatDe QuilleandTwain, working different rotated
shifts, through
thesheets.Necessity was nota factor, although itplayeda roleinthe

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 31
MarkTwainandHomosexuality

common practiceoftravelers bedding downtogether whenspacewas

inshortsupply. De QuilleandClemenshada two-room apartment, not
large,butsufficienttoprovide eachhisownbedifheso desired.Money,
though fickleinthisminingcommunity, cameeasilytoreporters, whore-
ceivedgiftsofstockinreturn forwriting puffs aboutthe mine concerned.
As Clemenswrotehomeonlya fewmonths before,"I leadaneasylife,
though, andI don'tcarea centifschoolkeepsornot.Everybody knows
me,andI farelikea princewherever I go."23
Exactlywhen-andwhy-De QuilleandClemensbegansleeping in
thesamebedremains thenuncertain; however, wedoknowtheyshared
a bedfrom storiessurrounding thevisitofArtemus Ward,whocameto
VirginiaCityfortendaysaround Christmas of1863andjoinedtheminit.
Ward(CharlesFarrarBrowne)wasa phenomenon whosecareerwascut
shortbyanearlydeath.He hadmadehisreputation as a newspaperman,
creatingthepersonaofArtemus Wardas a wise-fool farmer whospread
hismisspelled andsaltyopinions viawidely reprinted columns. Hissuc-
cess brought himtheeditor's chairatVanity Fair,andhewasa fixture at
Pfaff's.His humor reachedbeyond thepagewhenhe beganto tourthe
country witha stageshowbilledas Artemus Wardbutwhich wasinfact
justa laconicBrownewitha ninety-minute stand-up routine.24He influ-
encedMarkTwainso deeplythatonlyhisdeathin1867couldcreatethe
culturalspacewhichallowedforTwain'sownsuccess.Twainmimicked
Ward'sstagesense,as mostofhisearlynoticesobserved, but,more
important, Ward'stwo-pronged successletClemens see thecombination
ofwriting andperformance as a possiblefutureforhimself.25
Wardnevermarriedand had no close female relationships, except
withhismother. Althoughthereis noproof ofhomosexual contact, most
peoplefamiliar withWardassumehehadromantic interests onlyinmen.
James Austin as muchinhis1964biography,
implies noting that"Though
he was quickto ridiculethemother-love theme in popular songsand
stories,hisattachment tohisownmother is something Freudians could
makemuchof.Thereisapparently notraceofcloseaffection foranyother
womaninBrowne'slife."26 CertainlyWard'sinvolvement withtheNew
YorkBohemians duringhisstintas theeditorofVanity Fairgivessome
evidence ofhishomosexuality,as dotheanonymous gayburlesque ofWalt
Whitman's "SongofMyself" andthearticleaboutcounter-jumpers-a
mid-nineteenth-century termforhomosexuals-published inthemaga-
zineunderWard'sstewardship.27
During theweekanda half Ward performed inandaround Virginia City,

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 Literature
32 American

he andClemensweretogether Theywere,perhaps,
almostconstantly.
equalsinhumor, thoughnotinstanding.ReportsaboutWard'sstayare
remarkably He helpedwritethenewspaper
consistent. so he,Clemens,
Dan De Quille,andJoeGoodman couldgodrinking.Theydrankgallons
ofwineeveryday,one nightfeeling so highthatWardtookClemens
withhimtowalkontherooftops, wheretheycameneartobeingshotas
Drunk,Ward,Twain,andDe Quille"climbed
thieves.28 intothebigbed
together.Whentheywerecomfortable, nimble-wittedWardremarked:
'ThreeSaints!Mark,LukeandJohn.'"`9
ClemenswatchedWardcarefully forcluesto hissuccessandculti-
withhimwitha viewtoward
vateda specialrelationship advancing his
owncareer.Hissycophancy, whileseeminglyoutofcharacter,wasselec-
applied.As Arthur
tively McEwen,a SanFrancisco reporterwhoknew
Clemenslater,noted,"Mark,beinga manofsense,neverneglected his
interests.The factthatto knowa particularmanmight at sometime
be advantageous didnotdeterMr. Clemensfrommaking hisacquain-
tance."`IForhispart,Wardwasprepared tolikeMarkTwainbythere-
gardwithwhich hewasheldinSanFrancisco, andWardrelished Twain's
wituponmeeting him.Duringthisvisit,Wardpromised Clemenstwo
things:thathe wouldintroducehimto an editorat theNewYorkSun-
dayMercury, whereWardthought MarkTwainmight findanoutlet,and
thathe andClemenswouldtraveltogether thenextsummer. Clemens
believedbothofthesepromises.
A fewdaysafterleavingNevada,WardsentClemensthefollowing
letter:
MydearestLove,-I arrived hereyesterdaya.m.at 2 o'clock.It is a
wild,untamable place,butfulloflion-heartedboys.I speakto-night.
See smallbills.
Whydidyounotgo withmeandsavemethatnight?-Imeanthe
nightI leftyoudrunkat thatdinner party.I wentandgotdrunker,
beating,I maysay,Alexander theGreat,inhismostdrinkinist days,
& I blackenedmyfaceat theMelodeon, a
andmade gibbering idiotic
speech.God-damit! ... I shallalwaysremember Virginia as a bright
spotin myexistence, as all othersmustor rathercannotbe, as it
were....
Someofthefinest intellectsintheworldhavebeenblunted byliquor.
Whisky, Sir,is yourBane.Butno doubtyouhavederiveda good
dealofpleasurefrom thebane.

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 33
MarkTwainandHomosexuality

