The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman
Tristram's mother, whose practical concerns often clash with Walter's abstract theories.
Book I
Tristram's mother, whose question about winding the clock is tied to Tristram's conception.
Chapter I
Tristram's mother, who asks if Walter has forgotten to wind the clock.
Chapter III
Tristram's mother, who looks up but does not understand Walter's meaning.
Chapter IV
Tristram's mother, who associates the clock-winding with other thoughts due to an unhappy association of ideas.
The Parson's Horse and the Midwife's Licence
The parson's wife, who initially receives credit for the act of charity.
Chapter XIV
Her marriage settlement is the document Tristram examines, leading to his reflections on historical writing.
Chapter XV
Elizabeth Mollineux, the mother whose lying-in arrangements are detailed in the settlement.
Chapter XVI
Endures Walter's vexations during the journey, laughing and crying by turns, and later complains to Uncle Toby.
Chapter XVII
Learns of Walter's design on the night of Tristram's conception; resigns herself quietly to the bargain.
Chapter XVIII
Determined to have the old midwife attend her lying-in, she argues with Walter and ultimately wins the dispute.
Chapter XX
Mentioned indirectly as the mother whose religious status (not a Papist) is inferred from the previous chapter.
Chapter XXI
Mentioned as the sister-in-law with whom Uncle Toby exchanged few words.
Chapter VI
Is in labor, causing the commotion that prompts the conversation.
Chapter X
Mentioned as being at her full reckoning, the reason for Dr. Slop's visit.
Chapter XI
My mother, whom my father has stepped upstairs to see.
Chapter XVIII
Mentioned as being in labour upstairs; the subject of the debate over who should attend her.
Chapter XIX
My mother, who turns pale at the mention of Caesarean section and fails to comprehend Walter's philosophical argument.
Chapter VIII
Her labour is delayed by the knotted bag, as she 'had been delivered sooner' otherwise.
Chapter IX
Her difficult labor is the subject of Dr. Slop's thoughts, and a trampling near her bed prompts his haste.
Chapter X
Groans from her bedside as the trampling overhead increases.
Chapter XIII
Is in labour, faint, and her pains have stopped.
Chapter XVII
The mother in labor, to whose apartments Dr. Slop is heading.
Chapter XX
In labor, attended by Dr. Slop and the midwife.
Chapter XXXVIII
Implied in the dispute with Walter over Paræus's hypothesis.
Chapter XLI
Mentioned indirectly through her thread-paper and sattin pincushion, which Walter destroys in his frustration.
Book IV
Walter's wife, whose labor and preferences are often at odds with Walter's schemes.
Chapter XV
Mentioned indirectly as Tristram's mother, whose nurse has one eye shut for twenty years.
Chapter XVI
Mentioned as having an hysterick fit after learning the child was named Tristram.
My Father's Lamentation
Criticized by Walter for her anxiety about lying-in in town and her battles over the midwife, which he claims harmed the fetus.
Chapter III
Expected Walter to be furious about the mule incident, but is not directly involved in the chapter's action.
V
Eavesdrops on the conversation in the dark passage, imagining herself the subject.
Chapter VI
Mentioned as profiting by the door left ajar to listen in.
Chapter XI
Addressed directly by Tristram; implied to have borne him with difficulty.
Chapter XII
Her curiosity is aroused by overhearing part of the conversation; she mistakenly believes she is the subject.
Chapter XIII
My mother, listening with composed intelligence, interrupts Walter's recitation to remark on the number of his children.
Chapter XIV
Mrs. Shandy corrects Uncle Toby's chronology, noting that Socrates has been dead for a hundred years.
XVI
Tristram is left to her care while Walter writes the Tristra-paedia; her green sattin nightgown is mentioned as being taken by Susannah.
Chapter XXVI
Summoned instantly into the nursery by Tristram's scream.
Chapter XXVII
Mistakes Walter's intent, thinking he is consulting an herbal for her labour.
VII: The Story of Le Fever Continued
Mentioned indirectly as the landlady reports hearing the deathwatch and the lieutenant's prayers.
Chapter XVI
Mother who debated the breeches affair with Walter in two beds of justice.
Chapter XVII
Mentioned as the one with whom Walter argues in bed on the designated nights.
Chapter XVIII
Responds with passive agreement to Walter's points, leading to his exasperation.
Chapter XIX
Debated the affair of the breeches with Walter before his consultation.
Chapter XX
Described as the truest of all the Pococurantes of her sex, indifferent to the tailoring details.
Chapter XXXIX
Communicates the news of Uncle Toby's intended marriage to Walter, and engages in a brief, formulaic exchange with him.
Chapter XXVII
Stayed at home at Shandy Hall, occupied with knitting a pair of large worsted breeches for Walter.
Chapter XXXII
Exclaims in shock at Toby's reply, then asks him directly if he is in love.
Chapter XXXIII
Takes a pinch of snuff during the conversation and offers the opinion that love keeps peace in the world and replenishes the earth.
Chapter XXXV
Accompanies Walter to Toby's house and expresses curiosity to look through the keyhole.
Chapter I
Her curiosity leads her to peek through a keyhole, sparking the dispute.
Chapter VIII
Dares to say something about the situation, but her words are deferred to a later chapter.
Chapter X
Walks with her left arm twisted in Walter's right, and comments on the delay.
Chapter XI
Agrees with Walter's propositions without understanding, replies to his comments about Mrs. Wadman's premises and the possibility of a child, and sighs with personal pity.
Chapter XXXII
Receives Mrs. Wadman's confidence; sees nothing to make a bustle about.
Chapter XXXIII
Interrupts the story to ask what it is all about.
