ABSTRACT AN ANALYSIS OF P. G. WODEHOUSE' S TEAM 0F BERTIE WOOSTER AND JEEW By Richard S. Carlson The English writer P.G. Wodehouse has been writing articles, essays, short stories and novels for more than 70 years. In his 90th year, Wodehouse had written a full- length novel. Jeeves and the Tie that Binds. But deSpite the steady excellence of his work, the humorist has too often been treated with disdain as critics have, historically, pre- ferred to ignore Wodehouse's contribution to English liter- ature. Wodehouse has written prolifically throughout the 20th century, but the body of criticism attending the work of the humorist is incredibly slim. Even the major efforts of such critics as R.B.D. French, Geoffrey Jaggard, Richard Usborne.and Richard Voorhees tend to merely brush at the wri- ter's work. Even their criticisms fail to deal with Wodehouse deeply enough as most critics seem content to survey the hum- orist's work without bothering with any real, in-depth anal- ysis. Most critics do agree, however. that the highest achievement of Wodehouse's literature is the Bertie Wooster- Jeeves cycle of stories. But even the analyses of the Wooster Richard S. Carlson cycle tend to be cavalier and blase as they conclude that only the characterization of Bertie Wooster--which most critics feel is Wodehouse's best-~alone makes the Woosteereeves cycle worthy of any literary note. Even those critics who do recognize the significance of Jeeves. fail to analyze the characterization deeply enough. I decided to analyze the Bertie Wooster-Jeeves cycle of stories, with special attention given to the characterization of Jeeves, in a way that would determine whether or not Wodehouse deserves an honored place in English literature. In order to analyze Wodehouse's Wooster-Jeeves cycle, I read every work in the Wooster-Jeeves series. As a result of this reading, it became apparent to me that the team of Wooster and Jeeves represented something more than just another vehicle for comedy. After looking at Wooster and Jeeves as a team, and after an in-depth analysis of Bertie and Jeeves as individuals. an analysis which took into account Wodehouse's way of developing characters through the unique use of an inventive language. I traced Wodehouse's works to precedents in Georgian, Victorian, and Edwardian schools of literature. Most fascinating were the similarities between Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories and the Wooster- Jeeves cycle. In researching Wodehouse's Bertie Wooster-Jeeves cycle of stories, it became more apparent that there was more to Wodehouse's art than mere expression of humor and wit. Indeed, the team of Wooster and Jeeves emerges rich in .m age» neural-guessed: aw ecu- a nu soviet-serene" eltaea ed: sexless ac bebteeb I and ct nevla ncitnetts Isioeqa ditw .3911033 to clot: r eninxecsb bluow rant vsw e mi .nevaet to noltsslaotonaedo ni easiq b9~or.od a: sovasaeb : uodehch Jan 10 audaciw . . . . . , _ .. . . . .- =4 . warran- LI. me. in}..- I aims awas- r T r. ' ‘1' ' , ~. ' -. - '.- .;v .3. .4. r .n,,1... .. . a ._ h.“ q r .. .... .- A 2...; . '. ...,... . ., ”.- 04 ; ‘I\" ~ U LL".. .. -'. g . '.. _. .-' - _.._ "-L . . =.. . .1 3.0-" U -.' i -.- l ' -. s - fi ‘ I — u I'. , .. " .. f’ . '3 .. . L' . ' 35:"?- "‘ _"’ ' . ':". _' \f'Q- ‘ - . I.- , I- ., ‘J .' a . ' ... , , -. ' - . g a ' " 3 - '13 T‘ ‘\ J .. 1 “'fl' ht '.. ‘r‘ . - . __ ‘_ '..}: 2 . .- _ ' A. . ’ . L I. '.' -. -.‘..£. . 1 "‘.‘) .. "0-f- fi J . ‘l J .n‘~‘(’ -‘~ ‘ ,t - . . I , Richard S. Carlson psychological and even mystical nuance. And with the char- acterization of Jeeves, Wodehouse seems to have reached the height of his powers. Wodehouse's innovative language and the subtle char- acterization of Jeeves, make clear that Wodehouse has created an oeuvre that rather defies classification and one which deserves a place of esteem in English literature. I also concluded that Wodehouse. by his Wooster-Jeeves cycle, seems to place his work almost outside a criticism which tradition— ally has depended on precedents and literary comparisons. mafia" ' ' {m m 'a'a'iw'i has e's'hi .m '2. ma" ”as. dam: one has notheifleaelo «Rob and!!! um more 0213 I wants-1931.: “aligns 111 means 'to each; a aeneseb amass .exovo asveen~1etaoow aid 2d .eauodehofl ted! hebqunoa -noirihstt doiflw matoftlso s Whitinr anemia Xtow aid eoeiq ct .snnaiaeqmac vmsxefi! has fifZfiJH$9“4 no bsnaaoeh sad alfe AN ANALYSIS OF P. G. WODEHOUSE'S TEAM 0F BERTIE WOOSTER AND JEEVES By Richard SZFCarlson A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Arts and Letters-Interdisciplinary 1973 SECSTE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to acknowledge the assistance and good spirit of Robert Anderson, Ph.D.. I would also like to extend a special thanks to Douglas T. Miller. Ph.D. and W. Cameron Meyers, Ph.D.. Both Dr. Miller and Dr. Meyers were responsible for making my doctoral work at Michigan State University an enjoyable and fruitful experience. Dr. Russel B. Nye deserves a special acknowledg- ment. Dr. Nye, as chairman of my doctoral committee, pro- vided the inspiration that made possible the completion of the doctoral program. By his sensitivity and understanding. Dr. Nye gave me the necessary energy and intellectual mod- eration when they were most needed. ii been has coast-tuna ed: eabelwonxoe {Ht-.1 . odor-"1 my sins“: Istoeqa s . . Ill. , anifnn .ast to“ em . ..--....... “'..—a .I '...'- +' ' ' I'D-1. '- . .. :4 Lu!“ L :1 “-f 1.. 03 0111 51"! I ..G.dq .noaxehnA tsedofi to #1111: at W." IVE '3?! 5: "1 9'" 9.“ "saihnfi bnorxe or inI oals bluow I netsmsfi .: bun .G.d1 .aellifl .T aslauod tollifi .16 .TC 5:6 1 TE Jana {stereos .nensiteaxs Luidiuzi .. "31=rn .zfl ‘r" r I '.I r . a Q ". e - e v ‘ . ._ 3":- . Lr. v s-o— nfif'fi- , . . . . ".. L". h .k' .. .- ._ ' .,'.' TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .0...0.00.0...'.....IOIIO...I...O....I....O CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER Lg, CHAPTER 5 CHAETER THE TEAM 0F BERTIE WOOSTER AND JEEVES ..... Development of a Literary Team Team Work Jeeves Alone BERTIE WOOSTER 000.000.000000000IICDOOOOOOO Friends. Enemies and Animal Life Wooster Watering Holes The Easy Riddle of Bertie Wooster A GENTLEMAN'S GENTLEMAN OQOOOCOOOIOOOOOOOO. The Roots of an Oak Jeeves as God-Force Jeeves as Magician The Quiet Mystic Jeeves as Captain of the Team WODEHOUSE'S LANGUAGE UOOOOOOOIIOOOOOOOOOOIO A Sublime Nonsense Sense From Nonsense Bertie and Jeeves: One to One PRECEDENTS IN CONAN DOYLE nee-eeeoeceeeeeoo Tight Unions ASSESSMENT OF P.G. WODEHOUSE’S ART ....,... Wodehouse and the Critics GENERAL CONCLUSIONS l.0....0.0...ODOOOIOIOOOOOOOOOUOOOOO 29 57 8# 112 138 156 ‘ IIIQAIO o.... EHVSEL GHA fiflTZOOW EITHER 10 HAIR II! 1 mseT vascetii n to Jnemqolevea fi1ow meeT snolA nevesn ESTQAHO L: -I S . "I -.' oeeeeeeo-oeeeeoeoeccoco-0000 ----‘-'--'\-" 'EL‘E‘ISH - ' I"I 3 1 ‘ - -. -. "21- J-"'...£L-' -;.__:= .' . . . . .- “.zmenr .sezuia- . 'I- . .. I .I-e 3-9 i.‘ -“£"_'5.' C '."U ="." . ' r' a ' 'ii r‘sé err .r-rr. r :..'J.‘.‘tf‘.. ‘ _'.--n"'- .. '.'_. -. ‘ ooooouoee-ooeoooeoe ‘---|J it ----'“ v- - l ‘.-. ‘ )3], z! 39' _ ~ - I. ’5‘: ‘..L . . . J ,_uy . L- "'..5 4c” ' 1 - ,H. .I....Dl..".l.l..'lfli "' ' .:."".""(".' H _ {,1 r, ‘..” ‘—_.. . E'...II‘.‘..OI.'I o-u-u-ee ~ " o n '.......'."'..'..'lfi....."".‘-." BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY ICI.O.IIIOIIIOCOCCOIOIIOOOIOI. APPENDIX A- APPENDIX B- APPENDIX C- APPENDIX D- APPENDIX E- SECONDARY CHARACTERS ................... WODEHOUSE SEMIOLOGY .................... WODEHOUSE'S WATSON ..................... LITERARY HISTORIES ..................... CONVERSATION ON CRITICISM .............. iv 162 171 179 180 181 182 LC 2 p...; .l: 1': I L‘. T’MSAi-AHU u..5:) ‘- Y ':.'=.):l§)I"’:Li-':. . I]. .m. u': -'u '- :19-:-"--:‘:» .fiAGKOOEE ‘13.???“ :l.'.5 ”all.“ '1 'u ”31-... ‘.d LU“ '11.“.1' '.. Ln; ' “JAOIflqkflDOIJEIE vA XIGHSEEA -E XICWERIA INTRODUCTION This dissertation will trace and analyze the dev- elopment of Pelham Grenville Wodehouse's supreme charac- : terizations, Bertie Wooster, the foppish young aristocrat, and Jeeves, the unparalleled manservant. I will show that Bertie and Jeeves are one of literature's most remarkable teams--a fact long overlooked by critics who feel that the character of Jeeves is much less important to Wodehouse's art than is the characterization of Bertie Wooster. By showing that Jeeves is at least as vital to Wodehouse's art as is Bertie. I would hope to encourage other critics to reassess the importance of the valet. It is my contention, and a secondary thesis of the dissertation, that the Bertie-Jeeves cycle of stories are significant in ways that transcend their implicit humor--the chief characteristic of his work to which most critics have addressed themselves. I will show the development of Jeeves, a develop- ment that is fraught with psychological, mystical. somber, and even sinister nuance. The dissertation will further show that the Bertie- Jeeves stories are, indeed, glittering examples of a lit- erature that has managed to combine high-craftsmanship with wide reader approval without losing surprising messages 1 I'= 1:1..9; -veb In? cations has 0911* III! nettldxellll Itil“ -osxsdo eneaqua a'eauodebow elxtvneaa finale! to taulqoti bne .ts1ooteizc gnuov daiqqoi ed: .qeraoow eitxea .anoideslse: sitawh feds wed: Iriv i .rntheaasm be;elismeqnu ed: .aevesL :-—saso: affiaiuemce tier 1'ryu1rsaii' to one was eaveeu has infaewsdo 3i: refit {out 01v fi”f3i10 td assaultsvo incl $582 ' - _.'