THE STRUCTURE OP: LAURENCE.' STERNE' S TRISTRAM; SHANDYf

JANET MARY MATHESON

B;.A., Univer s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia, 1966

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN.PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF ARTS

i n the. Department:

of:

E n g l i s h

We accept t h i s thesis as conforming to the? required standard

THE UNIVERSITY OF. BRITISH COLUMBIA

July,, 1968

In p r e s e n t i n g t h i s t h e s i s i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l m e n t o f the r e q u i r e m e n t s

f o r an advanced degree a t the U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia, I agree

t h a t the L i b r a r y s h a l l make i t f r e e l y a v a i l a b l e f o r r e f e r e n c e and

Study. I f u r t h e r agree t h a t p e r m i s s i o n f o r e x t e n s i v e c o p y i n g o f t h i s

t h e s i s f o r s c h o l a r l y p u rposes may be g r a n t e d by the Head o f my

Department or by hits r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s . I t i s u n d e r s t o o d t h a t c o p y i n g

or p u b l i c a t i o n o f t h i s t h e s i s f o r f i n a n c i a 1 g a i n s h a l l not be a l l o w e d

w i t h o u t my w r i t t e n p e r m i s s i o n .

Department o f DngH ah

The U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia Vancouver 8, Canada

i

ABSTRACT

Basically,, a study of the structure of Laurence Sterne's

Tristram Shandy involves an analysis of the point of view of

both the author and the narrator.,, and hence of var i a t i o n s

on the first-person^ narration that are found i n t h i s novel.

Tristram Shandy i s related wholly i n the authorial and h i s ­

t o r i c a l present, and the reader^is included i n the narrator's

diseourses£as well as the f i c t i o n a l charactersjof Tristram's

own world. Hence, one must apply a considerable degree of

c r i t i c a l o b j e c t i v i t y when examining the narrator's r o l e i n

the novel.

A second problem i s the importance of the f i c t i o n a l

world that Tristram i s ostensibly concerned with — thati

i s , h i s b i r t h and upbringing:within the s o c i a l environment

o f ;. Shandy Hall,, because the process of Tristram's-

narration: proceeds to usurp most of the novel, shouldering

out events at Shandy H a l l , which are l e f t half-introduced,

or unfinished, or barely hinted at, and we are l e f t with a

f a i r l y complete p o r t r a i t of Tristram Shandy,, but not of

his l i f e a t Shandy H a l l .

A t h i r d problem i s that of the inherent structure of

the novel, which necessarily i s centered around the dominant,

c o n t r o l l i n g voice of the narrator. Although t h i s structures

has been dismissed as chaotic or i r r e g u l a r or formless, i t

does possess d e f i n i t e patterns which allow for the addition!

i i

of further u n i t s * As Tristram; Shandy i s b a s i c a l l y an

open-ended novel allowing f o r i n f i n i t e expansion, i t s

chronology and subject matter are designed to cohere only

ini terms of Tristram's entire l i f e } , thus we f i n d the events

and characters are remembered i n tiie authorial present.

The novel moves back and f o r t h on d i f f e r e n t l e v e l s of the

h i s t o r i c a l present, and 7besides setting out an accumulative

amount of remembered biographical deta i l , , presents a

projected picture of the mind of an i n d i v i d u a l i n the

process of remembering and narrating. A close study of

the a s s o c i a t i o n a l l i n k s between* chapters c l e a r l y reveals

the aboveepoints, for s i g n i f i c a n t l y , these l i n k s are a l l

easy to follow and accumulative i n e f f e c t .

The purpose of t h i s thesis i s to demonstrate how the

structure of the novel proceedsrfrom the dominant single

point of view that Tristram represents, how the ostensible

autobiographical subject matter i s eventually subjugated

to t h i s personality i n operation,, and how the structure of

the novel functions e f f i c i e n t l y towards t h i s end. Chapter

I examines the Tristram persona and Chapter II the Yorick

persona, i n order to determine how they function; im t h i s

first-persom narration, and to what combined e f f e c t .

Chapter I I I on Shandy H a l l examines the characters of the

novel, exclusive of Tristram, with a view to motivational 1

f a c t o r s that may proceed from them and that impinge on h i s

story. And Chapter IW examines the associational and

i i i

chronological structure of the novel i n terms of the actual

patterns and linkages Sterne provided h i s segmentalized

novel with, and draws a general conclusion from t h i s

study.

i v

TEXTUAL NOTES

1 . I: have used the single hyphen. (-), double hyphen or dash ( - - ) , . t r i p l e hyphen ( - — ) , and quadruple hyphen ( ). to approximate Sterne's use of variable length dashes.

2. A l l references to Volumes and Chapters, with the exceptions of the epigraphs prefacing each section of the thesis, are given by Roman, and Arabic:, numeral only.. For example, I, 1 for Volume I, Chapter 1•

V

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I g r a t e f u l l y acknowledge the assistance given me over the° past two years by D r . John Hulcoop, without whose sugges­t i o n s andi patience t h i s t h e s i s could not have been, com^ p l e t e d .

And to S y b i l , my Rock of G i b r a l t a r .

v i TABLE OF'COMENiTS

Chapter Page

Introduction 1

I The Tristrami Persona

1. Tristram's Pose 8

2. Tristram as Persona 27

3. Tristrami as Puppet 30

4* Conclusion 33

I I The Yorick Persona

1. "Parsom Yorick" 37

2. Yorick as Jester 39

3. Tris-tram as Jester. 42

4* Conclusion 43

III Shandy H a l l 51

IV! The Associative Structure of Tristram Shandy 65

1. Chronology of Events' 67

2. Associationi of'Ideas as a Structural Device 73

3. Conclusion 96

Bibliography... 101

Appendices. • 110

INTRODUCTION

...But rather courteously give me c r e d i t for a l i t t l e more wisdom than, appears upon my outside. (V/olume I, Chapter 6)

Laurence Sterne's novel, Tristram. Shandy,, i s famous,

for i t s apparent i r r e g u l a r i t y of form,, but i t has c e r t a i n l y

survived 200 years not because i t i s something "odd" but

because of the r e g u l a r i t y of i t s o r i g i n a l structure and the

unity of impression'it conveys. Tristram Shandy i s a f i r s t -

person^ narrative i n which the narrator assumes for himself

c e r t a i n conventional prerogatives of the autobiographical

form as they were already employed before 1759s a t o t a l

control of event and commentary, the use of the l i t e r a r y

convention 1 of "memory" which implies t o t a l r e c a l l , and a

tone of intimacy reminiscent of close conversation. But;

the structure of t h i s novel,, from the 18th century to the?

present, has beem dismissed: as impossibly chaotic 1. I t s

resemblances to Menippean sat i r e or the c o l l e c t i o n , of.

humorous anecdotes, the stream-of-c;onsciousness novel,

"an exactly executed h i s t o r i c a l novel,"5 dramatic monologue,^r

and irreverent f i c t i t i o u s h i s t o r i e s of voyages or "lives"'*

have a l l been, noted, and a case for Tristram Shandy's

i d e n t i f i c a t i o n in\ terms of genre with each of these categories-:

has been generally overstated. The novel does lend i t s e l f to

1

2

such c a t e g o r i z i n g i n terms of conventional forms*. For

example, s u p e r f i c i a l l y the novel does appear to have a

" s t ruc ture modeled on the operative character of conscious­

ness.,"^', "that i s , we are seeing the mind of the author i n the

process of c r e a t i o n . But t h i s i s true of any f i r s t - p e r s o n :

f i c t i o n a l account and T r i s t r a m ' s self -consciousness i s not

unique i n l i t e r a t u r e . S i m i l a r l y , one generalized f a c e t of.

Tris tram Shandy* s p e c u l i a r l y s e l f r - r e f l e c t i v e point of view

has been, seized upon; by many c r i t i c s as a l l - i m p o r t a n t , and:

the o v e r a l l nature of the n o v e l ' s structure l o s t to view. .

T r i s tram; Shandy i s a c t u a l l y a f i c t i o n a l autobiography

that reveals d i s t i n c t l y o r i g i n a l s t r u c t u r a l techniques, though

these bear b a s i c resemblances to techniques employed by

Sterne 1 s predecessors i n 18thi century f i c t i o n . . The degrees

of o r i g i n a l i t y of a f i c t i o n a l technique i s h i g h l y debatable,

however, and although sources have been found for Sterne's^

handling of time,, h i s subject matter, , and even: h i s s t y l e , ,

d i r e c t correspondences with preceding works are hard c to pirn

downi,: though wholesale borrowing from Robert Burtom and

s i m i l a r c o l l e c t i o n s of anecdotes^ i s easy to point out .

However, a c lose study of the n o v e l ' s structure w i l l e l u c i ­

date those techniques i n Tristram; Shandy which are employed

i n an original;.manner and those which appear as wholly/new.

The consious a r t i s t r y Tris t ram d i s p l a y s i n . presenting

the mater ia l of h i s novel and keeping the process of

3

entertainment going r e a l l y i s generated on. a higher l e v e l

by the conscious a r t i s t r y of Sterne i n creating Tristram-

and-his-novel-in-progress. The two main: sub-plots ( T r i s ­

tram's l i f e and Uncle Toby's "amours");, the l o g i c a l prog­

ression! of events:in the narrative through, association, the

changing of time continua to create the effect.; of an active

process of remembering, and o v e r a l l t i g h t organization: of

the novel (to be examined i n Chapter IV.)) which underlies;:

Sterne's natural defence of Tristram,Shandy's o r i g i n a l tone

and structure by endowing the narrator Tristram with the pose

of a crack-brained eccemtric: — a l l involve highly complex

l i t e r a r y techniques.

Tristram Shandy i s a f i c t i o n , and therefore must

ultimately function" as a work of art independent of thee

character and l i f e of i t s creator.- Hence we must not read

Tristram Shandy as an. autobiographical account of Sterne

writing h i s own novel. But although the events and opinions

i n t h i s : f i r s t - p e r s o n ; novel a l l emanate: from. Tristram,

certain, re cur rent i n t e r e s t s that were also Sterne's remind)

one frequently that a p a r a l l e l im terms of personality and

i n t e r e s t s existed] between1 Laurence Sterne and h i s creation,

Tristram Shandy.- The preoccupation, with:his readers'

c r i t i c a l reactions, a sense of C h r i s t i a n f a i t h and benevolences

as counterbalance to the disinterested f a t a l i t y at work i n

the universe, the problems r a i s e d by the "motley" nature of

4

h i s novel,, am. e c c e n t r i c i t y of tone, and apostrophes withim

the novel to Tristram on h i s ineptitude or poor h e a l t h —

a l l l i n k Sterne and Tristram-as creator and persona. However,

the "self-apostrophes" offer an instance i n which the persona

of Tristram, the crack-*brained author, reveals i t s e l f as^

obvious a r t i f i c e . Hence, one may well regard the Sterne-

Tristram r e l a t i o n s h i p as a mask,, and such a hypothesis iss

substantiated by Tristram's speeches and actions.. As

Tristram.moves from: " j e s t s to serious matters and from the a

serious back again: to jests" throughout the whole novel,,

t h i s kinetic-motion* i n subject emphasizes the f l u i d i t y of

r o l e the narrator maintains*. Whem the " c o n t r o l l i n g ' strings"

of h i n t s of omniscient determinism.or r h e t o r i c a l address om

the part of the narrator, ; become v i s i b l e , . Tristram, i s seen as;

a manipulated puppet; whem pathos induced by-contemplation! or

i l l n e s s produces completea o b j e c t i v i t y on the reader "s part

towards Tristram, Tristram.resembles a mask,; l i k e Aunt

Dinah's i n VIII,, 3, which i s " h a l f seem through." But for:

the greater part, of the novel,, Tristram; i s both, a sentimem-

t a l character and am eccentric narrator,, and functions as

an independent projection! of Sterne as: author.; hence T r i s ­

tram, i s a per sona throughout T r i str am Shandy..

A per sona may be said to be a f i c t i o n a l creation: objec­

t i f y i n g certain: of the author's own l i t e r a r y and s o c i a l c:om-

cerns, and functioning as a semi-autonomous,, though, a r t i s ­

t i c a l l y d i s t i n c t means by which the author, can: present or

5

resolve these concerns. This creation, must also f u l f i l l

the requirements of the term persona ( l i t e r a l l y "other

person\or s e l f " ) "by p a r a l l e l i n g : the author ' s i n t e l l e c t u a l

or s o c i a l a c t i v i t i e s so c l o s e l y that the p a r a l l e l i s u n ­

mistakable . The l i t e r a r y autonomy of such a character'

therefore i s r e s t r i c t e d by the necessary close resemblances

between author and c r e a t i o n . . In order to maintain, the

c o r r e c * sense of proport ion, between: i l l u s i o n and r e a l i t y

that f i c t i o n r e q u i r e s on the part of the reader , a one-to-

one i d e n t i f i c a t i o n : of the persona and the author i s necess­

a r i l y precluded. In Tristram Shandy, the narrator i s a

per sona defined by i r o n i c s i d e l i g h t s on h i s own p e r s o n a l i t y

and ac t ions which make c lear that Tris tram i s to be taken

p r i m a r i l y as a f i c t i o n a l c r e a t i o n , , with the many resemblances

to S t e r n e ' s own character and actionss to be accepted as

c:omic.; "shadow" to the main: ac t ions of the narrat ion: and the::

Shandy f a m i l y .

Both the characters of Tristram.and Yor ick i n Tristramt

Shandy f u n c t i o n as personae, T r i s t r a m ' s p o s i t i o n as a f i r s t -

person: narrator and Yorick* s as an. eccentr ic and comics A n g l i ­

can clergyman: both p a r a l l e l i n g Sterne 's . . In contrast to

these two characters , , the other characters i n the n o v e l ,

e s p e c i a l l y those a lso res ident at Shandy H a l l , , function, as

"comic instruments" , serving Sterne • s: s a t i r i c : or comic: pur­

poses. Their i n d i v i d u a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s are made secondary,:

i n i terms of comic: i n t e r a c t i o n , to the humorous p o s s i b i l i t i e s

i n speech and action; provided.by t h e i r c o n f l i c t i n g i n t e r e s t s *

6

This i n t e r a c t i o n , i s out l ined i n . Chapter III. of t h i s t h e s i s ,

as a prelude to a study i n Chapter IV; of the assoc ia t ive

structure of the n o v e l , , o f necess i ty centered o r g a n i c a l l y

around T r i s t r a m ' s p e r s o n a l i t y . . However, before the f u n c t i o n

of Shandy H a l l i s examined, the Tristram and Y o r i c k personae

must be s tudied, , because they represent the thematic per ­

spective with which we must view the narra t ive as a

s t r u c t u r a l u n i t . This i s the concern of Chapters I and II:,

to which we now t u r n . .

7

INTRODUCTION

FOOTNOTES

See Northrop Frye, Anatomy of: Criticism: (New York: Atheneum,. 1966),;, p., 311. See Chapter II of t h i s thesis for a discussion: of Menippeam satire and Tristrami Shandy*,

2 Dorothy- V/an, Ghent,, The English Nibvel. Form: and Function

(New York: Harper & Row,. 1 9 5 3 ) , pp.. 83-98. 3 See Theodore Baird,. "The Time-Scheme of Tristram^

Shandy and a Source," PMLA,,, LI (i936)'Part 2,; 803..

4 See Wayne C;. Booth:, The Rhetoric of F i c t i o n : (Chicago:

University of Chicago Press, 1961J, pp.. 2"2l-240.

See Helem Sard Hughes, "A Precursor of Tristrami Shandy," Journal of English & Germanic.- Philology,. XVII" 1(19187, 2 2 7 - 2 5 1 , ; f o r an example of such a case for a l i t e r a r y precedent to Sterne's novel.

Van Ghent, The English Novel, p* 83*

7 \ 'See: Henri Fluchere,- Laurence Sterne. From Tristram to

Yorick (London:: Oxford University Press, 1965), pp.. 165-174..

^Prom the t i t l e page to Volumes I I I & IV/.

8

CHAPTER •: ONE

THE IRISTRAMi PERSONA

"And who are you? said he.—Don't puzzle me; said I." (Volume VII,, Chapter 33)

Tristram's Pose

A necessary d i s t i n c t i o n must f i r s t he made between

what Tristram.would l i k e h i s readers to "believe about him­

s e l f and h i s writing, and the degree of a r t i f i c i a l i t y that 1

t h i s "pose" i s shown- to possess. The basic: assumption) we?

are asked to make i s that: Tristram,;, who i s t e l l i n g what iss

ostensibly h i s l i f e ' s story,, i s remarkably objective about

h i s own: past actions. This,, of course, i s a conventional-

authorial prerogative practised in: e a r l i e r 18th century

biographical f i c t i o n s . . But; a more important assumption i s :

that the reader w i l l accept Tristram's ineptitude as.:an',

author:, f o r upom t h i s i s based most of the colloquy between;

reader, and author, and a l l of the sympathy for motive and;

action: that the novel must e l i c i t to successfully engages

the reader's attention..

The narrator of Tristram Shandy i s ostensibly an

eighteenth-century gentleman, wel l - t r a v e l l e d and educated,

with a penchant for r i b a l d s t o r y - t e l l i n g and ironic, innuendo^

that permeates h i s autobiography. In Volume IX,, we see

9

Tristram " i n a purple jerkin'! and yellow pair of slippers,

without either wig or cap on."'1' This i s the Tristram.who

has caught asthma in> Flanders, who hurls h i s wig up to the

c e i l i n g or h i s s l i p p e r s across the room while composing

h i s novel,, and coughs up blood i n Volumes VIII. and IX

(pp.. 419 & 482). This i s the Tristram/Shandy who i s ;

buffetted about i n the novel by Fortune with " p i t i f u l mis-

adventures and cross accidents" (p.. 8), p r i n c i p a l l y .the

inci d e n t s of the squashed nose,, h i s mis-naming by, the-

curate, the circumcising sash-window, and the incompleted:

Tristra-paedia.. This i s Tristram the character, who accord­

ing to Uncle Toby's prediction, "should neither think nor

act l i k e any other man's c h i l d . " (p.^5)

TRISTRAM: THE AUTHOR

The pathetic; figure of Tristram, the character i s under­

l i n e d by an. emphasis on h i s ineptitude as an author.. This3

i s pointed out in- apostrophe-like passages where Tristram.is

addressed ( s u d d e n l y ) • s p e c i f i c a l l y and objectively, osten­

s i b l y by himself,,but since the e f f e c t i s to heighten, the

pathos of Tristram's " l i f e - s i t u a t i o n " , a separation of Sterne

and h i s first-persom narrator i s achieved. One also f e e l s

that Sterne has turned to h i s own concerns here, and they are;

no longer Tristram!? s.

Tristram i s said to write according to mood and a

passive attitude i s contrasted with.an excited one i n III:,28J

10

Lord! how d i f f e r e n t from the rash jerks, and hare-brain' d squirts thou art wont, Tristram, to transact i t with i n other humours, dropping thy pern, — spurting thy ink about thy table and thy books,?—as i f thy peni and thy ink, thy books and thy furniture cost thee nothing.

(p.. 159)

The degree^of reader o b j e c t i v i t y r e s u l t i n g from.this passage

heightens an impressioni of Tristram's pathetic: ineptitude.

In VIII,, 6,, Tristram's book i s not s e l l i n g , , and he i s thus:

obviously f a i l i n g as ani author:

Inconsiderate soul that thou art!. What! are not the unavoidable distresses with which,,, as an author and a man,. thou art hemmld i n on every side of thee are they,, Tristram, not s u f f i c i e n t , but thou must entangle thyself s t i l l more?

Is i t not enough that thou art i n debt, and that thou hast ten. cartloads of thy f i f t h and s i x t h volumes s t i l l — s t i l l unsold, and a r t almost at thy wit's ends, how to get: them off thy hands.

(p. 419)

Pathos and ineptitude are here combined. These apostrophes

appear to me to constitute changes of perspective that are

not only unmotivated i n their immediate context and hence

s t a r t l e the reader from h i s acceptance of the narrator's

conventions, but also achieve a degree of pathetic o b j e c t i ­

v i t y too strong for us to remain: with Tristram, but e n t i r e l y

appropriate f o r an i d e n t i f i c a t i o n ; of the speaker as Sterne,

who here as author i s stretching the the necessary constant

authorial perspective of a f i r s t - p e r s o n narrative too f a r .

More frequent than these self-addresses are references

by Tristram i n the course of h i s narrative to the problems;

of organizing h i s subject, and a concern with the e f f e c t of

11

the book on i t spreader s. This l a t t e r concern, i s also part;

of a close r e l a t i o n s h i p between, s t o r y t e l l e r and audience that

i s b u i l t up i n Volume I and sustained f o r a d e f i n i t e purpose

— the establishment of a mainly one-sided conversation,, as

a basis for the comic entertainment in; a printed medium that

Tristram Shandy represents. In Volume I, Tristram.says:

Writing,, when properly managed,, ((as you may be sure I think mine i s ) , i s but a d i f f e r e n t name for conversation: As no one who knows what he i s about in'good company,, would venture to t a l k a l l ; - so no author,, who understands the just boundaries of decorum, and good breeding,, would presume to think a l l : The truest respect which you can; pay to the? reader's under standing, i s to halve t h i s matter amicably,, and leave himi something to imagine,, i n h i s turn,, as well aso you r s e l f .

For my own part, I1, am.eternally paying him compliments of t h i s kind,, and do a l l ! that l i e s in.my power to keep h i s imagination; as busy as my own..

(p.. 83),

This passage compliments the reader's sagacity and imagina­

tive powers,, digs at the complete omniscence of authorial

voice (which authors l i k e Henry F i e l d i n g assumed),, and

reminds the reader that Sterne expects him to make conmec*-

tions he himself does not think necessary to include. A

hint of deliberate mystification; i s present also.. He follows

t h i s introduction, with;a series of things the reader must;

now imagine — the end of Slop's t a l e , the end of O.badiah'sr «< ys t a l e , Mr. Shandy Agoing upstairs, and Slop'preparing for

^ A

action.. In other words, the reader i s to clear the stage for

action; by himself.