I hope, sometime,to see you . . . in New York.My mother-

mysweetmother-she,thankGod,is toofaradvanced inlifeto be
affectedbyyourhellishwiles.My aunt-she might fall.Butdidn't
Warren fallatBunkerHill?
Do not, Sir-do notflatter thatyouaretheonlychastely-
yourself
humorous writerontothePacificslopes....
Good-bye, oldboy-andGodblessyou!Thematter ofwhich I spoke
shallbe justas earnestly
to youso earnestly to-. . I am
attended
yours,
gratefully
Faithfully,
Artemus Ward31
The ambiguity ofthisletterpointsto a morecomplex than
relationship
a mereten-daydrinking bingewouldaccountfor.The reference to
Clemens's wilescouldbe a heterosexual as coulda punongon-
allusion,
orrheaomitted forbrevity's sake,butbothare unquestionably sexual.
Theromantic openingandtheintimate chastisements,addedtothetone
ofthisletter,
imply otherthantheonescholars
a relationship haveprevi-
ouslyassumed.Although theletterdoesnotprovea sexualrelationship
between MarkTwainandArtemus Ward, itsuggeststhepossibility.
Clemenslater wrote his mother, "When Artemus Wardgetsto St.
himuptothehouse& andtreathimwell,forbehold,
Louis,invite heis a
goodfellow.Butdon'taskhimtoomany questionsaboutme& Christmas
eve,becausehemight telltalesoutofschool.... [B]eside,I haveprom-
isedtogowithhimtoEuropeinMayorJune."32 Ward's letter,however,
suggeststhatheholdsonlya vaguehopethatthemenmight meetagain.
WhileClemensmight havemisunderstood whathiserstwhile friendtold
him,it seemsmorelikely thatpromises madeinthefirst flushoftheir
acquaintancebecamequestionable afterthehangover woreoff.Perhaps
Brownemadesimilar promises at moststopson histour,andwe re-
callonlytheoneto ClemensbecauseintimeMarkTwainbecamemore
famous thanArtemus Ward.Inanycase,Ward'ssecondletter, written a
fewweekslater,is muchlessintimate.
The carrying outofWard'sfurther promise to makeconnections for
MarkTwainwithcertain NewYorkeditorshasonlyClemens's success
inplacingsomeworkinthosejournalsforproof.Thereis no indepen-
dentevidencethatWardeverwrotehisliterary friendsin supportof
MarkTwain.IfBrownekeptneither he
ofthepromises madeClemens
intheirfewdaystogether, itperhapsindicatestheir wasless
relationship
meaningfulto Wardthancriticshavethusfarbelieved.Unquestionably

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34 American
Literature

it meanta greatdealto SamClemens.In early1867,he wroteWard's

manager, E. P. Hingston, askinghimtohandleMarkTwain.3Hingston
refused, anda fewmonths later,Wardwasdead.
Clemens'srelationship withDan De Quillesurvived thewhirlwind of
Artemus Wardwithout mucheffect. Theyweretogether constantly the
severalmonths
first of1864.During thistime,AdahIsaacsMenken came
toVirginiaCitywithMazeppaandherthird husband, a satirist
whowrote
underthenameOrpheus seeker"wasa comictypethen).
C. Kerr("office
Menken'smarriage was showing signsofdecay,andrumorhadit that
whileinNevadashetookupwitha Virginia Citystable-keeper. Shealso
entertainedherfriend andBohemian mentor, AdaClare,whowasvisiting
VirginiaCityatthesametime.Clare,a writer, hadbeguntomakeefforts
as an actress;theactressMenkenhadpublished someWhitmanesque
poetry.Thetwowomen MarkTwainandDanDe Quilleforaninti-
invited
matelunchintheirhotelrooms;Menken's husband scowlingly guarded
thedoor.A recordoftheconversation might theissueatthecore
clarify
ofthishistory,butnoneremains. Thegathering endedearly;neither Sam
norDan was muchimpressed byMenkenoff-stage.34 Whether Menken
invitedthemas a coupleremains uncertain,ofcourse,butbyspring of
1864therelationship betweenthemenhadreceivedenoughnoticeto
earna newspaper squibin theGoldHill,Nevada,News:"TOBE MAR-
RIED-Dan De QuilleandMarkTwainaretobe married shortly. About
time."35Takenonitsownthisextravagant example ofthesexualteasing
ofWestern humor indicatesnothingoftherelationship ofthemencon-
cerned;inthecontext ofthisemerging pattern ofinformation it is not
onlyfunny butalsofreighted withmeaning.
Sixweekslater,SamClemens abruptlydeparted Virginia CityforSan
FranciscowithSteveGillis,whoworkedin theEnterprise printshop.
Theirhastydeparture cameattheendofa weekofsquabbles overitems
authored byMarkTwain;oneargument camewithin a hair'sbreadth of
an actualduel,andseveralothersthreatened tomovequickly inthatdi-
rection.Onceintheirnewcity,Clemens andGillischanged residences a
handfuloftimesinas manymonths, alwaysmoving together from place
toplaceandraising considerablehellwherever theywent.Documentary
evidencetellslittleaboutthisperiod, however. Clemens claimsinletters
homethatGilliswas goingto marry a wealthy youngwomanandthat
he himselfwouldbothjointhemforthehoneymoon andlivewiththem
afterward.Thewedding nevertookplace,norhasanyindependent cor-
roborationofthematch surfaced.Thisabsencedoesnotprovetherewas

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 35
MarkTwainandHomosexuality

no engagement, ofcourse;itonlycreatesdoubtas to thecredibility or

purposeofClemens's letterconcerning it.
Soonafterthefailedengagement, bothmenskipped town,Gillisback
to VirginiaCityandClemensto visitGillis'sbrother JimintheCalifor-
niagoldhills.Fromallreports, JimGillismodeled hislifeafter Thoreau,
though he livedwithanother maninhisisolated cabin.36It was during
thissojournin thegoldhillsthatClemenspickedup thejumping frog
storyfroma fireside The mystery
tale-teller. yearbetweenhisreturn
to San Franciscofrom JimGillis'scabinandhisengagement as a corre-
spondent to theHawaiian Islands forthe Sacramento Union beganmy
inquiry.Meanwhile, Dan De Quillekepthisroomsandposition inVir-
giniaCitybutdidnotwriteonewordto Clemens.InRoughing It,Mark
Twainclaimsto havewritten desperately to Dan De Quilleaskingfor
newsabouta stockdeal inwhich he hoped toparticipate,butDe Quille
neveranswered.37 Thestockdealappearstobe a fiction, butClemens's
lettersto Dan De QuilleandDe Quille'ssilencewerereal.' Dan De
QuillecutoffClemens muchas Clemens hadcutoff"Unreliable" Ricethe
yearbefore.
Ofcourse,noneoftheseincidents necessitates theconclusion that
SamuelLanghorne Clemenslovedmen.Pastinterpretations ofthisera
havemadeall ofhis friends andassociations roughequals.A history
ofgaynovelsevenuses theexampleofTwainas evidencethatsome
between
storiesofrelationships menhaveunromantic concerns. "There
is nothingintheplainlanguage of. .. Twain," JamesLevinwrites,"to
makeonebelievethatsuchrelationships wereerotic."39 The argument
runsthatfriendships betweenthemen-and therewerefewwomen
withwhomtheymight havedeveloped friendships,InaCoolbrith andLily
Hitchcock in San Francisco beingtheinteresting exceptions-differed
onlyindegree,notinnature. Andyetthesocialworldinwhich Clemens
choseto liveinSan Francisco in 1865notonlyrecognized a difference
intypesofsame-sexrelationships butalsoencouraged themoreintense
variety.BretHarte-at thetimetheone San Francisco writerwitha
reputationandfameexceeding MarkTwain's-wrote perceptively ofthe
phenomenon ofpartnership inthemining communities andbyimplication
inSanFrancisco as well.Harte'sstory"Tennessee's Partner" is onlythe
mostexplicit ofa seriesofshortworksbyHarteandothersexploring
theserelationships."Tennessee'sPartner" has particular interest be-
causeofcogentarguments thatHartemodeled thecharacter Tennessee
on Clemens.40 Men in partnership hadspecialtiesoflovewhichtran-

