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A Sentimental Journey (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)

At a glance:

Characters Discussed

Mr. Yorick, the Sentimental Traveler. He reacts with exaggerated sensibility to the many, mainly humorous sentimental adventures of which he is a collector in his travels.

La Fleur, Yorick’s servant, a boy accomplished at flute playing and lovemaking.

Madame de L———, a fellow traveler whom Yorick meets in Calais. He hopes that she will travel to Paris with him and is heartbroken that she must return to Belgium.

Madame de R———, a lady living in Paris. Madame de L——— gives Yorick a letter of introduction to her.

Count de B———, a Frenchman enthusiastic about everything English. He mistakes Yorick for the character in Hamlet, Prince of Denmark and, greatly pleased to meet so famous a person, presents him with a passport naming him the King’s Jester. Later, the count and his friends entertain Yorick at many parties while he is in Paris.

Count L———, the brother of Madame de L———. He comes to take her back to Belgium, just as Yorick’s acquaintance with her is ripening.

Maria, an unhappy girl who wanders about the country grieving for her dead father. Yorick sees her in Moulines and sheds a few tears with her.

Bibliography:

Brissenden, R. F. “The Sentimental Comedy: A Sentimental Journey.” In Virtue in Distress. London: Macmillan, 1974. Argues that the primary purpose of A Sentimental Journey is to show the inextricable if ironic link between human beings’ capacity for the social virtues of compassion and sympathy and their capacity for sexual responsiveness.

Cash, Arthur Hill. Sterne’s Comedy of Moral Sentiment: The Ethical Dimensions of the “Journey.” Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press, 1966. Explores ethical rationalism by comparing A Sentimental Journey and “the comedy of moral problems” to Sterne’s The Sermons of Mr. Yorick (1760, 1766) and The Sermons by the Late Rev. Mr. Sterne (1769).

Howes, Alan B., ed. Sterne: The Critical Heritage. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1974. A thorough and well-organized compilation of criticism, acclaim, and accusations of plagiarism by Sterne’s contemporaries in response to the publication of A Sentimental Journey. Also discusses other works by Sterne.

Loveridge, Mark. Laurence Sterne and the Argument About Design. London: Macmillan, 1982. Explores Sterne’s use of pattern, design, and form, and places these concepts within the general cultural and literary context of his day. Chapter 7 deals exclusively with A Sentimental Journey.

Moglen, Helene. The Philosophical Irony of Laurence Sterne. Gainesville: The University Presses of Florida, 1975. Systematically discusses Sterne’s use of stylistic and thematic irony in relation to character, theme development, and thematic unity. Also explores the relevance of his novel to contemporary times.

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