One
of my favorite quotations from The Wit and Wisdom of Mark Twain is found
on page 180. In this section, Mark Twain is debating with a Mormon about
polygamy. And the Mormon is telling Mark Twain that he can’t find a Bible verse
that explicitly forbids polygamy. Mark Twain uses this quote as his reply, “Sure
I can; ‘no man can serve two masters.’”
I loved this quote because it was
extremely witty. I’m pretty sure that this quote actually means that there is
only one God, and no man can serve anyone but God, but Mark Twain took this
verse and used it to prove his point. He uses it as an example from the Bible
that forbids polygamy. Which is good because polygamy is wrong and illegal. It
made me chuckle, because he is acknowledging that the woman is the dominant
person in the relationship. So if a man is married to 2 women, then there are 2
dominant women ruling over him. And it’s not possible to devote all your time
to both; you can only serve one at a time. It’s one of those funny little one-liners
that made me giggle. I also liked this quote because it made me think about
Mark Twain’s views on women. There are many quotes from the book that implied
that he was a supporter of women’s rights. He even uses quotes that say that
women are better than men. For example, he says, “there is only one good sex.
The female one.” This is how he probably avoided fights with his wife. So not
only did this quote make me laugh, it made me admire Mark Twain and think he’s
awesome. And finally this quote, when applied to a man and a woman in a
marriage, is true. The woman is the master and is always right. For example, my
dad still needs to learn the lesson that my mom is right. “Even when she’s
wrong, she’s right.” The movie “Meet the Robinsons” also shares this view.
Hey, Paige! Great post. I think you picked an excellent quote that resembles the character of Mark Twain. Like you said, it is witty. Furthermore, I like how this specific quote puts women in a superior light because some of his other quotes are insulting to women. There is a fantastic cognitive shift. Also, you bring up a great point at the end when you write, "the woman is the master and is always right." I couldn't agree with you more! :)
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