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 Literature
36 American

andHarteappliedtherhetoric
scendedfriendship, to these
ofmarriage
relationships.41
Thisrhetorical context reinforces theinterpretation thattheexperi-
encesClemens hadinNevadawerenotmerefriendships butrelationships
ofa different toimagine
order.It is difficult whyDanDe Quillerefused
tocorrespond withClemensafterhisdeparture toSanFrancisco unless
we assumehe felta deep,personalbetrayal. If Clemens had escaped
VirginiaCityonlyto avoidfighting a seriesofduelswhichmight have
lefthimdeadorcrippled, as mostbiographers haveclaimed, whatreason
wouldDe Quillehavehadforhissilence? If,ontheotherhand,Clemens's
escapewithSteveGillismeanta changeinpartnership, in"marital" alle-
giance,thenDe Quille'srefusal to correspond makessomesense.As
I havenotedalready, theendofthisrelationship looksremarkably like
theendto Clemens's relationship withClement Rice,butwiththeroles
reversed.IfClemenshadcutoffbothmeninthesamestyle,onecould
hisbehavior
attribute to hisirascible personality.To havethepositions
reversedimplies a pattern intherelationships,notintheparticipants. Is
itpossibleto havetwocloserelationships endwithsuchpassionifthe
themselves
relationships hadnotbeenpassionate? It is, butit is more
likelythattheserelationships assumeromantic forms, at leastintheir
endings,becausetheywereromances.
Conceding onlythelikelihood thattheserelationships werepartner-
shipsdescribed incontemporary rhetoric withthetermsapplied tomar-
riage,we cannottakea further stepandconclude therelationships were
sexual.LillianFaderman, in herhistory oflesbianism, Surpassing the
LoveofMen,notesthatmanyBostonmarriages-long-term andloving
commitments between women livingtogether-were notcarnal.42 Fader-
man'sargument were
thattheserelationships powerful romances, what-
evertheireroticcomponent, seemsirrefutable. The sexualhabitsof
late-nineteenth-century easternlesbians,ofcourse,havenonecessary
tothesexualhabitsofmalecouplesseveraldecadesearlier
relationship
a continentaway.The bondsbetweenmenintheWildWestwere,for
themostpart,shorter-lived, morechangeable, andformanytheresult
oflimitedopportunity forfemale companionship. Still,thepossibility re-
mainsthattheselovingpartnerships werenonsexual romances, inthe
patternofsomelesbianpartnerships. Absenceofsexinnowayaltersthe
fundamental truth thatpartnership was a differentorderofrelationship
thanfriendship.
Ontheotherhand,inthenineteenth centurymalesexuality-whether

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 37
MarkTwainandHomosexuality

onebelievesittobe constructed bysocietyorbiology-had considerably

differentmanifestationsthanfemale.Travelingbandsofgigolosdidnot
followwomentraveling to communitieswheretherewereno men,but
an enormous percentageofthewomeninVirginia City-nearly allwho
hadnotcometo townas wivesor daughters-were prostitutes.Per-
hapsthebestdocuments tohelpreconstruct
available the sexualworld
ClemensoccupiedinVirginia Cityare thejournalskeptbyAlfDoten,
a Nevadajournalist ofthesameperiodwhofollowed Clement Riceinto
a reporter's sloton theUnion.AfterClemens'sdeparture fromsilver
country,DotenandDanDe Quillebecomeclose.They"cruise"or"run"
together at night,Doten'swordsforroaming City'snumerous
Virginia
barsandwhorehouses. Toward theendof1864andthrough 1865,Doten
appearsto visitthewhorehouses less oftenthanhe goes to thethe-
aterbutwithaboutthesameregularity thathe choosesto sleepwith
another man.Dotenhadhisownroom;hefrequently decidednottouse
it. On thefirsttwonightsof1865,forexample,he sleptwithdiffer-
ent men: "I foundJeromeWetherell. . . -we ran together-sleptat
Sears'storewithJerome"; andthenextday,"I wentwithCrawford tothe
WhiteHouse& sleptwithhim."43 Although theterm"sleeping together"
didnothavea necessarysexualconnotation in thisperiod,we know
thatthesebeddings downwerenotmerematters ofconvenience. Doten
notes on 1 March 1866, aftertravellingfrom VirginiaCity to Dayton
to wishJerome Wetherell farewell,
"Jerome & I slepttogether forlast
timeforsometime.""Onedoesnotgetwistful aboutbedmates ofcon-
venience.Doten'swistfulness-and thisis aboutas clearan emotion as
theseworkaday journalsinclude-betrays withWetherell
a relationship
ofa romanticorsexualcharacter. SinceDotenandWetherell's relation-
shipseemstohavenoneofthecharacteristics ofa romanticfriendship-
theydon'tlivetogetherorworktogether orevenruntogether withany
consistency-we canguessthattheyshareda sexualconnection.
withDan De Quillethusbecomesa clueto the
Doten'srelationship
natureofDe Quille'sprevious relationshipwithClemens.In Augustof
1865DotenandDe Quilletooka three-weeks' tripcombining workand
pleasureroaming throughthemoreisolated mining areas.Doten'snotes
aboutsleepingwithDe Quilleduring thetrip-"Dan& I slepttogether
"Dan& I slepttogether
bully,"45 ina bigcomfortable doublebed,"46 and
"bedat9 insamegoodbedtogether"-are consistentwithDoten'sother
notationsconcerningbedpartners.Although theambiguity ofthephrase
"slepttogether"rendersthe meaning ofthese entriesundecidable, itis

