Guilt and Shame Theme Analysis

In “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg,” shame is cast as torturous, something that can warp a person’s happiness. Edward and Mary Richards experience this most acutely, since they’re the only couple out of the town’s nineteen most well-respected families to escape seemingly unscathed from Howard Stephenson’s act of revenge. Although Edward and Mary deserve the same public embarrassment as everybody else—since, like the other Nineteeners, Edward lied in order to claim a sack of gold—they are spared the humiliation to which the other couples are subjected. In fact, their fellow citizens laud them for their integrity, showering them with praise for not succumbing to the temptations that disgraced the other Nineteeners. Although at first the couple feels a sense of relief, they soon become devastatingly ashamed for having gotten away with their lie. As time goes on, their guilt festers, wrecking havoc on their personal lives, their happiness, and even their physical wellbeing. By the end of the story, both Edward and Mary are driven to their deathbeds as a result of their overwhelming shame. In this way, Twain suggests that shame should be addressed head-on, implying that people suffering from immense guilt would be better off if they confessed their wrongdoings. Otherwise, shame can badly alter a person’s life, rendering them unable to live with themselves.

Edward and Mary Richards’s feelings of shame are made worse by the fact that everybody praises them for their integrity. To understand this dynamic, it’s worth briefly reviewing how Howard Stephenson corrupts Hadleyburg: in his attempt to take revenge on the town, he separately tells all of the Nineteeners to write a specific sentence on a piece of paper and submit it to Reverend Burgess. The town has already been informed that whoever writes down the correct phrase—a phrase that corresponds to the words written in an unopened letter—is the rightful claimant of a large sack of gold. However, Stephenson tells each Nineteener to write down the same phrase. When Reverend Burgess reads the notes out loud one by one, all containing the same phrase, the townspeople realize that the Nineteeners are all lying in order to dishonestly win the gold. While the Reverend reads, Edward and Mary Richards tensely await their public shaming. Edward is so nervous that he stands up, hoping to preemptively address the imminent disapproval. When Edward begins to address the crowd, Reverend Burgess interrupts him and acts as if Edward isn’t making a plea on his own behalf, but on behalf of the other Nineteeners who have already been proved guilty of lying. In doing so, Burgess exacerbates Edward’s shame. Sheepishly, Mr. Richards sits down again and whispers to his wife, “the shame will be greater than ever when they find we were only going to plead for ourselves.” In this moment, Edward acknowledges how toxic shame can be when kept hidden, since guilt grows “greater” the longer it goes unaddressed. 

Despite the fact that Edward submitted a note to Burgess, the Reverend never calls his name. Mary and Edward are dumbfounded, but their fellow citizens immediately congratulate them for their upstanding moral integrity. Before long, the citizens open the sack and realize it’s full of painted lead, not gold. To further shame the other Nineteeners, they decide to start an auction for the lead, determined to give the proceeds to Edward and Mary. Meanwhile, Edward and Mary watch in horror—now they’re guilty not only of lying about their superiority, but of remaining quiet and taking their fellow citizens’ money. “O Mary,” Edward whispers, “can we allow it? It—it—you see, it is an honor-reward, a testimonial to purity of character, and—and—can we allow it? Hadn’t I better get up and—O Mary, what ought we to do?” Once again, Edward contemplates confessing the truth, thereby unburdening Mary and himself of the guilt and shame building up inside of them. Unfortunately, though, he finds himself unable to do this, instead opting to sit idly by “with a conscience which [is] not satisfied, but which [is] overpowered by circumstances.”

Soon, the couple receives a letter from Reverend Burgess explaining why he didn’t read Edward’s note in front of the town. Apparently, the Reverend was once accused of doing something incredibly disgraceful, and the entire town turned against him. Just before the citizens were going to run Burgess out of town, Edward snuck over to his house and warned him, telling him to flee and come back once everybody had calmed down. “You saved me, in a difficult time. I saved you last night,” Burgess writes. “It was at cost of a lie, but I made the sacrifice freely, and out of a grateful heart. None in this village knows so well as I know how brave and good and noble you are.” Unbeknownst to Burgess, the only reason Edward warned him in the first place is because Edward was the sole person who knew for sure that the Reverend was innocent of whatever crime the townspeople claimed he committed. (The implication is that Edward was sure of Burgess’s innocence because he was the one who committed the crime, not Burgess.) As such, Edward once again finds himself having to accept praise when, in reality, he knows he deserves to be publicly shamed.

Edward and Mary’s anxiety grows, and the two of them become paranoid and physically ill from harboring so much guilt. On his deathbed, Edward summons Reverend Burgess and—in front of a group of witnesses—confesses that the Reverend saved him from public humiliation. However, it’s clear that Edward has waited too long to confront his guilt, for he dies quickly after unburdening himself, rendering the declaration rather worthless in the long run. Worse, his confession also hurts Burgess, since it reveals that the Reverend lied to save him. To the very end, then, Mr. Richards acts selfishly—when he finally does come clean, he’s only interested in making himself feel better, even if this means causing trouble for a man who has kindly helped him. By presenting this portrait of a man unable to properly address his feelings of guilt and shame, Twain underscores the importance of responsibly handling disgrace. In doing so, he suggests that people should unburden themselves of their guilt without implicating others in their dishonor, since everyone deserves to confront shame on their own terms.