-. .. .. '. .-. ' .--- .__ . ‘ . .. ' A. -":.‘-‘.’: .‘1‘3 ." . - '0. - RTM‘NHI ::'::. '...‘.- : '.'. diff-39a -f.‘ -. - : , . . . .. ‘ ' . '. . '. .' . F".'f:-‘ - . . .':=' '. . .. A_r__.r-‘-1 ,-_p . ",_-~r_r,rg.-~_fi.1:. -__1.r -'~ . -. a - ... '..'... .. .. ‘—L -2 .- . . ' ' 9.. . l~ .:=PL .: - . , I v- ‘1- I - . , , ‘ f I- . ‘ l I'. I‘ O - '.. | G ._ I Q Q .. . . _ 2 The last two chapters will show how the Bertie- Jeeves development has made untenable the thinking of those overly, sober critics who maintain that Wodehouse's works have scant literary value. By revealing the Jeeves behind Jeeves, I hope to persuade other critics to evaluate other fertile areas of research in Wodehouse's works such as his use of locale, and of provocative secondary characters. By showing how Jeeves captains the Wooster-Jeeves team, I intend to refute those views eXpressed by Richard Usborne and R.B.D. French. Both critics, it seems to me, flagrantly and falsely conclude that Bertie Wooster is Wode- house's highest literary achievement and the nexus which ties the cycle of stories together. In fact, the wonderful con- tinuity exhibited by the Bertie-Jeeves cycle owes its polish and smoothness to the complex artistry implicit in the char- acterization of Jeeves. By pointing out the contribution of Jeeves, however, I will not diminish the very real impor- tance of Bertie Wooster to the Bertie-Jeeves cycle. I will begin with a discussion and listing of the works in which Bertie Wooster and Jeeves appear, and by my further analysis of the team, the manservant Jeeves will emerge as the most complex and certainly the most interesting character in all of Wodehouse's work. Particularly helpful in researching the Bertie Wooster- Jeeves material were Agfihgg;_figthg§ by Wodehouse and W. H. Townends P.G. Wodehouse by R.B.D. French: Blandings The Blest and Wooster's World by Geoffrey Jaggard; Wodehouse at Work by Richard Usborne; A Biblio ra hy and figader's Guig§_jg_§hg s- «use we a gonna «an m at an I gums : aid as dbl. sitar c'eauodebol n1 deuce-ea to Illll 011913! .a1evoezsdo uusbncoea evirsoevoaq to has .eIeooI to can aeveebdaetaooh ad: anisdqeo seven: won anlwoda we triads-£1! ‘0'! brassy-rum 'ZU'BIV 94:34.? unit‘s" a.“ bnotni I men: :3: ct ener“ ii .xsi:ésc fife“ .n33913 .Q.E.” has arwcflsb -ai‘" 7i ”fJ"D$ 7i:"w *- ' esniccon ?7--F:‘ n"? vidneaneit as?!” va=s 2.: ,wt J +rc».;n"- vzw'n " Jaedald n'euuen .. ‘ - . . .'.- - ‘. .' . . . .fl ..-. .. , . r,. _ .-_~ ' ' . . ; ._,- , fr. .‘ .1“: D3 01" 99.. Id. - . ) -'.‘_' .";','l f 1‘..- ' ' ‘ - .1: - . .— + ': I .‘ 'l '- ‘ 3: ' .I. 3 First Editions of P.G. Wodehouse by David Jasen; the in- troduction by John Aldridge to the Selected Stories of P.G. Wodehouse; Performing Flea: A Self Portrait in Letters by Wodehouse and Townend; The World of P.G. Wodehouse by Herbert Warren Wind,and Over Seventy; An Autobiography With Digressions by Wodehouse. CHAPTER 1 THE TEAM OF BERTIE WOOSTER AND JEEVES In the first chapter, the literature of Wodehouse dealing with the team of Bertie Wooster and Jeeves will be traced from its birth in a 1917 short story to its most re- cent expression in the 1972 novel, Jeeves and the Tie that §i§g§. The chapter will continue with a critical view of the team and will look at the team's comedic development with special attention paid to the novel The Code of the Woosters. By way of comparison, the chapter will conclude with an in—depth analysis of the unsuccessful Ring For Jeeves-~the only novel in which the valet appears without Bertie Wooster. Implicit in the chapter will be the steady emergence of Jeeves as a major characterization with dimen- sions beyond those ofhis master. In 1917, Pelham Grenville Wodehouse published a collection of short stories entitled The Man With Two Left 2223. In one of the stories, Jeeves, a marvelous manservant, and Bertie Wooster, a foppish but endearing member of Eng— land's nobility, make their first appearance. It was a scrat- chy beginning, however, and in "Extricating Young Gussie,‘ the character of Wooster is hardly developed at all. In "Ex- tricating Young Gussie," Bertie bears the rather stagy last name "Mannering-Phipps." But the story is fraught with L. “I“. was“ Mam-0" m. _ -;'-‘ r“; h 91Ei 3"!“ on m m to u- ‘2' eauoriebow to ”we-10311 out .'xetqedo 3111‘! ed: a! ‘r j‘: ed Inw sweet. has detaooh' 91.7-er 'to meat ed: dfiw anneal! I -9'I deem at]: of mode shreds (III-'1 r: n.’ :13: id 33? mod! been? '! 1 .fgzi.‘ “’1; ed: J._;1_;__a___ev_e. .rm-on i'i'fi-I en: mi miaae'qus .‘..-19:: l .. .fi. ' '.to web! 1139:3313“: s 1 a:.‘:.“':':c-:v Iiiw "97:11:13 951? .Lbn Ea -'~ . ' . f . . x. .._- . 4. l :- - - . :zxem..=n.:.euei.- in. jaw-7.14:." .-'*.. A. u..: .. a 10-73. -- . arr. 9.129? at” '.. ' ., .'.. . . :. ..... . : _. _' . , ' 4.. ' '. .. an (2.1;.L__-._..1_‘..:c-__. of: _-.-.-. . .~. :. .. ._.. . .2. :1'. :. 3-..7'. .- .1 near. :1. :‘N .1; .r.-, ..,. -';-. .-,_-.......... -.:.. ._ ---._.. . ... I... .....-,-..... - \ :.L.- -J .;-.-..' .. .. x. A .u- -' -...-.. . .-. ¢ . ' .. . ..- .. '. - ' '* -'_ .- . '.'.: -'-. . -__'- :. I. i' ~ s: ‘ Ir -' ' ‘ r l- .- ‘ - r '5’ .. 9 fr , "- r . j. . .- _— . 1.. Q . -‘,‘- " ”if? ' I , : .. Q _ . . A ' Q Q t .— " ' - " Q ' t I . . ' Q U -. ' I 5 meaning and promise as Jeeves speaks what seems to be a rather innocent "Very good, sir." Indeed, the story is a harbinger of things to come. M Man Jeeves, was published in 1919. In this col- lection of short stories, Wodehouse was still tinkering with formula. In four of the short stories in this col- lection Jeeves's employer is called "Reggie,” while in the other four the employer is finally called "Bertie." In My Man Jeeves, the unerring and intriguing valet called Jeeves appears in "Leave it to Jeeves,” "Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest," "Jeeves and the Hard-Boiled Eggr and in "The Aunt and the Sluggard." The Inimitable Jeeves, in 1923, was another collec— tion of short stories, some of which remain the best in the Bertie-Jeeves cycle. This collection was significant in that it marked the first appearance of some of Wode- house's more significant secondary characters. For instance, Bertie's best friend and fellow Drone Club member, Bingo Little, appears in "Jeeves Exerts the Old Cerebellum," "The Pride of the Woosters is Wounded." "Comrade Bingo," "The Great Sermon Handicap," "The Purity of the Turf,” "The Metropolitan Touch," and "Bingo and the Little Woman." In "Aunt Agatha Speaks Her Mind," Bertie's dreaded Aunt Agatha Gregson appears. While in "Introducing Claude and Eustace" and "The Delayed Exit of Claude and Eustace," Bertie's devilish cousins make their first appearance. Bolstered by the success of The Inimitable Jeeves, Wodehouse published Carry On Jeeves in 1925. The six new 6 stories notably increased the number of secondary char- acters in the Bertie-Jeeves cycle. In "Jeeves Takes Charge," Meadowes, Bertie's inept servant appears and just as quickly disappears as Jeeves comes trickling into Bertie's life. In the collection of short stories, the list of Drone Club mem- bers increases as "Biffy" Biffen makes his debut in "The Rummy Affair of Old Biffy." In "Without the Option,“ Sir , Roderick Glossop appears, and in "Clustering Around Young Bingo," Rosie M. Banks, hack writer and full-time sentimen- talist becomes Mrs. Bingo Little. The collection also in- cludes "Fixing it For Freddier and "Bertie Changes His Mind." The third collection of Bertie-Jeeves stories appear in 1930. In Ve Good Jeeves, Wodehouse mixes friend and enemy together as Aunt Agatha and Bingo Little appear in "Jeeves and the Impending Doom." In "Jeeves and the Dog McIntosh,” an equally feared enemy emerges when the terrier McIntosh enters the Wodehouse saga. In "The Inferiority Complex of Old Sippy," Wodehouse experimented with names that slide humorously over the pages of the Bertie-Jeeves cycle-- such delightful names as Gwendolen Moon, Sippy Sipperley,and Waterbury. Another bumbler from the nobility, Tuppy Glossop, holds forth in "Jeeves and the Yuletide Spirit." "Jeeves and the Song of Songs“ and "Tuppy Changes His Mind." The "good" and congenial aunt, Dahlia Travers, appears in "Jeeves and the Spot of Art" and in ”Jeeves and the Love That Purifies." Countering the congeniality of Dahlia, Agatha once again appears in "The Indian Summer of An Uncle." 