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38 American
Literature

curioustonotethatDotenandDe Quillecelebrate theirreturn toVirginia

Citybyvisiting whorehouses together.47
Although Doten'sjournals givea partial
portraitoftheshifting partner-
ships,sleeping arrangements, andsexualpreferences inVirginia Cityin
the1860s,hissilenceabouttheemotional content oftheserelationships
servestocaution modemreadersagainst drawing conclusions abouttheir
nature.WecanclaimtoknowthatAlfred Dotenandothersinhiscircle
sleptwithbothmenandwomenquitefreely, butwe canonlyguessat
whattheydidtogether orwhattheythought theymeantbydoingwhat-
evertheydid.Untilwe finda morefrank andcomplete set ofprimary
I
documents,believeitwillbe impossible toreconstruct thedifferences
ofmeanings fornineteenth-century western menamongdifferent types
ofsexualexpression: simultaneous visitsto prostitutes,simultaneous
masturbation, mutualmasturbation, andoralor analsex. Whenwe re-
conceivetheseactswithin thepractice ofpartnership in theAmerican
West,theybecomeladenwithindecipherable currents ofintention. How
canwe determine, atthedistance ofmorethana century, whatitmeant
forpartnered mentohavesex withfemale prostitutes together andthen
go hometo sleepsidebyside?We cannot,at leastnotuntilwe have
morethorough researchonsexuality intheAmerican West.Wecanonly
conjecture:didSam Clemens'spartnerships, ifthatis whattheywere,
includesexualcontact? ofwhatsort?andwhatdiditmean?Whatmean-
ingsmight we assigntoanabsenceofsexbetween menwithpassionand
opportunity, ifwe conclude noneexisted?Noneofthesequestions can
be answered atpresent.Neithertherolenortheextent ofsexinwestern
partnerships hasreceivedenough attentiontobe understood.
Myhypothesis aboutClemens's attachments toothermendrawssup-
portfroman examination ofthecontext ofhis actions.Historians of
American homosexuality find,forexample, thatamongthegentry and
theeducated totheCivilWar,same-sex
prior relationshipswerethenorm
beforemarriage. A longlistofAmerican dignitariesseemto havehad
suchties:Thoreau,Melville, even the Reverend HenryWardBeecher,
whoapparently hada belovedchum duringhiscollegedays.Theinfluence
ofWaltWhitman-championed bytheBohemians withwhomClemens
alignedhimself-contributed tothecreation ofa distincthomosexual sub-
set,which of
isolatedpractitioners same-sex contact.The term "homo-
sexual"itself,a categorical
definitionofa personratherthana behav-
ior,doesn'tappearuntil1869.Perhapsinthepre-Civil Warworldwhich
separatedmen'sculture from women's culture so completely, same-sex

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 39
MarkTwainandHomosexuality

weretakenforgranted,
relations atleastuntilmarriage brought thecul-
turestogether.After theCivilWar,whenthewomen's movement began
tointegratethesexesinpubliclife,homosexuality becameincreasingly
taboo."Clemens,experiencing hissexualfreedom beforethecultural
changeandwriting afterit,hadverylittle choicebuttoobscurehispast.
Acknowledging a strainofhomosexuality raisessomeintriguing ques-
tionsforTwainstudies.Wemight ask,forexample, ifSamClemens hada
romanticinterestinmenbefore hemovedWest,wherethedisproportion
betweenmenandwomenmadefinding a mateoftheoppositesex un-
What
likely. about his yearson the river,orhisinterest inNewOrleans,
a citywhosehistory ofsexualtolerance goesbackto a timebeforeit
becamepartoftheUnitedStates?Anddidyoung SamClemens, growing
upinsmall-town Hannibal, think ofhimself as attracted tomen,at least
inpart?Hisfirstpseudonym, W.Epaminondas Adrastus Blab,usedinhis
brother'sHannibal paper,mayhavebeensignificant. Epaminondas ruled
Thebeswithhismalelover,andtheymaintained theirpowerthrough
unitcalledtheSacredBand,150pairsofwarrior-lovers.
a fighting Did
Clemensknowthis?
Inhisrelationshipswithwomen, bothinhislifeandhisfiction, Clemens
seemsto havebeenrepelledbyfrank femalesexuality. Exceptforhis
motherfigures, he preferred, almostexclusively, girlishwomen.He
praisedLivyforjustthisquality:"Shewas bothgirlandwoman.She
remained bothgirlandwoman tothelastdayofherlife."49 His"Platonic
Sweetheart,"as described inhisposthumously published 1898article,is
alwaysfifteen.
HisAngelfish, thegirlshebefriended afterLivy'sdeath,
hadto leavetheclubwhentheybecamewomen.Thisdeepaversion to
womanly sexuality extendsintohiswriting, which has veryfew fully
sexualwomen.Hispreference forgirlish women, which reachesitspin-
nacleinhisidolatry ofJoanofArc,might deriveinpartfrom hisexperi-
encewithmen.Thisis notto saythatgaymendo notlikewomen,or
havea healthy admiration forfemalesexuality; it onlydescribeswhat
we knowofClemens's feelingsaboutwomen's sexuality initself.Atthe
sametime,therecanbe no doubtthathe relished hissexuallifewith
Livy;reportsoftheirearlymarriage showno signsofanydifficulty in
theirsexualadjustment.-I
Thehomoerotic inTwain'sfiction is notlimited tothetiebetween Jim
andHuckobserved byLeslieFiedler.Twain's recurrent interestintwin-
shipis anotherexample.Past criticism has interpreted hisinterest in
twinsas a representationoftheidentity ofthetwohalvesofhisbifur-

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 Literature
40 American

catedself,thecoexistence ina singlebodyofSamClemensandMark

Twain.Thisinterpretation, however, doesnotaccount forthefactthat
Twain'stwinsare seldomidentical, even-withcomiceffect-hisSia-
mesetwins.Siamesetwinsperhaps represent thisspecialkinship most
exactly:inTwain,thereis nonecessary identitybetween thetwins, only
a bondcloserthan-andqualitatively from-thebondbetween
different
theclosestoffriends. Whilethetraditional psychological interpretation
ofthetropehasconsiderable strength, so toodoesa visionoftwinship
as homoerotic. Perhapshomoeroticism alsoinforms Twain'sinterest in
characters whoplaywithgender roles.Women whodressas men-Joan
ofArcand"Hellfire" Hotchkiss, forexample-arecelebrated, butmen
whodressas womenareeithervilified (themurderous thief TomDris-
collinPudd'neadWilson) orridiculed (Huckwhenhe comesashorefor
gossipdressedas a girl).Throughout MarkTwain'soeuvre,thetiesbe-
tweenmalesseemprimary: inA Connecticut Yankee, HankMorganhas
Clarence, towhomhe seemscloserthantohiswifeSandy;TomSawyer
hasHuckFinn.
Thepreceding pagesrepresent a slightlymoredetailed versionofmy
presentationoftheevidence inAugust 1993.Since thattime, my research
hasbrought mefurtherinthechronology ofClemens's lifeandhasgiven
me a chanceto consider a laterliaisonthatfigures inthishypothetical
pattern.I willsketchbrieflytheintervening years.After hissuccessful
seriesof lettersfrom Hawaii (itis possible thatCharles Warren Stod-
dard'sreports ofhisromantic journey theretheyearbefore contributed
toClemens's decisiontogo) anda lecture tourinCalifornia andNevada,
ClemenslefttheWestat theendof1866witha "roving commission"
fromtheAltaCalifornia. He parlayed thisintoa berthon theQuaker
Cityfora high-tonedtourofEuropeandtheHolyLand.Hisletters from
abroadprovedpopular, andafterhisreturn a publisher invitedhimto
assemblethemintoa book.The cruisehadpersonalvalueas well,in
Clemens's acquaintancewithyoung CharlesLangdon, thedesultory son
ofanupstate NewYorkcoalmagnate. He began courting Langdon's older
sisterOliviaat theendof1868andmarried herin February of1870.
By thenTheInnocents Abroad,thebookderived from hisQuakerCity
correspondence, hadbeenouta fewmonths. HelpedbyTwain's previous
lecturetours,thebooksoldenormously well,reaching 100,000 copiesin
threeyears.Thisbookandthesubsequent Roughing It, alongwithhis
lecturetoursandfrequent contributions tonewspapers andmagazines,
madeMarkTwainperhaps themostpopular authorinthecountry. Aided

