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May 30, 2009
A Boring Post On Mark Twain and Joan of Arc
It started as an observation about Mark Twain's view on torture. He was against it. And it quickly morphed into a discussion of the literary value of his Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc. Most of those who addressed the issue on the Mark Twain Forum shared the view that "it is boring beyond belief." Yet Twain thought it among his best and most important works.
It is true that Joan of Arc is often ponderous. Twain amplified this ponderous nature by the introduction of a fictitious virtual narrator, Sieur Louis de Conte, who often awkwardly stands between Twain and the reader. Twain himself likely saw the device as putting necessary distance between himself and his subject. While many of the gags do seem rehashed and degraded in the process, I wonder how much of that is attributable to the narrative style. That said, I've read the book a couple of times and will likely read it again. Unlike Twain, I don't think it is among his finest works. But also unlike many others, I don't find it all that boring.
Joan of Arc is one of several novels where Twain struggles directly with how a mere human can ever be noble, ever overcome his or her self-interest narrowly defined. Huckleberry Finn and The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson are two others that come to mind. Twain had a very low opinion of human nature and was astonished by anyone, including fictional characters, who rose above their innate self-interest. I think reading Joan of Arc in this context brings more than enough interest to Twain's story to overcome its limitations.
Posted by Duane Smith at May 30, 2009 2:34 PM | Read more on Mark Twain |
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