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I Q - .‘..; ' L ' ." '.I'EL 9 . .. , . i . .‘ : 9v I. ' c ' A. -‘. . ' ' I ‘- . l - . . l -. _- v u ' . ' ‘ ‘ A Q at _ . - '. - — II . . I 1 A t ‘ w . e >~ . ‘ r 7 one of Wodehouse's epicene beauties. appears in "Jeeves and the Kid Clementine." and Bingo Little appears again in "Jeeves and the Old School Chum." These collection of short stories were followed by a string of Bertie-Jeeves novels. as Wodehouse felt con- fident enough. in l93#. to expand the adventures of his team of Wooster and Jeeves into the longer novel form. The 1934 novel Thank You Jeeves. was followed by Right Ho Jeeves (1934). The Code of the Woosters (1938), Joy in the Morning (1996) and 2hg_flgting_§§g§gn (l9fl9). Then Wodehouse inex- plicably dropped Bertie Wooster as he wrote a Jeeves novel entitled Ring For Jeeves (1953). The rest of the Bertie- Jeeves cycle consists of Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit; a 1959 collection of short stories entitled A Few Quick Ones in which Jeeves appears only in "Jeeves Makes An Omelet." a novel entitled How Right You Are Jeeves in 1963. and a 1966 collection of short stories entitled Plum Pie which finds Bertie and Jeeves appearing in "Jeeves and the Greasy Bird." Rounding out the oeuvre is Much Obliged Jeeves pub- lished in 1971 and Jeeves and the Tie that Binds. also published in 1971. (A complete listing of characters in the Bertie- Jeeves cycle of stories can be found in Appendix A.) Development of a Literary Team It should be mentioned that most critics of Wode- house's work seem unable to explain the dynamics of the not as To mm. m m- a me: u an. M91 ed? .1391 Ieveu some: on: we: devout. In MINI-IQ we}; 3545331 1d bewollc’: eon .W 1"“. argue“ emf a; go}; “La-.391) Me! 951: E M oUEQfl -xen.i amonebow nan-1‘ . 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I 8 fascinating relationship between Bertie Wooster and his manservant Jeeves. Richard Voorhees. for instance. feels that Jeeves becomes Bertie's keeper after one slim and un- eventful week on the job. Bertie.as seen_by Voorhees in his' book 2,6. Wodehouse. is a murderer of language who needs his diction sorted out by Jeeves. his eloquent and encyclo- pedic partner. Voorhees. theorizes. and quite correctly, that Wodehouse purposely keeps Bertie's quotations and speech tentative. so that when Bertie tries to communicate with his dilettante-like flourishes. he must defer time and time again to Jeeves for confirmation of his usage.1 But Voorhees offers no explanation or analysis of Jeeves's rather supernatural gifts, and he does not even mention how Jeeves is emboldened enough to offer his wisdom so obviously to a master terribly conscious of status. Jeeves manages to keep Bertie Wooster's mind blur- red and fuzzy as the not totally scrupulous manservant mixes his master an endless succession of potent and almost le- thal whiskies and soda. In fact, references to Bertie's alcoholism are replete in the short stories and novels as Bertie stumbles through life tripping over maraschino cherries. But Jeeves. a renaissance man. always has a cure for the inevitable hangovers he brings about by design; he offers up early morning cordials. Bertie. frequently gives way to his inebriation by helplessly waving his pink and puppy-like fingers as he summons Jeeves to pick his clothes and knot his irregular ties. Jeeves takes advantage of these 'm nsbofigggi Joel Jittn fiofiaih 81d .“oansuov .monrueu *jheq .- I one 3-1:: -. Guys-narrow : exit nafrfvasi 1:"963 ' ' ' ' CH ' .’ . - '.5- .- ,‘=:1.'_ “ -:"'i-'-'. -. - 1 0"" ‘l . . ;.-'- -. . - l. . . . i . - ' g :u.‘-: ' . - - . . . u- '- r ': . . . . . . moments of close personal contact by spilling forth with French epigrans which Bertie never deciphers either drunk or sober. Jeeves is a servant. if not quite sinister. cer- tainly without scruple. Jeeves, in fact. manipulates the relationship and, time and time again, agrees to come to the rescue of the accident-prone young master only after Bertie agrees to alter his dress by sacrificing some ob- jectionable piece of clothing which threatens Jeeves's fine sense of aesthetics. Bertie always gives in to Jeeves and he insists that Jeeves must be right about things since the valet's mind is maintained by huge devourings of fish which enrich the valet's brain. Certainly. Bertie Wooster is one of the world's most dim-witted fops, but he is a fop given élan and panache by his servant. It is the stereotypic and indolent aristo- crat who cannot see that the dash he possesses can be traced directly to his servant. But Wodehouse and Jeeves let the reader in on the secret, and Bertie's solitary ignor- ance of it is made even more delightful. The relationship which mystifies Voorhees. also puzzles other critics like Richard Usborne. Usborne, in Wodehouse at Work. sees Bertie's relationship with Jeeves in terms of a ”public-school arrangement." Bertie. he points out, "berates Jeeves, not like a master berating a servant, I12 but like a prefect berating a fag. Usborne, unfortunately. never explains why Bertie, who will admit to Jeeves's super amu- mm at am panama” as one u some miss: out one out .lu quiche” :efls use «tees 3mm: onus-sheets” on to noon 0“ -do was mlotneon vs see-m an: 19313 e: songs and sail e'eovoeL anetnsvdt finidw snjdtois lo eoelq ofdsnoltoet one asvseb o: r' :esiu aszir efdtefi .snitenises to sense oasis e=nfnr trod? edsi1 as re": seven; ten? aisles! on .26” "= e {lflfiV‘D enud :d sent-in?en Hi brim a':elsv ed: r'yh's" an: joists dsidw e - '-\. - :- _whh «— .; \H?4 9.. ' . .. 1.2:. - e ~73 ‘ ‘ " ' V 5 ._ C I-‘ . .Ii‘ -‘ [iv—"1:3 .TE'JL'I l . - '. ¢ _ u ' ..." r - " " ' ""-. ' a 9 . snc— J-Zfl Y!‘ ~ .. - . L - ' ~ 1 . ‘ or . ;:' ,='u e ' ‘ ‘ .' ' ' "1:: - u if . b \- - . - , ' . :3?- ..-- - ~ . _- 1- . far \ a - I. . -~ . _ - -.. , _. I - ' -' a - u 3 ‘ . . . - .. - '- . - ‘ n D _' .. O 10 intelligence. berates Jeeves. Usborne does not See that Bertie berates Jeeves with infrequent and reckless scorn because Jeeves, always in control of every Situation, lets Bertie berate him. It is equally apparent, however, that Jeeves would accept only the verbal lashes of his young master because he fairly adores Bertie. His affection, in fact, is firm and enduring as Jeeves mentions over and over that. despite the fact that Bertie's mind is mentally "neg- ligible," it is the mind of "a master with a heart of gold.” But Usborne, like many others who give short shrift to Jeeves as they try to disentangle the dynamics of the curious relationship. becomes confused. For instance. at one point in his book, Usborne characterizes Jeeves as a keeper of the feudal spirit who could be eXpected to leave the Wooster digs if Bertie were to get married. But given Jeeves's mastery, a mastery that Usborne agrees with, the critic does not mention that the possibility of matrimony in the Wooster home is more than remote, especially in view of his own description of Jeeves as "an extra-dimension, a God-like mover." 3 Indeed, Jeeves is the master brain that makes and resolves all plot in the Bertie Wooster- Jeeves stories. Thus, Jeeves guards against Bertie's con- sequential action and plans accordingly. Such clairvoyance and total control would seem to rule out marriage for Bertie. For R.B.D. French, in his book P.G. Wodehouse, the relationship is simpler. French is infatuated by Jeeves's .- two has sovo snottnen aeveet. as M11111)“. has an “13“,. 4.5.1" wilds“ of scrim e'sit'se': dad: 3911 ed: also» a.“ ".nlcs to 31nd a .13.:sz when: e" to bats edd- nl :1 “null“ :iiritss 3'!ch twin. om' new; mam xiii .zt-n'xodab’ #558 .=.-‘.;3- to sofunrzw m4? adsnsmrsein -.::' 157‘.— zem as saved. at . s -'-.'-.'.9;.*::::. ’.‘u' “'92 no: forces-1' .I.‘{.Erfrmoi25.fs'1 lanolin: .~:. rum-1. ._'- ":2"! ”3.2.2:":- 5rI::.; . 2- ,:énu': :5: .1} fnioq one "I'M-r T .‘..-52.13.11 :xror- Irv-.- t‘f'yjua- «bani 953'? to 19-37991 .-:.-.-_- .' . - M: r :r em. Eff-.13. '27:...Er. '.‘J‘IPGL'Q'S 3.1: \ ‘ or- .. .. ‘-‘.“.“."I':‘ .;' a": r -.;::'-:s' 3. '* . (”effing .'z'.9-r.- 9. ,- Hi - g \ i 3-: - — I-a‘ I u,- l ‘ I" rli- L113 ' '1‘; . 4.: .4: ' . '1 1.. .-r-— '....i I I) ." 'I; I " u \ :5 'V 490 a I . ‘ ' n. T in ' I "’ .~ : I ‘ ‘ '. “"‘n . ‘ . - I e ‘ l ’ I '. I E l ’ .. ! ‘ l:"3. ‘ I -e o n , - ”80113“. sodas; M!" II. I“ m w I, M mold-eons eifl .on-us snobs this! 0‘ m. 1"“. 