Ian Watt maintains:

12

When,, to t h i s close and complex i n t e r p l a y between: the narrator and the audience, we also add a story that i s both r i c h l y amusing i n i t s e l f and d i v e r s i f i e d with every sort of digression: and interpolated story,,, we are some way towards understanding the special nature of Sterne's humour,. In a more straightforward novel...the p o s s i b i l i t i e s of humour are l a r g e l y l i m i t e d to having comicj characters and s i t u a ­tions, or to the author's making amusing remarks about them....Kant wrote that "laughter a r i s e s from: the sudden transformation: of a strained expectation! into nothing" and no one has been: more s k i l l f u l than Sterne in: suddenly undermining the expectations which he has aroused i n the-j reader .2

This "undermining" process,, playing on what the reader might

o r d i n a r i l y expect i n an autobiographical novel, reappears.

often in: the novel,, and has an opposite e f f e c t to that of

employing the reader' s imagination.

Tristram's ostensible ineptitude as an author, then,,

i s revealed, through h i s subtle manipulation: of the reader's

r o l e i n Tristram:.Shandy as p a r t i c i p a t i n g audience, to be a

conscious "pose" ((and a clever one) employed in : order to

e n l i s t sympathy and perhaps an unquestioning acceptance for

his peculiar novel's shape..

THE " IMPOSSIBLE PROJECT."

The apparent^loose structure of the book, with i t s

back and forward motion and a l l - i n c l u s i v e plan,, introducess

what may be termed a further problem of "perpetual motion."

In IW„ 13f> Tristram observes that "the more I write, the more

I s h a l l have to write" (p..214), and: " I . s h a l l never overtake3

myself—whipp'd and driven to the l a s t pinch,, at the worst I

13

IL s h a l l have one day the start; of my pen—and one day i s

enough fo r two volumes-and two volumes w i l l he enough for;

one year.^-" (p.. 215). Thus, although the book i s obviously

given: am open-ended structure that allows for almost; unlim%.

i t e d expansion! upon i t s basic subject (Tristram's l i f e and

opinions) j, to include a l l the relevant d e t a i l s of Tristram's

background would exhaust the narrator's lifetime,, even though:

i t provides the narrator with an: assured annual income for an

i n d e f i n i t e period of time,.

The recognition, of such a problem by Tristram .(and!,

hence Sterne)< would imply that Tristram; i s incapable, of

selecting properly relevant d e t a i l s and eliminating the

i r r e l e v a n t . . An; agglutinative structure,, on: f i r s t glance,

i s easy to compose.. However, the book i s i n t e l l i g e n t l y

structured in: i t s f i n i s h e d form,, and although the charact­

ers are not described physically,, nor are many of the major

i n f l u e n t i a l , events i n their l i v e s given (for example,, we?

are given only those i n Tristram! s l i f e that Walter con-

\ siders important),. the characters' opinions t e l l us mores

about them; than, would a catalogue of f a c t s . Since the

basiCD constituents of a personi's character are emotional and

one must provide motivation, for h i s actions i f he i s to be

a credible personality,, a simple l i s t of events by i t s e l f

i s an unsatisfactory biographical technique..

As characters,, the men and women of Tristram Shandy

are successful. J.. P., P r i e s t l e y and W. M. Thackeray are but

14

two readers and c r i t i c s of Tris tram Shandy who have t e s t i ­

f i e d to the strength and memorability of Sterne "s comic 3

conceptions as charac ters . Although at f i r s t glance

the characters of Tristram Shandy are as p e c u l i a r l y con­

structed as the v/hole of the novel , : . and we are never given

t h e i r p h y s i c a l appearance, they each have a u n i t y of concep­

t i o n and consistency of r e a c t i o n that gives them c r e d i b i l i t y .

Furthermore, as Fluchere notes : " T h e i r e c c e n t r i c i t i e s never:

stop them from belonging to the f e e l i n g human f a m i l y . That

i s why t h e i r i n t e l l e c t u a l aberra t ions , t h e i r whims, t h e i r

manias, even t h e i r occasional i n t o l e r a n c e , are made up for:: 4

by the permanence of thei r emotional t i e s . "

A comic p a r a l l e l to the i m p o s s i b i l i t y of T r i s t r a m ' s

ever completing h i s b i o g r a p h i c a l projec t i s Walter Shandy's

T r i s t r a - p a e d i a . Tris tram remarks, as he has done a volume;

e a r l i e r about h i s own composition, , "every day a page or

two of the T r i s t r a - p a e d i a became of no consequence" (V,

16); though Tris t ram; outgrows the educational phi losophies

contained i n the T r i s t r a - p a e d i a Ke does not o u t s t r i p the?

content of h i s own novel i n terms of i t s a p p l i c a b i l i t y to

hiis own p o s i t i o n . Tristram. Shandy i s c o n t i n u a l l y r e l e v a n t

as (noticeably) T r i str am. f requent ly reminds us that he i s

c reat ing the l inkages of subject and that he i s s t i l l i n

the process of composit ion.

The " i m p o s s i b i l i t y " of T r i s t r a m ' s completion! of h i s

15

novel not only allows him;to write f o r an i n d e f i n i t e per iod

of time, but serves a thematic purpose. Tris tram does not

want:, to f i n i s h h i s autobiography;,. for the only end can be a

plateau of achievement. — at a d e f i n i t e p o i n t i m time —

from which he can- relegate a l l the events of h i s e a r l i e r

l i f e i n t o an; o r d e r l y and meaningful sequence, as M o l l does

i n Defoe 's M o l l Blanders r . However,, T r i s t r a m ' s novel i s

structured and r e l i e s thematical ly on i t s presentation, i n :

the: h i s t o r i c a l present . The constant relevancy of memory

to the present, and hence i t s -formative inf luence on the

future , ; and the action: of w r i t i n g asra construct ive process

are the twin; f o c i of the n o v e l . The end of such an organic

process can only be d i s s o l u t i o n inftleath and an. i n e v i t a b l e

negation; of the process through i t s ending.

"DIGRESSIONS" AND "PROGRESSIONS"'!

E a r l y i n Volume I , Tr is t ram defends the meanderings?, of

h i s story on. b i o g r a p h i c a l grounds:

. . .whem a man s i t s down to write a h i s t o r y , — t h o ' i t be but the h i s t o r y of Jack H i c k a t h r i f t or Tom Thumb., he knows no more than; h i s heels what l e t s and confounded hindrances-: he i s to meet with i n h i s way,—or what: a dance he may be l e d , by one excursion or another:, before a l l i s over., Gould a his tor iographer drive on h i s h i s t o r y , , as a muleteer d r i v e s on h i s mule, — s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d . . .without ever once turning; h i s head aside e i ther to the r i g h t hand or to the l e f t , — h e ; ; might venture to f o r e t e l l you to am hour when he should gett to h i s journey 's end; but the thing i s , morally speaking impossible : F o r , i f he i s a man of the l e a s t s p i r i t , , he; w i l l have f i f t y deviat ions from; a s t r a i g h t l i n e to m a k e . . . which he earn no ways a v o i d . He w i l l have views and pros ­pects to himself perpetual ly s o l i c i t i n g h i s eye,, which he; cam; no more help standing s t i l l to look at than he cam f l y ; he w i l l moreover have v a r i o u s . . .

16

. . . A c c o u n t s :to r e c o n c i l e : Anecdotes to p i c k up: I n s c r i p t i o n s to make out: S t o r i e s to weave i n : T r a d i t i o n s to s i f t : Personages to c a l l upon: Panegyricks to paste up at t h i s door: Pasquinades at that.:

(p. , 28)

Here the meanderings are c a l l e d " d e v i a t i o n s " and not " d i g ­

r e s s i o n s " . However, l a t e r i n the novel , . Tristram c a l l s them

" d i g r e s s i o n s " and discusses them as conventional forms.

N o v e l i s t s before Sterne claimed the r i g h t to digress

from, a b i o g r a p h i c a l narration! of events*, as F i e l d i n g does i n

Tom Jones:

Reader, I think p r o p e r b e f o r e we proceed any farther, to ­gether, to acquaint thee that I intend to d i g r e s s , through t h i s whole h i s t o r y , , as of ten as I see occasion;,, of which I am myself a better judge than, any p i t i f u l c r i t i c whatever; and here I must desire a l l those c r i t i c s to mind thei r own b u s i n e s s , , and not to intermeddle with a f f a i r s or works which no ways concern: them; for t i l l they produce the authori ty by which they are const i tuted judgep I s h a l l not plead to t h e i r j u r i s d i c t i o n . 5

But Tris tram examines the structure of h i s novel more:-

c l o s e l y than F i e l d i n g does i n the above conventional 18th

century exercise of an author ' s prerogat ive . In I „ 22,

Tris tram subdivides h i s work i n t o " d i g r e s s i v e and progressive

movements" metaphorized as cogs and i n t e r s e c t i n g wheels

within : a machine. However, what he c a l l s " d i g r e s s i o n s " are

not only s t r u c t u r a l l y necessary to keep the machine going, .

but he claims they are the best part of the book: " D i g r e s ­

s ions , i n c o n t e s t a b l y , are the sunshine; they are the l i f e ,

17

the soul of reading;—take them out of t h i s hook f o r instance ,

—you might as w e l l take the hook along with them" ( p . 55).

This statement would suggest that the " d i g r e s s i o n s " are

not excrescences upon, the main n a r r a t i v e — i f one i s to

take i t as the r e l a t i n g of the events of T r i s t r a m ' s l i f e , .

Semantic a l l y , , since they const i tute h i s o p i n i o n s , they are

as important to the novel as the other h a l f of the t i t l e -

Narrat ive i n the t r a d i t i o n a l sense of a story r e l a t e d p r o ­

g r e s s i v e l y and se t t ing f o r t h d e f i n i t e f a c t s i s not the

method of Tristram Shandy; the whole hook i s one long p r o ­

tracted and i n c r e a s i n g l y involuted d i g r e s s i o n upon: the l i f e

and opinions of Tristraim Shandy, gentleman,, which would

o r d i n a r i l y he rendered i n . f a c t u a l form. Opinions and t h e i r

d e r i v a t i v e s — e s p e c i a l l y man's "tendency to take h i s

mental abstrac t ions for r e a l e n t i t i e s " 6 and the construction;

of l o g i c a l systems r e i n f o r c i n g one's "hobbyhorsical " i d e a s —

are c e r t a i n l y the subject and s a t i r i c a l target of Tristram

Shandy, as Sterne t e l l s us i n the Greek motto pref ixed to

Volume I , which s tates : " I t iis not things themselves that

d is turb men, but t h e i r judgements about these t h i n g s . " The

events and apparent digress ions of the novel can thus be

seen, as a s ingle narra t ive u n i t , , welded together i n the

h i s t o r i c a l present of T r i s t r a m ' s v e r b a l i z i n g consciousness.

A t t h i s p o i n t , one must consider the d i s t i n c t i o n s that

Tris tram (and hence Sterne) i s c a r e f u l to draw regarding

" n a r r a t i v e " and " d i g r e s s i o n s " . Tris t ram warns h i s readers

18

i n I,,. 6,, that they may "think him somewhat sparing of his

narrative o n . . . f i r s t setting out", but to:

...bear with me,—and l e t me go on, and t e l l my story my own way: or i f I should seem now and them to t r i f l e upon the road, or should sometimes put on: a f o o l ' s cap with a b e l l to i t , f o r a moment or two as we pass along,—don't f l y o f f , — b u t rather courteously give me c r e d i t for a l i t t l e more wisdom than appears upon:my outside;—and as we jog on, either laugh with me,, or at me, or in; short, do any t h i n g , — only keep your temper..

(pp. 8-9)

In t h i s passage,, the twim personae Sterne i s to use — those

of the eccentric: author,, Tristram, and the par son-jester

Yorick, are hinted at, and the o r i g i n a l nature of his story's

structure introduced.

Iii I, 22,, Tristram- describes h i s novel as a piece of

machinery:

...the machinery of my work i s of a species by i t s e l f ; two contrary motions are introduced into i t , and reconciled, which were thought to be at variance with each other. In: a word, my work i s digressive, and i t i s progressive t o o , — and at the same time.

(p.. 54)

...from the beginning of t h i s , you see, IIhave constructed the maim work and the adventitious parts of i t with such int e r s e c t i o n s , and have so complicated and involved the digressive and progressive movements,, one wheel within another, that the whole machine, i n general, has been: kept a-going;—and what's more, i t s h a l l be kept; a-going these f o r t y years,, i f i t pleases the fountain of health to bless me so long with l i f e and good s p i r i t s .

(p.. 55)

The contrary motions (according to convention) of progression:

and digression, I would argue, have been consolidated into

19

one structure,. seemingly "rhapsodical" or frimented, but

moving backwards and forwards i n time (by u t i l i z i n g T r i s ­

tram's memory) to f i l l i n Tristram's story as a painter would

cover a canvas with layers and areas of paint to complete-the

t o t a l p i c t u r e . In VI,, 33,. Tristram says: " i n good truth,,

when a man; i s t e l l i n g a story i n the strange way I do mine,

he i s bbliged continually, to be going backwards and forwards?

to keep a l l . t i g h t together in- the reader's fancy...." (p.. 351);

and im. V, 25:

•Tis a point settled, and II mention: i t for the comfort of Confucius,, who i s apt; to get entangled i n t e l l i n g a plain. story--that provided he keeps along:the l i n e of h i s story, — h e may go backwards and forwards as he w i l l , — ' t i s s t i l l held to be no digression.

This being premised, I take the benefit of the act of going backwards myself.

(p.-289)

By remaining on the " l i n e of the story", Tristrami i s thus;

j u s t i f i e d i n including whatever incidents he f e e l s are r e l e ­

vant. He has already said that" i d e a l l y "nothing which has

touched me w i l l be thought t r i f l i n g i n i t s nature, or

tedious i n i t s t e l l i n g " (p. 8). In I„ 22, Tristram notes

that:

...tho' my digressions are a l l f a i r , , as you observe,—and: that I f l y off from what II am about, as far and as often too as any writer i n Great-Brttain; yet I constantly take care to order a f f a i r s so, that;my main business does not; stand s t i l l i n my absence..."

(p.-54)

implying that not only i s a l l the material he includes

20

valuable , but a l l the 11 d igress ions" are interconnected and

contribute to the story he i s construct ing, , piece-meal , out

of h i s memories. Throughout the n o v e l , Tris tram r e f e r s to

" d i g r e s s i o n s " when he means a s h i f t of focus from one char­

acter to another or the i n t r o d u c t i o n of an i l l u s t r a t i o n or:

anecdote* but although he uses the term, i n i t s recognized

sense of a d e v i a t i o n from the main course, Tris t ram i s aware

that h i s book i s a compound of d i g r e s s i o n s . H i s cont inual

remarks h i n t i n g that he i s c o n t r o l l i n g the progress of the

novel and h i s concern:with i t s recept ion underline t h i s .

On the t i t l e page of Volume V I I , the most obvious

digression; i n the book, i n which Tristramigoes abroad to

escape Death, , the L a t i n motto f r o m ; P l i n y ' s L e t t e r s reads :

" For t h i s i s no d i g r e s s i o n f r o m . i t , but i s the main sub­

ject i t s e l f . " In t h i s volume,. Tris tram moves away from;

Shandy H a l l , and covers both d i s tance and time,, and a l -

though T r i s t r a m . i s the c e n t r a l character of the events

d e s c r i b e d , , the speed of the n a r r a t i o n contrasts sharply

with the stretched-out moments at Shandy H a l l . Volume V I I ,

then, i s not a conventional d i g r e s s i o n , as Sterne warns us ,

but an example of a period of time experienced as of short'

d u r a t i o n : — the events and t h e i r recording i n T r i s t r a m ' s

mind concur i n length and importance — and i t balances

the periods of time mentally of long duration (to Tristram f's3

mind) found i n Volumes I to V I . In h i s p h y s i c a l attempt to

escape the approach of Death,. Tris tram merely foreshortens

21

t ime. In terms of T r i s t r a m ' s consciousness of death, the

volume a lso focusses previous references to i l l n e s s and death

upon:, the imminence of death i n the present. - With the excep­

t i o n of one l a t e r reference to T r i s t r a m ' s hemorrhaging

lungs i n ¥olume VIII (p . . 419)»- Volume VII replaces the

cogniscence of death with a ce lebra t ion of l i f e ' s comedy

both within 1, i t s own l i m i t s as an i n d i v i d u a l volume and

c o d a - l i k e f o r the r e s t of the n o v e l .

THE NOVEL'S "PURPOSE"

Evidence of T r i s t r a m ' s contradic tory statements about

h i s purpose i n w r i t i n g Tristrami Shandy i n c l u d e s h i s s ta te ­

ment i n I I I , 28: " . . . I sat down to write my l i f e f o r the

amusement of the world , and my opinions for i t s i n s t r u c t i o n " 1 1

(p . . 159),, a t r a d i t i o n a l eighteenth century d i v i s i o n of aes­

t h e t i c purpose to be found in.many e a r l y n o v e l s . Defoe'ss

f i c t i t i o u s "autobiographies" purport to o f f e r moral i n s t r u c ­

t i o n ((though perhaps only to c u l t i v a t e a broader reading

p u b l i c than "honest Dick and D o l l " ) ; i n h i s preface to

M o l l g landers , Defoe claims that :

. . . t h i s work i s c h i e f l y recommended to those who know how to read i t , and how to make good the uses of i t which the-story a l l . along recommends to them; so i t i s to be hop'd that such readers w i l l be much more p l e a s ' d with the moral than the f a b l e , with the appl ica t ion ! than with the r e l a ­t i o n , and with the end of the wri ter than with the l i f e of the person w r i t t e n of.7

"22

...In a word, as the whole relation* i s c a r e f u l l y garbled of a l l the l e v i t y and looseness that was i n i t , so i t i s applied, and with the utmost care, to vertuous and r e l i g i o u s uses. None can,,without being g u i l t y of mani­f e s t i n j u s t i c e , cast any reproach upon i t , or upon our de sign i n : publi shing i t . 8

In the "Preface" (1759) to C l a r i s s a , Samuel Richard­

son says:

Prom what has been said, considerate Readers w i l l not enter upon: the perusal of the Piece before them, as i f i t were designed only to d i v e r t and amuse. I t w i l l probably be thought tedious to a l l such as dip i n t o i t , , expecting a l i g h t Novel, or t r a n s i t o r y Romance; and look upon Story i n i t ( i n t e r e s t i n g as that i s generally allowed to be) as-i t s sole end, rather than as a vehicle to the Instruction...?

He has already stated e x p l i c i t l y that C l a r i s s a ' s person; and

story are to be viewed as exemplary,. an attitude he under­

l i n e s by discussing the doctrine of punishment and rewards

at the end of h i s novel.

Henry F i e l d i n g begins Joseph Andrews with the follow­

ing passage on the i l l u s t r a t i v e merit of novels:

I t i s a t r i t e but true observation, that examples work more f o r c i b l y on the mind than precepts; and i f t h i s be just i n what i s odious and blemeable, i t i s more strongly so i n what i s amiable and praiseworthy. Here emulation most e f f e c t u a l l y operates upon us,, and i n s p i r e s our i m i t a ­t i o n i n an i r r e s i s t a b l e manner. A good man' therefore i s a standing lesson to a l l h i s acquaintance, and of far greater use than a good book.

But as i t often; happens that the best men are but l i t t l e known, and consequently cannot extend the usefulness of their examples a great way; the writer may be c a l l e d i n aid to spread t h e i r history farther, and to present the amiable pictures to those who have not the happiness of knowing the o r i g i n a l s ; and so, by communicating such valuable patterns to the world, he may perhaps do a more extensive service to mankind than the persoife whose l i f e o r i g i n a l l y afforded the pattern.10

23)

This comment i s echoed i n F i e l d i n g ' s dedicat ion of Tom Jones

to George L y t t l e t o n (1749)?

...I declare, that to recommend goodness and innocence hath been, my sincere endeavour i n t h i s h i s t o r y . This honest purpose you have been-pleased to think I have attained: and to say the truth, i t i s l i k e l i e s t to be attained i n books of t h i s kind; for an example i s a kind of picture, i n which virtue becomes, as i t were,, an object of sight,, and s t r i k e s us with an idea of that l o v e l i n e s s , which Plato asserts there i s i n her naked charms.

Besides displaying that beauty of virtue which may a t t r a c t the admirationi of mankind, I have attempted to engage a stronger motive to human action i n her favour, by convincing; men\ $hat their true i n t e r e s t d i r e c t s them to a pursuit of* her .J-i

S i g n i f i c a n t l y , F i e l d i n g continues to say: "I have

endeavoured to laugh mankind out of their favourite f o l l i e s

and v i c e s . " 1 2 This i s an attitude echoed by Sterne i n h i s

praise of the value of laughter i n h i s dedication of T r i s ­

tram Shandy to S i r Williami P i t t (1760):

"I l i v e i n a constant endeavour to fence against the i n f i r m i t i e s of i l l Health, and other e v i l s of l i f e , , by mirth; being f i r m l y persuaded that every time a man smiles,, — b u t much more so, when he laughs, that i t adds something, to t h i s Fragment of Life?! (p. 2)

and i n Tristram's discussions of Shandyism, a p h y s i o l o g i c a l

(and hence, perhaps,,psychological) panacea against, "the

spleeni.'.'1^

But the paradoxical attitude of the book's author to

i t s avowed purpose i s c l e a r l y put forward i n VI, 17:

...I write a careless kind of a c i v i l , nonsensical, good-humoured Shandean' book, which w i l l do a l l your hearts good

And a l l your heads too,—provided you understand i t . (p.. 332)

24

However, the i n s t r u c t i o n i s to he considerably more subtle

than the entertainment. There are numerous claims for i t s ;

seriousness of purpose, which are immediately belied by th e i r :

contexts. Tristram implies i n I, 20, while chastising the;

in a t t e n t i v e lady, that h i s book w i l l " i n f a l l i b l y " impart;

knowledge i f properly read, and at the same time, i n a

similar fashion to Defoe, Richardson:and F i e l d i n g before

him, he states a reason f o r h i s rebuke:

'Tis to rebuke a v i c i o u s taste which has crept i n t o thousands beside h e r s e l f , — o f reading straight forwards, more i n quest of the adventures, than of the deep erudition: and knowledge which a book of th i s cast, i f read over as i t should be, would i n f a l l i b l y impart with them.

