The short story “The Californian’s Tale” is an example of Naturalist literature. Naturalism as a literary movement was centered on communicating the pessimistic idea that people’s fates are controlled by forces outside their control, such as oppressive and rigid class structures, harmful families into which they are born, or even natural forces like extreme weather. Because of this, the characters in Naturalist literature often find themselves seeking change or progress, only to find themselves forced back to where they started, or even to end the story worse off (financially, emotionally, or otherwise).
As a work of Naturalist literature, “The Californian’s Tale” starts off on a bleak note, with the narrator bemoaning the desolate state of the mining town where he lives. It then moves into a more hopeful register, as the narrator believes that Henry’s wife will bring beauty and goodness to his sad life. Finally, it ends with the narrator back to a state of hopelessness when he learns that Henry’s wife has been dead for 19 years. In this way, Twain communicates that impoverished men like the narrator are destined to lead lonely and bleak lives. While people with access to money were able to leave mining towns as they went from boom to bust, poor men like the narrator have no other options besides living and dying in this desolate town.