11 fastidious fidelity to the feudal code and Spirit and he is cock-sure that. although Jeeves is a proud man. "his pride is the pride of service." Jeeves is. French continues. "always the master of Bertie. If it Were otherwise his uni- verse would come undone." “ Again there is an underesti- mation of Jeeves's mettle and endurance. John Aldridge, in his sober "The Lessons of the Young Master." cuts through the critical persiflage and empty theory as he admits that Jeeves mystifies him. For Aldridge. Jeeves is "a mother surrogate. big brother. il- legal guardian. keeper. intellectual mentor. apollonian censor. undercover agent, hired thug and knight-at—arms." 5 Indeed. Jeeves does more than just serve. The valet. on his more obvious levels. is also an educator and a sar- donic wit who wants to let his masters know that he, Jeeves. is the master intelligence. The masters see this subtle apparition as a gentle soul who has a good. clean heart and who would not think of disturbing the tottering equilibrium and egos of them and their cronies. Because of his secretive nature. most critics have difficulty pinning Jeeves down to tidy analyses. For ins- tance. an anonymous critic commented. not totally tongue- in—cheek, that if Jeeves had been Prime Minister of England. the First World War would never have been fought. A.P. Ryan's assessment of Jeeves is less fatuous. In an article about Wodehouse Ryan wrote that "Jeeves is the housemaster of Wodehouse's youth." Jeeves is able, continues Ryan. to -l:aedennu no z: axes? sisal ¢ “.enobnu emoo blues asset .sonawuhnfi hue elites s'sevee; to acids- sri” taro: 3i: mi .egbjtblk nflcb Enoirimn sit dvicnd. 'Ju: “,setaam nnuo! ~-.- 13-. .-_- -:"i'.?~~.' ~+= Imam: some. -. .. . -..... ..'- -.-. .. -'. --. . . 2'. ' I .-.:..' .- -~3F. . .uv:3. .7RL.TO£ ‘ I . .I- . l a... 3 ' . _ . . 31‘ . “r1=“ -' :1. 'r . I l .P -'J ' t 12 "smoothly patronize (his) young barbarians. (He) knows the boys rely on (him) and can't do without him.“ 6 Team Work In all the Wodehouse stories in the Bertie-Jeeves saga. Bertie Wooster is imbecilic. lazy, often drunk, but always charming. The following opening to The Code of the Wgosters points to the quintessential Bertie living in the lap of Jeeves's largesse and good spirit. It is the secure, wrapped-in-womb Bertie Wooster who narrates: I reached out a hand from under the blankets. and rang the bell for Jeeves. "Good evening. Jeeves." "Good morning. sir." This surprised me. "Is it morning?" "Yes. sir." "Are you sure? It seems very dark outside." "There is a fog. sir. If you will recollect. we are now in Autumn-season of mists and mellow fruitfullness." "Oh. yes. Yes I see. Well, be that as it may. get me one of those bracers of yours, will you?“ "I have one in readiness. sir. in the ice box." 7 A cursory reading of Wodehouse by the less than sophisticated reader would probably indicate that Bertie Wooster, although looking for security from Jeeves. seems in total control of the stories. It is easy to come to this conclusion since Wodehouse chooses to make Bertie the nar- rator of the stories in the Bertie-Jeeves cycle. His choice. however. poses an artistic problem for Wodehouse, for on one hand the reader is led to believe in a bumbling dolt- like Wooster. But at the same time. Wodehouse has some .‘-l music-3W or! at sateen w w ”a...“ grim" sod .inusb units .1331 .otlloedlt It ratios" 01*IO|.el|!! on: To eggs 3d? ed paineoo aniwollot on! claimants still! and at anlvii elites Isidnesaedntup on: ad atntoq gggzlgg! .“vuoea ed: 3i :1 .titjsa has; has 93393151 s'aeveeb To qsl :Tsisvvse saw =3I?.2- “=T25L deducnl-bsqqnew 1’ iflfifi hifi .arnmnsid Ad? 73333 rest sued s Tao bonuses l .eoVeoL 23* lied an: - . ' - . .. r-v on): -‘. 3'1 '..".9'1 .'F L50!) 0 . '- - .' n "I! .I’Aln": . .fl-.."‘.'TC'I'H VO‘ . . . ,_ -., , .. - r- .eh 0. :Jurt :zd: "-"‘1|'2.""-'-‘:.‘T1 3'1 :4." u a i, '.. I . I ._n .‘- ".€§?):E.".. '- =. '-' ~". I‘ >.-..-.-".-- '5*---' -" :1 '.' o tr‘I" ‘;..;":"_-:. - ‘L'l -" _ :- '_.:.'_- ' ”‘.. -: a} 3.79., 'l- . ' V's! 1'. “W .. 3:.‘-"1;J....' II. '-.I ‘ e I ’1 I r . ‘. ‘3' ~4- S'I q " ' 5' "K g n 3‘; ‘ -...-u I . - " . - ' .-.-,. ' . _-. . "' ‘ ’20 .- ‘ 1 9". . "' ‘ q . .’.Ocfl'! .‘ " ‘ . - -.u .. .. .. ., '- " ‘ _ :LI. ‘ . . _ q i p 4 ~. I -. I a ' . -. e . ‘ 0o '.h ..._. 13 artistic and philosophical points to make, and he is faced with the dilemma of making his points through the sopho- moric narrator Bertie Wooster. This, of course, creates a literary ambivalence. The result is a slight weakening of the characterization of Bertie since the reader is never quite sure whether Bertie is speaking and thinking out of his own resources or from Wodehouse's. The ambivalence is I seen clearly in the following passage in which the reader finds Bertie discussing the decision-making process be- tween master and servant. Bertie narrates: I suppose that when two men live in close association with one another, there are bound to be occasional clashes, and one of these had recently popped up in the Wooster home. Jeeves was trying to get me to go on a Round-the-World cruise, and I would have none of it. But in spite of my firm statement to this ef- fect, scarcely a day passed without him bringing me a sheet or nosegay of those illustrated folders which the Ho-for-the-open-spaces birds send out in the hope of drumming up custom. His whole attitude recalled irresistibly to the mind that of some assiduous hound who will persist in laying a dead rat on the drawing room carpet though apprised by word and gesture that the market for same is sluggish or even non-existent. "Jeeves," I said, "this nuisance must now cease." "Travel is highly educational, sir." “I can' t do with any more education. I was full up years ago. No, Jeeves, I know what's the matter with you. That old Viking strain of yours has come out again. You yearn for the tang of the salt breezes . . . But not me. I refuse to be decanted into any blasted ocean-going liner and lugged off round the world.” "Very good, sir." Then Wodehouse, perhaps unsure of his characterization of Bertie Wooster, returns Bertie's speech patterns to their roots in the Wooster mind. Bertie refers to Jeeves's final resignation with "He spoke with a certain what-is-it P 93' h! r. In 1 a. w. ...... h m .F. d.. -. in in his voice, and I could see that if not actually disgrunt- led, he was far from being gruntled.“8 Now the Bertie Wooster who asks 'what-is-it." and sees that Jeeves is far from being “gruntied,” is the Bertie true to the characterization of the dolt, the shallow Ed- wardian. This Bertie Wooster, loaded down by Wodehouse's narration, would never have said "apprised,” ”assiduous" or ”decanted." Only when he talks to his valet does Bertie Wooster's characterization reach a fine balance. But besides Wodehouse‘s frequently erratic rendering of Bertie Wooster, the young master does emerge as a shrewd team player. In fact, to many critics, Bertie is the team captain who watches Jeeves carry the ball while he, Bertie, accepts the accolades and the rugger blue. But there is no doubt that Bertie Wooster needs his teammate. Jeeves must supply the strokes needed by Wooster's fragile ego. For, example, after having received a telegram from his shy, docile friend Gussie Fink-Nottle, stating that Gussie's romance with Madeline Bassett was in difficulty, Bertie sank into "a c. and passed an agitated h. over the b.." Jeeves,meanwhi1e, reads the telegram and replies soberly and evenly that the telegram is "disturbing.” Bertie is at once energized by the shared concern of Jeeves, and uplifted by a reaffirmation that Jeeves "always feels for the well being of the young seigneur." 9 Indeed. Jeeves has a remedy for almost anything that ails Bertie. For example, hurrying to Gussie's aid, W em- gnt um a'emw u um um; anneal quest M m' “auouuau' “.bnhqqe" one and seven blue- welt-l” aiiusfl loch dellv aid at sales on and! ulna '.betIIOIh“ 20 .eonsind sail 3 doses noisesiuesaaendo a'aetaee' gniuebnee offsets viineupsu? uioauodsbofi seal-ed :ufi bwaxda a as sesame anon ~nftsu unset ed: .xedsoow 013198 lo meet an? at egress .uoirimo wash a: .1“?! n* .mevelq men: .aitme! ,sf aifinw file: 53 {1139 ae'e:t asdoszw onw hiatus: u: ai s1n5+ infi .enffi Teen.” 9dr :na rscbslonss «it 331:!95! rw.n ..;“9u .e:smm.at sin .r:9n raxsoc~ sitaafi Jed! demon ."r .6? - r“ 55 ”iv an. ‘ ' % -=1 arc-tn 11+ ‘5: , . “ .ld r~~t 1,"- a ~ .: h. ad ” 3‘s .eiruaxn "_I. :J ’hflt ‘2 f i .' 1* .- : “tsfn ¢-.v ""Wr Q -: "__I. ”i .M." g+qd _J "II—"Ql 3"“ 5;: 1" "' '.. '.. . ' *9 ~ .- . 9.2." "‘..: 1 1 ' . ‘ u '..}. I I . .'=en; satire: 7" =rf.n;n' :s: ¢"r9- ,;'fi¥ura , ' .'..:v. I" n. l‘ - ‘ ._ . 