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 11. Walter expresses his annoyance at Toby and Trim’s behavior. Mrs. Shandy suggests Toby and Trim are preparing to build fortifications for a siege of widow Wadman’s house. Walter curses his brother’s hobby-horse, and Mrs. Shandy agrees. He adds, however, that such fortifications would not technically be on widow Wadman’s property, as she is only a tenant for life. Mrs. Shandy points out that that would not be the case if widow Wadman had a child with Toby, and Walter says widow Wadman will have to persuade Toby first. He hopes it will not come to that.
Mrs. Shandy echoes Trim’s earlier description of Toby’s courting as a siege; she and her husband are less tolerant of the military metaphors, however, which they view as a distraction, not an asset. Walter cannot help but consider the economic dimension of the situation: widow Wadman is his tenant, and he is less than thrilled at the prospect of her inheriting part of the Shandy fortune.
Themes
Chapter 12. Tristram, looking back at the last chapter, feels it is necessary to add five pages of “heterogeneous matter” to properly balance “wisdom and folly.” He promises a good, exciting digression, but he worries he is not up to the task. Tristram says his prayers, if only to remind himself of his weaknesses in order to work on improving them. Tristram claims to have found a solution though—one that proves him a genius—and he is gracious enough to share it with humankind.
Tristram’s sarcastic suggestion that he must include more digressions undermines his earlier promises to narrate the story of Toby’s amours straightforwardly—a promise that he has already broken many times over.
Themes
Chapter 13. Tristram compares writing to shaving one’s beard, shedding the heaviness and self-seriousness of “cold unmetaphorical” prose. He expands on the metaphor, asking how Homer could write with such a long beard. As body and soul are related, how one dresses effects one’s thoughts, Tristram argues. He suggests the reader look at his laundry bills to get a sense of his literary qualifications.
Tristram continues to mock himself and writing as a profession, comparing it to the most routine of household chores. His reference to laundry bills also comments on the market and the difficulty authors have surviving off of their work.
Themes
Chapter 14. Tristram says he never intended to actually start his digression until the fifth page, and so he will use this chapter for whatever he thinks is best. He considers writing his chapter on buttonholes, or “pishes,” or knots, but he decides he should follow “the learned” and criticize his own writing. He cites ancient Greek philosophy to argue that the dirtier a writer is the better their thoughts, but he counters this argument with the example of a “nasty Romance” written by an excellently dressed bishop.
Tristram continues to toy with the reader, brainstorming new ideas for ever more unrelated digressions. It is unclear what “pishes” are. Tristram also responds to the readers and critics who would take issue with not only his digressions but his lewd jokes, defending these jokes as art and pointing out the hypocrisy of the religious and political leaders preaching moralism.
Themes
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Chapter 15. Tristram announces the chapter’s arrival, commenting on how pleasure always slip away from one. In describing his digression, Tristram explains, he has made it, and is ready to return to Toby’s love affair.
Tristram ties the metaphorical bow on top of his joke on the reader, revealing how he has once again made a digression without meaning to—or without seeming to mean to.
Themes
