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 7. Walter lectures Toby about the dark side of human existence. Toby is uncooperative, taking Walter’s words literally and reminding Walter that it is not fate but God that determines the course of life. Walter, taking up a Socratic pose (Tristram describes how he positions his finger just like Socrates in Raphael’s paintings) prepares to lead Toby “a little deeper into this mystery.”
Walter and Toby continue to misunderstand each other as Walter chooses the path of philosophy while Toby chooses the path of religion. Tristram suggests, however, that this is perhaps more a difference of interpretation than belief; Toby’s problem is not that he rejects Walter’s speculations, but that he misinterprets them.
Themes
Chapter 8. Walter describes how within the intricacies of human nature is a secret power which counterbalances evil. Toby interjects that this must be religion, and Walter answers by asking angrily if religion will bring Tristram’s nose back. Walter, coming back to his point, explains that if Tristram had been born with a full nose he would name him George or Edward. As Tristram has no nose, he needs a stronger counterforce, and Walter resolves to name him Trismegistus.
The clash between Walter and Toby’s philosophies of life reaches its climax as Walter confesses that he values his doctrine of names more than religion. Also unlike religion, Walter’s theory allows him to at least try to change his fate, rather than come to terms with it. Trismegistus was a legendary ancient Greek, allegedly the author of the Hermetica, a collection of esoteric texts.
Themes
Chapter 9. Walter expresses amazement at the nature of coincidence as he and Toby walk downstairs. Tristram expresses wonder at the lucky outcome of this chapter on chance, which is one more item off his list—he still has to write chapters on knots, wishes, chapters, Toby’s modesty, and so on. The coincidence Walter describes is the unlucky chance that Dr. Slop’s forceps would crush the nose. Toby responds that it could have been worse if Tristram was extracted by the hip, as they originally feared.
The irony of Walter and Toby’s discussion of coincidences is not lost on Tristram—as the narrator, he is in control of the story, meaning there is really no such thing as coincidence. Their discussion also alludes to one of the central questions of Enlightenment science and philosophy: is the world made up of random events, or is it designed by God? In the face of the dizzying chain of coincidences that leads from one event to the next, even a strict rationalist like Walter is willing to hear out his more faithful brother.
Themes
Chapter 10. Tristram apologizes for writing two chapters during the journey down one flight of stairs—Walter and Toby are only at the first landing—but is unable to resist his impulse for a new chapter. Tristram, who makes a rule of breaking the rules, now offers his chapter on chapters. Chapters, he argues, ease the mind as much as they ease transitions between scenes. But Tristram tells the reader they will not truly understand this without much more philosophical study. Tristram proclaims this strange, narratively incomplete to be the best in the book, although the reader of it is spending their time as well as they would picking straws.
Tristram’s confession not only lays bare his approach to writing his book, but his views on literature, time, and place. By playing with the subjective experience of time, artificially dividing it on a whim, Tristram is able to pack his book full of more stories, ideas, and experiences than he ever could have otherwise. The fragmentary nature of his novel is, paradoxically, precisely what makes it such a rich collection of writing.
Themes
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Chapter 11. Walter is confident that naming the child Trismegistus will fix everything and lists the historical Trismegistus’s many qualities. Toby interjects, adding that Trismegistus was also a great engineer.
Walter and Toby’s discussion is highly ironic. As Trismegistus was a legendary character, not a real historical figure, the numerous qualities associated with him are mostly apocryphal.
Themes
Chapter 12. Susannah passes by on the way upstairs, and Walter asks her how Mrs. Shandy is doing. She answers briefly that Mrs. Shandy is as well as possible under the circumstances. Then she quickly moves out of earshot, leaving Walter’s other questions unanswered. Walter, to Toby, comments on how all the other women in the household become an inch taller when the mistress of the house goes to bed. Toby, conversely, believes that the men become an inch shorter. Toby praises women for shouldering their burdens in life. Walter, meanwhile, curses women.
Walter and Toby’s differing views on women reflect their respective characters. Where Walter is harsh, uncompromising, and demands a “rational” explanation (often according to his own twisted logic), Toby is always willing to give anyone the benefit of the doubt. That the same observations can provoke opposite conclusions reveals how diametrically opposite the two brothers are.
Themes