4_ 3- 4 ' Q ’.i - -’ ,tnr , 1 -- a J i . ' 3 ,, "a wi-‘a' — " ' ' "a I I. " 'l' ‘ _. ’ I h h." t s . I. -‘ ‘ 15 Bertie says: We were bowling along in the old two~seater on our way to Totleigh Towers, self at wheel, Jeeves at my side. The personal affects in the dickey. We had got off round eleven-thirty and the genial afternoon was now at its juiciest. It was one of those crisp. sunny bracing days with a pleasant tang in the air . . . 0 1° The passage further establishes the team spirit and cama- raderie between Bertie and Jeeves. "Jeeves at my side" emerges as the most significant part of the passage. Jeeves. in fact, is the great pacifier, the balm that soothes what- ever ails the young master. There is little doubt that it is a manipulative valet with near-mystical qualities who can take control of Bertie and spread an inner cheer which allows Bertie to see the day as "crisp,“ "sunny," and "brac- ing." Jeeves's control of Bertie extends even to the mun- dane. He is the supreme manipulator of Bertie's rather hap- less ideas about dress and the proper accessories. Those moments when valet and master come together to lock horns over fabric supply some of Wodehouse's best humor. In Egg Code of the Woosters. Jeeves suggests "the trousers perhaps a quarter of an inch higher, sir. One aims at the carelessly, graceful break over the instep. It is a matter of the nicest adjustment." Bertie agrees, of course, but adds rather in- nocently, "there are moments, Jeeves, when one asks oneself, 'do trousers matter.'" Jeeves, however, in control of the mini-sartorial rebellion adds, "The mood will pass, Sir." 11 Despite his modest respect for "his man," Bertie is ——‘_— 16 first and foremost the engaging and constant dilettante. And if he is to admit that he knows little about dress, he is less anxious to admit ignorance on other subjects. For in- stance, reacting to the ever constant plague of aunts with which Wodehouse bedevils the fop, Bertie tells Jeeves, "if I had my life to live again, Jeeves, I would start it as an orphan without any aunts.“ Then Bertie innocently asks, , "Don't they put aunts in Turkey in sacks and drop them into the Bosphorus?" Jeeves, always kind but never wanting to encourage the dilettante in Bertie, corrects the young master, 12 "Odalisques, sir, I understand. Not aunts." Also, in The Code of the Woosters. in one of Jeeves's infrequent flights of fancy he offers, "the native hue of resolution is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought and enter- prises of great pitch and moment . . . . " Bertie, suspecting Jeeves had just said something terribly elegant, answers. "Exactly, you take the words out of my mouth." 13 There is another dimension to Bertie and Jeeves as a team. In many of the stories Bertie Wooster plays the patient to Jeeves the therapist and medicine man, who utili- zes a most unusual therapy. Jeeves's liquid therapy depends on Bertie's constant consumption of lethal whiskies and soda. Indeed, Jeeves is just unscrupulous enough to keep his young master in a perpetually, sleepy state. A devious Jeeves re- alizes that if manipulation of Bertie is easy when the master is sober, it will be infinitely easier when the master has "snorted a few.” But Jeeves's therapy is wide-ranging, despite 1? its seemingly simplistic nature. Noticing the dolorous state of the young master in The Code of the Woosters. Jeeves remarks: If I might suggest sir-it is of course merely a pall- iative-but it has often been found in time of despon- dency that the assumption of foEmal dress has a stim- ulating effect on the morale. 1 Bertie, of course, dresses quickly for he knows that Jeeves "in . . . the delicate matters of psychology, never errs." 15 Again at the end of The Code of the Woosters, the reader sees the effects of Jeeves as therapist as Bertie closes his eyes, relaxes his muscles, softens and regulates his breat- ing and falls asleep. Jeeves's influence sweeps "over (Bertie) like a healing wave." 16 Throughout The Code of the Woosters. Bertie never admits to the same awe and respect that pour forth from his relatives and cronies who worship Jeeves. Unlike the complimentary Aunt Dahlia and Gussie Fink-Nottle, Bertie tempers and moderates his respect for Jeeves, for he sus- pects that the feudal spirit, so stunningly deployed by Jeeves, would wither if the valet knew that his master thought too highly of him. Yet, even Bertie Wooster is forced to admit that there is more to Jeeves than meets the eye. At one point in The Code of the Woosters, Bertie rather naively asks Jeeves, "What size hat do you take?" Jeeves responds, "A number eight, sir." And Bertie, who always tries to measure the extent of his valet's intellectual powers-- which he feels are indicated by hat size-—can only mutter .'..-'1 a “.0! . n1" asveeL ten: awonfl-ed moi ulfloirp aeeae1b .eeeuoo to .03 “I “.3319 seven .zgnlofisr eusirsm erection out . . Tabfifit an: .gggfaegh;3gznfin abs? efiT To bus on: Is nilah Eiifind a" raider-id as aevset is 8399119 ed: 8993 +%n# ,netnasm aid aexsls: .asvs . :-::"'-:'-'"_...:r'_: 2.41.8 -"':."-1.- .weercs sfls1 has gal ”'11 “ . ; tofizcri fisvz" afioth is: 2‘“=5 .' a» a ': '.svuw itilcsn s 9x31 — ' F ' !..:l: _, ' _ _ _'_'_ _ET-‘fh 'Hr-z: 11217311.- ‘ .- I I. f 1'. '..: , 91:. . F ‘ 71:11" . t" ' ~ [5- ; .'.. ‘ 3 .- 4 . " "- - ~ ' E ‘ l v r .- ' . '- " -r'- L ‘.l. ‘ f .1 .13. . P ‘1 . . , . , 1 e a _I . t.. . .. . ,‘ f a Q g 0 .5.’ l I ‘ v ‘v . - ..., :3 _ .’- '- 18 worshippingly, I would have thought larger, eleven or twelve." 17 The valet can be counted on to utilize, if neces- sary, rather heavy-handed methods in order to keep Bertie‘s respect alive. Perhaps one of Jeeves's most effective weap- ons is Junior Ganymede, a small, elite club with a fixed quota of servants as members. Club members spend most of their off-the-job hours at the club engaged in spirited games of cards or in the compilation of the club book. The book is a bane to the existence of all indiscreet nobility who engage the club's members, for in the club book is kept a record of all the indiscretions of prospective employers. The members of Junior Ganymede, of course, make use of the book's information when looking for new jobs. Unlike the Drones Club to which Bertie belongs (located and based on men's clubs which actually existed around Curzon Street in London), the antecedents of Ganymede are unknown. The club was, no doubt, created directly out of Wodehouse's imagination, but the club is real enough to Bertie Wooster, and the young master is shocked to learn that his file in the club's book is the most extensive, running to slightly over 11 pages. Bertie has a history of underestimating Jeeves. He labors under the mistaken impression that somehow he is the one who galvanizes Jeeves's brain into action. Certainly, it is a rather one-dimensional master whom Wode- house forces to look at the manipulator-mystic in a one hm 1 Elite duh wu- .unu a .‘..-.9 adult "5-1 in to seem bneqa sandman Hula .aeedmem as eta-veal to Ital, burials: n1 begsane onIs on: :e eased dot-easotte 1101! an? .1006 dale and 10 noiteliqmo: ed: hi to abuse To some; usilidon readoaihn: Lie to eonesaixs an: 0: once I of flood tqu a: iced 1hr: ed: u? 101 .emednsm a'cLIe on: saaans odw .313M01qrs au?.aaqaouw ?u enoiiezesihnf 3d: 5!; To beans: 3 a“: To any sins .4?TUOC to ,.ns~"~-S rainy; To steamem on? «do 9337'. .;crE ”s: an: .niuwt 3331 uQETSrqunI n’zood .tc " J" ."I ~" ‘ " 3?" " F’Ilfn .J’ ’.-T' Zfifib': 1 '2)“ :'.'--‘* ' " - ' ...<.... “91- .'..! "'13." I . ‘I'L I. n n. I. “.3" Hag-f. " l . . l 1' ”II,” | 75-5 “r. a- ' , 1' : .' I. t r. . ' *-’ i ..... c -' " c' a . '91: .xc"'1 1. an?" "'.'.'.-3--i. .’ inane-H- 'r i "-‘-'.- .-. i" 15?: 5’xfla; . uf Mr§;':v ,---i-=.s?x: " "J n u #3 ” . . e‘ .-. =“'.-.. -. -..':"‘ 3ni:r:.9:r'x5..v‘; in 1.- ' " : *1 '. '.. , ‘.., , ('.,'- "Sf- . . . Q .: ‘ . ‘ _ M . ' . - ’ ~unw . ~ -- 19 dimensional way. And, after Jeeves solves another prob- lem for his master, Bertie can only gloat: As for Jeeves one could see that the faithful fel- low was tickled pink at having been able to cluster around the young magter in his hours of peril. His motto 13 service. Bertie Wooster seems delightfully unaware that Jeeves allows for. encourages and even manipulates his master's monomania. Thus, Bertie remains confused and in The Code of the Woosters. he narrates, "I soared like an eagle to the chest of drawers, Jeeves was skimming like a swallow to the top of the cupboard." 19 Thus, Bertie's delusion is complete but endearing for not only is Jeeves terribly unlike an eagle turned swallow, Bertie Wooster, who in reality is more the sweet and frail swallow, is even more unlike the eagle.