Tristram Shandy

How does Sterne use situational irony in Tristram Shandy?

How does Sterne use situational irony in Tristram Shandy?

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One example of situational irony can be found in the way birthing technique used to bring Tristram into the world leaves his body damaged, and this ruins the pristine strength of a son his father had desired. Tristram's mother, as a woman in the 1700s, delivered Tristram in an atmosphere of danger, and the convoluted wishes of Tristram's parents vis-a-vis birthing procedures lead to a discrepancy between what could have gone wrong - the mutual death of Tristram and his parents - and the defect which instead results, causing the most extant sign of marred being to Tristram.