(p. 43)

But t h i s i s undercut by the next passage: "The mind should

be accustomed to make wise r e f l e c t i o n s , and draw curioust

conclusions as i t goes along; the habitude of which made

F l i n y the younger affirm, 'That he never read a book so

bad, but he drew some p r o f i t from i t . ' " (p., 43) One mustt

"make the best" of Tristram Shandy, i t i s implied, though 14

i t s erudition i s s u p e r f i c i a l and frequently borrowed...

In III 1, 31, Tristram r e f e r s to h i s novel as a book of

" s t r i c t morality and close reasoning" while worrying about

sexual innuendoes, which renders h i s statement i r o n i c .

On the other hand, as well as being widely read,

h i s book w i l l be received as pure entertainment, as "a

book f o r a parlour window." This idea i s supported by

Tristram's pose as a jes t e r , and insistence on the value

25:

of laughter. The stimulation of laughter i s Tristram's most

frequent concern.

SPONTANEITY

Tristram poses as an author who writes with complete:;

spontaneity. As he says i n VI, 6: "Ask my p e n , — i t governs

m e , - - l govern not i t . " (p.. 316) In VIII, 2 , he says:

...of a l l the several ways of beginning a book which are now i n practice throughout the known world, I am confident; my own way of doing i t i s the best I'm sure i t i s the most r e l i g i o u s f o r I begin; with writing the f i r s t sent­ence and t r u s t i n g to Almighty God f o r the second.

(p. 415)

But t h i s &s contradicted by the following sentences:

'Twould cure an author for ever of the fuss and f o l l y of opening h i s street-door, and c a l l i n g i n h i s neighbours and friends, and k i n s f o l k , with the d e v i l and a l l his imps, with their hammers and engines,, &c., only to observe how one sentence of mine follows another, and how the plan follows the whole.

(pp. 415-16)

This h i n t s that the succession of ideas and events i s the

structure of the novel, and that the frequent "changes of

subject" are not "digressions' 1 but part of the unique

structure of T r i str am Shandy. His sentences and chapters

are well-connected and comprise a u n i f i e d whole.

The physical structure of the book i s M j u s t i f i e d " by

Tristram's supposedly inept and capricious treatment of the

chapters i n i each volume. In f a c t , the chapters; comment on

an action or speech, present another point of view, or mores

26

the content of chapters for they do not end an episodic

development, hut leave a point up f o r consideration, suggest

a remark,, or terminate a verbal comment by the narrator or

a character (see Chapter IsWfor a discussion of the struc­

t u r a l function of the chapters i n each volume\

At the beginning or ends of chapters, Tristram often

appears to change subject impulsively, part of h i s mocking;

treatment of the t r a d i t i o n a l subject or time d i v i s i o n ! imp­

l i e d by chapter d i v i s i o n s . In I, 23, he signals the u t i l i ­

zation, of an impulse as follows: "I have a strong propensity

i n me to begin t h i s chapter very nonsensically, and I. w i l l

not balk my fancy.—Accordingly I set off thus." (p..55)

And i n IV/,;10:

— A sudden impulse comes across me drop the curtain* Shandy—I drop i t Strike a l i n e here across the paper, Tristram--1 strike i t — a n d hey f o r a new chapter?

The duce of any other r u l e have I' to govern myself by i n t h i s a f f a i r — a n d i f I had one—as I do a l l things out of a l l r u l e — I would twist i t and tear i t to pieces; and throw i t i n t o the f i r e when. I had done—Am I warm? I am, and the cause demands i t — a pretty story I' i s a man to follow r u l e s — o r r u l e s to follow him?

But as Tristram says i n IV/, 25: "there i s no end, an*

please your reverences, i n trying experiments uponi chapters'"

(p. 237). The spontaneity i s c l e a r l y revealed as burlesque.

In IX, 25, Tristram requests that the world " l e t

people t e l l t heir s t o r i e s t h e i r own way," a r e p e t i t i o n of

his comment i n I, 4: " i n writing whati I: have set about, I

s h a l l confine myself neither to h i s r u l e s {Horace] , nor to

(P. 211)

27

any man's r u l e s that ever l i v e d " (p. 6). As can be seen; Wtf i n h i s s e n s i t i v i t y to c r i t i c i s m as well as attitude to h i s A

audience, the author i s very much aware of current l i t e r a r y

standards, but he often couples t h i s awareness with a

parody of the point under discussion. These are the

"pasquinades" promised i n I, 4. The author demands the right;

to be o r i g i n a l , yet h i s o r i g i n a l i t y consists p a r t l y of parody

upon the established models*

"His own way" consists of a disarranged series of i n ­

cidents and connective commentary. However, the story, as

a r e s u l t of i t s rapid pace and quick s h i f t s of time or focus,

l i e s more i n the t e l l i n g than i n what i t t e l l s . The process

of writing i s the r e a l focus of the book,, and hence T r i s ­

tram i s i t s p r i n c i p a l subject, f o r he i s the means by which

the process must continue."^ This process i s one of memory

as well as narration, and Tristram's self-consciousness as

well as rapid pace of narration emphasizes h i s central orga­

n i c r o l e i n the novel*

Tristram as Per sona

Tristram, with h i s apparently chaotic novel (always

about to s l i p from h i s c o n t r o l ) , h i s concern with the reac^-

tions of i t s readers and c r i t i c s , and giving the d i s t i n c t

impression of a crack-brained ("Shandy-ish") personality,,

i s a persona of Sterne tfe@ author. He r e l a t e s a f i c t i t i o u s

autobiography, but the persons, events and ideas s a t i r i z e d

28

within i t have f a c t u a l p a r a l l e l s i n Laurence Sterne's York­

shire or childhood background. Dr. Slop i s the t h i n l y v e i l e d

o b s t e t r i c i a n Dr. Johni Btpfctoni; Yorick i s based ont Sterne him­

self., Didius represents Dr. Francis Topham, p r i n c i p a l sub^

ject of A Good Warm Watchcoat (1759); Eugenius i s John H a l l -

Stevenson. As Yoseloff says, however, "the autobiographical

elements;!are to be found in.the characterizations, thoughts;

and attitudes expressed, rather than i n the d e t a i l s of

events i n the book."1** The past events of Tristram's l i f e

are hence not those of Sterne's early l i f e . Although Sterne

claimed that: IU.11 l o c a l i t y i s taken out of the book—the; 17

satire general," the above models for h i s characters are

too r e a d i l y recognizable from l i f e , , and the p a r a l l e l s bet­

ween Tristram as author and Sterne as author are too close

to be accidental.

Sterne's close i d e n t i f i c a t i o n i n " a i r and o r i g i n a l i t y " 1 1

with Tristram throughout the novel i s further complicated by

Sterne's behavior i n r e a l l i f e . Fluchere suggests:

Sterne i s one of those rare writers who has manipulated his borrowed p e r s o n a l i t i e s without concealing the a r t i f i c e , and who f i n d s himself so much at home i n the f i c t i o n a l character that he y i e l d s to the temptation of acting i t a l i t t l e i n the r e a l world. 19

"'Tis however a picture of myself" writes Sterne of h i s novel

just after i t s pu b l i c a t i o n * ^ and he c a p i t a l i z e d on the

" o r i g i n a l " a i r of the novel by t r a v e l l i n g to London, i n the

f i r s t week of March, 1760,,where he quickly became the h i t

of "the season". He writes to Catherine Fourmantel i n

29

March, 1760:

My Lodgings i s every hour f u l l of your great People of the f i r s t Rank who s t r i v e who s h a l l most honour me—even a l l the Bishops have sent their Complimts to me, & I set out on. Munday morning to pay my V i s i t s to them a l l . . — I am to dine wh Lord Chesterfield, t h i s week &c &c—and next; Sunday Ld~Rockingham takes me to Court... 2!

and in; another l e t t e r :

...from morning to night my Lodgings, which by the by, are the genteelest i n Town, are f u l l of the greatest Company— I dined these 2 Days with 2 Ladies of the Bedchamber—then with, Ld Edgecomb—Lord Wilchelsea, Lord L i t t l e t o n , A Bi shop--&cc & c ~ 2

I assure you my K i t t y , that Tristram i s the Fashion...

In the next eight years, Sterne c a p i t a l i z e d on his.

boo^s popularity. As he wrote to David Garriek from Paris;

on Marcn 19, 1762:

...for be i t known I Shandy i t away f i f t y times more than I was ever wont, ta l k more nonsense than ever you heard me talk in: your days—and to a l l sorts of people. Qui l e diable est ce homme l a — s a i d Choiseul, t'other day—ce Chevalier Shandy—You 1"!! think me as v a i n as a d e v i l , wass I to t e l l you the r e s t of the dialogue...^ n\

and l a t e r i n April,,1762: "I Shandy i t more than ever, and

v e r i l y do believe,,that by mere Shandeism sublimated by a

laughter-loving people, I fence as much against i n f i r m i t i e s , ,

as I do by the benefit of a i r and c l i m a t e . " 2 ^ i n h i s l e t t e r s ,

he goes under Tristram's name three times, 25 including a

l e t t e r of 1765 addressed to an admirer, Mrs. P('erguson),

written e n t i r e l y i n the persona of Tristram Shandy, including

the signature (see Appendix 1 f o r the text of t h i s l e t t e r ) •

30

References to Shandyism and the hero of h i s novel abound i n 26

Sterne's l e t t e r s . Thus, Sterne i n h i s own l i f e acknow­

ledged and developed a f f i n i t i e s between himself and h i s crea­

tion Tristram and, to a great extent, emphasized the q u a l i ­

t i e s with which he endowed h i s per sona i n Tristrami Shandy. T r i str am as 3 Puppet

But although Sterne can be seem to i d e n t i f y to a

great degree with Tristram, both within.the novel and i n

r e a l l i f e , he achieves enough o b j e c t i v i t y about Tristram to

admonish him i n the novel i n I I I , 8; I I I , 28; IV/, 32; and

VIII,, 6. In these passages, the tone of Tristram, wthe

writer with problems", becomes that of Sterne as sympathetic;

puppeteer, addressing a misshapemcaricature of himself that 0IV/1

o b j e c t i f i e s h i s . f a u l t s and deals with Sterne's own problems.

The concern with "the c r i t i c s " and their reception of

Tristram Shandy i s such an authorial problem voiced frequent­

l y hy Tristram, but which was also Sterne's. So are the

problems of organizing material while writing a novel.

The "voice" i n any first-person; narration must be a

projection of the author. However, the " c o n t r o l l i n g strings"

become evident in; the above passages and also where Tristram

f e e l s h i s l i f e has been influenced by ( s i g n i f i c a n t l y ) ; a

higher power. Tristram* s continual misfortunes underline

what Tristram claims early i n the book, i n I, 5:

31

— I have;;been the continual sport of what the world c a l l s Fortune; and though I w i l l not wrong her by saying, She has ever made me f e e l the weight of any great or signal e v i l ; — y e t with a l l the good temper i n the world, I affirm, i t of her, that i n every stage of my l i f e , and at every turn and corner where she could get f a i r l y at me, the ungracious Duchess has pelted me with a set of as p i t i f u l misadventures: and cross accidents^as ever small HERO sustained.

(p.. 8)

Oh .e may add to t h i s Yorick* s predilection: to i l l - l u c k

(related by Tristram), which a r i s e s from h i s actions: "...

there i s a f a t a l i t y attends the actions of some men: Order

them as they w i l l , they pass thro' a certain medium which.••

twists and r e f r a c t s them: from their true d i r e c t i o n s " (p. 18).

In Tr i str am - Shandy, the i n d i v i d u a l s , and e s p e c i a l l y T r i s ­

tram,, are influenced c h i e f l y by small incidents*, and the

consequences of such events are emphasized i n I, 15 (the

marriage a r t i c l e s ) , I, 19 (Tristram's mis-naming), H E , 8

(nose), and IV.', 27 (the chestnut). These "powers of time

and chance" (p. 461) are reinforced by the occasional

application of the theory of "humours" or c o n t r o l l i n g

passions (as i n I, l ) ; a reminder of the importance of s e l f -

knowledge ( c f . I I , 17- the sermon on; conscience)> and an

acceptance of the unexplainable or mysterious i n l i f e :

But mark, madam, we l i v e amongst r i d d l e s and mysteries — t h e most obvious things, which come i n our way, have dark sides, which the quickest sight cannot penetrate into; and even: the c l e a r e s t and most exalted understandings amongst us f i n d ourselves puzzled and at a l o s s i n almost every cranny of nature's works; so that t h i s , l i k e a thousand other things, f a l l s out f o r us i n a way, which tho* we cannot reason upon i t , — y e t we f i n d the good of i t , may i t please your reveren­ces and your worships—and that's enough f o r us.

(P. 219),

32

The supposedly unpredictable nature of "misfortunes"

i n the Shandy household,, headed by Walter Shandy, i s men­

tioned by Tristrami i n I, 21; I I I , 23; and I I I , 28.. How­

ever j one suspects that Walter brought the e v i l s down; upon

hi s own head, since he

...was serious;—he was a l l uniformity;—he was systematical, and, l i k e a l l systematical reasoners, he would move both heaven and earth, and twist and torture every thing i n : nature to support h i s hypothesis...

(p.. 41)

and hence continually " c r u c i f i e d TRUTH:." Most of h i s own

self-induced problems he appears r i c h l y to deserve, after

his statement to Uncle Toby: "Whatbis the character of a

family to a hypothesis?...—-Nay, i f you come to that—whatb

i s the l i f e of a family" (p..52). Butt one can see, i f

Tristram!s b e l i e f i n determinism follows Walter's (as two

c r i t i c s of Tristram Shandy would contend 2?), the very

c a u s a l i t y of:the "misfortunes" of the Shandy family as a

theory or hypothesis constructed by Tristram, which resem­

bles those of h i s father in. frequency of mis-application

and all-inclusiveness.- But Tristram says, s i g n i f i c a n t l y ,

at the end of Volume 11.̂

You may r a i s e a system to account f o r the l o s s of #y noses by marriage a r t i c l e s , — a n d shew the world how i t couldi happen, that I should have the misfortune to be ca l l e d TRISTRAM, i n i opposition to my father's hypothesis,, and the wish of the whole family, God-fathers and God-mothers not excepted.• .but I t e l l you before-hand i t w i l l be i n vain....

(p. 116)

33

Surely, Tristram's concern:with the i n e v i t a b i l i t y and also

c a u s a l i t y of h i s accidents, i s part of his completely con­

tr a d i c t o r y pose as the "confused author" of Tristram Shandy*

Conclusion;

But one cannot regard Tristram s o l e l y as Sterne's;

puppet-like "double." Tristram's r o l e as narrator makes

him the most important character i n the novel, and he i s

both d i r e c t l y and i n d i r e c t l y responsible for i t s progress.

Tristram the character i s an exaggerated physical and men­

t a l version; of h i s creator.. However, i t i s more p r o f i t a b l e

to see Tristram as Sterne's most complete per sona in.

Tr i s tram Shandy. In t h i s f i r s t - p e r s o n ; novel, the degree

of continuity of voice Tristram maintains,; even though i t

reveals i t s e l f as a conscious pose, leads one to the con­

c l u s i o n that Tristram i s a mask that Sterne puts on, and

not a substitute or double. The exaggeration of the

characters and incidents in.the novel supports t h i s view;

Shandy H a l l i s not a r e f l e c t i o n of Sterne's contemporary

world or even an i d e a l i z e d version where benevolence r u l e s .

And though Tristram's novel may make i t s way i n the world

better than Tristram (p. 255). t h i s does not p a r a l l e l Sterne's

own s i t u a t i o n , since he l i v e d for 20 years i n reasonable com­

f o r t at Sutton before Tristram Shandy brought him money,

preferment, and fame.

34

CHAPTER I

FOOTNOTES

•'•Laurence Sterne, The L i f e and Opinions of T r i str ami Shandy, Gentleman, edited by Ian Watt.(Boston:Houghton-Mi f f l i n : Company, 1965),, p. 462. Subsequent references to T r i stram >Shandy w i l l be made to t h i s e d i t i o n , and c i t e d by page number only within the text of the the s i s .

o Ian Watt", "Introduction' 1 to Tristram Shandy, p. xxx.

5CX.o J . P. P r i e s t l e y , "The Brothers Shandy" i n The E n g l i s h Comic: Character S3 (New York: DOdd, Mead and Com­pany, 1925J, pp..128-157; W. M. Thackeray, "Sterne and Goldsmith" i n The Eng l i s h Humorists (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1904)7^X111, pp. 208-24?.

4 N NFluchere, Laurence Sterne. From T r i s t r a m i to Yorick,

p., 287.

^Henry F i e l d i n g , The History of Tom Jones. A Foundling (New York: The Modern LlBrary, 195077? p.. 5. ~

^Martin;Price, "Sterne: Art and Nature" i n To the Palace of Wisdom; (Garden C i t y , N.Y.: Doubleday & SB".7T964),, P. 325.

^Daniel Defoe, Moll Flanders (Boston: Houghton M i f f l i n Company,. The Riverside Press, 1959), p.< 4.

8Defoe, Moll Flanders, pp. 4-5.

9 Samuel Richardson, C l a r i s s a or The History of a Young

Lady (Cambridge, Mass.: The Riversid~e Press, 1962),. pT. x x i .

1 0Henry F i e l d i n g , Joseph Andrews (Cambridge, Mass.: The Riverside Press, 1961}, p., 13.

FOOTNOTES (CONTINUED)

H F i e l d i n g , Tom Jones.

• ^ F i e l d i n g , Tom,Jones.

1 5 Of. Volume IV/, Chapter 22 & Chapter 32.

140f. Fluchere, Laurence Sterne, pp. 161-174 for a thorough discussion of t h i s aspect of c r i t i c i s m .

^ C f . Northrop Frye, Anatomy of C r i t i c i s m , p.. 267.

1 6Thomas Yoseloff, A Fellow of I n f i n i t e Jest (Few York: Prentice-Hall, Inc.7 194577 p. W»

* 7 L . P. C u r t i s , ed., Le t t e r s of Laurence Sterne (Oxford at the Clarendon Press,, 19357, p.-81.

1 8 C u r t i s f j ed., Let t e r s , p. 76.

^ F l u c h e r e , Laurence Sterne, p. 335.

^ C u r t i s , p.. 86.

2 1 C u r t i s , p. 1 0 1 .

2 2 I b i d . , p..102..

23lbid., p. 157.

2 4 " I b i d . , p. 163.

25cf. C u r t i s , pp. 236, 242, 276...

36

FOOTNOTES (CONTINUED)

2 6 0 f . Cur t i s , pp. 99-100, 120, 121, 138, 139, 181, 186, 188,,234, ;238,,244, 252, 255.

27 'Cf. Over torn P h i l i p James, The Relation of Tristram

Shandy to the L i f e of Sterne (The Hague; P a r i s : Mouton & Co., 19bT), pp7~n6-Tl8; and Bi H. Lehman, "Of Time, Personality and the Author", University of C a l i f o r n i a Publications i n English. VIII, No. 2 (1941), 250.

37

CHAPTER I I .

THE YORICK PERSONA

He had but too many temptations i n l i f e , , of scattering h i s wit and h i s humour,!—his gibes and h i s j e s t s about, him.—

(Volume I, Chapter 12)

Yorick i n many ways i s the more o r i g i n a l of the;; two

personae Sterne developed i n h i s novels. The f i c t i o n a l

clergyman "never; c a r r i e d one single ounce of f l e s h upon

h i s own bones, being altogether as spare a figure as his;;

beast" (p..15), and,

...instead of that cold phlegm and exact r e g u l a r i t y of sense and humours, you would have look'd f o r , i n one so extract­ed;—he was, on the contrary, as mercurial and sublimated a composition,—as h e t e r o c l i t e a creature i n a l l h i s declen-

about him, as the k i n d l i e s t climate could have engendered and put together.

This description; t a l l i e s with that of Sterne himself, as

does the e f f e c t of Yorick upon his parishioners i n I, 10:

To speak the truth, he never could enter a v i l l a g e , but he caught the attention of both old and young. Labour stood s t i l l as he pass'd,—the bucket hung suspended i n the middle of the well; the spinning-wheel forgot i t s round,—even L

chuck-farthing and shuffle-cap themselves stood gaping t i l l he had got out of sight; and as h i s movement was not of the quickest, he had generally time enough upon h i s hands to make h i s observations,—to hear the groans of the serious,

and the laughter of the l i g h t - h e a r t e d ; — a l l which he bore with excellent t r a n q u i l l i t y .

"PARS0N5 YORICK"

sions; with as much

(pp. 19-20)

(p. 15)

38

However, Cross points out the extremely Gervantic q u a l i t y

of t h i s description of Yorick:

This sketch...is rather too elaborate and too much i n the; style of Cervantes for exact truth,, to say nothing of its? being an apparent im i t a t i o n of a passage i n Shakespeare's? King John. S t i l l , t r a d i t i o n : points in. the; Vicar of Sutton to a man who,, esp e c i a l l y when older,, cared l i t t l e for decorum. "So slovenly was h i s dress and strange h i s g a i t , " antiquary handed down, to antiquary, "that, the l i t t l e boys; used to f l o c k around himiand walk by h i s s i d e . " l

In terms of temperament and attitude to h i s c a l l i n g , how­

ever, there i s a d e f i n i t e s i m i l a r i t y .

