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Helpmother uses name which father expressly hates (Fiction)
In Laurence Stern's fictional book "The Life and Opinion of Tristram Shandy", a father writes a dissertation concerning his hatred of the name 'Tristram', a name which the mother uses for their firstborn son.
This writing, with the popular, yet timeless opposition to my own name, together with its unique assignment, together with the strength of Stern's writing, is something which I consider frequently.
"But of all names in the universe he had the most unconquerable aversion for Tristram;—he had the lowest and most contemptible opinion of it of any thing in the world,—thinking it could possibly produce nothing in rerum natura, but what was extremely mean and pitiful: So that in the midst of a dispute on the subject, in which, by the bye, he was frequently involved,—he would sometimes break off in a sudden and spirited Epiphonema, or rather Erotesis, raised a third, and sometimes a full fifth above the key of the discourse,—and demand it categorically of his antagonist, Whether he would take upon him to say, he had ever remembered,—whether he had ever read,—or even whether he had ever heard tell of a man, called Tristram, performing any thing great or worth recording?—No,—he would say,—Tristram!—The thing is impossible.
What could be wanting in my father but to have wrote a book to publish this notion of his to the world? Little boots it to the subtle speculatist to stand single in his opinions,—unless he gives them proper vent:—It was the identical thing which my father did:—for in the year sixteen, which was two years before I was born, he was at the pains of writing an express Dissertation simply upon the word Tristram,—shewing the world, with great candour and modesty, the grounds of his great abhorrence to the name.
When this story is compared with the title-page,—Will not the gentle reader pity my father from his soul?—to see an orderly and well-disposed gentleman, who tho' singular,—yet inoffensive in his notions,—so played upon in them by cross purposes;—to look down upon the stage, and see him baffled and overthrown in all his little systems and wishes; to behold a train of events perpetually falling out against him, and in so critical and cruel a way, as if they had purposedly been plann'd and pointed against him, merely to insult his speculations.—In a word, to behold such a one, in his old age, ill-fitted for troubles, ten times in a day suffering sorrow;—ten times in a day calling the child of his prayers Tristram!—Melancholy dissyllable of sound! which, to his ears, was unison to Nincompoop, and every name vituperative under heaven.—By his ashes! I swear it,—if ever malignant spirit took pleasure, or busied itself in traversing the purposes of mortal man,—it must have been here;—and if it was not necessary I should be born before I was christened, I would this moment give the reader an account of it."
This writing, with the popular, yet timeless opposition to my own name, together with its unique assignment, together with the strength of Stern's writing, is something which I consider frequently.
"But of all names in the universe he had the most unconquerable aversion for Tristram;—he had the lowest and most contemptible opinion of it of any thing in the world,—thinking it could possibly produce nothing in rerum natura, but what was extremely mean and pitiful: So that in the midst of a dispute on the subject, in which, by the bye, he was frequently involved,—he would sometimes break off in a sudden and spirited Epiphonema, or rather Erotesis, raised a third, and sometimes a full fifth above the key of the discourse,—and demand it categorically of his antagonist, Whether he would take upon him to say, he had ever remembered,—whether he had ever read,—or even whether he had ever heard tell of a man, called Tristram, performing any thing great or worth recording?—No,—he would say,—Tristram!—The thing is impossible.
What could be wanting in my father but to have wrote a book to publish this notion of his to the world? Little boots it to the subtle speculatist to stand single in his opinions,—unless he gives them proper vent:—It was the identical thing which my father did:—for in the year sixteen, which was two years before I was born, he was at the pains of writing an express Dissertation simply upon the word Tristram,—shewing the world, with great candour and modesty, the grounds of his great abhorrence to the name.
When this story is compared with the title-page,—Will not the gentle reader pity my father from his soul?—to see an orderly and well-disposed gentleman, who tho' singular,—yet inoffensive in his notions,—so played upon in them by cross purposes;—to look down upon the stage, and see him baffled and overthrown in all his little systems and wishes; to behold a train of events perpetually falling out against him, and in so critical and cruel a way, as if they had purposedly been plann'd and pointed against him, merely to insult his speculations.—In a word, to behold such a one, in his old age, ill-fitted for troubles, ten times in a day suffering sorrow;—ten times in a day calling the child of his prayers Tristram!—Melancholy dissyllable of sound! which, to his ears, was unison to Nincompoop, and every name vituperative under heaven.—By his ashes! I swear it,—if ever malignant spirit took pleasure, or busied itself in traversing the purposes of mortal man,—it must have been here;—and if it was not necessary I should be born before I was christened, I would this moment give the reader an account of it."
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So why did he allow his kid to be named Tristram?
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Maybe the mom didn't care for the dad's opinion?
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ETA:
This was the 1700s. Men ruled the roost.
ETA: Found the answer on Wikipedia.
