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Corporal Trim
Tristram’s mother, Elizabeth Shandy, is a British noblewoman and the landlady of Shandy-Hall, a country estate near York. Mrs. Shandy is a simple, unpretentious woman with a great deal of common sense but little inclination toward intellectual pursuits. Her disinterest in intellectual matters frustrates her husband, Walter, who is unable to draw her into his debates and finds that she tends to agree with any point he argues. A major exception to Mrs. Shandy’s agreeability is her desire to control the circumstances of childbirth. By and large, however, Mrs. Shandy is a kind and gentle presence, comforting and supporting her husband in his intellectual investigations—and frustrations—and advising her brother-in-law Toby as he uncomfortably navigates his romance with widow Wadman.
Tristram’s Mother (Elizabeth Shandy, née Mollineux) Quotes in Tristram Shandy
The Tristram Shandy quotes below are all either spoken by Tristram’s Mother (Elizabeth Shandy, née Mollineux) or refer to Tristram’s Mother (Elizabeth Shandy, née Mollineux). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Book 1: Chapters 1-5 Quotes
Pray my dear, quoth my mother, have you not forgot to wind up the clock?—Good G–! cried my father, making an exclamation, but taking care to moderate his voice at the same time,—Did ever woman, since the creation of the world, interrupt a man with such a silly question? Pray, what was your father saying?—Nothing.
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Book 5: Chapters 1-7 Quotes
—My young master in London is dead! said Obadiah.—
—A green sattin night-gown of my mother’s, which had been twice scoured, was the first idea which Obadiah’s exclamation brought into Susannah’s head.—Well might Locke write a chapter upon the imperfections of words.—Then, quoth Susannah, we must all go into mourning.—But note a second time: the word mourning, notwithstanding Susannah made use of it herself—failed also of doing its office; it excited not one single idea, tinged either with grey or black,—all was green.—The green sattin night-gown hung there still.
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Book 5: Chapters 22-28 Quotes
My father put on his spectacles—looked,—took them off,—put them into the case–all in less than statutable minute; and without opening his lips, turned about, and walked precipitately down stairs: my mother imagined he had stepped down for lint and basilicon; but seeing him return with a couple of folios under his arm, Obadiah following him with a large reading desk, she took it for granted ’twas an herbal, and so drew him a chair to the bed side, that he might consult upon the case at his ease.
—If it be but right done,—said my father, turning to the Section—de sede vel subjecto circumsionis,—for he had brought up Spencer de Legibus Herbraeorum Ritualibus—and Maimonides, in order to confront and examine us altogether.—
—If it be but right done, quote he:—Only tell us, cried my mother, interrupting him, what herbs.—For that, replied my father, you must send for Dr. Slop.
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Tristram’s Mother (Elizabeth Shandy, née Mollineux) Character Timeline in Tristram Shandy
The timeline below shows where the character Tristram’s Mother (Elizabeth Shandy, née Mollineux) appears in Tristram Shandy. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 1: Chapters 1-5
...greater influence upon his life than his conscious thinking. At the moment of Tristram’s conception, Tristram’s mother interrupts Tristram’s father to ask if he wound up their clock.
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...shared Tristram’s concerns that his ill-fated conception would produce an abnormal child, a fear that Tristram’s mother didn’t share.
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Book 1: Chapters 11-15
Chapter 14. Tristram turns to Tristram’s mother ’s marriage contract to continue the story of his birth. As he struggles to find...
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...details the circumstances of childbirth in the future marriage between Tristram’s parents, Walter Shandy and Elizabeth Mollineux . Tristram’s parents agree to move to their country estate, Shandy-Hall, once Tristram’s father has...
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Book 1: Chapters 16-20
Chapter 16. Tristram’s father retrieves Tristram’s mother from London and travels back to the country. Tristram’s father is particularly annoyed at having...