In h i s l e t t e r s , Sterne r e f e r s to himself asoYorick p

frequently. He also signed himself "Yorick" i n a l e t t e r

to Catherine 3?burmantel,^ and continually i d e n t i f i e d with

the f i c t i o n a l Yorick throughout h i s Journal to E l i z a . As

well, Sterne made good use of the reputation of the charac*.

ter Yorick i n Tristram Shandy by publishing The Sermons of

Mr. Yorick i n May, 1760.

Yorick* s r o l e as clergyman in* Tristram Shandy i s

extremely r e s t r i c t e d . His l i f e and end are b r i e f l y des­

cribed i n I, 10-12,, to convey a moral: namely that "with

a l l the t i t l e s to praise which a rectitude of heart can

give, the doers of them are nevertheless forced to l i v e

and die without i t . " (p. 18) After t h i s point, Yorick i s

for the most part, absent from the novel,, with these excep­

tions: h i s mislaid sermon (the eventual fate of which i s

given i n I I , 17); the consultation.upon: Tristram's name

(IV,, 23) and thus the " e c c l e s i a s t i c a l consult" (IV, 26-30);

39

h i s involvement with the Tristra-paedia (V, 28-43; VI, 2,

5-13); as an audience to Uncle Toby (VI, 32); and i n conver­

sation with'Walter:(IX, 32-33). His benevolence of naturee

and modesty ares placed i n obvious comparison to those of

Uncle Toby,, who,, however:, does not have these qualities:;

challenged by the world but rather has them: affirmed i n

the sphere of Shandy Hall.* Yorick also serves as a

"touchstone" for Walter's theories,, providing a listening-

ear and some comment,; though h i s modesty r e s t r i c t s h i s

verbal c r i t i c i s m . o f Walter's hypotheses.

Yorick i s anexemplum of good character,. even though

h i s behavior lacks the degree of discretion: the world at:

large and e s p e c i a l l y h i s fellow members of the c l o t h seem;

to demand. Tristram notes: "But, i n plain, truth,, he was;

a man unhackneyed and unpractised i n the v/orld, and was:

altogether...indiscreet and f o o l i s h on every...subject of

discourse where p o l i c y i s wont to impress r e s t r a i n t " (p..

20). As Tristram, comments i n I, 12, "the temptations" for

a natural form of jesting proved i r r e s i s t i b l e to Yorick.

Yorick as Jester

More important than Yorick's r o l e as country parson

and the general sketch of h i s character as i t p a r a l l e l s that;

of Sterne, i s h i s r o l e as j e s t e r , made clear by Sterne's

naming of him after Y6rick,.: the court-fool i n Shakespeare's

Hamlet;. Like the Shakespearean Yorick, t h i s one i s i n the

process of being remembered by the p r i n c i p a l character.; he

i s a close acquaintance of Tristram's father; h i s sense of

40

humour i s h i s most notable feature; and h i s death s t i r s s i g ­

n i f i c a n t thoughts i n the narrator. Yorick's character, too,,

i s mercurial rather than: phlegmatic,. a necessity for a court

jes t e r , and h i s " l i f e and whim" and "gaite de coeur" per­

haps correspond to the f i r s t Yorick 1 s "most excellent

fancy.

With the decline of the number of r e a l court-fools

from the sixteenth: to eighteenth centuries, the r o l e of.

jester moved to the t h e a t r i c a l f o o l and to the amateur

figure of the virtuoso or "eccentric pedant".^ Tristram

notes that the position: of "king's chief Jester", by the:;

eighteenth century "for near two centuries.. .had beem

t o t a l l y abolished as altogether unnecessary,-not only in:

that court. ̂ Horwendillus, King of Denmark^/, but in : every

other court of the C h r i s t i a n world." (p.. 19)) The courts-

f o o l t r a d i t i o n a l l y was noted for physical or mental defor­

mities, complete dependence om and a close association: with

the king or court, and often.a superiority of person and

character to other j e s t e r s . In Tristram:Shandy, Yorick

displays no more of the q u a l i t i e s of the Elizabethan theat­

r i c a l f o o l than of those of the court-fool; the t h e a t r i c a l

f o o l i s described by Enid Welsford as possessing,, "absurd .

mentality,, grotesque physical appearance, f a m i l i a r i t y with

the spectators and p a r t i a l independence of the p l b t . " ^

Yorick i s eccentric;rather than, absurd; h i s grotesque figure?

i s lovable; and the only professional thing about his

41

r e l a t i o n s h i p with the people about whom he j e s t s i s T r i s ­

tram's simile of " j e s t e r " and "jestee" i n I, 11* On the

other hand,, he i s distanced i n most of Tristram! s narration,

a figure i n the background, l e f t undeveloped after the b r i e f

biographical and sentimental sketch i n V/Olume I . Tristram

as t h e a t r i c a l f o o l i s a more sa t i s f a c t o r y comparison, to

be discussed l a t e r *

As an amateur f o o l cast as a pedant, Yorick i s only

non-professional and not a virtuoso,, as the two Shandy

brothers and Dr. Slop so obviously/are:. Instead he has

c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s ;of Miss Welsf ord* s t h i r d c l a s s i f i c a t i o n - of

f o o l — the buffoon*. Yorick c e r t a i n l y u t i l i z e s h i s sur?-*

foundings to display a "natural" humour, and we suspect,

that he, in. commoni with the other i n h a b i t a n t s of Shandy

Hair, ; i s a spur-off-the-moment poet; and s t o r y t e l l e r .

Yorick*s insistence on the C h r i s t i a n v i r t u e of

ch a r i t y and h i s hatred of a f f e c t a t i o n or hypocrisy takes

the j e s t e r ' s second function of truth-telling** — which:

concurs with his r o l e as entertainer — beyond the pres­

cribed l i m i t s ordained by society. Eugenius says in;warning

to Yorick:

In: these s a l l i e s , too o f t , I l s e e ^ i t happens;} that a person laugh'd at,, considers himself i n the l i g h t of a. person; injured, with a l l the r i g h t s of such a s i t u a t i o n belonging to him; and when thou viewest; him in: that l i g h t too, and reckons up h i s f r i e n d s , h i s family, h i s kindred:, and a l l i e s , and musters up with them the many r e c r u i t s which w i l l l i s t under him from a. sense of common danger; — ' t i s no extravagant arithmetic to say,, that for every ten jokes,—thou hast got a hundred enemies; and t i l l thou hast gone on, and r a i s e d a swarm of wasps about thy ears, and a r t h a l f stung to death by them, thou w i l t never, be convinced i t i s so*. ( p #; 22)

4 2

A. E. Lysoni points out that the jester must,, " t e l l the

truth...amusingly. T r u t h - t e l l i n g i s a p r i v i l e g e that must

always he paid f o r , and t r a d i t i o n a l l y the Jester pays by the

immolations of himself."? Yorick dies "broken-hearted" because

of the censure of the world uponihis accumulated "unwary

pleasantry." In the destruction of his r o l e as.jester, we

can see Yorick turned i n t o a scapegoat.. H o w e v e r t h i s i s a:

paradoxical r e v e r s a l of the Elizabethan overtones of his

name, because the f o o l . — both popular; and l i t e r a r y — of

that period served not only as a subject but as an arbi t e r

of j e s t , who maintained a necessary sense of human proportion,

and who wasc above r e t r i b u t i o n ; f o r h i s j e s t s .

Yorick as jest e r , then, } i s a secondary character i n

Tristrami: Shandy, providing an i n t e l l e c t u a l f o i l to Walters

and Toby,, a moral exemplum i n h i s eventual fate to all-at*-

large (as Yorick i s to Hamlet),, and displaying: enough of. thee

t r a d i t i o n a l q u a l i t i e s of the jester to lead one to expect

that he w i l l be a figure of humour throughout the novel.

Instead, paradoxically, he i s de l i b e r a t e l y kept from the

foreground and Tristram s l i p s into the r o l e of j e s t e r . Yor­

ic k , then, i s a comic: "red herring", i n v i t i n g i d e n t i f i c a t i o n ;

with the t r a d i t i o n a l f o o l (the jester i s implied but r a r e ­

l y i l l u s t r a t e d ) , and with Laurence Sterne, Prebendary of

York.

Tristram as Jester:

Tristram j e s t s frequently and successfully throughout

43

the novel* and though he only r e f e r s to the t r a d i t i o n a l

j e s t e r ' s garh of cap, b e l l s and motley four times,^ he?

f u l f i l l s a l l the conventional requirements f o r the thea­

t r i c a l f o o l . He i s crack-brained or "shandy-brained",

and r e f e r s constantly to h i s poor memory and chaotic novel-

in-progress; he i s pictured i n s l i p p e r s and wig,, "a lean

and slippered pantaloon" with eccentric whims or impulses

which i n c i t e sudden physical action* as well as;randoau ideasa

onto paper*

Tristram's c o n f i d e n t i a l , t r u s t i n g , admonishing, and

entertaining r e l a t i o n s h i p with h i s readers, singly or i n

groups, establishes what Ian Watt c a l l s an "ultimate con­

versational rapport" similar to that of the clown's with

h i s audience across the f o o t l i g h t s . Watt also mentions

that Sterne's s e n s i t i v i t y to the audience's reaction,, h i s

mobilization! of h i s readers i n t o antagonistic or sympathetic

groups? among themselves, h i s use of the typographical sym­

bols ((squiggles, hands, missing chapters, the marbled and

black pages*; the Gothic - type s c r i p t ) , and of; commentary om

h i s own. devices, area t r i c k s i n the repertoire of the j e s t e r . 1 ^

One must remember, however, that Tristram:is the j e s t e r , and;

i t i s Sterne who has created t h i s miserable and p a t h e t i c

clown-figure. Although both are entertaining hypothetical

audiences, Sterne i s writing f i c t i o n , and protested ont

November 28,, 1767: "The world haw:imagined;, because I wrote

Tristram Shandy,, that I was myself more Shandean: than I : r e a l l y

44

ever: was." Not; to be able to r e t i r e from the stage and

take off h i s motley must have been most i r r i t a t i n g to the^

author •

The popular comic figu r e of the Harlequin* a mute?

clown who communicates by pantomime and i s given: a black

mask,, can; be seem influencing Sterne i n T r i str am i Shandy..

The importance of physical gesture i n the events and the

sil e n t : description are the most; noticeable examples. Ab«-

surd action often promotes laughter, also, as when; Dr.

Slop descends inadvertently from h i s horse, Walter bites;

h i s wife's pincushion; or, on a lower?note, Trim;waves h i s

s t i c k . But; Tristram has none of the Harlequin; 1 s mysteri­

ous appearance and i f Tristram does possess a truer view

of the world than h i s audience^, t h i s i s part of. h i s pose;

as professional j e s t e r . 1 2 In VIII, 3, T r i str am r e f e r s to

a "single mountebank" among: the past four generations o f

Shandys,,surely a passing reference to himself.

As a buffoon> Tristram r i s e s to the occasion; continually

i n constructing humorous occasions, anecdotes or bon mots.

He makes laughter r i s e from h i s subject, from, h i s readers,

and from himself. The prevalence of scatological humour or

" body-jokes ", another technique of the buffoon, 1^ i s also

part of Tristram's r o l e as a "natural" j e s t e r .

W. L. Gross has noted that Sterne "thoroughly under­

stood Shakespeare's f o o l s , and created anew a rare company

of them.. Then he set them at th e i r wild play.!* 1^ Although

45*

he r e f e r s here to Walter,,. Toby and the other characters we

see at Shandy Ha l l , , Tristrami himself i n the r o l e of "sage-

f o o l " bears some resemblance to Touchstone in: As You Like;

I t , Feste i n Twelfth Night, and the Pool i n King; Lear- I f

we see Tristrami as an " a l l - l i c e n s e d " c r i t i c of the t h e o r i -

zers (Walter and Toby), who uses comedy to deflate a s i t u ­

ation; or speech in:order to suggest a r i g h t proportion;

and asaa commentator car the paradoxical nature of l i f e ,

Tristram's Resting; becomes i r o n i c a l l y pointed. Irony hass

been: said to presuppose am "inner; c i r c l e " as audience, 1"'

and t h i s brings one round to the exclusive group entertained

by the court jester or r o y a l f o o l . Thus, Tristrami's cons­

tant use of degrees of irony i m Tristrami Shandy can: be seem

ass an: e s s e n t i a l device r e l a t e d to h i s r o l e as court jester*.

Furthermore, Tristram as the central, character and also

"sage-^fool", can.be said to give the novel "a center for-

the comic mood", to use Northrop Frye's term* 1 6 because he

focusses a l l pointss of.'view i n t o one, and supplies the reader:

with the novel's only standard of judgement, whether implied!

or e x p l i c i t .

Conclusion:

Tristram and Yorick are two separate personae thatt

operates very d i f f e r e n t l y i n T r i s tram Shandy. Tristram i s

ostensibly a crack-brained author whose je s t i n g and i r o n i c

repartee has the continuity o f a wholly comic production.

But hiss eyes are the lenses through which; the reader must

46;

look.. Sterne's and Tristram's a f f i n i t i e s have been acknow­

ledged by Sterne, and the acceptance of a Shandean point of

view i s the idea behind many of Sterne's own l e t t e r s and

sermons". Tristram i s p r i n c i p a l l y then a mask of the author

as creator. The novel focusses on i t s own writing, and we?

regard i t through Sterne.'s own: eyes, but with the d i s t o r t i o n

produced by the Tristram mask.

Ascertaining the amount; of d i s t o r t i o n coming from;

Tristram'.himself i s the most d i f f i c u l t problem;in the novel.

Does Sterne j e s t with us, or not? When does irony become

parody? And; how much of the comedy a r i s es from T r i s ­

tram! s ineptitude and personality? Prye .suggests that:

"Tristram^ Shandy and Don. Juan i l l u s t r a t e ; v e r y c l e a r l y thee

constant tendency to self-parody i n s a t i r i c : r h e t o r i c which

prevents even the process of. writing i t s e l f from: becoming

an oversimplified convention or ideal."17

Irfc appears that we must' take Tristram at h i s word"!

as the author of Tristram Shandy, but recognize that the

paradoxes e x i s t i n g i n h i s treatment of the story constitute

a comic; device of considerable s k i l l and therefore originate

from Laurence Sterne. The agglutinative i n t e l l e c t u a l i z i n g

and strong i r o n i c ; c o n t r a s t s s t h a t make up these paradoxes

r e s u l t from, the " anatomy " - l i k e structure of T r i str am ShandyV

In the Anatomy of Criticism?, Northrop Prye points:-out that:

"The Menippeam s a t i r i s t , dealing with i n t e l l e c t u a l themes;;

and attitudes, shows h i s exuberance i n i n t e l l e c t u a l ways, by

piling:up an (.enormous mass of erudition about hi s theme or

47

i n overwhelming h i s pedantic targets with an avalanche of

their own.jargon...." 1 8 ands

At itssmost concentrated the Menippean: s a t i r e presents us with a v i s i o n of the world i n terms of a single i n t e l ­l e c t u a l pattern!. The i n t e l l e c t u a l structure b u i l t up from the story makes for v i o l e n t dislocations i n the customary l o g i c of narrative, though the appearance of carelessness^ that r e s u l t s r e f l e c t s ; o n l y the carelessness of the reader or h i s tendency to judge by a novel-centered conception, of f i c t i o n . 1 9

The novel i s being written, then,, on: two l e v e l s and by two

narrators, the one superimposed on the other. Occasionally

the mask s l i p s or i s removed, as IIhave noted,, and we see

the "puppeteer" or "the man behind the mask" — i t s creator.„

The Yorick per sona« on the other hand, i s c l e a r l y both:

a biographical projection of Sterne as clergyman, and a

t r a d i t i o n a l jester f i g u r e . Although Yorick evolves:stan­

dards of sentimental appreciation: and of the value of impul­

sive and i n s t i n c t i v e benevolent action i n A Sentimental

Journey (1768), in: t h i s f i r s t novel, Yorick i s a passive,

not an; active agent. And we see Yorick objectively,, through.

Tristram.

I t would appear that while Yorick, incongruously a

parsons jes t e r , hovers on the periphery of the Shandy house­

hold, a Laurence Sterne i n appearance, Tristram, the r e a l

author,, b a t t l e s l i t e r a r y problems and i s deeply involved:

in; the machinations and c o n f l i c t s of Shandy HallV. He

cannot be objective about h i s own involvement. Cbnjfef-ariwise,

without some o b j e c t i v i t y , a narrative based, solely on. himself.

43

would pattern, i t s e l f on the seeming confusion; of h i s mind..

Tristram's reactions and Tristram's thoughts, without: some;

involved but external "touchstone" for Tristram's actions*

are; i n s u f f i c i e n t to render T r i s t r a m ' s " l i f e " . Tristram'ss

mind cans be the sole ar b i t e r butt not the center of the

stage.: Shandy H a l l , to be discussed i n the next chapterj

provides such a "touchstone" with which:we can: measure

Tristram;and h i s novel.

49

CHAPTER I I

FOOTNOTES

% i l b u r . L. Cross, The L i f e and Times,:of Laurence Sterne (New York: R u s s e l l & R u s s e l l , 1925), p. 62.

2Cr. Curtis,, pp.. 76-77, 209, 264, 283, 305, 343-44, 369, 402.

5Cur.tis„ p..82.

^Enid Welsford, The Pool: His So c i a l and L i t e r a r y History (Gloucester, Mass.: Peter Smith, 1966;), pp. 184 ff.V

5 Weisford,, The Pool,, p..288.

g This follows the t r a d i t i o n a l idea of the f o o l as:

a "natural", mentally unbalanced, but with an aceuratee second sight.

7A.. E. D y s o n " S t e r n e : The Novel i s t as Jester," C r i t i c a l Quarterly (Winter. 1962), ; IV, 314.

"Shakespeare makes;the f u l l e s t possible use of the accepted convention t h a t : i t i s the Pool who speaks the truth,, which he knows not by r a t i o c i n a t i o n but by inspired i n t u i ­t i o n . The mere appearance of the f a m i l i a r figure^im cap and b e l l s would at once indicate; to the audience where the 'punctum i n d i f f e r e n s ' , the impartial c r i t i c , , the mouth­piece of r e a l sanity,, was to be found." (Enid Welsford, The Pool 1, p.. 269).

9 0 f . I, 6; I I , 2; I I I * 18; VII,,26.

1 0 I a n Watt, "Introduction" to Tristram Shandy., p.. xxix.

1 : L C u r t i s, pp.'. 402-403.

50

FOOTNOTES (CONTINUED)

"Unlike the f o o l i n cap and h e l l s , the Harlequin can; tap no hidden source of mysterious knowledge or un­worldly wisdom. The f o o l had h i s niche 1m a d i v i n e l y planned order of society,, to whose dependent:, ephemeral and often corrupt character i t was h i s function; to bear witness." (Enid Welsford, The Fool, p.\ 303).

1 5Welsford, The Fool, p.". 51.

oss, The L i f e & Times of Laurence Sterne, p. 205.

1 5 H . W. Fbwler, A Dictionary of Modern E n g l i s h Usages (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press,. 1965J, p. 2 5 3 .

1 6Nbrthrop Frye, Anatomy of C r i t i c i s m * p. 175.

1?Frye,,Anatomy of C r i t i c i s m , p. 2 3 4 .

1 8Frye» p..311.

1 9 I b i d . , p.-310.

51

CHAPTER THREE .

SHANDY HALL.-

But nothing ever wrought with our family after the ordinary way. (Volume I, Chapter

Shandy H a l l , the setting of the story Tristram i s to

t e l l i n h i s novel, harbors a benevolent crew of eccentrics:

a r e t i r e d merchant who i s a pedantic l o g i c i a n ; a r e t i r e d

soldier who spends twelve years playing war; an equally

crack-brained set of obstreperous servants; and a s t i l l

more curious whimsical group of f r i e n d s , neighbours and

associates. The very e c c e n t r i c i t y of the characters'

behavior and the comic repartee reminds one of the evenings

Sterne reportedly spent at "Crazy Castle" (Skeltorn Hall)

with the "Demoniacks." 1 In terms of satire and comic r o l e ,

each character at Shandy H a l l has some representational

value and, although Sterne may have stressed q u a l i t i e s i n

their characters that he approved or disapproved of, their

manipulation i s so objective as to render them e f f e c t i v e

cosjic; instruments rather than personae. They are the

i n d i v i d u a l components which when brought together form a

comic r e a c t i o n . Their achieving a compatibility without

humorous clashes i s inconceivable. They seem to e x i s t

only to s t i r laughter. "The Shandy family" serves to act

as a basic; stimulant providing Tristram.with the material

52

i f not the desire to write.

Tristram remarks i n HIT, 39, that:

...the hand of the supreme Maker and f i r s t Designer of a l l things, never made or put a family together ( i n that:, period at l e a s t of i t , which I have sat down to write thee story of) where the characters of i t were cast or con­trasted with so dramatic a f e l i c i t y as ours was, f o r t h i s end; or i n which the capacities of affording such exqui­s i t e scenes, and the powers of s h i f t i n g them perpetually from morning to night, were lodged and intrusted with so unlimited a confidence, as i n the SHANDY-FAMILY•

(p.-176)

The p r i n c i p l e of contrast i n character i s a "basic struc­

t u r a l tenet i n the Shandy family's composition, for a l l

the characters are counterpointed by each other: that i s ,

they constantly are shown i n contrasting p a i r s .

