Hafen Slawkenbergius Character Analysis in Tristram Shandy

Hafen Slawkenbergius is one of Walter and Tristram’s favorite authors and, Tristram claims, the greatest scholar of noses. Slawkenbergius surpassed all the nose scholars before him, including Prignitz and Scroderus. While Walter is an enthusiastic reader of Slawkenbergius’s philosophy, Tristram prefers his tales, and he translates one of the tales, which feature the characters Diego and Julia, for the reader. Before explaining the secret of Diego’s nose at the end of Slawkenbergius’s collection of tales, however, Tristram protests that Slawkenbergius’s Latin is simply too difficult to translate further.

Hafen Slawkenbergius Character Timeline in Tristram Shandy

The timeline below shows where the character Hafen Slawkenbergius appears in Tristram Shandy. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Truth, Fiction, and Storytelling Theme Icon

...Walter quickly moves on to other scholars of noses, eventually coming to the renowned Hafen Slawkenbergius, whom Tristram promises to discuss in depth later. (full context)

Science, Technology, and the Enlightenment Theme Icon

Chapter 38. Tristram praises Slawkenbergius and his writing on noses, which is so insightful that the method behind it remains... (full context)

...still lying on his bed in despair. Before returning to Walter, however, narrator-Tristram must describe Slawkenbergius’s studies, recount a dialogue between Walter and Toby on scholars of noses, and translate a... (full context)

Chapter 42. Tristram returns to Slawkenbergius, describing the wealth of philosophical riches in his writing. Unlike Walter, however, Tristram prefers Slawkenbergius... (full context)

Slawkenbergius’s Tale. Tristram includes the original Latin alongside his translation of Slawkenbergius’s tale, He points out... (full context)

...day the stranger is due to return, an enormous group intercepts him on the road. Slawkenbergius’s calculations, Tristram comments, are so improbable that they must be incorrect. Slawkenbergius emphasizes that this... (full context)

...citizens of Strasbourg wait for three days on the road before returning home in disappointment. Slawkenbergius then places his tale in the context of Strasbourg’s history, explaining how the populace was... (full context)

...so dramatically to the news of Dr. Slop crushing Tristram’s nose. Tristram then returns to Slawkenbergius, though he says he won’t reveal whether the stranger’s nose was real until after he’s... (full context)

Chapter 21. There any many reasons a woman chooses to marry, Tristram argues. Tristram quotes Slawkenbergius, who compares a woman’s search for a husband to rifling through the baskets on different... (full context)