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...his wife to have their next child there, not in London. He does not tell Tristram’s mother of this plan until Tristram has already been conceived. Lying in bed with his wife...
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Chapter 18. Tristram’s mother , resigned to giving birth in the country, is determined to take control of the...
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Tristram’s mother stands her ground, and having conceded to give birth in the countryside refuses to negotiate...
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...naming until he has told the story of his birth would not be true if Mrs. Shandy was Catholic. In order to make this entirely clear, and as an exercise in close...
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Book 1: Chapters 21-25
Chapter 21. While Tristram’s mother is in labor upstairs, Tristram’s father, sitting with Toby by the fire, wonders what all...
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Book 2: Chapters 6-10
Chapter 6. Back in the parlor, Walter repeats his question to Toby, asking what Mrs. Shandy can be doing upstairs. Toby suggests ringing the bell to find out. Walter’s manservant Obadiah...
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...an insult. Dr. Slop explains that he had been on his way to check on Mrs. Shandy . Walter and Toby, however, both still have their minds set on other subjects.
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Book 2: Chapters 16-19
...Dr. Slop’s equipment and is rewarded his two crowns. As Dr. Slop prepares to examine Mrs. Shandy , Walter explains to him her insistence on the midwife’s care. He says that Dr....
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...in order to ensure that his head and the soul within it come out undamaged. Mrs. Shandy , however, flatly refuses to entertain a caesarian section. Believing that Tristram’s brother Bobby, born...
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Book 3: Chapters 8-13
...complicated jumble of tightly tied knots that Dr. Slop struggles to untie. As a result, Mrs. Shandy may end up giving birth to Tristram long before Dr. Slop is able to open...
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Chapter 9. Dr. Slop praises God for Mrs. Shandy ’s difficult labor, noting to himself that he could already have extracted Tristram several times...
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Chapter 13. Susannah interrupts to tell Dr. Slop, Walter, and Toby that Mrs. Shandy is about to give birth and the midwife has fallen and hurt herself. Dr. Slop...
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Book 3: Chapters 15-21
...crowning. Much to Walter’s worry, Dr. Slop brushes off any concerns and heads upstairs to Mrs. Shandy ’s room.
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...idea until he falls asleep. Toby quickly follows suit. As Dr. Slop, the midwife, and Mrs. Shandy are all busy, Tristram resolves to make use of this chapter to write the preface...
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Book 3: Chapters 22-28
...and bemoans the chaos in his house, asking why Dr. Slop is not upstairs with Mrs. Shandy . Trim answers that Dr. Slop is making a bridge, prompting Toby to instruct Trim...
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Book 3: Chapters 36-42
...caused by the softness of the nurse’s breast prompted a three-day argument between Walter and Mrs. Shandy . Tristram’s explanation is interrupted, however, by other pressing narrative demands: a loose cow has...
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Book 4: Chapters 7-12
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...
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Book 4: Chapters 13-18
...the table despite all the chaos in his household. Susannah enters and informs them that Mrs. Shandy is hysterical, having learned that the child was named Tristram—Susannah told the curate to name...
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Book 4: Chapters 19-25
...Walter bemoans the loss of his animal spirits, feeling weak and defeated. He also blames Mrs. Shandy for refusing to take a scientific approach to her pregnancy and believes that her arguing...
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Book 4: Chapters 26-32
...that Tristram was named against the will of his father and mother. Kysarcius argues that Mrs. Shandy ’s will has nothing to do with it: he explains it has been legally established...
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...conclusion the church leaders have come too. Yorick says that they have concluded that neither Mrs. Shandy nor Walter are truly kin of Tristram.
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Book 5: Chapters 1-7
Chapter 5. Tristram’s mother is walking quietly down the hall when she hears Toby say “wife,” which catches her...
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Chapter 7. Obadiah exclaims that Bobby is dead. The first thing Susannah thinks of is Mrs. Shandy ’s green satin nightgown—Tristram suggests that Locke should discuss this in a chapter on the...
