mother

Mother

Tristram Shandy's mother is never referred to by her name throughout the whole book. However, from Tristram's description, one can conclude that she is a rational but stubborn woman, not overly passionate but still retaining the female gentility of the time. In the scene where Tristram's father is discussing the matter of getting breeches for Tristram, his mother provides a strong contrast with his father (Vol. VI, Ch. XVIII). The father, the vague intellectual who classifies his wife as the stereotypical sentimentalist female, attempts to convince her why they should get Tristram breeches. However, she is presented as the rational woman who agrees with what her husband has to say, completely distressing Tristram's father. Tristram's father cannot understand why she can take such a matter so coolly because in his mind his wife is the stereotypical sentimentalist woman.

Click here for the first passage on Tristram's mother in Volume I.
Click here for the first passage on Tristram's mother in Volume II.

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Last modified May 12, 1996. Maintained by Keith Earley.
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