Metafiction, according to Patricia Waugh, consists of ‘the construction of a fictional illusion (as in traditional realism) and the laying bare of that illusion’. Tristram Shandy, I will argue in this essay, undermines fictional illusion by foregrounding ‘the most fundamental set of all narrative conventions: those concerning the representations of time’ (Waugh 70). I will exemplify this by trying to apply a conventional set of narratological terms to Tristram Shandy. I will show that these terms, which are based on conventional narratives, are neither exhaustive nor distinctive when one tries to use them for Tristram Shandy. Narrative fiction, Rimmon-Kenan states, has three main aspects: story, text and narration:
‘Story’ designates the narrated events, abstracted from their disposition in the text and reconstructed in their chronological order, together with the participants in these events. Whereas ‘story’ is a succession of events, ‘text’ is a spoken or written discourse which undertakes their telling. ... Time is essential for all of these three aspects, as will become clear in my discussion. Time in itself, following Rimmon-Kenan, can be viewed in three respects: order, duration, and frequency (p. 46). I will focus on the first two aspects since they are more essential to the novel than frequency.4 Finally, I will discuss whether, after my discussion of Tristram Shandy’s time structure, one can conclude that the novel is a metafiction according to Waugh’s definition of the term.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Order of Events
2. Duration
3. Fusion of time schemes
4. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Key Themes
This essay explores how Laurence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy undermines traditional fictional illusions by foregrounding the conventions surrounding the representation of time. By applying narratological terms to the novel, the author demonstrates that conventional narrative structures fail to exhaustively define Sterne’s work, ultimately positioning Tristram Shandy as a prototype for metafiction.
- The subversion of chronological narrative structures.
- The manipulation of narrative duration, pace, and the paradoxes of "text-time."
- The fusion of distinct time schemes: story-time, text-time, and narration-time.
- The role of authorial subjectivity as the unifying principle in metafictional discourse.
Excerpt from the Book
Fusion of time schemes
Having established the three essential time schemes in Tristram Shandy, I will now discuss their mutual relation, which in this case means their confusion, or rather, fusion.
In the previous chapter, I have already investigated the complex interrelation of story-time and text-time in volume two, chapter eight. Examples for a complete equating of the two time schemes also can be found in the several instances where Tristram actually halts the action to be able to digress.
STAY - I have a small account to settle with the reader before Trim can go on with his harangue. - It shall be done in two minutes. (V.8)
To explain this, I must leave him [Walter] upon the bed for half an hour, - and my uncle Toby in his old fringed chair sitting beside him.(III.30)
Since the narrator has to stop his characters in action, that is, halt story-time, text-time and story-time are actually equated with each other. Since both time schemes are fused for Tristram, the following quotation is not surprising.
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: This section introduces the theoretical framework of metafiction and argues that Tristram Shandy undermines narrative norms by highlighting the artificiality of time representation.
1. Order of Events: This chapter analyzes how the novel disrupts linear chronology through digressions and a high density of non-sequential dates, challenging the reader to find order in the narrative.
2. Duration: This chapter examines the extreme variations in narrative pace, from digressive pauses to ellipses, and explores the paradoxical relationship between reading time and story time.
3. Fusion of time schemes: This chapter discusses how the narrator merges story-time, text-time, and narration-time, culminating in a subjective collapse of past, present, and future.
4. Conclusion: This chapter confirms Tristram Shandy as a foundational metafictional work by showing how it self-consciously explores the theory of fiction through the practice of writing.
Keywords
Metafiction, Tristram Shandy, Narrative Convention, Time Schemes, Chronology, Duration, Ellipsis, Digression, Subjectivity, Narratology, Laurence Sterne, Patricia Waugh, Story-time, Text-time, Narration-time.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this essay?
The essay explores how Tristram Shandy utilizes the representation of time to challenge and subvert the conventions of traditional realist fiction.
What are the primary thematic areas covered?
The core themes include the disruption of chronological order, the manipulation of narrative pace, and the self-reflective nature of the narrator’s time management.
What is the primary objective of this work?
The primary goal is to determine if Tristram Shandy qualifies as metafiction by applying narratological definitions to its unique temporal structure.
Which scientific method is applied?
The author employs a narratological approach, utilizing established concepts from Shlomith Rimmon-Kenan and Patricia Waugh to analyze the structure of the text.
What does the main body address?
The main body breaks down the novel’s time structure into order, duration, and the eventual fusion of these schemes with the act of narration itself.
Which keywords best describe this study?
Key terms include Metafiction, Narrative Convention, Duration, Chronology, and Subjectivity.
How does the narrator justify the "strange way" of his storytelling?
Tristram argues that his digressive and non-linear method is necessary to keep all elements of the story "tight together" in the reader's imagination.
Why does the author consider Tristram Shandy a "metaphysical dissertation"?
The novel explicitly concerns itself with the nature of time, duration, and the paradoxes inherent in capturing life experiences within the artificial constraints of a book.
- Quote paper
- Mag. Markus Widmer (Author), 1998, Time in "Tristram Shandy", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/14785