(One of the) father's theories was that a person's name exerted enormous influence over that person's nature and fortunes, with the worst possible name being Tristram. In view of the previous accidents, Tristram's father decreed that the boy would receive an especially auspicious name, Trismegistus. Susannah (the chambermaid) mangled the name in conveying it to the curate, and the child was christened Tristram. According to his father's theory, his name, being a portmanteau-like conflation of "Trismegistus" (after the esoteric mystic Hermes Trismegistus) and "Tristan" (whose connotation bore the influence through folk etymology of Latin tristis, "sorrowful"), both doomed him to a life of woe and cursed him with the inability to comprehend the causes of his misfortune.
This was the 1700s. Men ruled the roost.
ETA: Found the answer on Wikipedia.
(One of the) father's theories was that a person's name exerted enormous influence over that person's nature and fortunes, with the worst possible name being Tristram. In view of the previous accidents, Tristram's father decreed that the boy would receive an especially auspicious name, Trismegistus. Susannah (the chambermaid) mangled the name in conveying it to the curate, and the child was christened Tristram. According to his father's theory, his name, being a portmanteau-like conflation of "Trismegistus" (after the esoteric mystic Hermes Trismegistus) and "Tristan" (whose connotation bore the influence through folk etymology of Latin tristis, "sorrowful"), both doomed him to a life of woe and cursed him with the inability to comprehend the causes of his misfortune.
This message was edited 8/23/2015, 10:34 AM
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it still doesn't explain ...
Why the chambermaid's mistake was never corrected, why the parents didn't go to the curate and get him to change the document. Or why they called the kid Tristram instead of using that monstrosity they'd originally planned.
Why the chambermaid's mistake was never corrected, why the parents didn't go to the curate and get him to change the document. Or why they called the kid Tristram instead of using that monstrosity they'd originally planned.
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I just wanted to share that "story of my life" - and relate it with my recent entry, equating the name hatred...
"Melancholy dissyllable of sound! which, to his ears, was unison to Nincompoop, and every name vituperative under heaven.—By his ashes! I swear it,—if ever malignant spirit took pleasure, or busied itself in traversing the purposes of mortal man,—it must have been here;—and if it was not necessary I should be born before I was christened, I would this moment give the reader an account of it."
"Melancholy dissyllable of sound! which, to his ears, was unison to Nincompoop, and every name vituperative under heaven.—By his ashes! I swear it,—if ever malignant spirit took pleasure, or busied itself in traversing the purposes of mortal man,—it must have been here;—and if it was not necessary I should be born before I was christened, I would this moment give the reader an account of it."
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Searchers for logic should avoid Sterne like the plague! The best way I can explain him is that his humour is typically British - think Blackadder, Monty Python, the Goon Show - but much more discursive and, to modern tastes, long-winded. I can't take him in large doses, but Tristram Shandy is a good book to keep in the bathroom ...
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Totally agree. Sterne tries to be convoluted as a plot device. It's entertaining, unless you are thinking clearly. ;)
In any case, were this a real and true child... I would guess that many older customs state that once a baby is named, it is named. Cannot change the name.
My grandmother is named Lila... but the nurse accidently wrote Lyla on her birth certificate. All of her legal paperwork says Lyla, except that her mother always told her that her name was Lila. It wasn't until the late 90s that my gram ever learned it was possible to change her name.
In any case, were this a real and true child... I would guess that many older customs state that once a baby is named, it is named. Cannot change the name.
My grandmother is named Lila... but the nurse accidently wrote Lyla on her birth certificate. All of her legal paperwork says Lyla, except that her mother always told her that her name was Lila. It wasn't until the late 90s that my gram ever learned it was possible to change her name.
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"Totally agree. Sterne tries to be convoluted as a plot device. It's entertaining, unless you are thinking clearly. ;)" Funny, but I hate when authors do that -- especially when they're so transparent about it.
BTW, my mother's name was accidental, but it was a happy accident for her. You see, her mother was illiterate and named her Margot. My mother was never sure what my gm meant by that. Did she mean Margaret but wasn't able to pronounce it correctly? Did she mean Margot with the t pronounced? Who knows, but until the day she died, my gm called my mother MarGOT. Okay, moving on ... my mother was named after her mother's sister, Ella May. Where my mom lived, the city registrar would periodically visit houses inquiring if there had been any recent births. It was she who named my mom Margaret Ellen Mae and my mom was glad she did!
BTW, my mother's name was accidental, but it was a happy accident for her. You see, her mother was illiterate and named her Margot. My mother was never sure what my gm meant by that. Did she mean Margaret but wasn't able to pronounce it correctly? Did she mean Margot with the t pronounced? Who knows, but until the day she died, my gm called my mother MarGOT. Okay, moving on ... my mother was named after her mother's sister, Ella May. Where my mom lived, the city registrar would periodically visit houses inquiring if there had been any recent births. It was she who named my mom Margaret Ellen Mae and my mom was glad she did!
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Presumably due to the contempt with the marriage contract; I believe that Sterne was an attorney yet satirically poked fun at legalized jargon.
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