The Characters of Emily and Walter Possess Sentiment and Reason

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Walter Shandy and Emily St Aubert both use the power of reason to keep their emotions in check, but that is where the similarities end. Emily cares greatly about the sufferings of those around her, while Walter only thinks about why sufferings are brought upon him. Walter and Emily share the attributes of reason and sentimentality, but let these traits govern their actions in very different ways.

Walter Shandy is a highly reasonable man. He knows much of the great old philosophers, ancient texts, and scientific breakthroughs. This love of reason tends to make Walter lose his sentimental qualities. Take for instance the episode where he learns of his son Bobby's death:

"My father managed his affliction...indeed differently from most men either ancient or modern; for he neither wept it away...or slept it off...or hang'd it, or drowned it, nor did he curse it, or damn it, or excommunicate it...He got rid of it however" (Sterne 290).

He is overcome with grief and the only way he can be rid of the pain he feels is by quoting the wisdom of death as told by many philosophers. Never once is there any mention of him shedding a single tear over the death of his son.

Another example of Walter's over analytical attitude is when Tristam has that unfortunate meeting with the window sash. The first thing he does is go and get some texts on circumcisions. After finding that "the Egyptians, -the Syrians, -the Phoenicians, -the Arabians" (Sterne 318) and many other cultures did this he should not "fret or fume" (Sterne 318) about the matter. However, after word got out in the town about what had happened, he decided that action needed to be taken and decided to put Tristam into breaches. He first consults with his wife, who is no help at all in the matter. She, knowing her husband all too well, agreed with his every word. Then he conculted a text on clothing to see which material, color, and fasteners the breeches should have to give his son the best social chances.

There are only a few moments in the novel that Walter actually shows some signs of sentimentality and even those are caused by his tendency to over rationalize situations. The reactions should probably be called over-dramatic more than sentimental. In the occasion when Tristam's nose is injured, his father reacts by throwing:

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