-It is equally apparent that Jeeves needs the Wooster nest. But, unfortunately in 3;ng_§gg_ggggg§, Wodehouse plucks Jeeves from the nest. Jeeves Alone Lord Rowcester is Jeeves's master in Ring For Jeeves and is another of Wodehouse's magnificent upper-class dolts. Rowcester is the Lord of a posh but leaky country home. Into the damp house comes Jeeves on loan from Bertie Wooster who is attending a school which hopefully will teach him to cope with a modern England fast becoming servantless. In the first pages of the book, Bill summons Jeeves and Wodehouse writes: The man who entered-or perhaps one should say shimmered m... .1» ma. mat " ' r.‘ -.. field escalates; I»; on: scan mi has beeutnee mime-x sis-see: .1:th .etnmnoa vessel- 3 an elf! houses 1' .aeiemwan ed .Eggggggg_ggg_zg_g§gg_gflg s sill enimmiie esw aeveeL .eeewsxb to feeds ed: 0: sigma 3'913791 .HUdT ‘3 “.bvsodqua and lo an: out or woilewa savset a: vino Son to” aniaseuno sud aseiqmoo ei noisuleb ,Tedecoh eitzsfi ,wolfews nests: a; "s as eiijnu vldisee: nave at .WJEIawr 13511 are J~n~n an: r"mm ai uriisev ni odw } saves. tel: :newswte ,Ila.;x of II .eineo ax: eaifnv seam ,glgjf;L-£§;gpim n3 2’ :‘"£FT:.PU ,rqi ..aen Weinnnw ans sheer .2" .‘".:. :'-:"'a' mu“; '.evmfi. R'I'v'j-T'i. ::--.'.'-‘:fi',:-\n ~.'t'. ‘ '17 " 3" .'=--.' ’.’.'=.‘.’_-' P -.'L '-'_ ~ . ' ' 1- . ‘ n: v u * .-3 ; ~'311: ° ‘ "“ a ". tun: . 'r f . r _e \ .'- ‘JJ 1- ‘ la. ‘ ‘.. ' \ r .. r - , 1_ - s: ..' 3 - . > - " c' m:- ‘“-*1 i . n c 1a . ' a . , e . n r q .. ~, {u -- -. . 20 into-the room was tall dark and impressive. He might have been one of the better-class ambassadors or the youngish priest of some required and dignified re- ligion. His eyes gleamed with the light of intell- igence. and his finely chiseled face eXpressed a feu- dal desire to be of service. But the characterization of Jeeves in Rigg For Jeeves is quite different from the characterization in the stories in which Bertie and Jeeves appear together. In Rigg For Jeeves the valet feels less restricted by the feudal code and the most immediate result of this new freedom is that Jeeves feels free to talk as much as he wishes. Without Bertie, Jeeves is a cruel teacher. In Rin For Jeeves, Jeeves the instructor uses his knowledge of the-English language to counter and ridicule the speech of those in the nobility whom he feels are preliterate. Jeeves is more than the amateur linguist as his soaring but never windy rhetoric gains in distinction when he engages in conversation with one of the Wodehouse dolts who always speak in baby-talk, banter and badinage. For instance, Rory, a character in Rin For Jeeves, and, along with Rowcester, a surrogate figure for Bertie Wooster, refers rather ungenerously to Mrs. Spottsworth. an American mil- lionairess. as being "perfectly potty." Jeeves, meanwhile, always after the not gusts, replies to Rory, "the lady does appear to diverge somewhat from the generally accepted norm, Sir Roderick." 21 Thus, Wodehouse sets up one of his fine and sus- tained ironies. First we have a member of the aristocracy, mum unifies-realize“ no can ear-um cm a M «1 Jeanne: same meet. an emu may at has shoe lebue‘i ens vp betel-x: as: cool sleet :elev «I: m aeveet. red: at aobeea’i wen aid: to “use? stubs-1 tee. efl' .ett1ee tucfltiw .nenciw an as dean as ifs: o: 9911 sleet eds seveet .gpxpglgggtggg;gn; .eeneeet Issue e at caveat c: eaeuansl definnk an: 'c smbstnflfi aid aeau motouutani {sjiidcn and n' seen? “a fitness 233 elucioie has seisuoo .eceWetaiewu ewe also? on nodw sin “a J?iU‘1i£ unites: an: I"JE swam I: asvaoa eons noi‘cniifiic ri arias 4L1:“2f~ arciw save: the eflétsec .-: .. .......', . -. _ - 1,. . ' . . ' . . . --:"..c.. .5 . -u'-- .. , .. '..-.0 .‘.5 1.- Mr. .. s..._.-.- I '.o: .1; {‘..-333.19 9‘ '..Z) . a-‘x ‘9 . n - ' -’ e . ’ -- ‘ ‘ *1 '.‘"B'.-' ‘ -‘ F‘W ‘ u" " . f. - . . .- -' a '- '(ULB . . 1 ‘I';"_ '_ ’..... ‘ w... . _ '.. r, I v“- .',‘C‘ .n ‘ 1"”? k'.' "4‘ -. c' . I2: . ‘ L" "flu..- ‘ ."t' . . \ n _j a r r 1 . _(-" -— I . 2"); Hr 3"”;- ,9....r. ' ' , M --3 . ' ‘ -‘ - n ‘ . . r '3 I. r ‘1 ‘ "" '. " , " I ‘, tn . ’T '1'\ _ n - e a 'la . ‘ _ .' l _x' l . .. Q C 1.... 1...... “.4... w W... 21 a gentleman who seems to have forgotten his Etonian and Oxford training. On the other hand, there is the servant who should, stereotypically. reflect his assumed plebian intelligence with a rough-hewn and unpolished speech. The nobility, however, usually spout tripe, drivel and a constant stream of banalitiesz while the servant class, led by Jeeves the master rhetorician, amends the gentleman's unfortunate selections of wrods by adding unobtrusive dash and pre- cision. Jeeves, less inhibited by Bill Rowcester than by the strange restraints he feels when dealing with his master Bertie, will not let Rowcester get away with any verbal shenanigans. In the beginning of Bi For Jeeves, the reader finds Bill shocked by a piece of news he has just heard and he utters, "incredulous." Jeeves merely winces and cor- rects, "incredible. m'lord." 22 In Rigg For Jeeves, the valet seems too smug and relaxed while away from his master, a Jeeves who even in- dulges in humorous asides. If these amusing ripostes seem too pointed, they are still droll in the best of British traditions. For instance, Captain Bigger, one of Wodehouse's "great white hunters" who pop up periodically in his stories, is flim-flammed by a bookie who has motored away with Big- gar's last few dollars which the hunter had earned on his last safari. Bigger, however. reads the license plate and traces the car back to the residence of Lord Rowcester. Jeeves, trying to protect his master, who has taken to placing bets in order to heat his water-soaked home, suggests _ in 7” 7:» __ . -. and one. usu- .M‘ium m "t «at .'..-u em an on:- .num—ur-ur-ue etenuiuetns a‘neleitse: an: else-e .nnzelsotels set-II alt oexq the dash evtsuutdonu anions we ahe1w to Isol:ee£ee .sotats ed: to ash: 19:295wa? Lljfi mo basidinn: s29; .noveeb tetanu Pin driw fifliifitb nanw LiBQ“ on easieutaeq cansxts 15519? {as utifi a3Ws :93 zsreeowou is: :an Eliw .9iitea Tots“? s53 .figgggi 35;“3g;;. n n:inz:‘ne§ 1“: r .ansajnansds war-1n $55.5", -'-.s;1 {if "vs: '1' .-'_"n..-‘ a .; ':‘n.‘:.-:"' 5.5: -:r*-.':."1 '-s- n'-- .. -..- -~... .'.l s ' lav-“r: n,’ “YT-41'! ‘-..-.-".€--. .9: 1:. ... {JP-"5.4. ' ”5”“3." 87‘. ”=3 A_ _ ’ ..."' /~ .'. J :n' ' ."t a" ru\ " . J ., ;_e‘ an1 .‘H‘na w;— .n' w. o -- ‘ «c - - .'v'l . a l r P‘ u . I) .- . . -.- r- ~_.- - I -« ‘..,- ‘J - - . I .d — ‘ ... ~ f Q - .. ‘ Q . I . ' ‘ ‘ Ill, ' A \ -1; .rn" "t.“ '5'. I .‘ ‘ '=". ‘ . g .. ‘ I I . I . . . V 22 that Biggar's eyesight had been in error when he saw the license plate. Biggar reSponds with a show of bravado: I am Bigger the White Hunter, the most famous white hunter in all Africa and Indonesia. I can stand without a tremor in the path of an onrushing rhino and why? Because my eyesight is so superb that I know that I can get him in that one vulnerable spot before he has come within sixty paces. That's the sort of eyesight mine is. Jeeves annoyed by Biggar's conceit, responds drolly and sarcastically: I fear I cannot recede from my position. sir. I grant that you may have trained your eyesight for such a contingency as you have described but, poorly infor- med as I am on the subject of the larger fauna of the East. I do not believe ghat rhinoceri are equipped with license numbers. 2 A careful reading of the Bertie Wooster-Jeeves cycle of stories reveals a frustrated Jeeves who must Spend much of his time with Bertie, sorting out the young master's slap-dash speech. In Ri For Jeeves, however. Jeeves is most intrigued with his own language.and while seeking a solution to Bill Rowcester's book-long financial woes. he utters with unusual abandon the alliterative, "the pendant shall be abstracted and pawned and the pro- ceeds employed for that purpose.” 2“ Wodehouse lets Jeeves in Ring For Jeeves express his views about language in a more overt fashion than in the Bertie Wooster stories. For instance. when Bill Row- cester refers to a check that might bounce he states that ”it would probably bounce like a bounding dervish and come ‘ . 4" .01 out. .tieonoo a'aeaaia vd batons. leveob :viiaoitnloxle . - J. .'.TIE': shear: teams: I use? ' . : u up 3:2, in mean i a dam; to: fdti.3vs tau? 'urxstr evnn "=t not led: ' ' I' I F "I. - n' 5-“ .. n-I- —- . ll - '~ - -- -IcT:; uItsuc ..-- t9:.15nn. we '9‘ a: aznwnnltnoo suf: in 1:15:23. «71/215. .'.‘ff’ '_ :':,~.=:' no.1: 5:1? :10 4'. as be: bs:::.‘un_ {Mrs f'fi'f"'-".'I-.:fi.-' ;'-'-c"_ Irrefiizari fan. ab 1: .1333 ‘ .utesac1 nauhcxi dfzw awash—"hats ...' " 1'15: - '23.: -;".:;.-\'.‘ "- r -¢ ..r :.-=a. uttxi“ " '-:v:~ ae‘Iut' To #3:»: -.‘ :1 =- + :"; -. -_-. .: , er“: 5. ‘..- ”Cw bdrm" ,."vercf ‘ ve?' ~=-_fi 3: wt ."*efl~r d "fi‘bfllu =";. an ' ' ' ' I . . .'. '. -. . §' F'.‘ ; i'. I i: g'. 7 " 3.1-1 «3 a.“~ " 1'1. -'- 4' - «'3 .- iarstscfi r=.—*' “ 73M.J ‘; u? w 7 - sr;'~. " ."f‘OP” . ' t-‘l'j' " '..-h. _.- ' . II.- ,9 1'. Q n'n 1 nvu ; .:, .. -si s ‘ " p . i .“ A ' r t! u” ‘- \ -..:~,_. .a. ,ngn. '. ' ‘ ._‘ .