55 pages • 1 hour read
A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy
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Character Analysis
Yorick
Yorick is the narrator of A Sentimental Journey. It is commonly accepted that he is a thinly-veiled alter-ego for the book’s actual author, Lawrence Sterne. As a travel writer, Yorick takes on the role of providing the kind of literature Sterne himself values. It is useful to note that Yorick often defines himself in relation to a rival writer, Tobias Smollett, who appears in the novel via his respective alter-ego, Smelfungus. Yorick is highly disparaging of Smelfungus and the qualities he believes Smelfungus lacks (and which, accordingly, Sterne believes Smollett lacks) are those which come to define the text: sentimentality, geniality, and an ability to truly appreciate another country. Yorick believes himself to possess all of these qualities, which is why he believes his own writing to be of far greater value than the “spleen and jaundice” (21) of Smelfungus.
This appreciation of his own abilities is one of Yorick’s defining traits. He possesses a natural arrogance, always willing to enter into a situation with the assurance that his wit will see him through. His addresses to the reader reflect this self-assurance, with his delineation of the types of traveler a good example of the ways in which he is happy to speak with authority on a subject which he is inventing on the spot. These addresses come in the form of the book Yorick is supposedly writing, with the tone changing to a more scholarly, introspective mood. In Chapter 7, for example, as Yorick begins his preface, the sentences become extended and more meditative. The comical asides are dropped; when Yorick discusses his abstract theories, rather than his humorous anecdotes, the syntax elongates and informs. He includes lists and other stylistic tricks to help arrange his thoughts on the page, taking on a more performative writerly role. Yorick’s arrogance shines through in these sections, where he is keen for his opinions to be taken seriously and seems to reflect this in his mode of communication.
Wedded to Yorick’s genial arrogance is his pursuit of women. At many points in the text, he finds himself flirting with a woman he has just met. The chambermaid, the woman in the carriage, the storekeeper’s wife, and others are all subject to Yorick’s attempts at charm. The narrative perspective of the text in these instances should be noted, as the audience views these situations through Yorick’s eyes. Yorick relates each of these interactions and–though he frequently fails in his efforts to flirt with women–he does seem to possess some degree of charm. Whether this is for the benefit of the audience is not clear. Yorick, his arrogance already detailed above, clearly has a high opinion of himself and seems happy to relate his womanizing ways in the text, perhaps in a self-congratulatory manner. When this behavior is called out by another character–the hotel owner, who accuses Yorick of causing a scandal–Yorick does not apologize and protests his innocence, even if he can appreciate the hotel owner’s perspective.
It is a combination of these factors–the confidence, the charm, the self-depreciation–that make Yorick a sympathetic and interesting figure. He is able to differentiate himself from other, blander travel writers of his time by his use of wit and insight. Though his theories–that there are more dwarves in France, for example–often border on the unprovable and the absurd, his writing style and charisma make him an engaging, sympathetic protagonist.
La Fleur
The servant La Fleur is a useful character in A Sentimental Journey, as he both provides a juxtaposition against which the audience can judge the protagonist and an authentically French position through which the audience can help to interpret the book’s world. When he is introduced into the text, Yorick makes a note of La Fleur’s seeming lack of skills. Even though the man “could do nothing in the world but beat a drum, and play a march or two upon the fife” (22), Yorick decides to hire him instantly. There is an aura about La Fleur that appeals to Yorick, so the “the genuine look and air of the fellow” (22) ensures that he is hired instantly. This personality, full of sincerity and charm, is some distance from the insightful cynicism of Yorick’s own arrogance-laced personality, so they are well-matched on their journey.
