Printed - Redalyc

Loafs, to com mít Ryots, Murders; there's your Polícy! J'le do't 1
sayo(50)
Whig paranoia, their chronic fear of plots and French in vasions, is
a lso introduced in the caricature; thus Sir Barnaby is outraged to
discover that his nephew, Sir Walter, has no weapons in the house
to use in their own defence:
SIR BAR'iABY: A eareless Villain - he shall nol own the blood of the
Whiggs tha t neglecls his Counlrey thus: - ne'r a Musquel a Rogue
- in this Popish Age too, and but one Sword, Ilay, and in a fam ily
of sixleen People uprising and downlying - a Dog- a Rascal - bUI
ene Swerd? ._. A Son of a \\'hore, ne'r a Dagger neither, nor a
Case-knife sharp at end - nor nothing - not so much as a Penknife?
(10)
Creed, corrup tion, and coward ice are presented as the
visible ma rks of a total lack of principIes. One of the gallan ls makes
the point, as he says that Sir Barnabv will "in .111 turns of State
ehange his Opinion as easily as his Coa t, and is ever zealous in
Voting for that party that is mosl Powerful" (9). This impression is
soo n eon finn ed. For a ll his ranting, Sir Barnaby is quiek lo defect
frorn the Whig cause as soon as he believes there is real danger
() .2); he nol only changes sides, bu l lum s in .1 11 his fonner friends:
W ILDINC: ... The green Ribbon Club I find is now dispers'd: pray,
where's yo ur late ftiend and brother Sir Miles Mutinous?
SIR BARN A BY: IVhere? In Newgale.
BENEDI CK: How! Newgale! IVho has Impeach't him?
SIRBAR.'JABY: 1, 1myself, man: Impeacb't him! and more than that,
intend to hang him the next Sessions .
HD:EDICK: A fine, friendly, Christian-like Act, in troth.
SIR BAR.\f ABY: Ay, Cad - friend or father in such a case: up they go
to save my own neck: 1 don"t leve hanging, for my part - others
mayo(40-41).
Bul if these po inls may be comrnon in anli-Whig sa tire,
there are other prominen t traits in the characterization of Sir
Barnaby that are aimed particularly at Shadwell. Most conspicuous
of them all is, obvíously, the character's physical size. Sir Barnaby is
described in the pla y as "a big fat Iellow" (9) and he refers lo
himself as "a Portly, ]olly, Fa t man: a ma n of Faith and Belly" (11).
References to Shadwell's corpulence were a sta ple element in
" 9