‘ . l. - , _ . . ‘_ "3-.Ln.‘ . I .: s .3 .u . n .'. - .l.’ g. . . . e . .. . .i ' .: -~. . a. , ; ) I 23 shooting back like a honing pigeon." Jeeves. always quite sure of his intellectual and literary superiority, responds "two very happy images m'lord." 25 Certainly. it is a more adventurous Jeeves in fling Pgr Jeeves. For example. while Bill moans over his pen- niless state, Jeeves teasingly and tartly says "His lord- ship. if I may employ the argot sir. is broke to the wide." Apparently liking the sound of what he has just said. Jeeves again offers rather too audaciously. "Who steals his lord- 26 ship's purse steals trash." In the Bertie Wooster-Jeeves cycle of stories Jeeves would have left the rhetoric alone and would have "shimmered into“ the pantry for a chuckle and a spot of port. In Ri For Jeeves, the valet is misleadingly referred to as a "well-bred statue." But in the novel the masterly valet is anything but fixed as he is seen bustling about the baronial country home scoring points on the nobil- ity. This frantic and excitable Jeeves is in contrast to the more sedate valet who appears with Bertie Wooster. In 313g For Jeeves. Jeeves is too visibly snooty and condescending toward those he visits in the "boondocks” and the "hinter- lands." For instance, when Lord Rowcester asks Jeeves what or where Kuala Lumpur is. Jeeves, always looking to regale others with his knowledge, replies with disdain: A locality in the Straits Settlements, m'lord, a Brit- ish Crown Colony in the East Indies including Malacca. Penang, and the province of Wellesley, first made a sep- erate dependency of the British Crown in 1853 and placed :P ' I- ' 4m: .m- in tar-m me am mm. .cfit’a ibu- ”.ahlw as: e: stead at .11: teams on: vole-e can I 21 .qlii caveat .bisa is”: and ed :sdw to bnuoa and guilt! tltntlqul can: co: 19d3aa aaette atlas 'V. v -b10£ aid siesta oawv .vfaucis ’15- rsveetuaetaoow eitasfl an: n; “.neea: siesta easuq a'qifla enois aiaoisda an: 129? evsd itccw aeveet setters to sieve eiicufi: n we? verses 9dr "sink uexemntda" avnn niuow baa .Jmoq :0 seq; 3 has .;-..- :.:-. .+._.'-_~,-~ an: .29 3m :29: {Ia-1i: mi in; ‘.«ststr Peta-fies“ s as of va1reie1 Lfiif":nd are: u? an ac neti- f?fi anfidrvns xi te'sv vitetaam f"n" ed! on {fr5fi* :Ftcna nmrr ,rirnen {winezsd euJ Jun?! .. . . A, '.. .:.', . ,. ..'. ....... .. -;nu.u .:s;rccw ~:. 2 .31» ”fisrzrr 91a i-.-" o- .3; baby . . . . . 'szhnnosenrfic rr' tf'nfir u'.I“;r 6.‘ "“ "““- e' ”“55 " - - - ~ zfi: .- " it - ' ' . ~ : =+ r’ :: *tivv .::;i::=- '. i“. :;.+- ’i:3' 5 - - 2.. : ' - . '-. j - '.“ 'i ; . slate“ o: 'uié9~f :ssn' . F . I ". -- -. -t '. I _. . 3.1.". I . ‘l ’ In. I u ‘ v A _ . ‘I . 1' f--. r. - 'll ' l l . .. .. , y _ _ u- _. l r ‘.- ‘ .. Q . .. I ‘ 2h under the Governor-General of India. In 1887 the Cocos or Keeling Islands were attached to the colony in 1889 the Christmas Islands. Mr. Somerset Maugham has written searchingly of life in those parts. Bill, who has just had his measure taken, replies rather weakly. “of course, yes. it all comes back to me.” With Jeeves, Wodehouse has given literature a com- plex and balanced character who, despite his haughty manner, can be quite vulnerable. This is clearly seen in a passage in Ring For Jeeves where Jeeves, speaking about the occult interests of Mrs. Spottsworth offers, "psychical research frequently has an appeal for the other sex, m'lord. My Aunt Emily, . . . " Lord Rowcester interrupts Jeeves saying "re- member what I said about Pliny the Younger, Jeeves?” "Yes, m'lord.“ Jeeves answers timidly as he remembers Bill's re- buke of Jeeves for reading Pliny the Younger. Bill continues, "that goes for your Aunt Emily as well." Here, Jeeves, silent and rebuffed chokingly replies "Very good, m'lord." 28 But even though less obvious in giggLEQILJEEXQ§ than in the Wooster-Jeeves stories. a close and careful reader of the Jeeves literature realizes that Jeeves allows the nobility to score its points and that he will cash in his chits later. Jeeves is not himself in Ring For Jeeves. Without Bertie Wooster in the novel, the masterly valet is less taci- turn and obsequious. For example, Lord Rowcester tells Jeeves that he has come to a decision without the help of the valet and he admonishes Jeeves. "and I want no back-chat about it." Jeeves, untypically flustered, struggles a bit with ._ __ new maps; as; m"...- If,“ l .1300 a amends-I ear-la and «We! «em?- w. mum i new agent eagerness .odw sum-nun booming mega aasneaq a n1 nose 2115919 81 aid! .eIdsaenIuv etiup ad qpa :I'iunac all? :mods 3Miee-ea ,sevse‘t stem! WWI“. tin-means rsoifiovsq" .2191}: :7'.'-"f'."'.'."-"..*+cq3.71 .mM in 3339193111 smut x533 .h-tor'm ,xsn am": :1 ’3': mi 1.1-3:qu :12: am! vtd'nenpg-n was" firi‘me ::-*-.-.r:- ".'-‘.'_:."-'-‘:a:r- -::o;i--'.:.'--‘!-’-'- “7.5-1 " . . . ,tlimfi --— -. - «Inn—urn. "Teen-Ir: "- :-..-':s'-' fins ‘uarja .2232.- !'. :r'mw "redeem . " I .w ' i- M - ' trr >-' . at -_.._..~,.__ ".si'zoi'm — _ _ - - '.‘ ' -.'-. .-.'.- .- " - - - 'Cu’l — ' : .":"' "2'. .3 L. ‘ 1.7".1'. ‘.'.-. . ""7 .5). -3""' ' -.r .. J iIii-I'd I -- ' -- . . . . . -_ - . 1.5:. r'. ..... . —. _. - _----. ’..!II‘ '_.. In .051 . 5:_ fi' ‘ J's-'2 .'l , ,. . .. . . ..... . .J.\ l. ' " . r -"- F I‘ . Q ‘ |.rd~ q Ur: M v f K _ ' J": i 1." ' ‘.i‘ ‘ '..? . .. 9 .n- " ‘ ~ ' ' 5‘ ' ‘7 l . _- . r . . nr - I .-- .1. — n 'l' . ' ' a . n 1“ a . ~ ‘ ~ I 25 the admonishment and untypically retorts. "But m'lord . . . ." Bill flashes back "No back-chat I said Jeeves.” Jeeves, suddenly back in character, feudally agrees "Very good, m'lord.” 29 If the preceding discussion had been carried on between Jeeves and Bertie Wooster. there would have been no "but“ coming from the valet. The quicker compliance to Bertie Wooster's admonishments is dictated, not by a greater respect for the judgement of his master, but by a supreme affection for him. By the end of R' For Jeeves, the valet is quite dispirited. Confronted with the imbecilities of Lord Row- cester, and unable to fake affection for him (the affection that he feels naturally and in abundance for Bertie). Jeeves prefers to tipple in the pantry and to stand "at the extreme and of the room. looking stuffed." 30 Unlike the tickle of enjoyment he feels when confronted with Bertie's assaults on the language. Jeeves seems defeated by such comments as Roderick's "Remember what Shakepeare said, 'A woman is only a woman but a good cigar is a smoke.'" 31 In Rigg For Jeeves, it is a smart and clever em- ployee who, despite his successful verbal thrusts and re- partee, knows that a firm establishment is necessary to maintain his position as a servant to England's finest. Bill comments that: Even in these disturbed post-war days, with the social revolution turning handsprings on every side and the Civilization, as you might say, in the melting pot. its still quite an advantage to be in big print in Debrett's Peerage. 32 ..‘ gvrv yIrIV'?1z ' _ | _ at caulk-o gaining an .t—ew ll! .1! ”WW 5. zeta-a3 a a ton .huuon: at sen-“sinus: race-eel an“ 91:191tu a wad :ruo' .eetesm aid ‘to tnmabut an: 10': :mm mid to? minor” sen-o ai 1918': srfi' .ge_g~.g_eg'_-__gc-: ung'ij lo the and v3 -'.-r;:': :n-w ‘rc- :=.-..,?:fii.f.':r;a:-':.i at! flit-s Leno'x'iracf. .bed'i'xlssib ’2-c.’z.+r.-s':“.‘== «'3'; i.‘ re: '.rI'."-:-' " -- -'1 st skis-.17: Ln: .‘xrtdee LET-539:: .{sid'men ro' "mitts“? .; 'sr'n D's-3mg..- pie-f: an 3-1113 r. I ’1‘ [gs ‘..:- -r ._= : II_~.“_-: .' - - . - -: .'.. .. -',- Bug...— .1; 3:} .‘-r. .11.: :1." I. l: ‘2'}- fJ "’ :T'Iq - ‘ ' . b 1 H d '..r, l)" - - ., “ . _‘ O .: . , : ‘... r n ._ ' - ' ‘ . 2 .r. . Q ‘ u .‘ ' . rr ,. 9.... . 4 u _a' In ' ' - " ‘ ' "v ‘ ' 13- ~ . - -.\‘ ' .0. O u f '1' ' ‘ 26 Jeeves securely replies. "Unquestionably, sir. It gives a gentleman a certain standing.” Not to mention a servant as well. Thus, from the first short story "Extricating Young Gussie," to the most recent novel Jeeves and the Tie that .gingg Wodehouse has developed Bertie Wooster and Jeeves as a team. Although Jeeves emerges as the major characteriza- tion in the Bertie Wooster-Jeeves cycle of stories, the un- successful Ring For Jeeves shows that Wodehouse needed the presence of Bertie Wooster in order to best realize Jeeves's evolving importance. u. nil" ;- -§‘. p I ‘Q a 8. 9. 1o. 11. 12. 13. 1h. 15. 16. 17. 18. CHAPTER 1 FOOTNOTES Richard Voorhees, P.G. Wodehouse (New York: Twayne Publishers Inc.. 19335. pp. 105-11». Richard Usborne, Wodehouse at Work (London: Herbert Jenkins Limited, 19 1 . p. 1 . Ibid.. p. 183. R.B.D. French, P.G. Wodehouse (London: Oliver Boyd, 1966). p. 1010 John Aldridge, "The Lessons of the Young Master," intro. to Selected Stories of P G. Wodehouse ( New York: Random House. 