The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman · Chapter
Slawkenbergii Fabella explained
A stranger arrives in Strasbourg on a dark mule, with a remarkable nose that sparks debate among the townspeople, including a soldier, a drummer, a trumpeter and his wife, and the innkeeper's wife.
What happens
A stranger arrives in Strasbourg on a dark mule, with a remarkable nose that sparks debate among the townspeople, including a soldier, a drummer, a trumpeter and his wife, and the innkeeper's wife. The stranger, claiming to have acquired his nose at the Promontory of Noses, fends off all attempts to touch it, citing a vow to Saint Nicholas, and departs for Frankfurt, promising to return in four weeks.
Themes in this chapter
The Absurdity of Systems
The entire episode revolves around the absurdity of a nose—its size, material, and the elaborate debates it provokes—mocking systematic reasoning and scholarly pedantry.
Digression and Narrative Form
The chapter is a digressive tale within the larger narrative, presented as a scholarly fable (Slawkenbergii Fabella) that interrupts the main story, exemplifying Sterne's playful narrative structure.
Characters to notice
- The Stranger
The peregrinus (stranger) arrives in Strasbourg on a brown mule, carrying a scimitar without a scabbard, and possesses a famously large nose which he refuses to let anyone touch.
- Hafen Slawkenbergius
The author of the 'Slawkenbergii Fabella' tale, which this chapter presents.
Key passages
“Peregrinus, mulo fusco colore insidens, manticâ a tergo, paucis indusiis, binis calceis, braccisque sericis coccineis repleta, Argentoratum ingressus est.”
A traveler, riding a brown mule with a knapsack behind him containing a few shirts, two pairs of shoes, and some crimson silk breeches, entered Strasbourg.
Describes the stranger's humble arrival and the contents of his luggage.
“Dî boni, nova forma nasi!”
Good gods, what a new shape of nose!
The soldier's exclamation upon seeing the stranger's nose, highlighting its remarkable appearance.
“Non immerito, benigne peregrine, respondit miles. Nihili aestimo, ait ille tympanista, e pergamenâ factitius est.”
'Not without reason, kind stranger,' replied the soldier. 'I think nothing of it,' said the drummer, 'it is made of parchment.'
The soldier and drummer debate the nose's authenticity, with the drummer claiming it is artificial.
“Quantus nasus! aeque longus est, ait tubicina, ac tuba.”
'What a nose! It is as long as a trumpet,' said the trumpeter's wife.
The trumpeter's wife compares the nose's length to a trumpet, initiating a dispute with her husband over its material.
“Votum feci sancto Nicolao, ait peregrinus, nasum meum intactum fore usque ad—Quodnam tempus? illico respondit illa.”
'I have made a vow to Saint Nicholas,' said the stranger, 'that my nose shall remain untouched until—' 'Until what time?' she immediately replied.
The stranger invokes a vow to avoid having his nose touched, but the innkeeper's wife presses him for the specific time.