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About the Author
Laurence Sterne was an Anglo-Irish author and Anglican
priest who lived from November 24, 1713, to March 18, 1768. He also published many sermons, penned memoirs, and
was engaged in local politics in addition to writing the books The Life and
Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, and A Sentimental Journey Through France
and Italy. After years of fighting
Tuberculosis, Sterne died in London.
About book
Laurence Sterne's work The Life and Opinions of
Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, is commonly known as simply Tristram Shandy. It was published in nine volumes, with the first two
appearing in 1759 and the last seven following seven years later. It is supposedly a biography of the eponymous figure. Digression, double entendre, and visual techniques are
all used in its style.
Summary
Rather than starting with Tristram's birth or infancy, as many biographies do, this one starts with his mother and father having sex and producing him. The rest of the book introduces the reader to a variety of individuals who will play important roles in Tristram's life.
Walter
Shandy's intellectual ramblings, which cover a wide variety of philosophical
and pseudo-scientific theories, are overpowering and ridiculous. His mother, Elizabeth Shandy, is the polar opposite of
Walter in terms of temperament, passively responding to her husband's
disagreements to avoid further inflaming him.
Toby, Tristram's uncle, is a war veteran who sustained
a serious groin wound. Uncle Toby,
despite his nonviolent disposition, is obsessed with military history and
tactics. Dr. Slop, the scientifically oriented male midwife, and an
unidentified female midwife who delivers Tristram at Elizabeth's request are
all presented. Yorick, the
funny local priest and family friend, as well as Yorick's counsel, the
ever-discreet Eugenius, are also there. Finally,
the reader meets Susannah and Obadiah, the Shandy household servants.
Ironically, the narrator spends so much time in the first volume presenting these individuals that he runs out of room and never gets to Tristram's birth. Uncle Toby's combat record and his groin injuries are described in the second volume. The narrator also takes us back to Tristram's birthday.
Despite his wife's protests, Walter
insists on having Dr. Slop back up the female midwife. Dr.
Slop considers himself a highly forward-thinking and innovative doctor, having
created a set of forceps to extract the newborn infant from its head during
birth. The narrator never really gets to the
birth itself, instead of focusing on the drama that surrounds it.
Dr. Slop shows off the forceps he created by using them on Uncle Toby's hand in the third volume. The forceps pull Toby's skin off, to everyone's dismay. However, before Walter and Toby can object, the other midwife seeks aid from Dr. Slop. Walter and Toby take naps since the issue appears to be beyond their control.
Dr. Slop's
infamous forceps have caused considerable damage to infant Tristram's nose, and
now Dr. Slop is creating a synthetic nose bridge for young Tristram in the
kitchen, according to Toby's servant Trim. Rather
than helping the problem, Walter embarks into a long, scholarly lecture about why
it's necessary for people to have noses, as is his custom in times of stress.
In the fourth volume, Walter learns from Susannah that the delivery of little Tristram was particularly difficult for him and that the kid may not survive the night. Walter dials Yorick's number right away so that the baby can be baptized. However, because Walter cannot be bothered to attend the baptism, Susannah must be the one to inform Yorick of the name Walter has selected.
Susannah either mishears or misremembers the name "Trismegistus," which Walter picks. Unfortunately, the infant is named Tristram, and the rest of the chapter is devoted to Walter's disputes with Yorick about the name change.
Walter claims that Tristram is the
poorest of all conceivable names, as opposed to Trismegistus, the name of a
mystic Walter admires. When Walter
hears that his eldest son, Bobby, died in London while away at school at the
end of the book, such a little issue is put into perspective.
In the fifth volume, the plot picks up substantially, focusing mostly on Walter's efforts to develop a superior education plan for little Tristram, who is now five years old. Unfortunately, Walter spends all of his time plotting his strategy rather than providing Tristram with any type of education.
Tristram's
bad luck continues as a falling window accidentally circumcises the small child. Susannah had not replaced Tristram's bedroom pot, so
he had been urinating out the window.
The latter several volumes are mostly on Toby starting
a serious relationship with his next-door neighbor, the Widow Wadham. Tristram, who is plagued by death concerns, keeps an
eye on Toby and the Widow. The Widow,
for one, is concerned that Toby's battle wound has made him sexually unable.
Despite being rejected by contemporaneous critics,
Tristram Shandy's appeal has endured—first for its bawdy humor, and
subsequently for its extremely digressive narrative and absurdity, which
influenced modernist and postmodernist writers such as James Joyce.
You can get this book easily from Amazon: The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy
Written By - Grasha Mittal
Edited By - Anamika Malik
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