55 pages • 1 hour read
Laurence SterneA Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1768A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 19-23Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapters 19-21 Summary
Yorick travels to Montriul, though his luggage falls from the back of the carriage a number of times. Upon arrival, the landlord of the hotel asks Yorick whether he has ever considered hiring a servant, as he has a young man he can recommend. As they talk, the landlord corrects Yorick’s French and then calls out to La Fleur, the young man interested in being a servant for an Englishman.
Yorick hires La Fleur instantly, though quickly finds out that the boy possesses very few skills. He can “do nothing in the world but beat a drum and play a march or two upon the fife” (22). Nonetheless, Yorick likes the boy and declares himself “satisfied to [his] heart’s content” (22).
As La Fleur will accompany Yorick for the whole trip, the narrative pauses to introduce him. La Fleur is described as a “faithful, affectionate, simple soul” (23) and is never visibly affected by hunger, temperature, or other factors. Yorick thanks La Fleur for making him a better person.
Chapters 22-23 Summary
The next morning, Yorick asks La Fleur to fasten the luggage to the rear of the coach, in addition to other menial tasks. As Yorick meets with the landlord to pay his bill, they watch a crowd of women circle around La Fleur. The boy is “beloved by all the town” (23), says the landlord, but he is “always in love” (23). This pleases Yorick, who sympathizes with the boy.
Chapters 19-23 Analysis
Though these chapters are relatively short, they serve to introduce one of the most important characters in the text. The arrival of La Fleur is important for a number of reasons, chief among which is the way he is juxtaposed against Yorick. In many ways, Yorick is unlike his new servant. While Yorick is something of a cynic, something of a skilled writer, and prone to both over- and under-thinking his actions, La Fleur is a simpler, more genial person. He seems universally loved, his good looks attracting the attention of entire towns and institutions as he passes by. While Yorick expends a great deal of effort in his attempts to flirt with any female person he meets, La Fleur naturally appeals to women without any apparent effort on his part.
Added to this, La Fleur is introduced as somewhat of a talentless fool. According to the landlord, who introduces him to Yorick, La Fleur can only “beat a drum and play a march or two upon the fife” (22). This lack of skills is rendered obsolete, however, as La Fleur is eventually shown to be a faithful, honest, and, most importantly, sincere companion. Whereas Yorick views everything with a writer’s eye, trying to deconstruct his surroundings to explain them to his audience, La Fleur takes everything in stride and is happy to dote upon his new master. La Fleur is a hard worker and the “festivity of his temper” (23) mediates all of his apparent character flaws in the eyes of Yorick. Together, they form a formidable pair, something akin to the relationship shared between Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. (Don Quixote is itself referenced in A Sentimental Journey).
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By Laurence Sterne