Walter, a "philosopher i n grain" and "one of the

most regular men i n every thing he did, whether 'twas

matter of business, or matter of amusement, that ever

l i v e d . . . " (p., 6), with h i s "subacid humour," spends a

great deal of time i n the company of h i s brother Toby,

whose greatest distinguishing features are, "a most':

extrearn; and unparall'd modesty of nature" and a m i l i t a r y

hobby-horse that deviates h i s thoughts at the s l i g h t e s t

opportunity. While conversing, as Tristram notes, with

TOby:

...when, my father's imagination was heated with the inquiry,

...nothing would serve him but to heat my uncle Toby's too. My uncle Tobfr would give my father a l l possible f a i r play

i n t h i s attempt; and with i n f i n i t e patience would sit: smoaking h i s pipe f o r whole hours together, whilst my father was p r a c t i s i n g upom his head...

(p.. 176)

53

But while Walter s t i c k s tenaciously to an idea and constan­

t l y endeavours to communicate i t to Toby,, h i s brother as?,

constantly i n t e r r u p t so with hobbyhorsical deviations, and

disregards Walter's theories as impractical or impudent,

responding with what Tristram c a l l s the "Argumentum

Pistulatorium" (whistling " L i l l i b u l l e r o " ) .

Walter has the same trouble with Mrs. Shandy, i n

f i n d i n g a ready and appreciative audience for h i s theories:

...she had a way...and that was never to refuse her assent and consent to any proposition! my father l a i d before her, merely because she did not understand i t , or had no ideas to the p r i n c i p a l , word or term of art,., upon which the tenet or proposition; r o l l e d . . T h i s ^ w a s an eternal source of. misery to my father, and broke the neck, at the f i r s t s etting out, of more good dialogues between them, tham could have done the most petulant contradiction...

(pp. 470-471)

!f

A virtuoso of a d i f f e r e n t c a l l i n g from Walter^ i s Dr.

Slop,.who enters Shandy H a l l b r i s t l i n g l i k e an;aggressive

hedgehog with the tenets of Roman Catholicism and the new

science of o b s t e t r i c s . He immediately c o n f l i c t s with the

p r a c t i c a l i t y of Toby and the easygoing Anglicanisms of

Yorick.

Toby and forick also contrast in. terms of their inner

benevolence, which i s natural and operates no farther than

the sphere of Shandy H a l l i n Toby's case, but i s applied

towards and often misconstrued by the world i n the case of

the Christian-motivated Yorick; Toby thus represents the

good-natured man: and Yorick the benevolent man, whose

54

modes of conduct d i f f e r im applications and hence in: ultimate

r e s u l t . Toby i s so tender-hearted that he l i t e r a l l y w i l l

not hurt the ha i r s on a f l y ' s head; while Yorick i s gener­

ous and op t i m i s t i c , but im p r a c t i c a l l y expects r e c i p r o c i t y

from the world on his own Christian! terms. Thus, one

serves as a simple p o s i t i v e exemplum; the other as a nega­

tive i n s t r u c t i v e example.

Tristram remarks i n I, 21, that: " a l l the SHANDY

FAMILY were of an o r i g i n a l character at a l l " (p. -49)» Mrs.

Shandy i s the perfect embodiment of t h i s observation; she

i s portrayed as l i s t e n i n g at the door or looking through

keyholes ("the l i s t e n i n g slave, with the Goddess of Silence

at; h i s back, could not have giveni a f i n e r thought for an

i n t a g l i o " — p..270), and making non-committal rejoinders

to Walter's remarks. She i s unperturbed at the Widow Wad-

man's revelations and Tristram's accidents; she does, how­

ever, turn successfully pale at the suggestion of a Caesar­

ia n , and she wins both arguments over the midwife and

Caesarian (pp.. 37 & 115) — both situations in; which her

well-being i s at stake.. Tristram recognizes t h i s peculiarly

stubborn tendency omMrs. Shandy's part, i n h i s version of

the argument over, the midwife:

My father begg'd and intreated, she would for once recede from her prerogative i n t h i s matter, and suffer him to choose f o r her;—my mother, on the contrary, i n s i s t e d upon her p r i v i l e g e i n t h i s matter,, to choose for h e r s e l f , — a n d have no mortal's help but the old woman's.—What could my father do? He was almost at h i s wit's end; talked i t over...

55

...with her i n a l l moods;— placed; h i s arguments i n a l l l i g h t s ; — a r g u e d the matter with her l i k e a c h r i s t i a n * ~ l i k e a heat h e n , — l i k e a husband,—like a f a t h e r , — l i k e a p a t r i o t , — l i k e a man: My mother answered everything only l i k e a woman; which was a l i t t l e hard upon; h e r ; — for as she could not assume and f i g h t i t out behind such a v a r i e t y of characters,—'twas no f a i r match; — 'twas seven to one.—What could my mother do? She had the ad­vantage (otherwise she had been.certainly overpowered) of. a small reinforcement of chagrine personal at the bottom: which bore her up, and enabled her to dispute the a f f a i r with my father with so equal an advantage, that both sides sung Te Deum. In a word, my mother was to have the old woman..•

(p.. 37)

Walter's hypothesis i s here defeated by a natural p r a c t i ­

c a l i t y similar to Toby's and Yorick's> but which i s emphasized

as a p e c u l i a r l y feminine obstinacy. As Walter complains

after a bout of t h i s argumenta t i o n : "cursed l u c k l said

he...for a man; to be master of one of the f i n e s t chains of

reasoning; i n nature,—and have a wife at the same time with

such a head-piece, that he cannot hang:up a single inferencee

within: side of i t , , to save h i s soul from destruction." (pp.

110-111.) Tristram echoes h i s father's evaluation. Mrs.

Shandy's "deliberate" density with regard to Walter's ideas

i s further mentioned i n VI, 39s

I t was a consuming vexation, to my father, that my mother1

never asked the meaning of a thing she did not understand. That she i s not a woman of science, my father would

s a y — i s her misfortune—but she might ask a question.r-My mother never d i d . . . . For these reasons a discourse seldom went on. much further;

betwixt them, than- a p r o p o s i t i o n ^ — a reply, and a rejoinder; at the end of which, i t generally took breath...for a few minutes, (as i n the a f f a i r of the breeches) and then:went on again.

(p. 358)

Her defence (and attack) mechanisms are a l l passive.

The Widow Wadman, on the other hand, who as ener­

g e t i c a l l y engages Toby's attentions as Walter, preempts most

of Mrs. Shandy* s,5 has a number; of weapons she employs.

Appropriately enough, she conducts:a m i l i t a r y campaign

against the stronghold o f Uncle Toby's heart, f o r even;at

the time of the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), Tristram.says:

"... as widow Wadman did love my uncle Toby- and my uncle

Toby did not love widow Wadman, there was nothing for widow

Wadman to do but to go on; and love my uncle Toby or l e t

i t alone" (p..423). In her love-militancy,

...she could observe my uncle Toby's motions, and was mistress l i k e wise of h i s councils of war rfrom the arbourj; and as h i s unsuspecting heart had given; leave to the corporal, through the mediation, of Bridget,, to make her a wicket-gate of communication to enlarge her walks, i t enabled her to carry on; her approaches to the very, door of the sentry-box,, and sometimes out of g r a t i ­tude, to make the attack, and endeavour to blow my uncle Toby up i n the very sentry-box i t s e l f .

(P.. 425)

A l l that i s described of her i s her l e f t eye, which i s

compared to a cannon; and has the same e f f e c t upon Uncle

Toby.. Tristram:gives the reader a blank page to describe;

the Widow Wadman "as l i k e yo&r mistress as you can—as

unlike your wife as your conscience w i l l l e t you" (p. 356),

and adds:

A daughter of Eye, for such was Widow Wadman, and ' t i s a l l the character I" intend to give of h e r —

"That she was a perfect woman..."

A l l in: a l l , Widow Wadman i s a dangerous threat to the

s t a b i l i t y of Shandy Hall.- Mrs. Shandy has been absorbed

into the background of the male members of the family, and

i s brought i n only r a r e l y to demonstrate or elaborate on

a point r e l a t e d to or ori g i n a t i n g from a male Shandy.

Widow Wadman introduces disorder from her precincts next-

door, and thus performs a similar disruptive function to

Dr. Slop. S i g n i f i c a n t l y , ; we never, get to the end of "Idle

amours of my Uncle Toby with the Widow Wadman",, for T r i s ­

tram i s interested i n the comic process which constitutes

l i f e at Shandy H a l l , and not i n the denouement of the sub^.

p l o t s of the novel.

Mrs. Shandy and the Widow Wadman do represent the

passive and active extremes of womanhood. And discounting

an anonymous midwife, three: nuns, and several European-

maidens (Maria,. Janatone, Nannette), they and their maid­

servants are the only women given any sustained attention

i n the novel. The midwife and nuns p a r a l l e l Dr. Slop and

the churchmen (Didius, Phutatorius, etc.) i n the same

counterpointing fashion; that Mrs. Shandy and Widow Wadman

do Walter and Toby. The p l a c i d i t y or stubborness and

contradictory natures of these women are emphasized, not

thei r f i d e l i t y , charity or affection.- In other words, they

have a secondary place i n the novel to the men. Only when,

they are argumentative do the women of Tristram.Shandy

create memorable comedy.

58

The servants at Shandy H a l l are i n t e r e s t i n g f o i l s to

t h e i r employers and each other. Obadiah and Susannah are

c l e a r l y contrasted i n character, the one noted for stupidity

i f not simply obtuseness, the other for a sharp tongue and

disastrous accidents which she blusters her way through.

Although Tristram says that, "my father had a great respect

for Obadiah" (p.\124), Walter implies that he i s amass

(p. 266) and as he imparts h i s news solemnly, we see a

p a r a l l e l between Obadiah:and the Shandy b u l l :

Now the parish being very large, my father's B u l l , to speak the truth of him, was no way equal to the department; he had, however,, got himself, somehow or other, thrust into employment—and as he went through the business with a grave face, my father had a high opinion of him.

(p.. 496)

Susannah i s not a messenger or a solemn household

f i x t u r e i n the same way Obadiah: i s ("the outdoor man," ass

Work c a l l s him); she gets caught up i n a l l Tristram's:

disasters,- and i s obliged to play her p a r t . 2 She says?

to Dr. Slop, "I never was the destruction of anybody's

nose...which i s more than: you can say" (p.. 314), an odd

statement since she has j u s t been involved i n Tristram* s-

accidental circumcision. Susannah* s temper r u l e s her- actions,

and her tongue i s the causes of most of her troubles; as

Tristram says: "Susannah was s u f f i c i e n t by herself for a l l

the ends and purposes you could possibly have, i n exporting:

a family secret" (p*. 494)«- Her personality,, a l l i n a l l , Is

d e f i n i t e l y a complete opposite to Mrs..Shandy*s, just as.

59

Obadiah's obtuseness and lack of humour counterpoint Walter's=

keen wit and "subacid humour."

Trim; and Bridget are the p r a c t i c a l "below-stairs"

counterparts to Uncle Toby and the Widow Wadman. Trim's;

attachment to Uncle Toby and h i s proficiency as a val e t t a r e

constantly emphasized: "corporal Trim; (... to the character,

of an excellent valet,, groom, cook, sempster, surgeon; and

engineer, superadded that of an excellent upholsterer too)"

(p.. 420). And Trim i s the e f f i c i e n t h a l f of that particular:

hobby-horse (the bowling green). On the other:hand, hiss

loquaciousness,, the "only dark l i n e " i n h i s character, ; l i n k s ;

him to Susannah and Bridget.. Trim i s also of ten; placed in;

contrast to the Shandy brothers; f o r example, h i s reaction;

to the news of Bobby's death and the reading of Yorick's;

sermon; contrast Trim's "oratory" and r h e t o r i c a l attitudes;

with Walter's. Furthermore,, Trim's interpolation, about h i s

brother TOm i n the Inquisition; while reading Yorick*s sermon

shows a generous s e n s i t i v i t y p a r a l l e l to Uncle Toby's.

Bridget and Trim are linked romantically and p r a c t i ­

c a l l y , e s p e c i a l l y during "the amours of Widow Wadman with my

Uncle Toby.1' I t i s they who; deal with the r e a l i t i e s of "the-

amours" — the wig,, plush breeches, wicker-gate,map, and

the answer to the Widow Wadman's q u e s t i o n ; — while the

other pair. (Uncle Toby and Widow Wadman) struggle i n a web)

of implication; and ignorance. Like the others at Shandy

H a l l , Uncle Toby and Widow Wadman cannot communicate but by

accident, and even then.their actions and words are open to

60

misunderstanding. On the other hand, the close contact

within the precincts of the kitchen, reinforced by gossip

about the Shandys " above-stairs ", promotes a better under­

standing of the p r a c t i c a l things of l i f e . I t i s apparent

that the servants* i n t e l l e c t s are not capable of the sus­

tained argumentation! of the family. However, the servants

possess a natural s e n s i b i l i t y to and sympathy with the

emotional problems of the Shandys and themselves that i s

unrestrained by s o c i a l convention, over-systematization, or

prejudice.

Tristram says i n V, 6, that: "whatever motion, debate,

harangue, dialogue, project, or d i s s e r t a t i o n , was going

forwards i m the parlor, - there was generally another at the

same time, and uponithe same subject, running p a r a l l e l along

with i t i n the kitchen" (p. 271). However, while the

i n t e r e s t s of both groups rum p a r a l l e l , the treatment of

such i n t e r e s t s diverges. The servants are not interested i n

the i n t e l l e c t u a l p o s s i b i l i t i e s of a s i t u a t i o n . They encoun­

ter an event, deal with i t , and put i t away. But im the

male Shandys, memories or the above obstacles of conven­

t i o n , systems or prejudices c o n f l i c t with present r e a l i t i e s , ,

and the r e s u l t i n g incongruity i s comic. To achieve a

complete contrast i n attitude, then, the "above-stairs"

and "below-stairs" d i v i s i o n i s maintained, and i s we l l -

commented on by Tristram.

Besides the p r i n c i p l e of contrast which further

61

delineates the characters of the Shanys, Sterne has created!

the "Dutch s i l k - m i l l " of Shandy H a l l i n order to i l l u s t r a t e ;

the operatiom of the "variety of strange p r i n c i p l e s and

impulses" and the r e s u l t i n g "odd movements" within the house.

Although a l l the words and actions i n the novel are d i r e c t l y

or i n d i r e c t l y concerned with Tristram, and are drawn from,

memoryt; the "strange p r i n c i p l e s and impulses" mentioned

above are of r e a d i l y predictable human behavior. The best;

i l l u s t r a t i o n of the operation; of the " s i l k - m i l l " of human

nature represented by Shandy H a l l i s the novel's comic

treatment of "obsessions".

Sterne extends the theory of " r u l i n g passions"^ to

one of " r u l i n g opinions" v i a the metaphor of the hofcby-

hor se •

A man and h i s HOBBY-HORSE, tho' IF: cannot say that they act and re-act exactly aft e r the same manner i n which the soul and body do uponi each other: Yet doubtless there i s a communicationi betweem them of some kind, and my opiniom rather i s , , that there i s something i n i t more of the manner' of e l e c t r i f i e d bodies....By long journies and much f r i c t i o n , , i t so happens that the body of the rider; i s at length f i l l - I d ! as f u l l i of HOBBY-HORSIOAL-imatter as i t can: hold; so that; i f you are able to give but a clear description: of the na­ture of the one, you may f orm; a pretty exact notion: of the genius and character of the other:.

(pp.. 57-58)

Sterne himself wrote i n 1760:

...reason and common, sense t e l l me, that i f the characters of past ages and men are able to be drawn at a l l , they are to be drawmlike themselves; that i s with their excellencies, and with t h e i r f o i b l e s — a n d i t i s as much a piece of ;jus~ t i c e to the world and to virtue too, to do the one, as the other.—The r u l i n g passion; et l e s egarements du coeur,, are the very things which mark, and d i s t i n g u i s h a man's charac-. ter; i n which I would as soonileave out a man's head as h i s hobby-hor s e — 4

62

But; as I ana Watt says: " a l l these hobby-horses and cross-

purposes e x i s t i n human beings who also have their f u l l

complement of ordinary affections:* and sympathies; and that

makes a l l the difference. Walter and Toby are humorous;

characters, not embodied humour s."**

By contrasting each Shand# obsession with i t s coun­

terpart, Sterne creates a humour, primarily of double

entendre. The intended r e c i p i e n t of an idea either mis­

understands or ignores a conversational gambit.. Uncle

Toby's conversations with Widow Wadman and Walter respec­

t i v e l y i l l u s t r a t e t h i s " p r i n c i p l e " . Besides " r u l i n g

opinions", the "strange impulses" of complete benevolence,

compulsive sy sterna t i z a t i on*, and ( i t i s implied) possessive

l u s t ini the case of Widow Wadman, run: amok at Shandy H a l l .

At Shandy H a l l , Tristram's family and their f r i e n d s

give r i s e to what Tristram prefers to consider h i s most,

important memories. But l i n k i n g the episodes at Shandy H a l l

together i s Tristram's consciousness, an i n t e r n a l order

imposed upon: the material within: the novel. In concentrating;

on the process of writing,, asjTristram* does so frequently and^

self-consciously throughout Tristram Shandy.- t h i s i n t e r n a l

order, one not regulated by a li n e a r chronology, opens out

the p o s s i b i l i t i e s inherent in: autobiography of conveying:

more of personality than can be conveyed by a discussion of:

what a subject has done or what- has been reported about him'..

Although the characters at Shandy H a l l are a l l contrasted i n

attitude and personality by Sterne to serve a d e f i n i t e comic;

63

purpose, the structure of the novel makes them nece s s a r i l y

of secondary importance to Tristram. I t i s around h i s use

of memory and consciousness of the digressive nature of one's

existence that the novel revolves.

64

CHAPTER THREE

FOOTNOTES

Discussed ini Cross, The L i f e and Times of Laurence Sterne, pp. 129-134.

2 0 f . I l l , 2 7 ; IV,, 14; V, 17 - 2 1 .

yQt. Pope's Essav om Man, E p i s t l e I I , 11., 136-40, as follows:

"So, cast and mingled with h i s very frame, The Mind's disease, i t s RULING PASSION: came; Each v i t a l humour which should feed the whole, Soon flows to t h i s , i n body and i n soul:"

^Cur t i s,, p.. 88 •. AI so quo ted in. Pluchere, p .= 284.

Watt, "Introduction" to Tristram Shandy, p . . x v i i i .

65

CHAPTER POUR

THE ASSOCIATIVE STRUCTURE OF TRISTRAM: SHANDY

' Twould cure an author f o r ever of the fuss and f o l l y of opening h i s street-door and c a l l i n g i n h i s neighbours and friend s , and k i n s f o l k , . . .only to observe how one sentence of mine follows another, and how the plan": follows the whole. (Volume V i l l i , Chapter

2)

Tristram -Shandy i s ostensibly a novel of memory.

However, i t i s mainly ti e d to i t s f i r st-per son narrator /

not by h i s personal involvement i n the events r e l a t e d , but.

by i t s criss-crossed time-scheme and those subject-links:;

that connect each chapter with i t s neighbours and the book

together as a whole. As A. A. Mendilow points:;out, the

episodes i n the novel are linked by "the association of:

ideas i n the minds of the characters, and those linked i n

the mind of the quasi-autobiographer himself.." 1 Tristrami

Shandy i s not a chronological record of events, but a seriees of

disarranged anecdotes and i t s self-conscious narrator contin­

u a l l y holds the center of the stage as the medium:through

which a l l anecdotes must pass. So Tristram's personality

i s the i n e v i t a b l e center of t h i s book, as i t i s the postu­

lated subject and evident organizer of the material i n the

novel. And t h i s c e n t r al personality makes i t clear that the

novel emanates only from him, and that the " S i r s " , "Madams,"

or " c r i t i c s & reviewers" may make up part of h i s audience;

66

but though their comments may be use f u l , their c r i t i c i s m

i s not,.

The book i s written wholly i n the " h i s t o r i c a l present,"

giving the impression:, of a continuous f i r st-persom narra­

t i o n . But t h i s " h i s t o r i c a l present" includes the authorial

present within which Tristram, converses with h i s readers;

a discursive f i r st-per som present i n . which Tristram r e l a t e s

anecdotes or i l l u s t r a t i o n s and l i n k s the episodes i n h i s

novel together; and the dramatic present of the many/domes­

t i c scenes withini the Shandy family.. The advantages of this?

immediacy of presentation i n terms of continuity with and

e f f e c t on the reader are obvious. One f e e l s one i s obser­

ving at f i r s t hand the scenes presented, and i s given also

the impression by Tristram's f a m i l i a r i t y / w i t h h i s audience

of a p a r t i c i p a t o r y and immediate process of entertainment.

The reader i s thus involved as observer and participant,,

and these r o l e s are alternated so iswiftly that one's degree

of involvement i s kept at a constantly h i g h l e v e l .

Pluchere suggests that: "Sterne understood that

chronology has no power to resuscitate the past; the only

thing that can give i t l i f e i s a l i v i n g consciousness of

the past as i d e n t i f i e d with the present.'.' Not only i s

Tristram's past given more appeal by i t s presentation, as

process (with a l l i t s varying fac t o r s and i n d i v i d u a l

nuances) rather than, recorded f a c t , but Tristram's verba­

l i z e d connections using the authorial present and h i s

67

discussions with h i s readers give relevance to what he

r e l a t e s ; memory i n Tristram iShandy i s thus made both the

subject and the t o o l . Tristram's con\sciousness of the:

process of remembering emphasizes the selective nature

of h i s memories, and their non-random: association, and:

reminds the reader of Tristram's "subconscious" and t o t a l

involvement with h i s story. Since he i s remembering and

recording the material of the novel and does so d i f f i d e n t l y

he becomes the center of the book. Tristram remarks i n

I I , 2, that Locke's Essay upon the Human Understanding

i s "a history-book.. .of what passes i n a man's own mind"

(p.. 66) and from a purelyS structural point of view, T r i s ­

tram. Shandy may s i m i l a r l y be; regarded as a s l i c e of

Tristram's own mind i n : operation (even i f mainly a r e f l e c ­

tive s l i c e ) .

CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS

The time-scheme of the novel i s extremely disordered;

the events are depicted neither chronologically nor causally.

The narrative begins i n March, 1718,, with Tristram's con­

ception, and ends i n 1714, four years before his b i r t h .

In the nine volumes between, Tristrami r e l a t e s events dated

1644, 1685, 1689-90, 1693, 1695, 1697, 1701-02, 1704, 1706,

1713-14, 1716>, 1718-19,?1723, 1728, 1748, 1750, and 1759-67

— a span of 123 years with a l l the events r e l a t e d i n some

way to Tristram. These events are presented as exi s t i n g i n

68

Tristram's memory or within h i s range of observation i n the

present; thus, Tristram's consciousness a r b i t r a t e s the time

l i m i t s of each episode and the l i n k i n g passages; and the

d i s t i n c t i o n s drawn, within the novel between, an exterior or

physical clock-time and i n t e r i o r "durational" time are

acknowledged by Tristram as h i s .

The f i r s t two volumes introduce Tristram's story,

his conversation with h i s readers and or c r i t i c s , h i s

consciousness of the time span over which he writes and

that i n which the reader reads, and the discrepancy between

recorded mechanical or chronological time and durational

time, which i s an important st r u c t u r a l device i n the f o r ­

ward movement of the n a r r a t i v e . In these introductory

volumes also, Tristram encounters the problem that i s i l l u s ­

trated by the of t e n purely associative progression of the

narrative — that of relevance. We see t h i s i l l u s t r a t e d

i n Tristram's d i f f i c u l t y i n organizing h i s material and osten­

sible lack of e d i t o r i a l decisions.

The novel appears more of an i n t e l l i g e n t "open-ended"

story with purposely endless opportunities for expansion,

than an inept attempt to organize a d i f f i c u l t subject.

Tristram remarks i n I, 14, that:

These unforeseen stoppages, which I had no conception of when I f i r s t set out;—but which,; I am convinced now, w i l l rather increase than diminish as I advance,—have struck out; a hint which I am resolved to follow;—and that i s , — n o t to be i n a hurry;—but to go on l e i s u r e l y , writing and pub­l i s h i n g two volumes of my l i f e every year...

(p.- 29))

69

Thus, i n Volumes I and I I , Tristram, supplies the background:

to h i s conception and b i r t h , describes Walter's, Toby's, and

Yorick's characters, and converses with h i s readers,^

introducing a l l the main l e v e l s of time. Vblumes III:and

IV continue with the events on the night of Tristram's

b i r t h (November 5, 1718) but move into a study of Walter's

theorizing, v i a h i s ideas on noses into Slawkenbergius'

Tale, and then b r i e f l y cover another of the "tragedies"

i n Tristram's l i f e , h i s mis-naming by Susannah and the

curate, also an event of November 5, 1718. The Shandy

household becomes a noticeably strong f o c a l point of i n t e r ­

est i n the se two volume s•

Vblumes V and 71 continue t h i s i n t e r e s t with the

r e l a t i o n of the news of Bobby's death (1719), Tristram's:

circumcision (1723), the beginning of the Tristra-paedia

d i sous s i oni (1719), and the conversation! around the f i r e ini

the Shandy living-room which includes Walter, Toby, Yorick,

Trim and Slop. "The amours of Widow Wadman with my uncle

Toby" are also introduced, with Widow Wadman's attacks shown

i n media r e s (we are to learn the origins of her infatua­

t i o n in- Volume V I I I ) . The story thus jumps from 1719 to

1723 to 1719 again, then, to the period 1701-1713,, not to

mention numerous asides i n t o the authorial present (including

an e x p l i c i t dating, i n V/, 17, August 10, 1761) and the

interpolated s t o r i e s of Le Fever (1706),, and whiskers;

the l a t t e r has i t s own independent time-scheme, though i t

70

i s r e l a t e d i n the h i s t o r i c a l present. There are three of

these s t o r i e s i n Volumes I I I and IV7, and they usually are

made to function as i l l u s t r a t i v e exempla., i n contrast to

Tristram's anecdotes about h i s family and their f r i e n d s ,

which contribute to the psychological operation of the

Shandy household as "a Dutch s i l k - m i l l " of " p r i n c i p l e s

and impulses". The anecdotes t i e Shandy H a l l together as

one homogenous u n i t , given i t s congruity through the opera­

tions of Tristram's memory. His view of the events w i t h i n

the family i s the glue holding i t together for the reader.

Volume VII departs from the emphasis in; the f i r s t ;

six volumes on Tristram's b i r t h and p a r t u r i t i o n , and shows

Sterne experimenting to combine the d i f f e r e n t kinds of

chronology kept s e p a r a t e * * ^ t h i s point. Tristram writes

i n the authorial present throughout, addressing h i s readers

i n two plasesr, l i n k i n g what he sees with h i s commentary i n

f i v e places, and simply narrating h i s journey at f i r s t ­

hand through the r e s t of the volume. There i s only one

i n t e r p o l a t i o n — the story of the) abbess of Andouillets*

A remarkable continuity of tone i s maintained by substituting

for change i n point of view change of subject, d i r e c t l y

r e l a t e d to Tristram's physical movement across the Conti­

nent and the r e s u l t i n g r a p i d v a r i e t y of scene, and Tristram's

subsequent juggling of time continua as well as association.

The volume as a r e s u l t of t h i s sustained focus on Tristram

(his i s the only point of view) i s a s t a r t l i n g contrast to

71

Volumes I to VI, and VIII and IX where Sterne returns to

h i s former pattern. The exaggeratedly f a s t pace of Volume•

VII (as pointed out i n Chapter I of t h i s thesis) also breaks

the succession of durational moments- that appear elsewhere;

i n the novel•

In VIIL, 28, Tristram comments on "the most puzzled

skein of a l l " — h i s r o l e as^author as he i s writing on

the Garonne (1762); h i s r o l e as character, conversing with

Walter and Uncle/Doby i n Auxerre; and h i s r o l e as narrator,

i n which he has-progressed as f a r as:I»yons on h i s journey

(1762); a l l of which converge at t h i s point. The three

time continua are brought: to our attention here i n an atr-

tempt to show/their simultaneity of occurrence. Sterne i s s

tryi n g to suggest their: combination rather than alternate

them:as i n a moreeregular narrative. He also achieves a

s i g n i f i c a n t linkage between Volume VII and previous volumes.;

and substantiates the introduction: of further m a t e i i a l about:

the Shandys. He chooses the narration in. VII, 29, to

eliminate possible confusion, though we see him.return to

a simultaneous treatment of the d i f f e r e n t time "streams" of

h i s material i n Volumes VIII and IX, using the same patterm

employetf i n Volumes I to VI, where he skips from one day or

year to another with the j u s t i f i c a t i o n of pure thought

association.

In Volumes VIII and EX, "the amours" (1701-13) take

precedence, although Tristram's mounting "problems" with

72

h i s novel — what to put i n (and by implication, what to

leave out) and where — a r e emphasized at the beginning of

Volume VIII. Tristram i speaks as author six times, and adds

connective or i l l u s t r a t i v e commentary i n three places, but;

aside fromthese parts, Tristram's narration proceeds i n a

more or l e s s straight l i n e , displaying some of the 11 gravity"

for which he r i d i c u l e s chronologically progressive stories

i n VI, 40. There aresno interpolated s t o r i e s or major,

digressions,, so that although Volumes YIIIC and IX follow

the pattern set up i n . Volumes I to VI, they retain, the unity

of purpose and more progressive — even l i n e a r — develop­

ment of Volume VII. They are written, as though Sterne was

running out of time ( p h y s i c a l l y ) , which was c e r t a i n l y the:

ease; and, having established the major characters;;and their

interests? and T r i str ami's patterns ass an author, he: appears;

to have turned to "the amours"—the choicest morsel i n h i s

book.. The novel ends abruptly,-in 1714 with a pun; that r e ­

minds one of Mrs. Shandy's association about time at; the

beginning of the novel, so that together with the popular;

connotation: of a "cock and b u l l story," the novel i s ended"!

while s t i l l 1 suspended in; time. lit does not end with T r i s ­

tram, f i n i s h i n g h i s memoirs; we watch him writing them through­

out the novel, and i t ends i n media res with a bon mot that

implies a union, of Sterne's two personae and a c i r c u l a r motif

of v i r i l i t y and impotency.

73

ASSOCIATION OF IDEAS AS A STRUCTURAL DEVICE

Not only i s John Locke's theory of the association; of

ideas a s a t i r i c a l t o o l i n the novel's p r i n c i p a l character­

i z a t i o n s , but Locke's emphasis on the r a t i o n a l connection!

between, thoughts i n the mental processes of observation,

discernment, retention, s y l l o g i z i n g * and association of

ideas, o f f e r s an explanation; for the arrangement of events,

in; Tristrami.Shandy. The novel i s not, as Theodore Baird

or B.. H. Lehman would have i t , ^ a s t r u c t u r a l s a t i r e om

Locke's theory of the association of ideas, with Tristram

as the prime example. As Henri Fluchere points out,^ thee

satire on* association of ideas i s confined to characteriza­

t i o n . John Traugott: agrees: "Locke's i s a r a t i o n a l system'

for comparing ideas and determining language.. Sterne's is3

something else, but by developing the confusion; or absurd­

i t y i n Locke's r a t i o n a l system:!Sterne has created a dramatic

engine which controls situation; and character."^ The chap­

ters themselves are linked c l o s e l y to one another* and

their a r b i t r a r y lengths indicates a change of subject or.

speaker or focus, or the completion; of an action or speech.

And Tristram's repeated explanations or essays into the causes

behind events produce the e f f e c t of a conscious order in; the

events. Tristram's tr a n s i t i o n s are also easy to follow

and r e a d i l y j u s t i f i a b l e . Furthermore, i n terms of a l l nine?

volumes, these changes, often accompanied by a s h i f t to a

d i f f e r e n t time continuum, generally r e f l e c t a psychologically

realistic-:use of the narrator's imaginary memory.

74

An.examination; of the actual l i n k s between, chapters:

and Tristram's superimposed commentary on these linkages

w i l l i l l u s t r a t e s t h e organic function of a l l the material

included i n the novel, the r a t i o n a l nature of the connec­

tion s , and the o v e r a l l structure of the novel as a s l i c e

out of Tristram's memory.

Volume I

In.Volume I, Chapters 1 to 3, Tristram begins ah Ovo,

with h i s conception, and the significance of i t s circum­

stances, and gives the source of the opening anecdote as

Uncle Toby, He converses with the reader i n Chapter 4,;

before continuing with the background to h i s story,. Another'

autho r i a l discourse i s given i n Chapter 6,. and then:Tris­

tram continues i n Chapter 7 to discuss tiie v i l l a g e midwife.

However, t h i s leads him in t o Yorick's l i f e and character,

between.the two parts of which,(Chapters $ & 10) he sand­

wiches a discussion of hobby-horses and his "open" dedica­

t i o n . The "black pages" at the end of Chapter 12 mark a

coda of i n t e r e s t , where Tristram changes tack and moves

into a discussion of his mother's marriage settlement (for

the moment ignoring the midwife), and hence the " f a l s e

alarm" of September, 1717. The arguments about the next

l y i n g - i n i n Chapter 18 introduce Walter's theory of Chris­

tian names (and h i s obvious r e l i s h for syllogisms).. Then,

i n Chapter 20,, i n : reminding the reader that "I should be

75

born "before I was christened," Tristram launches i n t o a

discourse on pre-natal christening, c i t i n g an a r t i c l e i n

French, From t h i s t h e o r e t i c a l note, Tristram moves to the

Shandy parlour i n Chapter 21 and the very f i r s t conversa­

t i o n between; Toby and Walter requires an elucidation of

Toby's character. Conscious of the digressive and lengthy

tendencies of t h i s character sketch, Tristram discusses h i s

"digressions" in. general i n Chapter 22,, character-sketching

generally i n Chapter 23,- and hobby-horses i n Chapter 24»

The last,chapter i n the volume adds d e t a i l s on: Toby's con­

valescence,, and ends with an avowal to give no indication, o f

what i s to follow, although we i n f e r that he w i l l explains

Toby* s "unforeseen: p e r p l e x i t i e s , "

The chapters i m Volume I are linked l o g i c a l l y ins the;

following ways: they explain: a point; already introduced?,

supply background to previous material,, or contrast thee

events and characters of Shandy H a l l with Tristrami*s opinions

about them or h i s self-consciousness as an author,. The autfo-

l i o r i a l l i n k between Chapters 1 and 2 i s Tristram's conver­

sation; with h i s (male) readers. Chapter 3 gives the sources

of the anecdote ending Chapter 1, and hence background, and

Chapter 4 explains the reasons for such "back-tracking."

Also i n Chapter 4, a straight l i n e signals typographically

a change of focus and subject as Tristrami returns to giving

background to the night of March 1-2,.1718,. Chapter 5

summarizes the significance of these events already r e l a t e d ,

76

and continues the authorial discourse with "Madam" at the

end of Chapter 4 into a non-inclusive f i r s t - p e r s o n discourse

with a l l h i s readers. Chapter 6,; continuing with theory,

o f f e r s another discussion of technique and the Shandean

method of "progression," and Chapters 6-7 contrast r e l a t e d

f a c t with theory (as do 2-3 and 3-4. and many l a t e r l i n k s ) .

Chapter 7 ends with the introduction of hobby-horses, and

t h i s discussion i s continued i n Chapter 8. Again, Chapter

8 divides i n h a l f in: subject, and the parody of a dedication,

found i n the second h a l f , i s continued in; Chapter 9. But

Chapter 10 returns to the midwife — and f a c t and authorial

theory are again; set i n contrast:. The parson's story springs;

out of h i s connection with the midwife, and continues for

three chapters, and i s abruptly ended by the two black

pages, after? Yorick's character, family background,, h i s be­

havior and i t s consequences have been sketched.

Tristram.now returns to the midwife, but changes to h i s

mother's marriage settlement, v i a a discourse i n Chapter 13

on the necessity for a map, and i n Chapter 14 on h i s agglut­

i n a t i v e structuring of the novel. The discussion of E l i z a ­

beth Shandy's marriage settlement in; Chapter 15, however,

consists only of i t s quotation: i n f u l l within the text of

Tristram's story, and a comment on the ultimate consequences

of t h i s contract to Tristram. The l i n k to Chapter 16 i s one?

of subject, as Chapters 16 to 18 r e l a t e the immediate effects;

of the contract on; Mrs. Shandy's unnecessary t r i p to London;

77

i n September, 1717. Tristram's mother's v i c t o r y i n the

argument over midwives i s followed by a declaration of

innocence i n h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p with Jenny, and the innuen­

does of t h i s passage l i n k Chapters: 18 and 19* Tristram

proceeds in.Chapter 19 to es t a b l i s h the i n t e l l e c t u a l

background of Walter's character, that made the events of

Chapters 15 to 18 occur.

Chapter 20 changes focus from the Shandys to T r i s ­

tram's self-conscious authorship. In rebuking the inatten­

tive "Madam", Tristram emphasizes the order of h i s narration',

and the document underlines the purely t h e o r e t i c a l nature

of h i s discourse, which i s a Walter-like syllogism i n

miniature. In Chapter 21, Tristram returns to Shandy H a l l

and Uncle TSby's character. Chapter 22 reverts to T r i s ­

tram's self-conscious authorship with i t s digression of

" progression" and "digression" and the contributory

value of anecdotes; and Chapter 23 (though i t ostensibly

s t a r t s "nonsensically" ideals with the methods of charac*-

ter-drawing; though i t passes in t o parody, i t ends with

Toby's hobby-horse. This gives Tristram the l i n k necessary

to connect Chapters 23 and 24, and he continues h i s discus-*

sion of technique for the t h i r d straight chapter.. But to

conclude the volume on a conventional note, Tristram begins

his explication; of the reasons for and exact nature of

Uncle Toby's hobby-horse, d e l i b e r a t e l y ending the chapter

inconclu s i v e l y •

78

Thus, i n Volume I, Tristram's ostensibly major narra­

tive concern:— r e l a t i n g the events of h i s l i f e ab: Ovo —

i s attended to only i n Chapters 1, 2,< 6 (the f i r s t h a l f ) ,

10, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18 (the f i r s t h a l f ) , , and 21. The r e s t

of the volume supplies character sketches or i n d i v i d u a l

h i s t o r i e s of other Shandy H a l l p e r s o n a l i t i e s such as Yorick

or Toby, or — more frequently — i n s e r t s Tristram's running;

commentary on h i s story to the exclusion of a l l e l s e .

Authorial discourses appear i n Chapters 4, 5, ?6, 7„ 8, 9,

12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23 and 24.. Tristram's story­

t e l l i n g usurps the better part of the space usually a l l o t t e d

to the story,, and the process i s made equal i f not superior

to the story i t produces.

Volume II

The structure of Volume II i s much more straightforward;

there are fewer authorial discourses than i n Volume I: one

on c r i t i c s , one on the positioning of apostrophes, and one

on the p a r a l l e l passage of time to both the inhabitants of

Shandy H a l l and to the reader. There i s also a passage of

" l e t us imagine" (another occurs i n VI, 2 9 ) , used to f o r e ­

shorten the events Tristram i s r e l a t i n g . , But the major p a r t

of t h i s volume deals with more of the events on the night of

Tristram's b i r t h . From the h i s t o r y of Uncle Toby's wound

— the "unforeseen-perplexities" of I, 25 — which takes

up Chapters 1 to 5, Tristram focusses on the events of the

night of November 5, 1718: Slop's a r r i v a l (whicfci i n t e r r u p t s

79

yet another of Walter's d i s s e r t a t i o n s — one on the r i g h t and

the wrong end of a woman), the missing "green bays bag",

the discovery and delivery by Trim of Yorick's sermon,

two more of Walter's theories (irade and "head-presentation"

biifcths), and of course the conversation between Walter, Toby

and Slop as they s i t waiting i n the parlour.

The p r i n c i p l e of contrast,, using theory and narrative,

i s i l l u s t r a t e d by the l i n k s between; Chapters 1-2, 2-3, 3-4,

10-11, and 18-19. The theories are-those of novel-writing,

and Tristram also reminds us e x p l i c i t l y of h i s o v e r a l l plan

in,Chapters 4 and 5,, where he changes subject from Uncle

Toby's "amours" to "the parlour f i r e - s i d e " . Tristram also

begins to st a r t new chapters when he introduces a new

i n t e r e s t , as he does with Dr. Slop i n Chapter 9; and he

separates speech, as self-contained anecdotes, from action*

i x * l i n k i n g Chapters 12-13,, 13-14,, 15-16 and 16-17. A

s l i g h t l y more unique technique i s the connection! of two

chapters v i a a comma,, i n d i c a t i n g an unfinished sentence,

as between: Chapters 14-15. The other l i n k s i n Volume I I

connect chapters ending i m l o g i c a l stops i n speech or action,

or carry on a progressive action; during a d e f i n i t e time

period (the night of November 5, 1718).

The motto prefacing Vblumes I and I I — " I t i s not:

things themselves that disturb) men, but t h e i r judgements

about these th i n g s " — a p p r o p r i a t e l y summarizes the structure

of these two volumes as well as their content,, for they

80)

delineate the discrepancy between recorded f a c t and opinion,

and the r o l e of opinion i n the creation of f a c t ; the a l t e r ­

nate movement from author to reader to story by Tristram'

underlines t h i s .

Volume III

Volume II I follows the general pattern of Volume I I ,

and i s concerned mainly with the events of November 5, 1718.

Tristram, addresses two sections to h i s c r i t i c s : Chapter 44

and the f i r s t part of Chapter 12; f i n a l l y writes an Author's

Preface i n Chapter 29; apostrophizes himself once i n Chap­

ter 8; i n s e r t s two marbled pages as "the motley emblem

of h i s work" between Chapters 36 and 37; and makes six other

references to h i s current problems i n organizing; h i s material

properly (in; Chapters 14, 23, 28,, 31 and 38 and 33).- The

r e s t of the volume continues the f i r e s i d e conversation

between Toby,.Walter and Dr. Slop, u n t i l the l a t t e r i s c a l l e d

u p s t a i r s ; Tristram's f i r s t accident occurs and i s r e l a t e d

to Walter and Uncle Toby; and we learn, the family background

to Walter's obsession with noses. Walter also begins

d i s s e r t a t i o n s on o b s t e t r i c a l methods, curses and the

succession, of ideas ( a l l of which are interrupted — the

curse successively by Trim, Toby or Slop). Ernulphus'

curse, translated from the L a t i n , p a r a l l e l s the translation;

(also from Latin) of Slawkenbergius' Tale i n Volume IV, and

i t s presentation i n the o r i g i n a l text i s a further' parody of.

81

the biographical tendency to documentation i l l u s t r a t e d ;

already by the author's inclusion; of the marriage contract,

the French d i s s e r t a t i o n on baptism*, and Yorick's sermon,

as well as an instance of variety of material,, already

seen i n the use of the black and marbled pages.