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Book 5: Chapters 8-14
Chapter 12. Returning to Mrs. Shandy eavesdropping outside the parlor door, Tristram explains that hearing Toby’s question about Cornelius Gallus. she...
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...fate and wishing he were dead with an eloquence not unlike Socrates. Because of this, Mrs. Shandy is unable to distinguish Walter’s own speech from quotations from Socrates. When Walter quotes, from...
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Chapter 14. Toby explains to Mrs. Shandy that his brother was talking about Socrates’s children. Then he takes her hand and explains...
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Book 5: Chapters 15-21
Unfortunately, while Walter is writing, Tristram continues to grow under the care of Mrs. Shandy alone, rapidly making the Tristrapoedia obsolete. The uselessness of this will soon be overshadowed, however,...
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Book 5: Chapters 22-28
Chapter 26. Tristram screams loudly after the incident and Mrs. Shandy runs up the front stairs, just missing Susannah running down the back stairs. On her...
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...at Tristram, and goes back downstairs without saying anything. He returns with his papers, and Mrs. Shandy assumes he is looking for an herbal remedy. Walter tells her to call Dr. Slop...
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Book 6: Chapters 16-20
...dress Tristram in breeches is one such decision that Walter has discussed at length with Mrs. Shandy in his “beds of justice,” which Tristram promises to explain in the next chapter.
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...in which he spends the first Saturday and Sunday nights of each month arguing with Mrs. Shandy in bed. Tristram similarly writes half of his most difficult passages while full and half...
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Chapter 18. Walter, in his “bed of justice,” proposes dressing Tristram in breeches to Mrs. Shandy . Mrs. Shandy agrees with all of Walter’s points, repeating his arguments back to him:...
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Chapter 19. Following his argument with Mrs. Shandy , Walter consults the writings of Albertus Rubenius, which are far too esoteric to be...
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...new subject to come and instructs them to leave the breeches and Latus Clavus, leave Mrs. Shandy , leave Dr. Slop, leave Le Fever, and even to leave him, Tristram, behind. He...
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Book 6: Chapters 36-40
...39. Bridget tells Susannah that Toby has fallen in love with widow Wadman, who tells Mrs. Shandy , who in turn tells Walter, that Toby will soon marry widow Wadman. Walter responds...
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Book 8: Chapters 29-35
...body part, where he recently had a blister. Even though they are in front of Mrs. Shandy , Dr. Slop, and Yorick, Toby thinks it is more polite than not to use...
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Walter, writing to Toby about women and lovemaking while he is in the bedroom with Mrs. Shandy , implores Toby to approach love carefully and with God’s protection. He instructs Toby to...
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...and Trim prepare for the next day’s attack, scheduled for eleven o’clock. Walter suggests to Mrs. Shandy that they go wish Toby well before he departs, and they enter just as the...
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Book 9: Chapters 1-5
...for his inability to get to the story of Toby’s love affair until now, when Mrs. Shandy is looking through the keyhole. He repeats Walter’s sarcastic comment about referring to her desire...
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Book 9: Chapters 6-10
...and Trim march off down the road, away from widow Wadman’s house, confusing Walter and Mrs. Shandy . Tristram stops short of describing his parents’ reactions, arguing that he must press forward,...
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Chapter 10. Tristram’s story picks up with Mrs. Shandy and Walter walking to the corner of the garden wall where Obadiah collided with Dr....
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Book 9: Chapters 11-15
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...
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Book 9: Chapters 26-33
...Toby and Trim to arrive, Tristram explains to the reader that widow Wadman has made Mrs. Shandy her confidant and that Bridget has shared her secrets with Susannah. Mrs. Shandy is unfazed,...
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...character, “which to a Town bull (…) is the very same thing as his life.” Mrs. Shandy swears, asking what kind of story her husband is telling, and Yorick replies that it...
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