Essay:
Frederick McFadden
Eng. 111-03W
13 Nov. 2024
Finishing Mark Twains Job
Finishing Mark Twain’s Job
“Take the universe as a whole, and it is a very clever conception and quite competently carried out, but I don’t think much of this globe as a work of art. It would have been better to take more time to it and do it right, it seems to me, than to rush through, helter-skelter in six days for reputation” (Mark Twain Quotes). Mark Twain, born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in 1835, was a famous American writer, humorist, and social commentator from Missouri. In Twain’s early life he grew up in a small town of just about a thousand people called Florida working a myriad of jobs from storekeeper, lawyer, judge, and land speculator. After becoming the best-known storyteller in the west of the United States with release of his tale “Jim. Smiley and His Jumping Frog.” Twain would then spend five months on a sea cruise in the mediterranean, commentating and writing many works on the societal structure of European society (“Mark Twain” biography). One of these works influenced by European society was that of “medieval romance.” This work was a commentary and humanization of European societal structure which for the most part remained stagnant over the course of the past few centuries with regards to royal succession. Medieval romance is a story that dives deep into many themes, particularly greed. Throughout the story it is the greedy and selfish actions of the Conrad’s father, that leads Conrad and Constance to a dicey and inescapable ending that Twain himself could not get them out of, which will now be concluded with everyone attaining a happy ending.
The story begins on a still and cold night in the feudal castle of Klugenstein, a part of the kingdom of Brandenburgh during the later part of the year 1222, with the old lord baron addressing his son Conrad. The old baron had raised his daughter Conrad as a son in order to usurp his own brother who is the great duke of Brandenburgh, for if the duke does not bear a son the line of succession will fall to the baron’s family. The old lord reveals to Conrad that his life has essentially been a lie, being raised as a man instead of a woman, and that he must now go to and take his place as duke. He also explains that there is a law as old as Germany itself and that is if a woman were to sit on the ducal throne for even a moment that she will die. That is why it is so important for Conrad to take the throne now, for if he discovered to be a woman he will not be crowned and killed. Thusly if he is able to be crowned before being discovered his rule will be absolute and no one will be able to question him. Conrad then arrives at the capital of Brandenburgh and the duke’s palace, met with happiness and celebrations. Though, there are the opposite of such things happening in another part of the palace. Constance, the duke’s daughter weeps for her love count Detzin, who has fled the dukedom.
A few months pass and everyone in the dukedom is happy with the prosperity that Conrad has brought them, however, Constance who had previously been in love with the count Detzin had started to fall in love with Conrad. The future duke noticing this started to become nervous that he would be discovered as a woman, for the duke had already noticed his daughter’s infatuation and was already dreaming of a wedding. The more Conrad tried to avoid Constance the more Constance put herself in his way and one day it all came to a head. When one day Constance encountered Conrad and confessed her love, with Conrad essentially saying it could never happen, and both running off in tears. As time passes, Conrad returns to ruling the dukedom with great wisdom and patience, however, there is a vicious rumor spreading that the lady Constance had given birth. it is then revealed that the old Baron, Conrad’s father, had sent the Count Detzin the Brandenburgh to bear a child out of wedlock with Constance to denounce her claim to the dukedom even further.
A trial was held to convict Constance of the allegation of baring a child out of holy wedlock. After all preliminaries were settled Conrad raised his scepter to pass judgement on Constance, however Conrad had not been crowned duke yet and thus had to pass judgement from the throne. Once an uncrowned Conrad takes the throne, he asks Constance to name the father of this child to which she asserts that Conrad is not in fact a man. If it is discovered that Conrad, an uncrowned duke and woman, were to sit on the throne it would mean death. The story remains unfinished as the author Mark Twain had gotten his hero into such a predicament that he couldn’t think of an effective way to get them out of it and leaves it to the reader to imagine their own ending (Twain, Mark).
As mark twain leave the ending of his own story vague and leaves the ending up to the interpretation of the reader it is possible to propose their own ending. In a proposed ending to avoid the inescapable fate that faces both of the main characters it will take an inexplicable act to save them. In this hypothetical ending there were two laws broken by the Constance and Conrad that would result in their deaths. The first law to be broken is by Constance, who had a child out of wedlock. If a woman is discovered to have a child out of wedlock she shall be put to death. the second law to be broken is by Conrad, for if an uncrowned women were to sit on the ducal throne for even a moment she shall be put to death, and since Constance exposed him as a woman there is no way to prove himself a man. In a proposed ending, while everyone is frozen in silence at the revelation that Conrad is a woman, suddenly there is a loud boom, a large object was hurling down from the sky. The object slowed itself down hovered for a few minutes and then started to float toward the duke’s palace. Everyone in the royal capital is shocked to learn that visitors form another world have revealed themselves at such a pivotal point in Constance’s’ trial. These visitors make their way into the palace, learn of what is happening and, the significance of this trial through a telepathy to communicate with the humans, and convey to everyone present that their laws are in fact quite archaic. They explain that while marriage is a holy covenant between two parties, if a woman were to have a child outside of wedlock and isn’t currently married, she shouldn’t be put to death as it is morally wrong. They go further and use their telepathy to scan everyone in the room and learn that the law broken by Conrad was not intentionally broken. They explain that there was a plot by the old baron, who is present, to usurp his brother by raising his daughter as a son to allow the line of succession to fall to his family. The crowd and high lords learning of this find the old baron guilty of inciting an insurrection against the kingdom of Brandenburgh and take him into custody to serve a life sentence in prison. Finally, everyone, stunned at the revelation that there is life on other planets and the fact that they have telepathic powers, start worshipping the visitors as their new Gods. Conrad and Constance are absolved of their former crimes, with Conrad being released to live the life he wants for himself and, Constance takes her rightful place on the throne.
While this ending does not fit the satirical style that Mark Twain is known for it does address the true intention with which Twain wrote it. ‘A Medieval Romance’ is a social commentary on how European society has virtually stayed stagnant throughout its long and storied history. The introduction of aliens into the story forces change within this society by proposing a new set of rules and laws. As well as forcing a change within this otherwise unchanging society it also provides a way out of the inescapable situation the two main characters find themselves in. In addition, it also serves justice to the old baron for planning to usurp Constance from her rightful throne and imprisons him for the rest of his days. This is a story that reflects the consequences of greed and selfishness that Twain witnessed in his travels throughout Europe. It demonstrates to the reader that these are not good qualities to have within a society and how they can come back to bite the individuals who incite them.
Works cited:
"Mark Twain Quotes About Travel and Life." Travel + Leisure, Meredith Corporation, 1 Aug. 2019, www.travelandleisure.com/travel-tips/celebrity-travel/mark-twain-quotes-about-travel-life. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.
"Mark Twain." Biography, A&E Television Networks, 2 Apr. 2014, www.biography.com/authors-writers/mark-twain. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.
Twain, Mark. "A Medieval Romance." American Literature, American Literature, www.americanliterature.com/author/mark-twain/short-story/a-medieval-romance. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.