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 41
MarkTwainandHomosexuality

byLivyLangdon's fortune, Clemens wasnowrich.He traveled aloneto

England fora fewmonths in1872,and-glorying inhisreceptionthere-
returned a fewmonths laterwithLivyandtheir infantdaughter;their
first-bornsonhaddiedatnineteen months justbefore trip.Be-
thefirst
tweenthetwojauntsto England he co-wrote a novel,TheGildedAge,
withhisHartford neighbor CharlesDudleyWarner.
Though theeventsofthelatter halfof1873arenotindispute, themoti-
vationsbehind themremain mysterious. PastTwainbiographers maintain
thatLivy,pregnant again,becameillinOctober. Clemens neededtostay
inEngland toprotect theBritish copyright ofTheGildedAge andtocom-
pletea seriesoflectures. Asa solution, heescorted hispregnantwifeand
daughter backtoNewYorkandthenboarded thesameshipforhisreturn
toLondon.5' Oncethere,hesharedhishotelroomswithCharlesWarren
Stoddard, hisCalifornia friend.Stoddard, calledbya modern critic"the
gayestofthegay,"^52 was in Englandto overseethepublication ofhis
SouthSea Idyls,a collection oftravelessayswithhomosexual themes.
ThoughStoddard hadsomequalmsabouthissexualorientation, he
neverflirted withheterosexuality; he chosebetweenmenanda reli-
giousabstinence. Atthisdistance itis difficulttoknowhissexualhabits.
Although hisbiographer Roger Austen assumes fullsexualrelationships
withseveralmen,evidence remains scanty. Stoddard maintaineda dur-
ablelong-distancerelationship witha beloved "chum" inOakland,Califor-
nia,formany years,anditispossible thatinfaithfulness tohimherefused
any other sexual contact, though no proof of sexual contactwitheven
hisOakland friendexists.Stoddard's perpetual witha religious
flirtation
lifemightimply thathe sought inhismalefriendships thesortofspiri-
tualonenesshe sought withJesus.It hasbeenobservedthateveryone
whoknewStoddard fellinlovewithhimtosomedegree;somecommen-
taryimpliesthatpartofhischarmwas hisblendofthemasculine, the
feminine,andtheethereal. Whilehe plainly lovedmen,whatthatlove
consistedofremains unclear.
The arrangement inLondonbetween Clemens andStoddard involved
a masquerade, though perhapsan innocent one. As Clemensrecalled
towardtheendofhislife,"Ostensibly Stoddard wasmyprivatesecre-
tary;inrealityhewasmerely mycomrade-Ihiredhiminordertohave
hiscompany. As secretary therewasnothing forhimtodo." 3 Stoddard
didkeepa scrapbook ofarticlesabout a trialwhich Clemens
interested
anddidpena fewnotesforhisfriend. Stoddard wroteabouttheinterlude
as follows:"Wehadoursuiteofroomsandlivedina kindofgorgeous

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 Literature
42 American

seclusion thatwas broken onlybyournightly tripto theLectureHall,

whereMarkwasholding forth.Wetalkedandtalkedandtalked.He saw
fewpeople;hewasnervous andillandirritable,andnoonesuitedhimbut
me,andsometimes I didn't exactly suit.Butweweretogether night and
day,andwewentdeepintoeachother's lives."54Whentheir twomonths
together ended,itleftStoddard bereft.He wroteClemens:"ThedayI
in
leftyou Liverpooltook I the ferryfor NewBrighton andsawyougo
outto sea witha strange mingling ofpleasureandregret.Youhadbeen
longing so forHomethatI rejoiced whenI sawyouactually onyourway;
butmylifehadtobeginalloveragain.It seemstomethatI amalways
doingthatsortofthing; I getjustso farandthensomebody orsomething
rubsit all out."55 Certainly Stoddard's testimony might inducea mod-
ernreadertoconclude thatthisinterlude wasfully romantic, atleastfor
Stoddard. WecanonlyguesswhatClemens felt;thestories,notes,and
letters remaining from thisperiod communicate nexttonothing aboutthe
emotional component intherelationship between themen.
It is possible,too,thatalloftherelationships underdiscussion here
wereone-sided andthatClemensattached noromantic meaning to any
ofthem.Boththecontext ofhisBohemian societyintheWestandthe
circumstances in Londonmakethisunlikely. ClemensknewStoddard
wellinSan Francisco andis unlikely tohavebeenunaware ofhissexual
orientation, which Stoddard seldomdisguised. Stoddard published some
earlysegments ofSouthSea IdylsinBretHarte'sOverland Magazine,
whichClemensreceived andread.Thecollection itself
hadbeenwidely
reviewed, notonlyinOverland butin TheNationandbyWilliam Dean
Howells,unsigned, in TheAtlantic Monthly. Howells'sreviewsofThe
InnocentsAbroad andRoughingIt hadbeenvitaltoMarkTwain's develop-
ingreputation; though thefriendship between Clemens andHowellshad
notyetbecomeclose,Clemens followed reviews inTheAtlantic. Though
hisabsencefrom theUnited Statesformuch of1873might haveinterfered
withhisreceiving thereviewsofStoddard's SouthSea Idyls,it seems
unlikely he wouldhavemisunderstood thecharacter ofhisfriend's remi-
niscences,however obliquely expressed. After thisinterlude, Clemens
privately described Stoddard as "sucha nicegirl."
The possibility ofalternative interpretationsoftheeventsI havere-
latedis ofno import to myargument. I claimonlythatthesealliances
mighthavebeenromantic, in contradistinction to mostTwainbiogra-
phers,whosaywithout doubttheywerenot.Itis mybelief thatthisweb
ofcircumstantial evidence indicates a preoccupation witha specialsort

