In chapter 32 of volume three of The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, it is a scene where Tristram’s great grandmother talks about his great grandfather’s nose. “—-‘Because,’ quoth my great grandmother, repeating the words again, —-‘you have little or no nose, Sir’—-“ (Sterne, 174). The great grandmother of Tristram complains about how her husband does not have a great nose at all. From the start of this novel and throughout the whole entire book, there seems to be a thing about the nose. What is it about noses that it has to be a reoccurring object?

Once Tristram’s great grandmother started to criticize her husband’s nose, he gets all offended and starts defending himself. “”S’death! Cried my great grandfather, clapping his hand upon his nose, — ‘tis not so small as that comes to; — ‘tis a full inch longer than my father’s” (Sterne, 174). However, throughout the passage, Tristram goes on to explain to the reader that his great grandfather’s nose was actually flat. Tristram alludes to the story of Pantagruel when trying to help illustrate to the reader how flat of a nose his great grandfather had. From the footnote it is said that Pantagruel was a “gigantic son of the giant Gargantua” (Sterne, 565), who had traveled to Ennasin. The footnote also included that the inhabitants of Ennasin had “noses shaped like the ace of clubs” (Sterne, 565). If one does not understand what an ace of clubs look like, just picture it as a four-leaf clover with a stem, except it only has three leaves.

Going back to the topic of noses and why Tristram keeps on referring back to it. It also reminds that reader why Tristram keeps on referring back to the shape of his nose and how it got injured to how his penis also got injured. It seems as if though the two objects are related and produces a symbolism in the novel. Whenever the subject about the nose is brought up, it alludes to the fact that Tristram is in fact talking about the penis. Additionally, what is interesting about the ace of clubs is that it sort of looks like a penis if one uses their imagination further. It is not that story of Pantagruel and his adventure to Ennasin that is important. What is more important is the fact that the people’s noses that lived on Ennasin were shaped like the ace of clubs. It helps the reader understand that the Tristram’s great grandmother is possibly complaining about the size of her husband’s penis because as said earlier nose is a reference to penis. Also, the ace of clubs is a reference to penis. Everything makes so much sense when it one realizes the fact that nose is a reference to penis. It is a reoccurring symbolism throughout the novel. Therefore, this passage and the footnote opens up a whole different perspective into understanding that noses aren’t just noses in this novel, it is in fact a penis. One needs to think outside of the box when reading the footnotes and the passages for this novel.