Büyüktelli 1

Rüveyda Büyüktelli

20316812021

Prof. Dr. Nükhet Belgin Elbir

The Rise of the Novel

April 22, 2021

The Characterization and Role of Uncle Toby in Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy,

Gentleman (1759-1767) by Laurence Sterne (1713-1768)

“Life is not a series of gig-lamps symmetrically arranged; life is a luminous halo, a semi-

transparent envelope surrounding us from the beginning of the consciousness to the end. Is it

not the task of the novelist to convey this varying, this unknown, and uncircumscribed spirit…?”

Modern Fiction (1919) by Virginia Woolf

Laurence Sterne, in many ways, has been considered to be the forerunners of modern novelists

such as James Joyce or Virginia Woolf in terms of his digressive style, his use of temporal

distortion and early examples of stream of consciousness technique. In his novel Life and Opinions

of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, Sterne conveys a style that consists of excessive use of

digressions, which enables his work to have a more ‘life-like’ pattern. As Woolf stated, life is far

from being ‘orderly’, symmetrical or chronological unlike the traditional novels such as Defoe’s

Moll Flanders or Richardson’s Pamela wherein time follows a linear path and all the events are

respectively presented in an orderly and chronological manner. However, In Tristram Shandy,

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Sterne employs a different style of writing and asserts that “[i]n a word, [his] work is digressive

and it is progressive, too- at the same time” (48) and he adds that:

Digressions, incontestably, are the sunshine; —they are the life, the soul

of reading! —take them out of this book, for instance, —you might as well

take the book along with them;—one cold eternal winter would reign in every

page of it; restore them to the writer;—he steps forth like a bridegroom,—bids

All-hail; brings in variety, and forbids the appetite to fail (49).

Sterne also follows a conversational style in his novel Tristram Shandy and he often addresses

his readers as “Your Honours, Your Reverences, My Lady, or My Lord” throughout the novel. He

asserts that “[w]riting when properly managed (as you may be sure I think mine is) is but a different

name for conversation” (72). Conversation in Sterne’s Tristram Shandy serves in a way that invites

the readers and their imagination to the process of the novel’s construction. Sterne often “leave[s]

his readers something to imagine” (72) For instance; in Volume III when Tristram mentions Mrs.

Wadman, he leaves a blank page for the readers to draw her using their own imagination instead

of depicting Mrs. Wadman in his own manner (410). Also, he makes use of black pages, such as

in the chapter where he mentions Parson Yorick’s death (24) as well as the excessive use of dashes

that stands out in every page of the novel as an aide to convey his digressive and conversational

style by pointing out with each dash a different thought that comes to his mind.

In his book English Fiction of the Eighteenth-century, Probyn states that “[f]or Tristram, there

is no way of writing except ‘to the moment’” (132). This may bring Richardson’s Pamela to mind

since Pamela also writes almost ‘to the moment’ similar to Tristram. However, unlike Pamela in

Richardson’s Pamela or Virtue Rewarded wherein a series of other concerns such as marriage,

class-distinction or virtue stand out; Tristram is a character “whose [sole] purpose is to write
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Tristram Shandy” (Probyn 133). As mentioned above, writing to the moment is another significant

aspect of Sterne’s novel.

Although Tristram Shandy is considered to be a fictional autobiography, Tristram is not

reflected as the most notable character who is at the centre of the narrative. Tristram gives an

account of Uncle Toby’s journey. Tristram mostly mentions the events that took place before his

birth or in his early childhood. The story is narrated by Tristram Shandy as the protagonist in the

first person, however, the protagonist can still be considered as an omnipotent one who knows

everything in the frame of the story and can have an insight into the characters’ mind. In Narrative

of Narrative (Tristram Shandy), Williams states that “Tristram Shandy presents an extreme in

novelistic interpretation, since the presumed events of the narrative, of Tristram's autobiography

and the Shandy family history, are not only told out of order, but are frequently cut off and

fragmentary.” (1) The narrative in Tristram Shandy is not limited to a set of “events of Tristram’s

history, but encompasses the ordered series of events of Tristram's account of narration.” (Williams

2) The narrative in Tristram Shandy is in an anachronic form and it jumps from one event to

another travelling in time. Tristram, by constantly interrupting the action, creates a style that is

digressive although there is still a progression in its non-linear plot. And as Williams discusses, it

is the “narrative of a narrative” (3) as Tristram tells the story of the narrated events that took place

before he was born.

