Today we are going to take a brief look at the Preface and A Word of Explanation sections of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain. In these sections we learn a little about our protagonist and a sort of metacognitive narrator who stumbles into him. Additionally, we are going to learn about the protagonist. We will glean a great deal from his thoughts about the new, albeit old, world that he now inhabits. If you have never read this book, this post will help guide you.
A Mark Twain Preface
In the preface, Twain defends some of his feelings on the book from later accusations related to accuracy. However, as the preface came out in the 1889, I assume he was preparing himself against future critiques.
More specifically, Twain addresses his historical accuracy within the book. In his own way, he attempts to allay the historical perfectionists’ tempers toward he, the writer. Twain writes: “… it is safe to consider that it is no libel upon the sixth century to suppose them to have been in practice in that day also. One is quite justified in inferring that whatever one of these laws or customs was lacking in that remote time, its place was competently filled by a worse one.”
As he states, a pessimistic view of history may be a useful one to use while reading, as even if you disagree with his assessment of the laws and mores of the culture during the sixth century … it was probably much worse than you can imagine. Though funny, Mark Twain was a man of wit and cynicism.
“Ancient hauberk, date of the sixth century, time of King Arthur and the Round Table; said to have belonged to the knight Sir Sagramor le Desirous; observe the round hole through the chain-mail in the left breast; can’t be accounted for; supposed to have been done with a bullet since invention of firearms—perhaps maliciously by Cromwell’s soldiers.” — Mark Twain
Mark Twain, Narrator
Here, Twain begins the narrative and reveals himself to be a visitor to Warwick Castle. He stumbles into a “curious stranger” who attracts the speaker through his “candid simplicity, his marvelous familiarity with ancient armor, and the restfulness of his company.” Twain points out that the man talked endlessly.
Twain takes note of how friendly the curious stranger seems to be with characters of history: Sir Bedivere, Sir Bors de Ganis, and Sir Lancelot. Similarly, the curious stranger asks him of his knowledge about ‘transmigration of souls.” This includes the “transposition of epochs,” which will both come into play when the story really kicks off. The speaker then finds it both fantastical and a little eerie at that stranger’s proclamation. He claims to have put a hole through an ancient hauberk himself…with a bullet.
The strangeness of this encounter does affect the speaker, and he retires to his room in the Warwick Arms where he reads Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur. Twain presents the following as an excerpt, and therein the reader can view chapter eleven of the text, “How Launcelot Slew Two Giants, and Made a Castle Free.” The story details the gallantry and wonder of the knights, their righteousness, and their capabilities as kingdom protectors.
Afterward, the speaker relaxes until the curious stranger returns to imbibe in Scotch whiskey and the comforts of his room. Soon enough, the curious stranger begins his tale of fantasy, magic (of a sort), science, and history. Here, Twain tells the reader to get comfortable by the fire and prepare to be regaled.
The Stranger’s History
In the first section we learn a little about the curious stranger: “I am an American. I was born and reared in Hartford, in the State of Connecticut—anyway, just over the river, in the country. So I am a Yankee of the Yankees…” Here, we have a practical man who reveals himself to be extremely capable in matters of engineering.
He tells us: “Then I went over to the great arms factory and learned my real trade … learned to make everything: guns, revolvers, cannon, boilers, engines, all sorts of labor-saving machinery.” In other words, the man was an inventor, and he was capable of addressing most needs if they should arise and require gadgetry.
Yet, a man of his prodigious talent is bound to get in trouble, he explains. An ornery coworker named “Hercules” whacks him in the head with a crowbar. At that, he falls into a coma and he “didn’t feel anything more, and didn’t know anything at all…”
He wakes up and is under a tree. Immediately, a man on horseback confronts him. After the assailant nearly runs him over, our curious stranger goes up a tree and makes a deal with the knight. The curious stranger would follow the man on horseback (and be his property) for safe passage. After the agreement, the two begin a journey toward the horseback man’s home…even though the curious stranger believes his home to be an asylum.
He states:
“At the end of an hour we saw a far-away town sleeping in a valley by a winding river; and beyond it on a hill, a vast gray fortress, with towers and turrets, the first I had ever seen out of a picture.
‘Bridgeport?’ said I, pointing.
‘Camelot,’ said he.
It is at this point in the story that the curious stranger becomes groggy and hands over his manuscript. He had written this book as a journal and then amended. The speaker sits down by his fire and opens the book while the curious stranger sleeps. He reads from where the curious stranger told him to carry on.
Conclusion
The mother told me about the beginning of this book. She might as well have told me about the strangest movie moment she had ever seen. Twain and creativity go a long way. I understood that part of the book long before I ever actually cracked the cover. But it is effective for a reason, as it largely gets the action of the story moving very quickly. In three short sections, Twain is able to tell you about his approach to writing, the speaker and the curious stranger’s motives. Then, he gives the inciting incident that caused the curious stranger to be in King Arthur’s Court.
What is more, the opening of Twain’s book reminds me of The Time Machine by H. G. Welles, in which the time traveler regails a group with a story about his travels forward and backwards in time. That tale comprises the whole of the book. However, A Connecticut Yankee was written almost a decade prior and features the time shift narrative trope. It conveys both the fantastical nature of the narrative itself–fairy tale–and the morality play. This is no no doubt carved into each chapter, including knights taking ownership, and castles on hills separating social classes.
Lastly, through both the speaker and curious stranger, Twain is able to create a dichotomy. I would assume this is his own dichotomy. Twain is a practical man of the times and a reflective, bookish character. Through both voices we have one of rational madness and one of careful attentiveness. Each character serves their purpose to propel the initial action and the story moves onward. Mark Twain does this decisively and accurately.