The l i n k s betweem chaptersuim. Volume I I I continue

conver sation or aotion,' change sub j eet, supply backgr ound,:

and, as i n : Volumes I and I I , contrast authorial theory with

anecdotes about the Shandys* related i n the h i s t o r i c a l

p r e s e n t . 1 0 However, the l i n k s are forged much tighter than

they have been: before. Chapter 1 i s linked back to I I , 18

(the second to l a s t chapter of Volume II) by the r e p e t i t i o n

of Uncle Toby's speech to Dr. Slop,,, and i t i s linked to

Chapter 2 by the words "as follows," which indicate a d i r e c t

continuation! of the story,, with speech following i t s ; i n t r o ­

duction. Chapter 3 begins with Uncle Toby's words givem f o r

the third! time (and th i s techniques of: repeating speeches

after elaborating; on their background i s used again; by T r i s ­

trami i n III,, 6* and III,, 32). The "as?follows" connection;

occurs again: i n Chapters 5 and 10. There are also e x p l i c i t

references to the material of following chaptersein Chapters

11, 40 and 42. In Chapter 42 a l i n k i s made with Slawken-

bergius' Tale,, which begims Volume IV/.

In Volume I I I , Tristram again: attempts; to draw a one-

to-one correlation: between: reading time and the h i s t o r i c a l .

(chronological) time of h i s characters' actions (of. II,, 8);

82

in; I I I , 30, he explains that he must leave Walter "for h a l f

an hour," and indeed he does not return to Walter on the

bed u n t i l IV/,, 2 (44-pages l a t e r i n Watt's edition)*. Andl

i n I I I , 38,. i n an. authorial discourse about h i s problems,

Tristram exclaims:

...but I have f i f t y things more necessary to l e t you know f i r s t , ; — I have a hundred d i f f i c u l t i e s which I have.promised to clear up, and a thousand distresses and domestic mis­adventures crouding in: upon me thick and three-fold,, one: upon: the neck of another:,?—a cow broke i n (tomorrow morning-)) to my uncle Toby's f o r t i f i c a t i o n s . . .but there i s no time to be l o s t : i n exclamations. I have l e f t my father l y i n g across h i s bed, and my uncle Toby i n h i s old fringed chair.', s i t t i n g beside him, and promised IL would go back to them i n h a l f an hour,, and f i v e and t h i r t y minutes are laps'd already Of a l l the p e r p l e x i t i e s a mortal author wa s ever seen: i n , — t h i s c e r t a i n l y i s the g r e a t e s t , — f o r Ilhave Hafen: Slawkenbergius's f o i l i o , Sir,. to f i n i s h a dialogue between: my father and my uncle Toby, upon, the solution of P r i g n i t z , Scoderus, Ambrose Faraeus. Ponocrates and Grangousier to r e l a t e , — a tale out of iSlawkenbergius to translate, and a l l t h i s i n f i v e minutes l e s s than:no time at: a l l • . .

(p.. 175)

Here the reader i s reminded of Walter's p o s i t i o n , told

e x p l i c i t l y what i s to follow u n t i l Tristram returns to

Walter, and Tristram, claims sympathy f o r h i s agglutinative.;-

book, which of i t s e l f seems to try to encompass a l l . . The

discussion) about time not only serves s t r u c t u r a l l y as a

diversion i n i t s switch of focus from Walter's sources to

Tristram, but i t implies a t i g h t time-structuring of the

novel on three l e v e l s : Tristram's, the reader's, and the

characters' own senses of time.

By shuttling back and f o r t h between the story of the

83

operations of the Shandy household on November 5, 1718, and

the authorial present (both i n commentary on the events

presented and i n h i s discussion of authorial problems),

Tristram: emphasizes-the r e l a t i v i t y of these events to him­

s e l f . He often changes from;story to problem, i n the middle

of a chapter,, as i n Chapters 8„ 12,, 20, 23, 31, 36, and 38*

Also, i n constantly supplying background for Walter and

T5by*s reactions during the f i r e s i d e conversation, he; moves

farther into the past. Although these anecdotes about the

Shandys' e a r l i e r l i v e s (before Tristram) or their ancestors 1

l i v e s are told i n the h i s t o r i c a l present, the t o t a l e f f e c t

i s to create another set: of time l e v e l s ; for example, those

of great-grandfather and great-grandmother Shandy, grandfa­

ther and grandmother Shandy, Trim and Bridget's encounter

with the bridge (" six or seven; weeks" before the night of

November 5, :1718)i. or "the one winter's night" when Walter,

while discussing Slawkenbergius with Toby,, demolishes h i s

wife's thread-paper and pin-cushion. Furthermore,, the;

m u l t i p l i c i t y of time l e v e l s , as they are a l l r e l a t e d i n the

same h i s t o r i c a l present, appearss to emphasize the constancy

of a durational and purely, cerebral view of time (both whiles

experiencing itsspassing and while remembering an event) in.

contrast to chronological l i m i t a t i o n s : on; existence, which

are the basis of an i n d i v i d u a l ' s conception of time i n

relation; to others, but not of time as re l a t e d to himself.

By Volume I I I , one sees Sterne's techniques of

84

associations! l i n k s and changes i n -time continue, becoming

"conventionalized", i n the sense that most of h i s techniques

have by now been introduced and frequently used. Volume IV

introduces more parodies of t r a d i t i o n a l chapter d i v i s i o n s

as well as continuing the techniques already developed.

Volume IV

Volume IV, i n terms of subject, translates Slawken-

bergius' Tale; continues the events of: November 5, 1718,

as far as Tristram's christening, Walter's reaction and

hence the meeting of e c c l e s i a s t i c s ; and i t also introduces

Bobby's death in. Chapter 31, to be continued i n Volume V.

Tristram launches into authorial theory eight times (in;

Chapters 9 - part, 10, 13, 15, 20, T22, 2 5-part, : & 3 2 ) ,

including chapters l a b e l l e d a "chapter on sleep", a

"chapter of chances", and a "chapter of things." Tristram

i s beginning to burlesque the content of chapters by

promising to deal with certain, subjects, independent of

the events at Shandy H a l l . He also leaves out Chapter 24,

because the treatment of i t s subject was too well done to

be included, although, he b r i e f l y described the said contents

i n Chapter 25, as well as commenting on the missing chapter

and o f f e r i n g a moral to be drawn from h i s action, which

follows a typographical symbol of a black hand to signal

the need for attention. This technique of removing a section

of the novel to generates the reader:'s curio s i ty r i s repeated

i n Vblume IX with Chapters 18 and 19, although they are

85;

restored l a t e r betweeni Chapters 25 and 26, as "his honour

has l a i d bleeding" on t h e i r account.

Another typographical linkage similar to the comma i n

I I , 14, i s the long dash ending Chapter 2 9 .

In IV/, 17, we f i n d an e x p l i c i t reference to authorial

time, to be compared with e a r l i e r dates i n d i c a t i n g the exact

time Tristram i s writing (for example, i n I, 21: " t h i s very

r a i n y day, March 26, 1759")• Here he describes h i s actions

of "not hal f an hour ago."

Two other uses of time i n Vblume IV are notable:

progressive linkages between, chapters where a following

speech or action, i s d e f i n i t e l y forecast (as i n Chapters 2-3,

6-7, 25-27); and the frequent use of anecdotes or i l l u s ­

t r a t i v e episodes from the Shandy past — or t a l e s , not

of Tristram's authorship,, both of which.have their own time

continua. In Vblume IV, we do not have past Shandy episodes

from a period before Tristram's b i r t h ; the episodes given

fbllow i n a progressive order from t h i s event, and though

each i s presented as self-contained in; time through i t s ;

dramatic: presentation i n the h i s t o r i c a l present, they can

be dated from; November 5 to 7, 1718. The interpolated

s t o r i e s of Slawkenbergius' Tale and that of Francis I,

unconnected i n time to the r e s t of the volume, have; more

entertainment than i l l u s t r a t i v e value at their place in;

the narrative.

Other than the above techniques, the associations!

l i n k s i n Volume IV follow the patterns established i n

86

Volumes I to III", of continuation, contrast, or change.

"Jumps" or abrupt changes of scene are a l l progressive i n

nature, not regressive, as Tristram i s not concerned i n

Volume IWwith supplying background to h i s characters'

actions so much as r e l a t i n g the remaining events of the

night of November 5, 1718• Viewed together,, Volumes I I I

and IV/ display a reduction i n the number of a u t h o r i a l - d i s ­

courses, which were intended to produce a contrast; i n

structure and point of view in; Volumes I and I I . These

volumes instead "pass from; jests-3 to serious matters and

from; the serious back again: to jest s " (see the t i t l e page?

to Volumes III and IV/) not only i n Tr i s tramps r a i l l e r y

against c r i t i c s but i n . the r e l a t i n g of Tristram's b i r t h ,

with a l l i t s t r a g i c and comic aspects;.

Volume V/

Volume V ' i s concerned with events at Shandy H a l l

subsequent to Tristram! s birth,, including the reception

of the news of Bobby's death (1719), Walter's writing of

the Tristra-paedia (1719 - 2 3 ) , and Tristram's circumcision

(1723). The only interpolated story i s that of "whiskers"

i n : Chapter 1, and Tris^tram speaks i n authorial discourse

only f i v e times,, i n Chapterssl, 8, 11, 15, and 25.

Tristram writes i n the authorial present — dating i t .

August 10, 1761 — only in: Chapter 17, which r e l a t e s the

accidental circumcision. The p r i n c i p a l changes shown by

87

the chapters are,of focus — either from one speaker to

another (as in; Chapters 6, 32, and 37), or back and forward

a short distance i n time to give another point of view, or

background i n terms of previous events, to Tristram's most;

current concern i n the narrative (as i s done i n Chapters 19»

24, and 26).

An instance of suspended action i s found i n Chapter

5, where Tristram's mother i s l e f t standing behind the par­

lour door t i l l Chapter 13, presumably f o r f i v e minutes

(autho r i a l time), while Tristram discusses the servants'

reaction to Bobby's death, and though Tristram, r e f e r s to

her i n Chapter 11 and mentions her c u r i o s i t y i n Chapter 12,

she i s not allowed to move t i l l Chapter 13* However, this;

i s the only imstance of a double time scheme i n the novel

where one half i s l e f t suspended; usually the characters'

time schemes progress while Tristram leaves them i n order

to deal with other things.

The chapters follow the close linkage, usually with

Tristram's commentary, of Volumes I I I and IV. A d i r e c t

connection with the following chapter i s made between

Chapters 2-3,.8-9, 10-11, 16-17, 18-19,,20-21, 21-22, 22-

23, 28 - 2 9 , 30-31, 34-35, and 39-40. The term "as follows"

or "following," for example, occurs f i v e times. Another

technique, s i m i l a r l y employed i n Volume IV* i s that of the

period and long dash, not ending a quotation, which connects

Chapters 35 and 35.

88

Volume VI

Volume VI continues Walter's discussion of " a u x i l i a r y

verbs"; the circumcision episode t a i l s off into an a l t e r c a ­

tion between Slop and Susannah i n the kitchen (mentioned i n

V/, 41); a discussion of a suitable tutor for Tristram leads

to the narration of Le Fever's story by Tristram (though

i t occurred i n 1706); Walter and Mrs. Shandy discuss

putting Tristramiinto breeches (also i n 1723); various

incidents of Trim and Uncle Toby's "wars" (1701-13) are

chronicled,, and their conclusion introduces "the amours;:

of Widow Wadman with my uncle Toby" (1713-14). The i n c i d ­

ents i n Volume VI are more varied than i n Volume V/, which

concentrates mainly on three events and a number of Walter's

theories.. The volume also covers a greater period of; time,

from 1701-1723. With the exception of the story of Le

Fever, which i s d e f i n i t e l y dated, there are no interpolated

s t o r i e s i n Volume VI,, and hence no independent time continua.

And although the volume gradually regresses as Tristram's

a t t e n t i o n turns from the events occurring i n or around h i s

f i f t h year to h i s Uncle Toby's "amours," i t s t i l l r e t a i n s

a continuity of environment;— that of Shandy H a l l .

The l i n k s in: Volume VI are mainly progressive

continuations of Shandy events, but there are three changes

of focus that create more abrupt t r a n s i t i o n s than were found!

i n Volume V.;. Tristram moves from the parlour to the kitchen:

and from Uncle Toby to Slop between Chapters 2-3 and 13-14;

89

and from Tristram's breeches to Uncle Toby and Trim's "wars"

between Chapters 20-21. The blank page for the description

of Widow Wadman ini Chapter 38 i s a s i m i l a r ^ s t a r t l i n g device

designed to catch the reader's attention. More conventional

l i n k s are Tristram's lapses into authorial theory i n Chap­

ters 1, 17-part, 20, 2 9 , 33, 37-part, and 40, which are

designed to draw the reader closer to the subject of the

Shandean chapters,, r e l a t e Walter's i n t e l l e c t u a l habits to

Tristram's own,; foreshorten, events by using the reader's

imagination ( c f . I l l , 11) or complain: of the problem® of

organization the novel presents. In Chapter. 40, Tristram

sketches f i v e l i n e s to represent h i s progress through the

f i r s t f i v e volumes, and indeed the "bumps and squiggles"

on: the l i n e s can be i d e n t i f i e d fromi a study of the actual

events i n the novel (see Appendix 2). Tristram notes that:

" In t h i s l a s t volume I have done better s t i l l — f o r from,

the end of Le Fever's episode, to the beginning of my uncle.

Toby' s c a m p a ^ i s , — I have scarce stepped a yard out of my

way..."(p. 360);; the "yard" i s Tristram's being put int o

breeches, which takes six chapters. Indeed, h i s narrative

i s gathering more continuity as i t prooeeds up to Volume:

VII, which has a geographically progressive continuity for

most of i t s length.

E x p l i c i t temporal or physical connections between:

chapters occur frequently. At the beginning of VI, 11,

Tristram promises that the history of Le Fever J r . after:

90

h i s father's death w i l l he told " i n the next chapter" r •

(Chapter 12),, as i t i s . Tristram promises i n Chapter 16

to explain: the "feeds of j u s t i c e " " i n my next chapter" and

does so, Tristrami begins discussing Uncle Toby's modesty

"ten pages at l e a s t too soon" i n Chapter 29, and exactly

ten.pages l a t e r ( i n Watt's edition) he takes up the subject..

In Chapter 31, Tristram notes that he mentioned Uncle Toby's,

lack of eloquence two years previously, hence i n I, 21,

published' i n 1759V 1 1 an instance where authorial time i s ;

compared with readitig time. And i n Chapter 34, Tr-istrami

r e f e r s the reader back to Chapter 31 by repeating a passage..

A l l t h i s cross-referencing helps to t i e Tristram's narrative

together as a l o g i c a l progression. FOur d i r e c t l i n k s , such

as "as you w i l l read", also occur at the end of Chapters 4,

5, 22, and 33. The epigraphs prefacing Volumes V and VI deal with the

facetiousness of their contents, a concern echoed i n cer­

t a i n of Tristram's authorial discourses i n these volumes

( c f . V, 15; VI, 1,. 17,, 33,* & 40). Humour rather than sat i r e

does appear to be the object of Volumes V/and VI.

Volume VII

With the exception of two chapters i n the authorial

present (Chapters 26 and 28) and the interpolated story of

the abbess of Andouillets with i t s own independent time-

scheme, Volume VII follows Tristram about France, i n an

actual p a r a l l e l of Sterne's journey to P a r i s and then

911.

Toulouse i n : 1762, and a parody of the attitudes and d i f f i ­

c u l t i e s of t r a v e l l e r s on a fashionable "Grand Tour" of

Europe. The volume begins with a conversation with T r i s ­

tram's f r i e n d and advisor, Eugenius, son the approach of

personified Death,, which leads Tristram to go abroad to

seek better health.. The narrative follows Tristram's:

journey to Ca l a i s , Boulogne, Montreuil, Abbeville, P a r i s ,

Auxerre, and Lyons by post-chaise?, by boat to Avignon,

and ends abruptly on. the plai n s of. Languedoc;in southern

Prance. The vignette of the macaroon-eating ass p a r a l l e l s

that of Le Pever i n Volume VI, and the abbess of Andouillet's

story p a r a l l e l s those of Slawkenbergius on noses and the

whiskers i n . Volumes I V and V r e s p e c t i v e l y .

Chapter 27 introduces an e a r l i e r t r i p Tristram, took

with the Shandy family; as he explains; " i n : my grand tour

through Europe.. .my father (not caring to t r u s t me with

any one) attended me himself, with my uncle Toby, and Trim,,

and Obadiah. and indeed most of the family,, except my

mother, who was taken up with a project of k n i t t i n g my

father a pair of large worsted breeches" (pp. 390-391).

Chapter 28 continues the connection by proposing a t r i p l e

time-scheme for Volume VII: Tristram's authorial time, the

time of h i s Grand Tour, and the time of h i s journey from

Death. However, except for these two chapters, and Chapter

43». to be r e l a t e d "without digression; or parenthesis" and

which leads in t o Uncle Toby's "amours" with the phrase

92:

"I begun thus—".Volume VII i s only a part of Tristram's

story,, i f viewed as an 18th century biographical narrative,

in; that i t deals with events i n Tristram's l i f e . The major

reason i s i t s deviation from the major pattern, of the r e s t

of the novel — the r e l a t i o n of the events of Tristram's l i f e

at second-hand. Volume VII r e l a t e s Tristram's experiences

as they are occurring, when he i s an adult, although he-

claims to be "rhapsodizing" them on the Garonne after he

undergoes them. The main.difference between Volume VII and

Volumes I to VI and VHI-IX, then, i s a closer r e l a t i o n of

events, intermixed with Tristram's adult observations on.

fir s t - h a n d experience. The material of t h i s volume i s

c e r t a i n l y "the main subject i t s e l f " , which, ;as the t i t l e

says, i s The l i f e and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman.

Many chapters are connected progressively by a phrase

or sentence about the following chapter's contents, as are

Chapters 4-5, 14-15, 26-27, 28 - 2 9 , 30-31; or by the open

dash (Chapters 19-20, 21-22,, 22-23,= 24-25, 31-32, 41-42, &

43 to Volume V I I I ) . In the l i n k between Chapters 5-6, a colom

i s used, to introduce a 50-page quotation from;Rapin, which

i s not forthcoming i n Chapter 6, presumably because of the

author's consideration for h i s readers. Volume VII, on the

whole, then,, presents no problems to either reader or author;

i n i t s unity, and i n the two authorial discourses, such

problems are l i g h t l y treated and then dismissed.

93

Volume VEII

Volume VIII continues Uncle Toby's "amours", giving

the background to Widow Wadman's infa t u a t i o n with Uncle

Toby,, several instances of i t s manifestation i n her

"attacks'' on him at the bowling-green, and the p r e c i p i t a ­

tion: of the "amours" to the point of Toby v i s i t i n g Widow

Wadman to propose to her. Trim's tale of the Beguine

provided a p a r a l l e l to "the amours", upon which are

supposedly based Trim and Uncle Toby's advances towards?

Bridget and Widow Wadman. Also, the Widow Wadman's

resemblances to the Beguine i n method (for example, at

the sentry-box) are rather marked.

The f i r s t 15 chapters, i n introducing "the amours,"

double back and f o r t h between* comment and event; Chapters

1 to 3 are written i n the authorial present and deal with

the d i f f i c u l l y of keeping upon a straight l i n e i n tracing

the events to come ( c f . VI, 40), a problem well i l l u s t r a t e d

by these chapters themselves. Chapter 5, i n giving oblique:

background to Chapter 6,. sees Tristram i n authorial d i s ­

course, and Chapter 7 r e t r e a t s into i t also, following a

seIf-apostrophe to Tristram at the end of Chapter 6, which

introduces the problem of innuendo which Chapter 7 deals

with. Chapter 11 generates a metaphor that Chapter 13

must comment on b r i e f l y . But with the f i r s t detailed

description of Widow Wadman's attacks (metaphorically

introduced i n Chapter 14), the authorial voice dismisses

94

the innuendoes of Uncle Toby's condition or the nuances,

of Widow Wadman's infatu a t i o n , and proceeds with the events

of "the amours."

Besides the commentary by Tristram i n the e a r l i e r

part of the chapter, which i s i n the authorial present,

there i s one reference to a conversation between Uncle

Toby, Walter and Dr. Slop on the night of Tristram's

b i r t h i n Chapter 15, and there i s Trim's story about the

amorous Beguine, from Chapter 20-22, which took place i n

1693. The r e s t of the incidents occur i n 1701 and 1713-

1714. Thus, the volume as a whole follows Volume VI i n

i t s focus on Uncle Toby. There are notably few linkages of

phrase or punctuation between chapters i n Volume VIII, as

i t depends on continuity of subject and event to give i t

unit y .

Volume IX

In Volume IX, Toby and Trim v i s i t the Widow Wadman

and Bridget,, though delayed on the way by Trim's story

about h i s brother Tom, and Toby proposes, but Widow Wad­

man' s natural c u r i o s i t y about the e f f e c t of h i s wound on

hi s v i r i l i t y presents a problem.. The volume ends with

"the amours" unresolved, and i n a puni about v i r i l i t y .

In the course of the volume, Tristram interrupts h i s story

i n Chapter 8, with a discussion i n the authorial present

on. the passing of time (with a coda-like confirmation

supplied by the one l i n e of Chapter 9); and i n Chapters 12

95

to 15, where he puts i n "a good quantity of heterogenous

matter...to keep us that just balance betwixt wisdom and

f o l l y , , without which, a book would not hold together a

single year" (p..472) and to produce a "good f r i s k y

digression." Included i n t h i s section i s commentary on:

good wri t i n g and how to achieve i t , as well as on the

chapters he has promised to give. Tristram discourses

on debt and economy i n Chapter 17, and then; leaves

Chapters 18 and 19 blank, skipping Trim and Uncle Toby's

entry into the house in. order to write about the p r i n c i p a l

misunderstanding between Uncle Toby and the Widow Wadman

(Toby mistakes c u r i o s i t y about the e f f e c t of h i s wound for

s o l i c i t u d e about where he got i t ) , although he restores

the missing texts six chapters l a t e r ) . Later i n : the

volume, Tristram laments his i l l health i n Chapter 24,

and i n s e r t s an Invocation which runs into the sentimental

account of Maria of Moulins, and them he proceeds to

Chapter 25 which adds comments on the missing chapters

and a defence of leaving them blank. This technique

repeats that of VI, 38, where a blank page i s l e f t f-or:

the description of Widow Wadman, and the other typographi­

c a l or p r i n t i n g aberrations such as the black and marbled

pages that jog the reader's mental "elbow." There i s also

a constant awareness of h i s own bad health as well as of

the i r r e g u l a r i t i e s of h i s subject and i t s treatment,

evident i n Tristram's authorial comment i n Volume IX.

