The title "Beginnings" (plural) accurately describes Chapter 1. The year is 1664. We meet Robert Merivel, in the first person. He first describes his thirty-seven-year-old body in very disparaging terms. He is very dissatisfied with all his appendages and describes his stomach as large and freckled and looking like a flight of moths has landed on it. He is balding and wears a wig, which often becomes sweaty and itchy.
His first beginning is many years before, in 1636, when Robert is nine years old. Using kitchen utensils, he performs an autopsy of a starling (a small bird). This leaves a lasting impression on him. The second beginning, in 1647, is while he is attending Caius College, Cambridge (medical school), where he performs autopsies and meets his friend Pearce. While there, he.....
This is a free excerpt of 135 words. This section contains 521 words. This
study guide contains 18,300 words (approx. 61 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Literature Guide with our Restoration Access Pass.
