Laurence Sterne used Tristam Shandy in part as a way to expose the inescapable reality that novels simply could not be realistic. Tristram Shandy shuns, evades, challenges, and parodies conventions of realistic expectations in several creative and entertaining ways. German Philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer mentioned Tristram Shandy in his essay titled "On the Comparative Place of Interest and Beauty in Works of Art" as one of "the four immortal romances." The other three mentioned in the essay are Don Quixote, La Novelle Heloise, and Wilhelm Meister. In Tristram Shandy, Corporal Trim’s brother Tom describes the oppression of a black servant in a sausage shop in Lisbon that he visited. This episode is inspired by a letter Laurence Sterne received from a black man, the composer, and former slave Ignatius Sancho. Sterne’s reply to Ignatius Sancho became an integral part of 18th-century abolitionist literature.
Characters of Tristram Shandy:
Tristram Shandy is the titular character and narrator of the novel who is writing his biography. He mentions a series of accidents at a very early age such as his conception, his broken nose, and his weird name. But being a narrator of the novel he gives a detailed account of other characters and incidents. Walter Shandy is the father of Tristram who is a philosophical man who loves reading, discussions, and philosophical argumentation. Walter is a sensible and honest man suffering from sciatica. Mrs. Shandy is Tristram’s mother whom Tristram blames for his weird nature because she interrupted her husband while they were having sex. She is suspicious of her husband and often spies on him by peeking at the keyhole while he is having conversations with others. Toby Shandy is a retired military man. He is the brother of Walter Shandy and Tristram’s uncle. He is a gentle, honest man devoted to fortifying and glorifying the history of the Military. Yorick is a clergyman, a good friend, and the adviser of Walter and Tristram Shandy. James Butler, also known as Corporal Trim is a servant of Toby Shandy. He likes to give speeches and advises people a lot. Tom is Corporal Trim’s brother. Widow Wadman is a woman full of sexual desire. She was disappointed with her husband and was looking for another man who could satisfy her sexually. Later she meets Toby and falls in love with him but she wants to be sure that he can function properly in bed too. Susannah is the caretaker of Mrs. Shandy. She is responsible for many small disasters but she is the one who supports Mrs. Shandy as a midwife. Obadiah is a servant and butler of Walter Shandy. Dr. Slop is the physician of Tristram’s village. He broke Tristram’s nose during surgery, and he left him in pain. He always bleeds people rather than curing them.
Summary of Tristram Shandy:
In Volumes 1 to 6, the narrator describes the situations of his conception, birth with a smashed nose that supposedly bodes ill warnings for his future, and his mistaken naming, while his father believes that “Tristram" is the worst possible name for a child, he is named Tristram, and his accidental circumcision. While describing these events in six big volumes of the novel, Tristram Shandy also offers stories, diatribes, and opinions concerning family history, Walter Shandy's hypotheses and theories, and Uncle Toby's penchant for military fortifications. Tristram's own birth is not even reached until Volume 3.
Volume 1)
Rather than beginning at birth or childhood as do many biographies, this one begins at the moment of Tristram's mother and father having sex and conceiving him. The remaining part of Volume 1 is used to introduce various other characters of the novel including His father, Walter Shandy, who is overbearing and ridiculous in his intellectual ramblings, which cover a wide range of philosophical and pseudo-scientific hypotheses. His mother, Elizabeth Shandy, is the exact opposite of Walter in temperament, responding to her husband's arguments passively to not inflame him further. Tristram's Uncle Toby is a war veteran who suffered a grievous wound to his groin area. Though non-violent by nature, Uncle Toby obsesses over military history and tactics. Other characters introduced include Dr. Slop, the scientific-minded male midwife, and an unnamed female midwife who delivers Tristram at Elizabeth's insistence. There's also Yorick, the witty local parson and family friend, and Yorick's advisor, the ever-discreet Eugenius. The Shandy family servants, Susannah and Obadiah are also described.
Volume 2)
The second volume is dedicated to Uncle Toby, describing his characters, his war record, and the wound to his groin. The narration also flashes back to the day of Tristram's birth. Despite his wife's complaints, Walter insists that Dr. Slop serves as a backup to the female midwife. Dr. Slop fancies himself a very revolutionary and forward-thinking doctor, having invented a pair of forceps designed to pull the newborn baby during birth from its head. Tristram doesn’t take birth even in Volume 2.
Volume 3)
Volume 3 begins as Dr. Slop displays the forceps he invented by using them on Uncle Toby's hand. Much to everyone's distress, the forceps rip Toby's skin off. However, before Walter and Toby can protest, the other midwife calls Dr. Slop for assistance. With the situation seemingly out of their control, Walter and Toby take naps. They are awakened, however, by mechanical sounds emanating from the kitchen. They learn from Toby's servant, Trim, that Dr. Slop's dreaded forceps have caused significant damage to newborn Tristram's nose, and now, Dr. Slop is making a synthetic nose bridge for young Tristram in the kitchen. As is his way in times of crisis, Walter—rather than doing anything to help the situation—launches into a detailed, academic lecture on why humans need to have noses. The smashed nose supposedly bodes ill warnings for Tristram’s future.
Volume 4)
Walter learns from Susannah that the birth was very hard on young Tristram and that the boy may not survive the night. Walter calls Yorick immediately so the baby can be baptized. However, Walter can't be bothered to actually be in the room for the baptism and so Susannah must be the one to relay the name Walter has chosen to Yorick. Walter chooses the name "Trismegistus" (a "strong" name, he tells Uncle Toby), but Susannah misremembers it as Tristram. Unfortunately, the baby is baptized Tristram; most of the rest of the chapter concerns Walter's arguments with Yorick about changing the name. Tristram, Walter argues, is the weakest of all possible names, unlike Trismegistus, which is the name of some mystic Walter adores. Such a comparatively trivial concern is put into perspective at the end of the volume when Walter learns that his eldest son, Bobby, has died in London while away at school. In the 65th chapter of Volume 4 of Tristram Shandy, Tristram offers a "tender tale" in which Tom, the brother of Corporal Trim describes the oppression of a black servant in a sausage shop in Lisbon, which he had visited.
Volume 5)
This volume describes Walter's efforts to formulate a superior education plan for young Tristram, who is now five years old. After Bobby’s death, he became very conscious about Tristram’s education and he started writing Tristram-paedia in which he stated, how to teach his young child. But then he did not pay attention and ignored Tristram's education because he was busy writing the book. Tristram's poor fortune continues when the young boy is accidentally circumcised by a falling window. Tristram had been urinating out the window because Susannah hadn't replaced his chamber pot.
In Volume 6, Tristram relates his "life and opinions," and they come to him in a disjointed fashion.
Volume 7 concerns an older Tristram traveling in France for health reasons. The book seems isolated from the story that precedes and follows it.
Volumes 8 and 9 revolve around Uncle Toby's affair with the Widow Wadman, who is concerned about Uncle Toby's supposed groin injury and seeks to find out just how injured his groin is. Again, as in earlier books in the novel, numerous digressions and interruptions are spread throughout these two books, and Tristram through his mother, Mrs. Shandy, finally asks, "What is all this story about?"
So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of English Literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!
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