96

There are only four d i r e c t connections i n V/olume IX:,

between.Chapters 1 - 2 , 14-15, 15-16, and 3 2 - 3 3 . There are

two typographical connections: an open dash between: Chap­

ters 14-15, and a series of a s t e r i s k s i n d i c a t i n g "undes-

cribable" ( i n d e l i c a t e ) actiom between Chapters 28 - 2 9 .

In Chapter 4, Trim waves h i s s t i c k to express the idea of

l i b e r t y , and Tristram duly reeords i t s movement. The

other chapters i n Volume IX pass from anecdotes to a

new subject or speaker, i n the same way that most chap­

ters i n Volumes I-VIIIf are connected. The epigraph

prefacing Volume IX, another plea for a f a i r consideration

of h i s facetiousness, repeats the sentiments of the e p i ­

graph to Volumes V/and VI.

Conclusion

The c a r e f u l l y employed st r u c t u r a l techniques of

Tristram Shandy p a r a l l e l and sometimes parody those of

more conventional f i r st-per son: narrations. Sterne uses the

p r i n c i p l e of contrast i n characterization as well as p l o t

development, and achieves, besides a l i v e l y degree of

reader i n t e r e s t , a sustained i r o n i c tone. This irony

can become an all-pervasive facetiousness i f one accepts

everything that Tristram, the eccentric narrator, would

have us believe. Another conventional technique, parodied

through the extent to which Tristram takes i t , i s e x p l i ­

cation of background. The completion of an a c t i o n or

97

speech i s frequently delayed! by Tristrami on the pretext of

supplying information. This continual upsetting of conven­

t i o n a l chronology and causality i s the most d i s t i n c t i v e

o r i g i n a l feature of the novel. But the chaos that such a

completely anarchical p r i n c i p l e could lend i t s e l f to, i s

prevented by the t i g h t l y associative structure of the narra­

t i v e .

The intermixture of event and commentary and e s p e c i a l l y

the i r o n i c tone that pervades the description of the former,

makes i t d i f f i c u l t , i n t h i s first-person;narration,, to

separate the episodes from their narrator, even though they

are, with the exception, of Tristram's maintained colloquy

with h i s readers and remarks to Jenny or Eugenius or his;

c r i t i c s , s u f f i c i e n t l y removed i n tiijie to render their t reat­

ment a seemingly, random, selection of memories. But the

connections between chapters give these "memories" a d e f i n i t e

contributory r e l a t i o n s h i p in.terms of the novel's u n i t y .

The remembrance of one incident and i t s v e r b a l i z a t i o n in>

the process of narration requires that c e r t a i n other i n c i ­

dents be supplied, i n order to give the f i r s t incident i t s

proper proportion and the reader a sense of perspective

p a r a l l e l to Tristram's own.

Tristram says i n I, 22, that: "Digressions, incomtest­

ably, are the sunshine; they are the l i f e , the soul of

reading;—take them out of t h i s book for instance,—you might

as well take the book along with them" (p., 55), and t h e i r

98.

inclusion?" brings in; v a r i e t y ; and forbids the appetite to

f a i l " (p., 55 )• What Tristram r e f e r s to i n h i s novel as

digressions are often authorial discourses on either events

concerned with the Shandys or the a r t of writing a novel, or-

interpolated s t o r i e s . Although the stories have a lim i t e d

exemplary value,, the discourses are as important to the

novel as Uncle Toby's mock "wars!' and the f i r e s i d e conver--

sations, for they introduce a highly self-conscious point;

of view that o f f e r s p o s s i b i l i t i e s f or humour d i f f e r e n t from:

the adroit manipulation; of event; and speech,, action and

reaction, by Tristram', in; the more objective parts of the

novel — those dealing with Shandy H a l l , and representing

the "external r e a l i t y " of Tristram Shandy i n contrast to

the " i n t e r n a l r e a l i t y " and the impression of personality

that are conveyed by Tristram:' s continuous narration.

Tristram Shandy thus works successfully as a f i r s t s

per son; novel, because of i t s c a r e f u l l y patterned balance

of events and opinion. On comparing Sterne's novel (in:

C y r i l Connolly's words) to"the youthful occupation of seeing; 12

how slowly one can r i d e a bicycle without f a l l i n g o f f , " Ian Watt comments that although Sterne "may sometimes go

1 3

too slowly, he has perfect balance." J And i t i s t h i s

perfect balance,, and the impression, as a r e s u l t , of an

i n t e l l i g e n t a r t i f i c e r behind i t s creation,, that i s -Hie

f i n a l impression; of Tristram Shandy.

99

CHAPTER IV

FOOTNOTES

A. A. Mendilow,, Time and the Novel (New York: Humanities Press, 1952),. p. 181.

2 \ Fluchere, Laurence Sterne, p.. 110..

3 G f . I, 4, 6, 14, 18, 19,- 20, 22 & 2 5 ; I I „ 2 , 4, 8, & 11.

*GT. Theodore Baird, "The Time-Scheme of Tristram. Shandy and a Source," and Bi H. Lehman, "Of Time,. Personality and the Author."

5Flucher e,, pp• 68-72.

6 Quoted i n Lodwick Hartley, Laurence Sterne i n the

Twentieth Century?(Chapel H i l l : U n i v e r s i t y of North Caro-l i n a Press, 1966;, p..2 5 . .

7 C f . Chapters 1-2, 2-3, 5-6,. 6-7, 7-8.

8 C f . Ghapterss15-16, 16-17, 22-23, 37-38.

9 C f . Chapters 20-21, 23-24, 30-31, 34-35.

1 0 C f . Chapters 3-4, 10-11, 11-12, 12-13, 13-14, 14-15,, 17-18,, 18-19,. 19-20, 27-28, 31-32, 38-39.-

1 1 Volumes I and II: were published December 24, 1759, with a second ed i t i o n on A p r i l 3, 1760; Volumes I I I and IV on January 28,. 1761; and Volumes V and VI on December 21, 1761.

12 Quoted in: Ian W a t t " I n t r o d u c t i o n " to Tristram.

Shandy, p. xxxiv.

FOOTNOTES (CONTINUED)

1 3 > w a t t , . " I n t r o d u c t i o n , " p . x x x i v .

1011

BIBLIOGRAPHY'

Texts.-

Sterne, Laurence. The L i f e & Opinions of Tristram.Shandy, Gentleman* Introduction & edited by Ian Watt* Boston: Houghton M i f f l i n ; Company, The Riverside Press,, 1965.

. The L i f e & Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. "Edited by James A. WorkT New York: The Odyssey Press,, 1940.,

_. Letters of Laurence Sterne. Edited by Lewis Perry C u r t i s . Oxford: Clarendon. Press, 1935.

Biographical.

Cross, Wilbur L. The L i f e and Times of Laurence Sterne. New Haven: Yale U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1929.

Hartley, Lodwick. This i s Lorence. OSapel H i l l : U n i v e r s i t y of North: Carolina Press,, 1943.

Shaw,, Margaret R. B3. Laurence Sterne. The Making of a Humorist. 1713-176?. London: The Richard,s~Press, 1957.

S i c h e l , Walter. Sterne: a Study. London: Williams & Nor-gate,, 1910. """

Yoseloff „ Thomas. A Fellow of I n f i n i t e J e s t . New York: Prentice-HaTl, 1945.

Structure & Background.

Ames,, Van Meter. Aesthetics of the Novel. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1928..

Church, Richard. The Growth of -tiie E n glish Novel. London* Methuen, 1957.

102?

BIBLIOGRAPHY (CONTINUED)

Structure & Background (continued).

Cook, A l b e r t . The Meaning of F i c t i o n . Detroit! Wayne; State University Press, I960.

Cross, Wilbur L. The Development of the Eng l i s h Novell New York: Macmillan,, 1935.

Fraser, J . T. (ed.) The Voices of Time. New York: George B r a z i l l e r , 1966.

Friedman, Norman.. "Point of View i n F i c t i o n : the Develop­ment of a C r i t i c a l Concept," Publications of the Modern Language Association, LXX (December, 19550,. 1160-84.

Friedman, Melvinj. Stream of Cbnseiousness: a Study i n L i t e r a r y Method. Sew Haven: Yale Univ e r s i t y Press, 1955.

Frye, Northrop. "The Four Forms of Prose F i c t i o n , " Hudson. Review,, II (1950), 582-95.

Anatomy of C r i t i c i s m * New York: Atheneum, 1966:.

James, William. Some Problems of Philosophy.. London: Longmans, Green & Company;*, 1948.

Langer, Sus anne K. Feeling and Form. London: Rbutledgee & KeganPaul Ltd., 1953..

L i d d e l l , Robert. Some P r i n c i p l e s of F i c t i o n . London: Jonathan Cape, 1953•

Lodge, David. The Language of F i c t i o n . New York: Oblumbia University Press, 1966.

Lubbock,Percy. The Craft of F i c t i o n . London;: Jonathan Cape, 1921.

Mendilow, A. A. Time and the Novel.. New York: Humanities Press, 1952.

Meyerhoff, Hans. Time i n L i t e r a t u r e . Berkeley and Los? Angeles: University of C a l i f o r n i a Press, 1955.

Romberg, H e r t i l . Studies i n the Narrative Technique of the First-Personi Novel. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell, 1962.

103

BIBLIOGRAPHY (CONTINUED)

Structure and Background (cont'd).

Sacks, Sheldon. M o t i o n and the Shape of B e l i e f . Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of C a l i f o r n i a Press, 1964.

Stevenson, L i o n e l . The E n g l i s h Hovel, a Panorama. Bos­ton: Houghton; M i f f l i n ; Company, I960. Pp. 124-132.

Tate, A l l e n . "The Post of Observer i n F i c t i o n , " Maryland Quarterly. II (1944), 61-64.

T i l l o t son,, Kathleen. The. Tale & the T e l l e r . London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1959."

Welsford,, Enid. The Fool: h i s Social & L i t e r a r y History. New York: Doubleday Anchor, 1961.

Tristram Shandy C r i t i c i s m .

A l l e n , Walter. The English Novel. Great B r i t a i n : Penguin Books Ltd.,,1 § 5 4 ^

Anderson, H. P.. " Tr i s t r am Shandy: a History of the Human; Mind," Dissertation. Abstracts,, XXVI (1965),., 351. Unive r s i t y of Minne so t a .

Baird, Theodore. " The Time-Scheme of Tristram. Shandy and a Source," Publications of the Modern Language Association. LI. No. 2 (1936T7~803-8£0.

Baker, Ernest A. " I n t e l l e c t u a l Realism from Richardson to Sterne," The History of the English Novel, Vol. IV", pp. 240-2767 New York: Barnes & Noble, Inc., 1 9 3 6 .

Birkhead,, E d i t h . "Sentiment & S e n s i b i l i t y i n the Eighteenth Century Novel," Essays and Studies, co l l e c t e d by 0». E l t o n , Vol. 1 1 . M i l f o r d 7 T 9 2 4 ~ .

Booth,, Wayne 0?. "Did Sterne Complete Tristram, Shandy?" Modern Philology. XLVIII ( 1 9 5 1 ) , 1V2-133".

. The Rhetoric of F i c t i o n . Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press, 1 9 6 1 .

104'

BIBLIOGRAPHY (CONTINUED)

Tristram Shandy C r i t i c i s m (cont'd).

Booth, Wayne Oli "The Self-Conscious Narrator in. Comic Fiction: before Tristram Shandy," PMLA, LXVII (1952),. 163-185.

. "Tristram Shandy and i t s Precursors: the S e l f -Cbnscious Narrator," Doctoral Dissertations, 1950. Univer s i t y of Chicago•

Boys,, Richard C. "•Tristrami Shandy1 and the Conventional Novel," Papers of the Michigan Academy of Science,, A r t s andfEettersi XXXVII (1951), 423-4367.

Bridger,, Stephen. "Synecdoche in. Sterne's Tristram Shandy," Unpublished Honours Graduating Essay ( A p r i l , 1967). -Univ e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia.

Brissenden, R. ff'i "Sterne & Painting," i n Of Books and Humankind: Essays & Papers presentedTo Bhnamy Dobree, "edited by 7ohn Butt*. London:""R"butiedgea and KeganiPaul, 1964. Pp. 93-108.

Brown, Robert C. "Laurence Sterne and V i r g i n i a Woolf. A Study i n : L i t e r a r y Continuity," Univer s i ty of Kansas C i t y Review, XXVI, 153-159. 0-fVH)

Bur ckhar dt,, Sigurd. "Tristram Shandy's Law of Gravity," Journal of En g l i s h L i t e r a r y His tory, XXVIII (1961);,. 70-88. ^

Cash,, Arthur H. "The Sermon i n 'Tristrami Shandy'", Journal, of English L i t e r a r y History (ELH). XXXI (December, 1964;, 395-417.

. Sterne's Comedy of Moral Sentiments: the E t h i c a l Dimensions""of the ' Journey'. Pittsburgh; Pa.; Duquesne Unive r s i t y Press, 1966.

Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. L i t e r a r y Remains, Volume I . 1836.

Gbnnely,, W i l l a r d . Laurence Sterne as Yorick. London: Bodley Head, 1958.

Cross, Wilbur L. "Laurence Sterne i n the Twentieth Century," Yale Review, n.s. XV (October, 1925), 99-112..

BIBLIOGRAPHY (CONTINUED)

Tristram Shandy Cri t i c i s m : (cont'd)..

Dilworth, E. N. The - Un sen timen t a l Journey of Laurence Sterne. New York: King's Crown, Press,- 1948..

Drew, Eliz a b e t h . "Tristram. Shandy," i n The Novel. New York: D e l l Publishing Co., 1965T""Pp. 75-94.

Dyson, A. E.. The Crazy Fabric: Essays i n Irony. London: Macmillan), 19 65.

Daiches, David. A C r i t i c a l History of Engl i s h Literature» VOL I,""pp. 731-37" lew York: Ronald Press, I960.

Elton,. O l i v e r . A Survey of Engl i s h Literature,, 1730-1780. Vol. IT London: Edward Arnold, 1928.

F a r r e l l , William J . "Nature versus Art: as a Comic; Pattern i n ' Tristram; Shandy'",, Journal of En g l i s h L i t e r a r y History-. XXX (March, 1963J, 16-35".

Fluchere, Henri. Laurence Sterne. From, Tristram to Yorick.. Translated from the French by Barbara Bray. London: Oxford University Press, 1965.

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H i l l , A. S. "Laurence Sterne," North American Review, CVII (1868), 1-37.

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106

BIBLIOGRAPHY (CONTINUED)

Tristram Shandy Criticism-(cont'd) •

Howes,. Alan Bi Yorick and the C r i t i c s . Yale Studies i n English, Vol. 139. Tale University Press, 1958.

Jefferson, D:. W. "Tristram Shandy and the tradition- of learned wit," Essays i n C r i t i c i s m . I (July, 1951), 225-48.

Jennings, E. M. I I I . "Reader-Farrative Relationships in, Tom Jones. Tristram Shandy, and Humphrey Clinker,." Dissertation; Abstracts, XXVI (1965), 3503-04. Univer s i t y of Wisconsin.

James, Overton. P h i l i p . The Relation of Tr i s tr am Shandy to the L i f e of Sterne. The Hague, Pa r i s : Mouton. & Company,.

Kett l e , Arnold. "Richardson, M e l d i n g , Sterne," i n An. Introduction: to the Eng l i s h Novel,. Vol. I . New York & Evanston: Harper & Row, I960.

Lehman, Bi H. "Of Time, Personality, & the Author," University of C a l i f o r n i a Publications i n English, V-III, No. 2 T 1 9 4 1 ) , 233-50".

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Muir, Edwin. "Laurence Sterne," American Bookman, LXXIII (March, 1931), 1-5.

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McGullough, B3. W. Representative English Novelists: Defoe to Conrad, pp. 71-83. New York: Harper, 194<H

McKillop, A. D. The E a r l y Masters of English M o t i o n . Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1962.

Maclean, Kenneth. John Locke and English Literature of the Eighteenth Century. New York: Russel l & R u s s e l l , 1962.

107

BIB EI OGRAPHY (CONTINUED)

Tristram Shandy C r i t i c i s m (continued).

"Traditions of Sterne and Bunyan," Macmillan' s Magazine. XXVIII (1873), ;238-242.

Parish,, Charles* "The Nature of Mr. Tristram:Shandy,. Author," Boston University Studies i n English* V (Summer* 1961j, 74-90.

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'Tristram Shandy'", Unpublished Doctoral Disserta-tion* 1959.- University of Few Mexico.

Piper,, William Bowman.., Laurence Sterne. New York: Twayne?; Publishers,, 1965.

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Priestley,, 3f. B. "The-Br others Shandy," The English Comic Characters. London: Bodley Head, 1925

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Read, S i r Herbert. The Sense of Glory.. Cambridge: Cambridge Unive r s i t y Press, 1929.

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108

BIBLIOGRAPHY (CONTINUED)

Tristram Shandy C r i t i c i s m (cont'd).

Sherwood, I . Z. "The Novel i s t as Commentator," i n The; Age of Johnson, edited by IV. W. H i l l e s . 1949.

Stedmond, John M. The Comic; Art of Laurence Sterne. Un i v e r s i t y of Toronto Press,, 1967.

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APPENDIX I

To Mrs. P

and pray what occasion, (either r e a l or idea l , ) have You Madam, to write a Letter from Bath to Town,, to enquire? whether (the) Tristram:Shandy i s a married Man or n o ? — and You may ask i n Your turn,, i f you please, What: occasion, has Tristram Shandy gentleman to s i t down: and answer' i t ?

for the f i r s t , . d e a r Lady (for we are begining to be a l i t t l e acquainted) You must: answer to your own conscience — a s I s h a l l the 2d, to mine:; for from, an honest attention to my i n t e r n a l workings in: that part where the Conscience?; of a g a l l a n t man; resides, I perceive p l a i n l y , that such f a i r advancesefrom so f a i r a P r i n c e s s e — ( f r e e r & freer s t i l l ) ) a r e not to be withstood by one of Tristram Shandy's; make and complexions-Why my dear Creature (—we s h a l l soon be got up to the very clima x of f a m i l i a r i t y ) - — I f T.i Shandy had but one single spark of g a l a n t ( r ) y - f i r e i n any one apartment of his whole Tenement, so kind a tap at the dore would have (lighted) c a l l ' d i t (up) a l l forth:to have (seen) enquired What gentle Dame i t was that stood without—good G b d l i s i t You Mrs. P-—1 what a f i r e have You l i g h t e d upt t i s enough to set: the whole house in: a flame

" I f Tristrami Shandy was a single Man" — ( o dear I )—"from the Attacks of Jack Dick and Peter I am quite s e c u r e — ( t h i s by the by Madam,, requires proof)-—But my dear T r i s ­trami I f thou wast a single Man—bless me, Madm, this is? downright wishing for I swear i t i s i n the optative MOod & no other—well*, but my dear T. Shandy wast thou a single Man, r should not know what to say—& may I be Tristram* d; to death,.if I should know what to do—do You know my dear Angle (for you may f e e l I am creeping s t i l l closer to you and before I get to the end of my l e t t e r I forsee the f r e e -dome betwixt us w i l l be kept within no decent bounds)—do You know I say to what a d e v i l of a shadow of a tantalizing; Helpmate you must have f a l l e n ; a victime on that supposition; —why my most adorablelexcept that I am tolerably s t r a i t made, and near six f e e t high,, and that my Nose, (whatever; as an hi s t o r i a n : I say to the contrary), i s an inch at l e a s t longer than most of my neighbours—except t h a t — T h a t I ami a two footted animal without one Lineament of Hair of the beast upon; me, t o t a l l y s p i r i t u a l i z e d out of a l l form for conubial p u r p o s e s — l e t me whisper, I am now 44,—and s h a l l t h i s time twelve-month be 45—That I am moreover of a thin

H E

...dry, h e c t i c , unper spirable habit of Body—so sublimated and r a r i f i e d i n : a l l my parts That a lady of yr (penetra­tion) Wit would not give a brass farthing for a dozen such: next May when; I am at my best,. You s h a l l try me—thol t e l l You before hand I have not an ounce & a ha l f of c a r n a l i t y about me—& what: i s that for so long a Journey?

In such a Land of sc a r s i t y , I well know. That Wit p r o f i t e t h n o t h i n g — a l l I have to say i s , That as I shd have l i t t l e else to give, what I had, should be most plenteously shed upon you.—but then, the d e v i l an' a l l i s , You are a Wit: Yr s e l f , and tho' there might be abundance of peace so long as the Moom endured—Yet when that luscious period was run; out, I fear we shd never agree one day to an end; there would be such Satyre & sarcasm ( & ) — s c o f f i n g & f l o u t i n g — r a l l y i n g & reparteeing of i t , ( & ) — t h r u s t i n g & parrying:in one dark corner or another, There wd be nothing but m i s c h i e f - — b u t then—as we shd be two people of excel­l e n t Sense, we shd make up matters as f a s t as they went wrong—What tender r e c o n c i l i a t i o n s ! — 0 by heaven I i t would be a Land of promise—milk & Honeyt

— H o n e y a y e there's the r u b — — I once got a s u r f i e t of i t :

I have the honour to be with the utmost

regard? Madm Yr most:

obedt humble Servt T. SHANDY.

112

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