Sterne’s Tristram Shandy is quite an unusual fictional autobiography where Tristram tells the

events that preceded his birth. The story begins with the precise moment when his father Walter

Shandy and his mother Elizabeth Mollineux (though she is mentioned by her name only once in

the novel (26)) are having intercourse and Tristram’s unfortunate conception takes place. It is an

unfortunate event as Tristram implies that there must have been a problem at his conception in his
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mother’s womb from the beginning to have caused such an unfortunate and miserable life. Later,

Tristram describes his father as a “natural philosopher and much given to close reasoning upon the

smallest matters, had oft and heavily complained of the injury…” (5) and he also adds that his

father has this “extreme exactness [in him], to which he was in truth a slave” (7). One of the

examples of his father’s excessive exactness is that he winds up a large house clock on the first

Sunday-night of every month throughout the whole year. Another obsession of his father’s is that

he has likes and dislikes towards certain names and “…of all the names in the universe he had the

most unconquerable aversion for Tristram” (38). The reason is that his father thinks that names

have a significant impact upon one’s character and some certain names have a lot of noteworthy

achievements while some do not.

As for his mother, she is depicted as a woman who does not have her opinion about anything

and she always approves everything her husband says without questioning anything and according

to Tristram “a discourse seldom went on much further betwixt [his parents] than a proposition,- a

reply and a rejoinder” (307).

Apart from his parents, there are other characters who play an important role in achieving the

comical aspects of the novel such as Dr. Slop who is a man-midwife “of about four feet and a half

perpendicular height, with a breadth of back, and a sesquipedality of belly…” (69) or Obadiah who

is the servant to the Shandy family who is a clumsy character that constantly makes mistakes taking

orders. Besides, there is also Parson Yorick who is a significant character to whom Tristram

dedicates a separate chapter in the first volume of the book. Parson Yorick is described as a close

friend to the Shandy family; a good-hearted and honest man who meets a catastrophic end and dies

at the very beginning of the first volume, however, he is still mentioned later on in the novel and

also, he appears as the narrator in Sterne’s book called A Sentimental Journey (1768).
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Of all the characters, Uncle Toby stands out to be the most prominent character in the novel in

a way that he actually seems to be the main character although it is Tristram that is the protagonist

who is writing his own autobiography. From the beginning of the novel till the end, Uncle Toby is

always a part of the narrative and he is the only character who is mostly reflected in a more serious

manner rather than comical. He also seems to be the only character for whom Tristram has a

genuine respect and admiration.

Tristram points out that “in a word, [he] will draw [his] uncle Toby’s character from his Hobby-

Horse”, which means that the readers will be given an account of his character in relation to his

Hobby-horse because there is a strong connection between a person and their hobby-horse as

Tristram later explains in Chapter XXIV that:

A man and his Hobby-Horse, tho’ I cannot say that they act and re-act

exactly after the same manner in which the soul and body do upon each

other: Yet doubtless there is a communication between them of some kind;

and my opinion rather is, that there is something in it more of the manner

of electrified bodies, —and that, by means of the heated parts of the rider,

which come immediately into contact with the back of the Hobby Horse,

—by long journies and much friction, it so happens, that the body

of the rider is at length fill’d as full of Hobby-Horsical matter as it can

hold; —so that if you are able to give but a clear description of the nature

of the one, you may form a pretty exact notion of the genius and character

of the other (51).

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Then, he describes Uncle Toby’s Hobby-horse as “an Hobby-horse well worth giving a description

of” (52). Uncle Toby’s Hobby-horse is based on military strategies and fortifications as he is a

soldier who is quite fond of battles and fighting for his country. Tristram depicts Uncle Toby as

“My uncle Toby Shandy, Madam, was a gentleman, who, with the virtues which usually constitute

the character of a man of honour and rectitude” and “a gentleman of unparralle’d modesty” (45)

as well as being honourable. Tristram’s father Walter Shandy “had the truest love and tenderness

for [his] Uncle Toby” (46) and he would do anything in his power for him.

Uncle Toby has a “wound in his groin which he received at the siege of Namur, rendering him

unfit for the service, it was thought expedient he should return to England” (52). He was confined

to his room for four years after he was wounded in his groin in Namur. The seriousness of his

illness implies he becomes sexually impotent, as well.

He stays in the Shandy Hall where he is taken care of by his brother Walter Shandy and his

servant called “Trim” who is a significant character due to his relation to Uncle Toby and his

Hobby-horse. Trim was a corporal whose real name was James Butler and worked alongside Uncle

Toby at war. Trim “…has been disabled since the Battle of Landen when he was wounded by a

musket-bullet” (62) and he has a good nature and is reflected as an honest man whose “…only

dark line was that he liked to give advice and he was voluble” (62). After getting wounded at

Landen, he could not continue his duties as a corporal. He started to work as Uncle Toby’s servant

though as Tristram mentions “Uncle Toby loved the man” and “he never looked at him as a servant,

but rather a humble friend” (63). This also shows how humble and loving Uncle Toby is.

