Smelfungus is a character in the novel ''

A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy ''A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy'' (1768) is a novel by Laurence Sterne. It follows the Reverend Mr. Yorick on a Picaresque novel, picaresque journey through France, narrated from a Sentimental novel, sentimental point of view. ...

'', written by

Laurence Sterne Laurence Sterne (24 November 1713 – 18 March 1768) was an Anglo-Irish novelist and Anglican cleric. He is best known for his comic novels ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'' (1759–1767) and ''A Sentimental Journey Thro ...

in 1768. The character was created as a

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...

Tobias Smollett Tobias George Smollett (bapt. 19 March 1721 – 17 September 1771) was a Scottish writer and surgeon. He was best known for writing picaresque novels such as ''The Adventures of Roderick Random'' (1748), ''The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle'' ...

, himself author of a volume of '' Travels Through France and Italy'', which was published in 1766. Sterne had met Smollett during his own travels in Europe, and strongly objected to Smollett's "spleen, acerbity and quarrelsomeness". He modelled the character of Smelfungus on him for the "snarling abuse he heaps on the institutions and customs of the countries he visited". The term " smellfungus" (pl. "smellfungi") thereafter passed into broader use to describe a grumbling traveller, and might even be applied to a faultfinder in general.

Smollett in Europe

Smollett's 1764 journey to

Continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by som ...

took place in the wake of a family bereavement, and while he was in poor health—matters which may explain the sharp tone of many of his comments on people, things and places he saw. Thus for example he described the

Venus de Medici The Venus de' Medici or Medici Venus is a tall Hellenistic marble sculpture depicting the Greek goddess of love Aphrodite. It is a 1st-century BC marble copy, perhaps made in Athens, of a bronze original Greek sculpture, following the type of ...

as having "no beauty in the features" and having an attitude which "is awkward and out of character"—prompting Sterne's remark that "he had fallen foul upon the goddess, and used her worse than a common strumpet". Revisionists have argued however that the "Smollett" in the ''Travels'' book is a character Smollett intentionally created, rather than him speaking in his own voice as Sterne (facetiously) implies.O. M. Brach ed., ''Tobias Smollett, Scotland's First Author'' (2007) p. 16

Carlyle's usage

In the 19th century Smelfungus was adopted by

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian, and philosopher. Known as the "Sage writing, sage of Chelsea, London, Chelsea", his writings strongly influenced the intellectual and artistic culture of the V ...

as a pen-name when he had any seriously severe criticisms to offer on things, particularly those that have gone or are going to the bad. Patrick Proctor Alexander also used the name in his book ''Mill and Carlyle'', which contrasted Carlyle's views with those of

John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, politician and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of liberalism and social liberalism, he contributed widely to s ...

. Proctor's ''Occasional Discourse on Sauertieg by Smelfungus'' attacks Carlyle's more brutal ideas.

References

Literary characters introduced in 1768 Satire 19th-century pseudonymous writers Male characters in literature Fictional travelers Characters in British novels of the 18th century Laurence Sterne {{lit-char-stub