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 MarkTwainandHomosexuality
43

ofbondbetweenmeninSamuelClemens's lifeandMarkTwain'swork.
Whileitis historically inaccurate to callClemensgayor homosexual
notonlydothosetermshaveshifting meanings whenapplied historically,
butClemens hada seriesofromantic interests inwomen before marriage
andenjoyeda fullandsatisfying lifewithLivyLangdon-theconnec-
tionbetweenClemensandhomosexuality seemsas irrefutable as it is
unprovable. Resorting tothemorecomforting term "bisexual" onlycon-
juresotherhistorically inaccurateconnotations. I repeat:I donotbelieve
I haveproven homosexual contact between SamuelClemens andanyone.
Further, I don'tbelieve,giventhenatureofevidence ofsexualcontact
from the1860s,thatproof willeversurface. Instead, I claimonlytohave
destabilized thisoneaspectofClemens's biography. Thedegreetowhich
one is convinced bytheevidencewilldetermine inlargemeasurethe
direction ofone'sfurther criticismofTwain.
It is reasonable to expect,forexample, thatevenamongpeoplewho
acceptthehypothesis ofClemens'ssexualexperimentation in Nevada
andCalifornia, concerning
opinions anylaterromantic involvement with
menwillvary.Itis easiertoacceptthatClemens fellintotheapparently
common habitofromantic partnerships between menina worldoflim-
itedoptions thantobelievethatClemenscontinued relationships ofthis
sort-perhaps withCharles Warren Stoddard-after hismarriage andhis
ascenttofame.Thelatter demands a willingness toscrapalmostevery-
thing wehavecometobelieveaboutClemens's marriage andmuchabout
hispersonality. Questionsimmediately cometomindabouttheepisode
withStoddard. DidLivyknow?WasthetimewithStoddard, ifromantic,
onlyan isolatedspill-over from theprevious decade?Is therea hidden
pattern ofrelationshipawaitingdiscovery, as inPossession? Howroman-
ticwerehis othercelebrated friendships, withWilliam Dean Howells
andtheReverend JosephTwichell? Did he easilyacceptliving as both
MarkTwainandSamuelL. Clemensbecausethedivision allowedhim
to hide-perhapsfromhimself-hisromantic interests in othermen?
Thesethorny questions if
recede we limitouracceptance ofClemens's
same-sexattachments totheperiodbefore hismarriage andfame.
Eventhatlimited acceptance, however, causesuneasiness in schol-
arsandlaypeoplealike.Nonacademics canexpresstheiranxieties with
morefreedom. One,DavidHolahan, openeda widely distributed op-ed
piece,first published intheProvidence Sunday Journal-Bulletin, "Poor
MarkTwain.He hasearnedhisrest,butwe won'tlethimhaveit.Peri-
odically, he is accusedofthisandthat.To somehe was a racistwhose

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44 American
Literature

booksbelongin a pilenextto thekindling. To yetothershe evinced

an inordinate interest inyounggirls.Nowtheheadlines scream,'Was
Twaingay?"'6 Holahanthenproceedstoan ad hominem attackonme,
concluding thatBrownUniversity, myhostinstitution, "might consider
lowering [its]tuition-atleastuntilthiswayward biographer resumes his
peregrinations." Those set againstthepossibility ofvariablesexuality
inClemenstypically refusetograpple withtheevidence. Justin Kaplan,
whoseMr. ClemensandMarkTwainhasbeenthestandard biography
fora quarter ofa century, disregards theevidence assembled indefense
ofmyhypothesis, maintaining insteadthatTwain"wasveryuncomfort-
ableaboutsex, eventhough he hadchildren. There'ssomething messy
abouthim,sure,butnotthis."57 Ifwedonotknowwhatis "messy" about
Clemens's sexuality,whydisregard thispossibility?
Otherthanhomophobia, themostobvious reasonforthecomplete un-
willingness to assess theevidence is thedegreeto whichsomepeople
arewedtoanidealized MarkTwain.Manyliketobelieveinhishonesty.
It is amazinghowaccuratehe couldbe inwriting abouthispast.Per-
hapsbecauseofthisuncanny untilrecently
ability, mostTwainscholar-
shiphas focusedon identifying correlationsbetweentheworkandthe
life.In answering Howells'sphilosophical queryaboutwhywe hatethe
past,Clemens"responded from thedepthsofhisconsciousness, 'It'sso
damnedhumiliating,' whichis whatanymanwouldsayofhispastifhe
werehonest;buthonest menarefewwhenitcomestothemselves." 58If,
however, Clemens hida fundamental featureofhispast,thenhishonesty
comesintoquestion andtheidolbecomestarnished.
Ofcourse,debatesconcerning Clemens's honesty-or,to putit an-
otherway,thedegreeofMarkTwain's mythificationofSamuelClemens's
past-have occupiedTwainscholars forthreegenerations. So itis not
justhishonesty atstake,butsomething fundamental tohisimage.A pio-
neerofAmerican letters,Twainwrotemuscular English as Americans
spokeit.Therewasa manliness inhislanguage, often distinguishedfrom
a morefay,effete, andfeminine Englishderived from Britishliterature.59
Homosexuality, it appears,wouldcompromise thislinguistic integrity.
Thishomophobic nonsensedemonstrates howquickly thesexuality of
an author getsentangled withourcultural ideasofsexuality, whichare
in partgenerated bytheworkofthatauthor. Ifwe reconceive Mark
Twain'ssexuality as I havedonehere,we havefeminized himandhe
becomesessentially The malenessofhislanguage
different. warswith
a personalfemaleness, blurringdistinctions
gendertheory has worked
hardtoexplicate.

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 45
MarkTwainandHomosexuality