Another outstanding aspect of Uncle Toby’s character is that his forgiveness as it can be seen

when Walter Shandy harshly criticizes him for constantly talking about fortifications saying that:
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I wish the whole science of fortification,with all its inventors, at the devil;—it has been

the death of thousands,—and it will be mine in the end.—I would not, I would not, brother

Toby, have my brains so full of saps, mines, blinds, gabions, pallisadoes, ravelins,

half-moons, and such trumpery, to be proprietor of Namur, and of all the towns in

Flanders with it. (75)

However, Uncle Toby, as a patient and forgiving man, forgives Walter after he apologizes to him

and he continues his story. Tristram also depicts Uncle Toby as a “man of courage” who “was of

a peaceful and placid nature” (75).

Uncle Toby is a merciful man who “had scarce a good heart to retaliate upon a fly” (75).

Tristram narrates that his Uncle Toby is such a good-hearted and merciful person that he cannot

even hurt a fly and he exemplifies this with a story of an actual fly whom he could not hurt as it

follows:

—Go—says he, one day at dinner, to an over-grown one which had

buzzed about his nose, and tormented him cruelly all dinner-time,—and

which after infinite attempts, he had caught at last, as it flew by him;—I’ll

not hurt thee, says my uncle Toby, rising from his chair, and going across

the room, with the fly in his hand, —I’ll not hurt a hair of thy head: —Go,

says he, lifting up the sash, and opening his hand as he spoke, to let it

escape; —go, poor devil, get thee gone, why should I hurt thee?—This

world surely is wide enough to hold both thee and me (75).

However, this scene is also ironical in the sense that Uncle Toby is a soldier who is fond of battles

and therefore he must have hurt more than flies by killing the enemies at war.
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Another important scene in the novel appears when Walter Shandy, Uncle Toby, Dr. Slop and

Trim are reading a sermon by an anonymous writer. (82) Trim is the one who reads the sermon

while the others are listening. The ideas, or virtues in other words, that are emphasized in the

sermon can be summarized as Conscience, fear of God, Morality and Religion. The first and the

most significant one of all is the Conscience upon which the parson who wrote the sermon gave

most emphasis. According to the sermon, what defines a good man is “whether he has a good

conscience or no.” (83) Another important idea that is conveyed in the sermon is the conflict

stemming from the question of whether morality without religion is acceptable in the eyes of God.

The parson suggests that one cannot know for certain if a person who has morality without religion

is not a good person in the eyes of God and vice versa for the person who has faith and he

exemplifies this as:

In how many kingdoms of the world has the crusading sword of this

misguided saint-errant, spared neither age or merit, or sex, or condition?—

and, as he fought under the banners of a religion which set him loose from

justice and humanity, he shewed none; mercilessly trampled upon both,—

heard neither the cries of the unfortunate, nor pitied their distresses. (92)

The sermon scene is quite important due to the fact that each one of the men has a different reaction

towards it. Starting from the beginning, Walter Shandy and Dr. Slop constantly interrupts Trim

while he is reading. Walter Shandy interrupts him for silly reasons such as using “a very improper

accent” and it reflects his nature very vividly because Walter Shandy is a man who is a slave to

his extreme exactness as mentioned before. As for Dr. Slop, he is more concerned with guessing

who wrote the sermon rather than its content. He claims that it must have been a Protestant parson

who wrote the sermon and he constantly awaits an evidence that supports his idea in order to be
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right. This shows that similar to Walter Shandy, he also has an obsession that has to do with his

neediness to be right. Trim’s reactions towards the sermon are more sentimental than all others.

While reading the sermon, Trim remembers the tragic death of his brother Tom in Lisbon and he

could not help but cry for such a heart-bleeding end of his brother. And in another part of the

sermon where there is a reference to the crusaders, Trim responds that he has been at war and says

that “I never refused quarter in my life to any man who cried out for it;—but to a woman or a child,

continued Trim, before I would level my musket at them, I would loose my life a thousand times.”

(92) Trim’s responses reveal his sensitive, merciful and conscientious nature, which according to

the sermon are the most important virtues. Finally, Uncle Toby is the only character who never

interrupts the sermon and listens carefully. This shows his placid, peaceful, patient and respectful

nature.

Even though Uncle Toby does not reveal his ideas about the sermon, his benevolence can be

clearly seen throughout the novel. He is an honourable, merciful, forgiving, kind and naïve man.

An example of his benevolence can be seen when a fatally wounded lieutenant called Le Fever

dies, he takes care of his son and sends him to a public school. Tristram describes Uncle Toby’s

fondness for the boy as a “paternal kindness” (280) and describes the sentimental scene where the

boy leaves home as:

The greatest injury could not have oppressed the heart of Le Fever more

than my uncle Toby’s paternal kindness;—he parted from my uncle Toby,

as the best of sons from the best of fathers—both dropped tears—and as

my uncle Toby gave him his last kiss, he slipped sixty guineas, tied up in

an old purse of his father’s, in which was his mother’s ring, into his hand,—

and bid God bless him (280).

