An empty wooden hanger hangs in a recessed alcove above a crumpled grey shirt.

Original artwork, not a still

Mark Twain

Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

Twain jokes that what we wear decides how seriously people take us. Strip the clothes away and, he quips, nobody has any clout at all. It's a wry way of poking at how much status rides on appearance.

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