Laurence Sterne's novel, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, is heavily saturated with elements of satire and dark humor. Sterne offers an argument, through the inclusion of the “male” midwife, Dr. Slop, for the restoration of natural methods of delivering infants. His turbulent dialogue and digressive nature highlight Dr. Slop's failures as a medical figure, ultimately commenting on the poor placement of midwives in English homes. The novel seems to ask us to “ensure that the poor woman does not get lost in the meantime; --because when we desire it, we cannot do without it” (Sterne 78). The midwife requested by Elizabeth Shandy represents what the novel simply calls "the sisterhood": the shunned midwives of England who saw their unquestioned authority over childbirth overturned in the face of political inclination in favor of man-midwife brandishing an instrument. In Sterne's clearly satirical and roundabout relationship to this debate, certain preferences are evident: the midwife receives distinctly tender treatment from her hands, while Dr. Slop is a relentless idiot of the forceps practitioner. But these two methods of immediate exclusion and welcoming of the reader have a structural point in common: they are united in the plan to create narrative obstacles to the birth of Tristram. The birth of Tristram and the birth of the narrative are the goals that the novel ambivalently sets out to achieve, but in doing so the novel also defies the conventions of narrative closure and medical progress. Tristram's narrative and physical birth are delayed by technologies in writing conventions and medical advances; Dr. Slop and his satirical failure to deliver Tristram effectively parallels Tristram's failure to properly birth his novel. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay In keeping with Sterne's extensive use of obstetrical knowledge and conversations in the novel, it is important to note the medical advances in midwifery that were contemporary with his time. Around 1700, male midwives in France introduced a mechanical working machine depicting the pregnant female form in a lecture format to teach rapid forceps delivery; by 1740, the “mechanical mother” was also available to English educators (Blackwell 82). Midwifery innovations in the 18th century engendered a new perception of birth as theater, as doctors in surgeries and hospitals emerged with expectations about the female body, labor, and time that were based on dramatic conventions. Speed ​​had become the major measure of a new birth, more scientific and more rationalistic, as well as the competitive advantage of male midwives over their female predecessors. Sterne is aware of this in his story when, in the first volume, Walter Shandy expresses his desire to have a male midwife rather than a traditional midwife: "...as there is such an expert operator as Dr. Slop so close --- that my wife should persist to the end in her obstinate mood, entrusting the life of my child, who has already had a misfortune, to the ignorance of an old woman” (Sterne 81). Walter disregards his wife's wishes and criticizes her "stubborn humor" for wanting a more traditional figure in the delivery room. Tristram's father is a very rational man whose voice permeates the text much more than that of his hardworking wife. This is an example of patriarchal anxietywhich characterized the medical science of obstetrics in Sterne's time. Sterne realizes the anxiety surrounding labor nurses and manipulates them using humor and satire. Bonnie Blackwell, author of “Tristram Shandy” and “Theater of the Mechanical Mother,” is interested in the concept of the relationship between the birth of a narrative and the birth of Tristram. In her article, she details the "theatricalization of birth" in fiction, particularly in Tristram Shandy, who writes: "Theatricalizing birth means that the labor can be shortened or narrativized in a more compact way; the frightening potential for injury and death can be managed and diffused through humor; and birth may be carried out in drag, with some or all of the roles assumed by men, who represent the pain of labor at a secondary or tertiary level” (Blackwell 82). Blackwell extracts Sterne's comic and theatrical intentions and applies them to science. of childbirth. Sterne's "stage" is populated mainly by male characters, creating an atmosphere of dilemma during the delivery of baby Tristram. His story is conscious of its "theatrical" qualities, particularly in Dr. Slop's introduction, which, according to Tristram, "...must have prepared the reader's imagination for Dr. Slop's entrance on the scene, -- as much, at least, (I hope) like a dance, a song or a concerto between the acts” (Sterne 84). Dr. Slop's physical appearance does not contribute to reinforcing a "masculine" and respectable figure; instead, Tristram characterizes him as "a short, stocky, uncourteous figure...about four and a half feet in perpendicular height, with a breadth of back and a sesquipedality of belly, which might have done credit to a sergeant of the Horse -Guards.” »(Sterne 84). Tristram's narrative emasculates Dr. Slop in two ways: first, positioning him in the argument between the midwives and their pretentious and pompous male counterparts, and second, distancing and humiliating his character until he resembles to a “clown”. Dr. Slop's physical attributes are a comedic failure, however, his resulting actions, or lack thereof, mimic the way Tristram's narrative fails to progress in a linear fashion. The identity and medical value of Dr. Slop are at this point highly questionable, as is the authority and tenacity of Tristram's account. The delays and digressions coincide with each other, forming a parallel between the failures to produce successful delivery of the text and that of the child, in an efficient manner. The doctor's digressions begin when he is knocked from his horse Obadiah, perhaps for comic relief and for discredit. Walter Shandy greets him in shock, noting the absence of his medical technologies with which he so desires his wife to be operated on; “You came out unarmed; you left behind you your tire-head, your newly invented pliers, your turd, your squirt and all your instruments of salvation and deliverance” (Sterne 88). ). The doctor has carelessly forgotten the very instruments that represent medical progress and mechanical skill. Likewise, Tristram is careful in his digressions, cleverly disguised as progressions, and distracted in his literary conventions, notably that of linearity. Dr. Slop is delayed again when he receives his bag and realizes, ironically, that there is a tied knot that refuses to come undone. Dr. Slop is further characterized as a fool when he cuts his finger; "Pox, take this man! I should never untie the knots as long as I live. - My mother groaned. - Lend me your penknife - I must finally cut the knots - pugh! psha! Lord! I have cut the thumb to the bone” (Sterne 133). The medical authority of the doctor is entirely,.