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Another example of Uncle Toby’s paternal kindness and love is shown when he reads the letter

that contained Tristram’s brother Bobby’s death, he is so deeply saddened by the news that he

cannot talk properly and the scene is quite sentimental:

… he’s gone! said my uncle Toby—Where—Who? cried my father.—

My nephew, said my uncle Toby.—What—without leave—without

money—without governor? cried my father in amazement. No:—he is

dead, my dear brother, quoth my uncle Toby.—Without being ill? cried

my father again.—I dare say not, said my uncle Toby, in a low voice, and

fetching a deep sigh from the bottom of his heart, he has been ill enough,

poor lad! I’ll answer for him—for he is dead (224).

Later, it is revealed that Uncle Toby is even more upset than Walter Shandy who is the real father

of Bobby is about the news of his death because Walter never sheds a tear or says anything about

Bobby’s death and states that death is a part of life and there is nothing, they could do to prevent

anything.

Besides, Uncle Toby is a character who has faith in God and he also has the fear of God, which

was one of the most important aspects of being a virtuous person according to Yorick’s sermon.

And Tristram asserts that:

There was a frankness in my uncle Toby,—not the effect of familiarity,—but the cause

of it,—which let you at once into his soul, and shewed you the goodness of his nature; to

this there was something in his looks,and voice, and manner, superadded, which eternally

beckoned to the unfortunate to come and take shelter under him (276).
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As Uncle Toby’s ‘Hobby-horse’ is military fortifications, which can be considered his only

weakness; he is quite upset when the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) is signed among European countries

to end the war, he is quite upset and his brother Walter tries to console him by saying that “never

mind brother Toby,- by God’s grace we shall have another war break out some of these days”

(298). Later, Uncle Toby writes an Apologetical Oration (299) to his brother Walter explaining

the reasons why he does not approve of Utrecht. He tries to justify this by enouncing “what is

[war] but the getting together of quiet and harmless people, with their swords in their hands, to

keep the ambitious and turbulent within bounds?” (301). This, surely, is ironical and paradoxical

in itself. It is such a mystery that such a good-natured and philanthropic person like Uncle Toby is

also the same person who is sentimental about war.

After the war is over, Uncle Toby loses his Hobby-horse and is left without anything to pursue.

There appears Widow Wadman who loves Uncle Toby. She is constantly seizing every opportunity

to flirt with him. Trim tells Toby the story of his brother Tom’s love affair with the Jewish woman

who was a widow and later on Uncle Toby falls in love with Mrs. Wadman. (297) As a naïve soul

who has no idea about women, Uncle Toby is quite confused about this new feeling he has towards

Mrs. Wadman. As honest as he, the next day, Toby tells Trim that he is in love. Tristram describes

his honesty by saying that “the world is ashamed of being virtuous- my Uncle Toby knew little of

the world” (384). Here, Tristram reflects upon Toby’s naïve and innocent nature as well as his

honesty. One day, he is counting Mrs. Wadman’s perfections and asks Trim to take notes. Toby

says that “[of all her virtues] that which wins me the most, and which is a security for all the rest ,

is the compassionate turn and singular humanity of her character” and Trim writes down the word

“HUMANITY” (425).
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The emphasis on the word ‘humanity’ at the very end of the book in a way summarizes to what

Uncle Toby represents in the novel. As a man of almost all the good virtues such as mercy,

forgiveness, love, naivety of heart and benevolence, Uncle Toby represents the virtuous and

sentimental character and the human heart in the novel. Throughout the novel, Tristram conveys

the example of a virtuous man through Uncle Toby’s character in opposition to other characters in

the novel. Of all these virtues, though, Uncle Toby still had one weakness that was military

fortifications for which he was punished like a tragical hero. He was punished for his obsession

with military fortifications and war by losing his sexual potency.

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WORKS CITED

Probyn, Clive T. English Fiction of the Eighteenth-century. Longman, 1987.

archive.org/details/englishfictionof0000prob/page/142/mode/2up. Accessed on April 2,

2021.

Sterne, Laurence. Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. Ed. by Jim Manis.

Pennsylvania University Press. users.clas.ufl.edu/bur/Bibliomania/tristram-shandy-

6x9.pdf.

Williams, Jeffrey. Narrative of Narrative (Tristram Shandy). MLN, vol. 105, no. 5, 1990, pp. 1032–

1045. JSTOR, jstor.org/stable/2905166. Accessed 17 Apr. 2021.

Woolf, Virginia. Modern Fiction. McNeille, Andrew, Ed. The Essays of Virginia Woolf. Volume

4: 1925 to 1928. London:The Hogarth Press, 1984.

yunus.hacettepe.edu.tr/~jason.ward/ied388novel3/virginiawoolfmodernfiction.pdf

Accessed on April 10, 2021.