There are times when Sterne shows the reader the appeal of La Fleur in full effect. The day after hiring the servant, Yorick witnesses as “half a dozen wenches” (23) swarm La Fleur, who kisses each of their hands in turn. For Yorick, himself a notedly flirtatious man, there is a sense of camaraderie found in this moment, though the two men’s respective approaches to women are very different. While Yorick expends a great deal of effort and wit on charming everyone he meets, La Fleur is possessed of an innate, natural charm that requires little effort on his part. This juxtaposition between the two characters is satisfying, especially as both of them often fail in their attempts at seduction. La Fleur, for example, takes a bouquet of flowers to a woman, only to later find that she has passed them on to another love interest. Yorick describes this dispassionately, as though he too is familiar with the rejection and finds it commonplace. As much as Yorick and La Fleur seem different, they ultimately share many of the same qualities.
In addition, La Fleur is useful because he becomes not just a servant to Yorick, but a guide through French culture. Yorick often finds himself at odds with the “etiquette” (30) of a situation. When he is confined to the carriage with the woman, for example, he makes a string of social errors and burdens himself with regrets. Later, La Fleur meets with the woman and constructs a situation in which Yorick has the opportunity to write her a letter. Such a thing had never occurred to Yorick, but the servant knew instinctively to lie in the situation in order to protect Yorick’s reputation. Even when it comes to the letter writing itself, Yorick struggles and it is only by plagiarizing a separate letter that La Fleur is carrying that Yorick’s letter is completed. Throughout this difficult situation, La Fleur remains steadfastly on Yorick’s side, helping him navigate French culture and etiquette. Just as he guides Yorick through this foreign country, he also guides the reader. In a travel book about France, La Fleur provides a much-needed French perspective on the events that occur.
Maria
A Sentimental Journey contains many references to one of Sterne’s other book, Tristram Shandy. Yorick describes his friendship with Captain Tobias Shandy, an army officer who sustained a wound to his groin in battle and retires to a quiet life in the country. Tobias is obsessed with military history, though possesses a sentimental and often gentle temperament. It is through this relationship with Tobias Shandy that Yorick first hears of a woman named Maria.
As such, Maria bears the distinction of being the character whom shares the most in common between the two separate texts. She is an interesting figure, in that she is referenced by Sterne in essentially two different genres of literature. Tristram Shady is a novel (and an experimental novel, at that) while A Sentimental Journey is a piece of semi-fictionalized travel writing. As such, the genres have different expectations as to the truth contained within. A novel is not expected to be true, while a piece of travel writing (at least in the modern sense) is expected to paint a true picture of a selected destination. By including a fictional character in both genres, Sterne is blurring the lines between fiction and non-fiction at a time when the borders between genres were not as clearly delineated.
That Maria possesses this rare honor affects the way in which she is presented in the book. She is a figure of grief, but Yorick prepares the audience to be introduced to her. Yorick begins by describing the story Tobias told him, a story which sticks with him so much that he feels compelled to visit Maria when passing by her home. In that sense, Maria’s grief is something of a spectacle. The girl is almost like a roadside attraction, something which must be witnessed firsthand to be believed.
As well as introducing Maria through Tobias’s story, Sterne adds another barrier to her introduction. Rather than journeying straight to meet her, Yorick first encounters her parents. When Maria’s mother comes to the door of the home, “her looks told [Yorick[ the story before she open’d her mouth” (66). Again, the reader is prepared for the introduction to Maria and introduced to her through the emotional perspective of another character.
It is only when Yorick asks permission to visit Maria herself that she is actually introduced into the narrative. Eventually, Yorick finds “poor Maria sitting under a poplar” (66) and sits with her for a quiet, stilted conversation. The spectacle is almost entirely removed: the day is bright and sunny, the surrounding atmosphere almost cheery in comparison to the picture of grief that is painted with Maria at the center. She seems almost like a woman who has been tragically broken by loss and any sense of wonder or intrigue that Yorick experienced, when remembering Tobias’s stories or talking to Maria’s parents is gone. Instead, the reader is left with a truly sad scene, a juxtaposition against the farcical jokes with which Yorick typically fills his stories.
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