A Sentimental Journey

When I presented the extremely brief biography of Laurence Sterne in Izze's and my presentation on "High People and Low People," we didn't have time to go into a lot of detail about his book, A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy. This book was written after he was criticized for his bawdy humor in his first book, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman - his humor was considered so inappropriate because of his occupation as a clergyman. While a funny life fact of Sterne's, it's interesting to think about the standard we place on people based on their occupation, and how this would still happen today if a pastor or priest published a book that was seen as inappropriate for a church leader to write, but one that, say, a member of their congregation could get away with writing.

In covering A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy, there were some "fun facts" that I didn't have time to share. I also wanted to reflect on it because it was not what I was expecting at all when I started reading the section in the Norton Anthology. The protagonist in this piece is Parson Yorick, who is named after Yorick the skull in Hamlet, and who also makes an appearance in Tristram Shandy. This section included in the Norton Anthology is a scene of Parson Yorick interacting with a shopkeeper's wife, and through that interaction, comments on the consumerism culture and how different classes interact with each other, a good reflection on high people and low people. The tone of the narrator remains very innocent throughout the passage, but it also allows the reader to be suspicious and to read a lot into their interaction, because it does tend to be rather flirtatious. While it does seem innocent, it makes me curious how Parson Yorick flirting with a married woman wasn't considered scandalous, especially after Sterne got in so much trouble for his "bawdy humor" in Tristram Shandy. The piece ends with Parson Yorick "counting the money into her hand, and with a lower bow than one generally makes to a shopkeeper's wife, I went out," leaving behind the shop (2453). This is good commentary on social structure and norms, because the treatment of people in certain classes is reflected even in the depth of a person's bow. He is obviously crossing that boundary in this section, the quote seeming less innocent after reading the rest of their conversation earlier in the writing.