Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Tristram Shandy, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Truth, Fiction, and Storytelling
Language and Comprehension
Travel, Space, and Time
Sexuality and Propriety
Science, Technology, and the Enlightenment
Summary
Analysis
Chapter 1. Back in the parlor, Toby repeats his wish that Dr. Slop had been able to see the British army in Flanders. Dr. Slop is utterly confused by Toby’s wish. Tristram suggests that Dr. Slop should have counterattacked with a wish of his own, a strategy that will be explained in a future chapter on wishes. Unaware of this defense, Dr. Slop falls silent, forcing Walter to steer the conversation back to childbirth.
Tristram returns to Toby’s seemingly unprompted outburst; unlike Walter, Dr. Slop is unable to make sense of Toby’s obsession with fortifications. Tristram adds wishes to his list of topics he will cover in greater depth later on, along with knots, button-holes, and other miscellaneous subjects, most of which he will never return to.
Themes
Chapter 2. Addressing Toby, Walter takes off his wig and pulls out his handkerchief. Tristram then interrupts the narrative, focusing on the fact that his father used his left hand to pull out the handkerchief, even though in was in his right-hand pocket. In doing so, Tristram argues, Walter cuts a ridiculous figure and undermines the power of his speech.
Tristram closely analyzes his father’s posture as he pulls out his handkerchief, arguing that Walter’s awkward movement undermines the point he is making. To Tristram, the way one tells a story or presents an argument is just as important as the story or argument itself, a philosophy that clearly inspires his own storytelling.
Themes
Chapter 3. Still describing Walter’s awkward reach across his chest for the handkerchief, Tristram explains how this “zig-zaggery” reminds Toby of the fortifications outside Namur, prompting him to ring the bell and send Trim for the map of Namur, much to his brother’s chagrin.
The opaque mechanism of Toby’s reasoning, which finds sieges and siege-related topics everywhere it looks, even manages to find sieges in Walter’s awkward movements. This, Tristram suggests, is yet more evidence of the mysterious workings of the human mind.
Themes
Chapter 4. Tristram compares the body and mind to a jerkin and its lining, arguing that if one is “rumpled,” so is the other. Of course, jerkins made of certain materials will not have their linings rumpled, and Tristram argues that he, like many philosophers before him, believes in such an idea of the relationship between his body and his mind. Therefore, though the critics may rumple his jerkin, the lining remains good as ever and, like Toby to the fly, Tristram wishes his critics no ill will.
Tristram returns to the subject of the mind, comparing it to a jerkin in order to suggest that the body and mind are inextricably linked. This point draws on popular debates in eighteenth-century philosophy over the precise relationship between body and mind and the power they have over each other.
Themes
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Chapter 5. Toby remains oblivious to Walter’s clear frustration. Where another person would have responded to Walter’s rage with their own, Toby shows patience and humility, waiting for Walter’s anger to dissipate on its own.
Toby’s obliviousness is closely connected to his kindness and gentle disposition. Indeed, it is only because of Toby’s good nature that Walter is able to forgive him again and again for constantly bringing up sieges.
Themes
Chapter 6. Walter commends Toby’s good heart but implores him to consider the matter at hand: the danger of Tristram being born headfirst. Toby asks Walter if this danger is greater now than in the past. Walter dismisses this questioning of his theory, arguing that their ancestors were ignorant of the dangers of being born headfirst. Toby contents himself with whistling Lillabullero.
Toby is skeptical of the urgency of modern medicine. To him, the fact that he and Walter are healthy casts doubt on the need for obstetrics and other new scientific developments. Walter echoes Enlightenment ideals when he argues that society needs to transcend its past ignorance for a better future.
Themes
Chapter 7. Dr. Slop angrily curses Obadiah. Retrieving Dr. Slop’s instruments, Obadiah reties the bag in order to sling it over his back as he rode back to Shandy-Hall. This successfully prevented the instruments from slipping out but creates an incredibly loud jingle, as the instruments move around in the bag while Obadiah rides, preventing him from hearing himself whistle.
While Walter and Toby are busy arguing, Dr. Slop is enraged by Obadiah’s arrival. Tristram explains that Obadiah went to retrieve Dr. Slop’s medical instruments and bring them back to Shandy-Hall, cutting a rather comical figure with a jingling bag of medical equipment on his back.
Themes
