Coloured etching of Dr. Slop with his wig on fire angrily gesticulating to Susannah, who holds her nose near the wounded baby.
The doctor is summoned by Tristram Shandy's father to attend his son's imminent birth. Slop makes his first appearance in Chapter 34 of the novel, where he is described as:
"... a little squat, uncourtly figure ... about four feet and a half perpendicular height, with a breadth of back, and a sesquipedality of belly, which might have done honour to a serjeant in the horse-guards."
He is portrayed as an incompetent quack, arriving at Shandy Hall having forgotten his array of "vile instruments" and "obstetrical engines", which have to be urgently sent for. In performing a forceps delivery of the baby, Slop damages the infant Tristram's nose, much to his father's consternation, and is obliged to perform a rudimentary rhinoplasty using cotton thread and a piece of whalebone from a maid's corset.
Dr. Slop arriving at the home of Tristram Shandy
Sterne partially based the character of Slop on Dr John Burton (1710–71), author of An Essay towards a Complete System of Midwifery (1751), in which the engraved plates are the earliest published work of George Stubbs.[1] Burton, a Catholic and a Jacobite sympathiser, had fallen foul of Sterne's uncle, the Rev. Jacques Sterne DD, who had Burton arrested upon suspicion of sedition during the rebellion of 1745.
Slop has been listed as one of the "Ten Best Bad Doctors" in literature.[2]
The doctor's involvement in the birth of Tristram and the resulting facial mutilation is in keeping with the obstetrical blunders of the time.[3] His presence reflects a general level of concern on behalf of husbands for the safety of their wives, given the dogmatic and often harmful notions put forth in treatises intended to instruct midwives on the topic, to which doctors were not necessarily beholden.[3] The usage of forceps on the part of doctors is one such instance where the two parties diverged.[3] However, it must not be forgotten that Dr. Slop's inclusion in the delivery drama was a result of Walter Shandy's insistence on the podalic version of Tristram's fetus. The traumatic outcome of the birth is ultimately indicative of the hazardous nature of childbirth at the time as well as the inadequacy (sloppiness) of those at the cutting edge of the medical profession.
Referencesedit
^Lubbock, Tom (19 March 2010). "Great Works: A Complete New System of Midwifery (1751)". The Independent. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
^Mullan, John (12 June 2010). "Ten of the Best Bad Doctors". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
^ abcRogers, Deborah (Spring 1993). "Eighteenth-Century Literary Depictions of Childbirth in the Historical Context of Mutilation and Mortality: The Case of "Pamela"". The Centennial Review. 37 (2). Michigan State University Press: 305–324. JSTOR 23739390.
doctor, slop, slop, choleric, physician, midwife, archived, 2011, wayback, machine, laurence, sterne, novel, life, opinions, tristram, shandy, gentleman, 1759, coloured, etching, slop, with, fire, angrily, gesticulating, susannah, holds, nose, near, wounded, b. Dr Slop is a choleric physician and man midwife Archived 2011 05 20 at the Wayback Machine in Laurence Sterne s novel The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy Gentleman 1759 Coloured etching of Dr Slop with his wig on fire angrily gesticulating to Susannah who holds her nose near the wounded baby The doctor is summoned by Tristram Shandy s father to attend his son s imminent birth Slop makes his first appearance in Chapter 34 of the novel where he is described as a little squat uncourtly figure about four feet and a half perpendicular height with a breadth of back and a sesquipedality of belly which might have done honour to a serjeant in the horse guards He is portrayed as an incompetent quack arriving at Shandy Hall having forgotten his array of vile instruments and obstetrical engines which have to be urgently sent for In performing a forceps delivery of the baby Slop damages the infant Tristram s nose much to his father s consternation and is obliged to perform a rudimentary rhinoplasty using cotton thread and a piece of whalebone from a maid s corset Dr Slop arriving at the home of Tristram ShandySterne partially based the character of Slop on Dr John Burton 1710 71 author of An Essay towards a Complete System of Midwifery 1751 in which the engraved plates are the earliest published work of George Stubbs 1 Burton a Catholic and a Jacobite sympathiser had fallen foul of Sterne s uncle the Rev Jacques Sterne DD who had Burton arrested upon suspicion of sedition during the rebellion of 1745 Slop has been listed as one of the Ten Best Bad Doctors in literature 2 The doctor s involvement in the birth of Tristram and the resulting facial mutilation is in keeping with the obstetrical blunders of the time 3 His presence reflects a general level of concern on behalf of husbands for the safety of their wives given the dogmatic and often harmful notions put forth in treatises intended to instruct midwives on the topic to which doctors were not necessarily beholden 3 The usage of forceps on the part of doctors is one such instance where the two parties diverged 3 However it must not be forgotten that Dr Slop s inclusion in the delivery drama was a result of Walter Shandy s insistence on the podalic version of Tristram s fetus The traumatic outcome of the birth is ultimately indicative of the hazardous nature of childbirth at the time as well as the inadequacy sloppiness of those at the cutting edge of the medical profession References edit Lubbock Tom 19 March 2010 Great Works A Complete New System of Midwifery 1751 The Independent Retrieved 24 April 2011 Mullan John 12 June 2010 Ten of the Best Bad Doctors The Guardian Retrieved 24 April 2011 a b c Rogers Deborah Spring 1993 Eighteenth Century Literary Depictions of Childbirth in the Historical Context of Mutilation and Mortality The Case of Pamela The Centennial Review 37 2 Michigan State University Press 305 324 JSTOR 23739390 nbsp This article about a fictional character from a novel is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it See guidelines for writing about novels Further suggestions might be found on the article s talk page vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Doctor Slop amp oldid 1203893739, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