A similar resultfollows from ShelleyFisherFishkin's interesting work

ontheinfluence ofAfrican American language onthedevelopment ofthe
character ofHuckleberry Finnin WasHuckBlack?60 The blackness of
Huckforcesa conceptual integration.IfHuckhas anyAfrican Ameri-
canlinguistic authority, hisuse oftheword"nigger," a rallying pointfor
movements tobanAdventures ofHuckleberryFinn from our highschools,
partakes oftheprivilege anypeoplehavetorefer tothemselves as they
choose.Moreimportantly, Fishkinarguespersuasively thatClemens
integrated his first-hand experience ofAfrican American culturecon-
sciouslyandrespectfully intohiswork.Thisreconception ofMarkTwain
illustratesa fundamental truth aboutAmerican literaturethatthedivision
ofauthorship byrace,gender, andsexualorientation obscures:thebest
American literatureis inclusive. Huckmustbe partblack,at leastcon-
ceptually, inorderto occupy fictive
his position betweenwhitesociety
andJim.IfHuckcannot achievethisposition, thenovelcannot work.
A similarly newperspective withrespecttogenderandsexualorien-
tationinTwainhasyetto be achieved. Untilnow,therehasbeenlittle
drivetounderstand howTwainmanagestoinclude thefeminine andthe
homoerotic in hiswork,although PeterStoneley's recentMarkTwain
and theFeminist Aesthetic breaksground in thisdirection.6' The divi-
sioninAmerican literary studiesintocategories basedonthepersonal
characteristics ofauthors is difficult
to challenge. Muchsoundworkin
literarytheory dependsonanunderstanding oftheblackness inherent in
anAfrican American writer's work,thefemaleness ina woman writer's
work,and the gaynessin a homosexual writer'swork.As attractive
as theideology supporting thisworkremains, thepossibility ofhomo-
sexuality inSamClemens's pastorblackness in Mark Twain's language
challenges, insomemeasure, theacceptabilityofliterary division based
onpersonal characteristics oftheauthor. Priortothediscoveries ofthe
African American rootsofHuckFinn'slanguage orthestrong possibility
ofhomoeroticism inSamClemens's WildWest, Mark Twain reigned as
thearchetypal deadwhite male.Theworkofthepastseveralyearsalters
ourimageofhimandrequires a thoroughreevaluation oftherelationship
ofauthor andwork.
Homosexual themesproveremarkably easy to discoverin Twain's
work.Evensuchworksas ThePrinceandthePauper,longreducedby
WaltDisneyto cartoonsimplicity, mustcomeundera moreknowing
gaze.Developing thetheme oftwinshipas homosexuality outlined above,
ThePrinceand thePauperreadsas a homoerotic romance. Twoboys
sharean essential kinship. Chancebrings themtogether. Theyagreeto

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46 American
Literature

occupyoneanother's roles.After theirseparation,reuniting theprince

andTomCantybecomesthenovel'snarrative drive.Although no other
bookproducesso starka homoerotic interpretation,manyothersoffer
moreconvoluted andinteresting criticalopportunities.Butthemostin-
triguingcriticalpursuitis nota treasure hunt forthehomoerotic inMark
Twainbutforwhatgivesus licensetolook.Clearly thenovelshavenot
changed. Aretherulesofcritical inquiry so simple-minded thatthebiog-
raphyofan author mustshowsignsofhomosexual experience beforeit
is possibletoidentifyhomoerotic themes inhisorherbooks?
This,then,is thelarger question raisedbymysuggestion ofClemens's
homosexual past.Unquestionably myhypothesis challenges muchofwhat
we havegrownto knowaboutMarkTwain.As AlanGribben has said,
"Thistruly hasthepotential tochangeeverything forever. willre-
This
maininpeople'smindsandwillfigure intheirthinking abouthim."62 This
challengedeepensbecauseitdestabilizes ourknowledge. Ifwehadproof
ofClemens'shomosexual bonds,withtimeandeffort we couldreplace
theoldbiography and on.
withthenew go Without certainty, that what
hasbeeniconicbecomesconditional. Ouruncertainty inthissmallcorner
ofAmerican studycausesripples
literary inothers.Newunderstandings
concerning raceandsexuality ina figure as gigantic
as MarkTwainne-
cessitatea revision ofconceptions concerned withthoseissues.In no
waydoesmyhypothesis directly challenge thelegitimacy oftheoretical
inAfrican
efforts American studies, gender orgaystudies,
studies, butit
doespresent anenormous problem ofintegration.
Thus,whatchallenges
traditional
conceptions ofa literary iconatthesametimechallenges some
radicalreconceptions ofAmerican literature.
BrownUniversity

Notes
1 A. S. Byatt, (NewYork:Vintage,
Possession 1991).
2 LeslieFiedler,"ComeBacktotheRaftAg'in, HuckHoney,"Partisan
Review
15(1948):664-71.
3 Kenneth S. Lynn,"Welcome Backfrom theRaft,HuckHoney!" American
Scholar46 (1977):338-47.
4 Albert Bigelow Paine,MarkTwain,a Biography(NewYork:Harper,1912).
5 GaryScharnhorst, "'Also,SomeGin':MoreExcerpts from
MarkTwain's
'San FranciscoLetters'of 1865-1866,"MarkTwainJournal 26 (spring
1988):22-24;and"MarkTwain'sImbroglio withtheSanFrancisco
Police:
ThreeLostTexts," American Literature
62 (December1990):686-91.

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 47
MarkTwainandHomosexuality

6 MarkTwain,Roughing It (Berkeley: Press,1972),395.

Univ.ofCalifornia
7 SamuelL. Clemensto DavidGray,28 March1875.MarkTwain'sprevi-
ouslyunpublished wordsquotedhereareCopyright 1994byManufacturers
Hanover TrustCompany as TrusteeoftheMarkTwainFoundation, which
reservesallreproduction ordramatization rightsineverymedium. Quota-
tionis madewiththepermission oftheUniversity ofCaliforniaPressand
Robert H. Hirst,General Editor,MarkTwainProject. Thiscopyright notice
appliesto anysubsequent passagemarked withanasterisk(*). Allquoted
manuscripts areamongtheMarkTwainPapersintheBancroft of
Library
theUniversity ofCalifornia atBerkeley.
8 MarkTwain'sLetters, Volume 1, 1853-1866, ed. EdgarMarquessBranch,
MichaelB. Frank,andKenneth M. Sanderson (Berkeley:Univ.ofCalifornia
Press,1988),325n. 6.
9 TheMarkTwainEncyclopedia, ed. J. R. LeMasterandJamesD. Wilson
(NewYork:Garland Publishing, 1993).
10 P. M. Zall,lettertoauthor, 20June1993.
11 FranklinWalker, SanFrancisco's LiteraryFrontier(NewYork:Knopf, 1939),
passim.
12 SamuelL. Clemensto CharlesWarren Stoddard,25 August1869,Mark
Twain'sLetters,Volume 3, 1869,ed. VictorFischerandMichaelB. Frank
(Berkeley:Univ.ofCaliforniaPress,1992),320.
13 GeorgeR. Stewart, JohnPhoenix, Squibob:
Esq., TheVeritable A LifeofCap-
tainGeorge H. Derby,U.S.A. (NewYork:HenryHolt,1937),98. Derby's
homosexual attachment to Poolehas notbeenfully acceptedbyhisbiog-
raphers.In additionto thetenderaffection offeredin hisletters, Derby
arrangedforPoole'srelocationtoCalifornia andforhisposition as Derby's
assistant.
14 PaulFatout(MarkTwaininVirginia City[Bloomington: IndianaUniv.Press,
1964])andGilman M. Ostrander (Nevada:TheGreatRotten Borough, 1859-
1964[NewYork:Knopf, 1964])givedetailed accounts oflifeinthiswestern
boomtown.
15 WilliamC. Miller,"TheEditor'sPage,"NevadaHistorical SocietyQuarterly
5 (January-March 1962):insidebackcover.
16 Fatout,MarkTwaininVirginia City,34-39.
17 MarkTwain,EarlyTales& Sketches, Volume 1, 1851-1864, ed. EdgarMar-
quess Branchand RobertH. Hirst(Berkeley: Univ.ofCalifornia Press,
1979),192-98.
18 JosephGoodman toWilliam Wright,5 May1863,MarkTwainPapers,Ban-
croft Berkeley.
Library, Quotedcourtesy oftheBancroft Library, theIowa
StateHistorical
Society,andtheMorris family.
19 Twain,EarlyTales& Sketches, 1: 267.
20 Twain,EarlyTales& Sketches, 1: 269.
21 Twain, RoughingIt,271-73.
22 Dan De Quille,"Neither HeadNorTail,"San Francisco Golden Era, 6 De-
cember1863.

