Nov 11, 2009

The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg | Introduction

‘‘The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg’’ first appeared in Harper's Monthly in December 1899. Harper Brothers publishers reprinted the story in 1900 in the collection The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg and Other Stories and Sketches. Twain wrote the story in 1898 while he lectured in Europe, and the manuscript, which is held by the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York City, was written almost entirely on the stationery of Metropole Hotel in Vienna. Twain had hoped that a lecture tour would help him recover recent financial losses, which resulted from investing heavily in the unsuccessful Paige typesetting machine. Along with his financial burdens, Twain was depressed after his daughter Susy died, and he also was concerned about the failing health of both his wife Olivia and his youngest daughter Jean, who suffered from epilepsy. Hence, critics often interpret "The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg'' in relation to Twain's personal discontent, attributing the story's pessimistic tone and its theme of disillusionment with human nature to his own misfortunes during the 1890s.

Many critics discuss the town of Hadleyburg as a ‘‘microcosm of America,’’ comparing the activities and personalities of the townsfolk to various features of the American character. Whether Twain based Hadleyburg on an actual place or constructed it as a fictional symbol remains unclear, although various American towns have claimed to be the model for Hadleyburg. Critics often debate whether "The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg'' represents a story of revenge or of redemption. Some critics emphasize the revenge theme, pointing to the hypocritical characterizations and the deterministic tone of the story. Others analyze "Hadleyburg'' in terms of a revised "Eden" myth, citing the moralistic theme that demonstrates the possibility of salvation. Commentators often identify the mysterious stranger as a Satan figure. Like the Satan of seventeenth-century poet John Milton's Paradise Lost, the stranger leads the town to a ‘‘fortunate fall,’’ but critics disagree whether he is an agent of moral destruction or rejuvenation.

The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg Summary

Part 1
An omniscient narrator opens the story with a description of Hadleyburg, U.S.A., as "honest," "upright," and very proud of its "unsmirched" reputation. The town enjoys national renown for protecting every citizen against all temptation from infancy through death. Appropriately, the town motto reads "Lead us not into temptation.'' The tale then segues to the bitter thoughts of an "offended stranger,’’ who has nursed a grudge against the town during the past year for an unnamed, unrequited offense. Rather than murder the one or two individuals responsible, the stranger plots vengeance to "comprehend the entire town, and not let so much as one person escape unhurt.’’

The ‘‘mysterious, big’’ stranger puts his scheme into action when he delivers a sack of gold coins, supposedly worth $40,000, to the home of Mary and Edward Richards, who is a cashier at the Hadleyburg bank. Alone when the sack arrives, Mary panics then notices a note attached to the sack. The note explains that some time ago a financially and morally bankrupt ex-gambler arrived in Hadleyburg, where a citizen gave him twenty dollars and sage advice. Ironically, the stranger amassed a fortune by gambling with those twenty dollars. He now wants to repay his benefactor whose identity can be determined by repeating the words of advice that he spoke so long ago, which are disclosed in a document within a sealed envelope inside the sack. The stranger's note concludes by asking the Richardses to find the man and to conduct their search either privately or publicly. However, if they choose a public method, all claims must be forwarded to Reverend Burgess, whom the stranger authorizes to open the sealed envelope and verify a match.

Alarmed by the prospect of theft, Mary explains the situation to Edward when he comes home. Edward jokes about burning the letters and keeping the money to themselves, but he promptly goes to the newspaper office to advertise the sack. He favors the public method because neighboring towns will envy Hadleyburg for being deemed worthy to safeguard such a huge sum of gold. Edward and Mary conjecture that the anonymous citizen is the deceased Barclay Goodson. In the course of their speculation, Edward reveals a few secrets about "honest" Hadleyburg. Barclay Goodson and Reverend Burgess, respectively, became the most hated men in town, due in part to Edward's cowardice. As it happens, Burgess was falsely accused of committing an unnamed deed, which ruined his reputation. Edward knew Burgess was innocent but withheld the information that would have cleared him because Edward feared public reproach against himself. Still, Edward felt guilty about his role in bringing scandal to Burgess, so he advised Burgess to leave town until the crisis passed. Meanwhile, Edward convinced the townsfolk that Goodson withheld the self-incriminating information. Shocked by Edward's revelations, Mary wavers between outrage and acceptance but ultimately supports her husband's actions. They alternately indulge in fantasies about keeping the money and self-reproach for entertaining such "awful" thoughts, when Edward decides to cancel the advertisement. Meanwhile, the printer Mr. Cox, the only other person in town aware of the sack, has spent a similar evening with his wife. He, too, decides to stop the ad and meets Edward at the newspaper office, but they are too late to prevent the notice from appearing in the next day's paper. The men... » Complete The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg Summary