In reading Tristram Shandy, I wondered how last week's and this week's topics might interact. That is, the characters in Tristram Shandy seem to be distracted from the conversations they have or the events going on around them because of their Hobby-Horses, as Sterne calls their obsessions. Is obsession a form of distraction? But if one is easily distracted, how can one become obsessed in the first place?
"we
can attend to but one thing at a time" (Edgeworth). I felt like Sterne should keep that in mind when writing Tristram Shandy. Part of what makes this novel so difficult is that it keeps jumping from one situation to others. The narrator will introduce a conversation, like that of Walter and Toby Shandy on the night of Tristram's birth, but then interrupt said conversation to explain other details, coming back to the situation/conversation a few chapters later. I felt as though I had to keep flipping back and forth to keep up with what was currently happening, which is annoying for a book that claims to want to keep the timeline in order.
Yet, this is chronological in a way. The feeling I get from this is when you let your mind wander from some intended point - almost like a stream of consciousness. Even though the narrator says he's constructing this intentionally for the reader to engage with the story of his life, the constant interruptions make it hard for the reader to stay attentive, which makes me wonder how carefully he's attending to what his stated goals actually are. Unless, can we tell when our distractions are distracting for someone else? Are the distractions distracting, or just the effects of the distractions?
I guess, overall, I'm mostly just confused by this novel right now.
Your note here about hobbyhorses serving as distractions is particularly interesting re: the conversation we were having re: why people create diversions—or interruptions—to the sermon. Toby is thinking of his military fortifications, Trim of his brother in Portugal, Walter of oratory...
ReplyDeleteThe idea of this book being both frustrating and confusing seems right. Perhaps, now, in connecting your posts on memory and distraction, to think about what the style of his novel does to us on both counts...