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48 American
Literature

23 SamuelL. ClemenstoJaneClemensandPamelaMoffett, 19August1863,

MarkTwain's Volume
Letters, 1, 258.
24 Artemus Ward'sHis Panorama(ed. T. W. Robertson andE. P. Hingston
[NewYork:G. W.Carleton, 1869])includes ofWard's
a rendition stageper-
formance thatmakesclearbothTwain's debttoWardandhisimprovements
onhim.E. P. Hingston(TheGenialShowman [London:J.C. Hotten,1871])
providesa morecomplete pictureofWardbothonstageandoff.
25 PaulFatout(MarkTwainontheLecture Circuit[Carbondale:SouthernIlli-
noisUniv.Press,1960])andFredW.Lorch(TheTrouble Beginsat Eight:
MarkTwain'sLectureTours[Ames:IowaStateUniv.Press,1960])both
touchonthissubject.
26 JamesC. Austin, ArtemusWard(NewYork:Twayne, 1964),21.
27 JonathanNed Katz,GayAmerican History:Lesbiansand GayMenin the
U.S.A.:A Documentary History,rev.ed. (NewYork:Meridian, 1992),655
n. 133.Thereis nodirect
evidence thatArtemus Wardwroteeither ofthese
pieces.
28 Paine,Biography, 241. Mostofthestoriesconcerning thisvisitappearin
Paine;laterresearch hascorroborated mostofthem.
29 MonaEffie Mack,MarkTwaininNevada(NewYork:Scribners, 1947),296.
30 Fatout,MarkTwaininVirginia City,46.
31 CharlesFarrarBrowne(Artemus Ward)to SamuelL. Clemens, 4 January
1864.I amobligedto DavidE. E. Sloaneforthefirst ofthefull
publication
textoftheletterin"A Revisionist PerspectiveonMarkTwain," Studiesin
American Humor2 (October1975):135-40.
32 SamuelL. ClemenstoJaneClemensandPamelaMoffett, 2?January 1864,
MarkTwain's Letters, 1: 267.
33 SamuelL. ClemenstoEdwardP. Hingston, 15January1867,MarkTwain's
Volume
Letters, 2, 1867-1868, ElinorSmith
ed. Harriet andRichard Bucci
(Berkeley:Univ.ofCalifornia Press,1990),8.
34 Mack,MarkTwaininNevada,304-06.
35 GoldHillDailyNews,18April1864.
36 WilliamR. Gillis,Goldrush DayswithMarkTwain(NewYork:Albert and
CharlesBoni,1930).
37 Twain,Roughing It,373-79.
38 A historyofthiscorrespondence appearsinLawrenceI. Berkove,"'Nobody
WritestoAnybody ExcepttoAska Favor':NewCorrespondence Between
MarkTwainandDan De Quille,"MarkTwainJournal 26 (spring1988),
2-21.
39 JamesLevin,TheGayNovelinAmerica(NewYork:Garland Publishing,
1991),7.
40 Margaret Duckett, MarkTwainandBretHarte (Norman:Univ.ofOklahoma
Press,1964),49-50.
41 PeterStoneley, "Signifying Frontiers: MarkTwain,Partnership andAu-
thority"(paperpresented at Stateof MarkTwainStudiesConference,
Elmira,NewYork,13August1993).

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 49
MarkTwainandHomosexuality

42 LillianFaderman, Surpassing theLoveofMen:Romantic Friendshipand

Lovebetween Women fromtheRenaissance tothePresent (NewYork:William
Morrow, 1981),204-20.
43 Alfred Doten,TheJournals ofAlfredDoten,ed. Walter VanTilbergClark
(Reno:Univ.ofNevadaPress,1973),2: 818.
44 Doten,Journals, 879.
45 Doten,Journals, 852.
46 Doten,Journals, 858.
47 Doten,Journals, 862.
48 Martin BaumiDuberman, MarthaVicinus, andGeorgeChauncey Jr.,ed.,
Hidden from History: ReclaimingtheGayandLesbian Past(NewYork:New
American Library,1989);andKatz,GayAmerican History.
49 MarkTwain, MarkTwain's OwnAutobiography, ed.byMichael Kiskis(Madi-
son:Univ.ofWisconsin Press,1990),23.
50 JeffreySteinbrink,GettingtoBe MarkTwain(Berkeley: Univ.ofCalifornia
Press,1991).
51 JustinKaplan, Mr.Clemens andMarkTwain, a Biography (NewYork:Simon
andShuster, 1966),171-72.
52 RogerAusten, PlayingtheGame(Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1977),11.
53 Twain,MarkTwain's OwnAutobiography, 159.
54 CharlesWarren Stoddard andBelovedFriend,
to Faithful 30 March1874,
published inGeorgeWharton James,California Scrapbook: A Collectionof
Articles(Los Angeles:N. A. Kovach,1945),662.
55 CharlesWarren StoddardtoSamuelL. Clemens, 12 December 1874,Mark
TwainPapers,Bancroft Library,Berkeley.
56 DavidHolahan, "LetMarkTwainRestinPeace,"Providence SundayJournal-
Bulletin,19September 1993.
57 JustinKaplanis quotedinLiz McMillen, "NewTheory AboutMarkTwain's
Sexuality Brings StrongReactionsFromExperts," Chronicle ofHigherEdu-
cation,8 September 1993.
58 William DeanHowells, MyMarkTwain:Reminiscences andCriticisms (New
YorkandLondon:Harper,1910),30.
59 DavidR. Sewell,MarkTwain's Languages:Discourse, Dialogue andLinguis-
ticVariety(Berkeley: Press,1987).
Univ.ofCalifornia
60 ShelleyFisherFishkin, WasHuckBlack?(NewYork:Oxford Univ.Press,
1993).
61 PeterStoneley, MarkTwainandtheFeminine Aesthetic (Cambridge: Cam-
bridge Univ.Press,1992).
62 AlanGribben is quotedinMcMillen, "NewTheory," 8.

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