19535. p. xvii. A.P. Ryan. "Wooster's Progress,” New Statesman and Nation, January 20, 1953. P.G. Wodehouse. The Code of the Woosters (London: Herbert Jenkins Limited. 19 . p. 7. Ibid.. p. 8 Ibid.. p. 23. Ibid.. p. 30. Ibid.. p. 81. Ibid.. p. 31. Ibid.. p. 33. Ibid.. p. 83. Ibid.. p. 83. Ibid.. p. 216. Ibid.. p. 186. Ibid.. p. 185. 2? 28 19' Ibid.. p. 120. 20. P.G. Wodehouse, Ri For Jeeves (London: Herbert Jenkins Limited, 19 3 . p. 30. 21. Ibid.. p. 58. 22. Ibid.. p. 70. 23. Ibid.. p. 72. 2h. Ibid.. p. 108. 25. Ibid.. p. 98. 26. Ibid.. p. 98. 27. Ibid.. p. 68. 28. Ibid.. p. 79. 29. Ibid.. p. 114. 30. Ibid.. p. 1&9. 31. Ibid.. p. 161. 32. Ibid.. p. 75. CHAPTER 2 BERTIE WOOSTER In this chapter it would be appropriate to trace the foppish Bertie Wooster's pre-Jeeves history. The chapter will also look at Bertie's delightful and innovative use of lan- guage. The chapter will discuss Wooster's friends and enemies and after describing Wodehouse's use of locale. the chapter will analyze the young master's native and simple-minded in- telligence, an intelligence that when compared to the complex- ities of Jeeves, reveals an easy riddle. indeed. Bertie Wooster as team player and Bertie Wooster as solitary fop are two different people. But the foppish Woos- ter is always the run-amok. He is the erratic and neurotic young man who needs his hedonistic pleasures. And his most I pleasant pleasure is the company of his valet. A close anal- ysis of the Bertie Wooster-Jeeves cycle of stories shows that Bertie Wooster needs his valet even more than the manservant needs his master. Indeed, Bertie is unable to go it alone. Bertie Wooster, having made his rather innocuous debut in “Extricating Young Gussie," emerges in the later stories as Bertie Wooster the dandy and clod. Many critics of Wodehouse's work are infatuated and. indeed. even intox- icated with the character of Bertram Wilberforce Wooster. 29 'I .'.". :z-‘iJ-J“ {~53 -' 11.":1' oi .1Hvai'_fi.i -.-.' ‘ .- r... -- -I- .r - ' "' .....1! -- ."-.' , ' II_-—-'- a. 4-1 'l ;. - I - 'l' ‘ - . . .' _.....:__._ . ... -. . I I D _ .- .. . I . . . I O . . e . I -. . -..".-E.'- .n.:'==f.'.:':0':J-:t_s 12".! hf '0‘? "i .5. -. 2 11! .' ELI . .- I I . . a ' "4.9-4 30$ 0 J T‘ffififl? "iii . f . |_| :. . l _'..u.,.i. :5 it a PI!- ... ." :n u I ' . . v v ..1. ‘ .1 . -_ ’.. - n . --_- _ . ... I . .'.- -u-'u" :- I' I J1" ... . s '- Q .5 _- 4'”...- I“; ..- .. 30 The critics are frequently so overcome that they seem to find an endless tunnel as they attempt to mine the Wooster mind. They feel there is no limit to the Wooster mind and character despite the fact that Bertie is a consummate fool, a noble jester in Jeeves's court. But it is fair to state that Bertie is not all whimsey, gentle breezes, and fatuos- ity. Bertie Wooster is country born of the nobility, but his exact lineage in detail is unknown. Wodehouse is purposely obscure about Bertie's lineage, for he sees a strong associa- tion between humor and mystery. What is traceable, however, is Bertie's feelings about the aunts who brought him up. As a baby. Bertie almost choked when he swallowed his pacifier (or as the English more smoothly call it. a rubber comforter). Bertie, as a result. never forgets that his Aunt Dahlia came to the rescue and his affection for the old girl is spread smoothly over most of the Bertie-Jeeves cycle. The warm feeling that he gets when he thinks about Dahlia Travers is contrasted to the chill and heartache he feels when he is outmaneuvered away from his flat and into the presence of the vitriolic Agatha Worplesdon. While still an infant, Bertie was looked over and fawned upon by the staple, British Nannie. In Bertie's case it was Nannie Hogg. (A fascinating name from Wodehouse which refers not to her eating habits but to amplitude.) At about six years of age, Bertie was mysteriously orphaned and his endless rounds with aunts began along with the misery. At prep-school. Bertie Wooster was established quick- ly as the perfect bungler and anti-scholar. (There 7 \-5-. ', .' ..aeuta! line (sound elem «ea-Id! 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' ' ' ‘ n : . I . I b ‘ ' 9 ‘ a .‘9‘ .» ... . ._ . , 3 . .. _ . ~ 1 '. C 1 - . . ’ " -_ r . ~ 9 31 are, however, few references to Wooster's years at Eton.) Bertie stayed in the British school system despite his Aunt Agatha's wishes to send him to Africa to learn how to be maimed by lions, and he is eventually accepted. because of his suspected blue-blooded lines. at Oxford. At Oxford. Bertie is a rugger and a rower. But at Oxford Bertie is in and out of trouble, and it is at Oxford that Bertie first becomes intrigued by the gentleman's code. Bertie pledges his allegiance to this code, which exerts a life-long hold on him. He sticks smartly, if somewhat naively, to the code as he lets women twist him like putty and stands by his friends when they are in difficulty. It is one of Wodehouse’s wry ironies that the code lands Bertie in mess after mess, since none of his friends seem impressed by the same set of rules that the chivalrous Wooster follows. Bertie's hobbies are riding, swimming, squash, gold digging. golf, darts, and a fast game of Cards-Into-The-Top- Hat—Flipping.1 Forever the lazy mind and dilettante, he reads London's easier newspapers, and is quite addicted to mys- teries and other light fare which leave his mind free enough for the narcotizing effects of Jeeves's whiskies and soda. Bertie, though dimmed by liquor. is always quite healthy. In fact, only once in the Bertie-Jeeves cycle of literature is Bertie sick, a brush with the Asian Flu that succeeds only in increasing his euphoria. Compared to Jeeves's wide-ranging and Olympian in- tellect, Bertie's intellect is minimal. Because of this |.-q-- -— . ' Z-I‘-.f.=;'.":S:‘-f‘ ‘ v:- "'"" e “ "new.“ new“ 3% is .mr Scenario-am bait a! in": mono to 3:18 .'xem a has some! I' if.“ 3311‘! sites! “It? 17:0 10 is at 3.: has .eIduost to fuse wife eegbefq 913198 .eboo e' semen-nag en's vd 1190311111! «.0663 bled :nol- 91.1! s -'7'J"£:'-:-<-3. acid-N .9110: am: 0:? 63111213013181!!! eboo 6.11 of .‘.-_1.Era-.-‘.?.--:' than "1: .v.'-’-"~r*vnr' fluids 53‘. an!!! no '..-".r" 3:5 iris-IT'S" ’ 'r ‘.-'.1'-+ n: 11.: ". '.“-13' .temow 5351' ed as n:- .‘ 3i. :1': :9'?‘_- ‘._'_‘:--€.i' Ila-1v: .'ebnsl'I'I .. '.“-‘rn‘f ...-5.31.. " " ': .= :-‘-- =-€"‘ '." 1:31 minced ‘5'“! . 1 ‘.” 1 '5: ‘0 = :.1 son. : . “ '|"‘ "H" :1.- T I ‘ I a " ... ‘\ ‘- — .--_ 1 c I t a; , . ~ I " . 1' V 5 . I ' a 32 lack of range. Bertie's mind is easier for most critics to analyze. Bertie is also a great talker, drinker. and eater and Wodehouse points out that what intellectual prowess Bertie has must be galvanized by such stimuli as Jeeves's French epigrams. the valet's potions. and Aunt Dahlia's chef's culinary mysteries. But it is also Bertie's lack of intellect that makes him such a likeable dolt. and which confuses some critics. For instance. Richard Usborne at- tempts to categorize Wooster and he starts by calling Bertie a “halfWit amidst nitwits." Then, however. Usborne changes his mind and rather smugly calls Bertie a "nitwit amidst halfWits." 2 Rather confused, Usborne goes on to point out that Bertie is a brilliant narrator of the Bertie-Jeeves saga. But it seems apparent that Bertie, by himself, does not have the words to be a brilliant narrator; time and time again, Jeeves finishes the sentences in which Bertie bogs down. Yet, Bertie's language is unique. As Usborne correctly points out, "by mixing his soiled metaphors and colliding his cliches. Bertie fabricates a bumbling language most en- dearing and very funny." 3 In fact, Bertie Wooster. if nothing else, is the perfect vehicle for Wodehouse's fas- cination with a Dada-like language. Bertie is the almost poet who never gets the meter or rhythm quite right, a poet frustrated by lack of talent. But Bertie's head swims with romantic imagery. The result is an unbridled language, long on poesy but short on discipline. Usborne points out that Bertie's "wrenching of logic and language into distortion - —-._,.... 33 is not through vapidity but because he is searching for the g9; jggjg.” h Bertie's search. however. is a futile one. Bertie is the demi-virgin unsure of feminine wile and resourcefulness. And, as a result. Bertie does not tip- toe up to love, he collides with it. Wodehouse's girls. with their demitasse sexuality safely tucked under their lacy slips. completely undo the young Wooster. They are too much for him. There is a depth to them and they seem quite similar to a young and flighty Kate Hepburn. In fact. Bertie can usually be found fawning at the cuffs of crisp, lesbian-like trousers worn by such fermidable and quite masculine forces as Pauline Stoker. Madeline Bassett and. of course. the entire retinue of aunts. The females in the Bertie Wooster-Jeeves cycle of stories. however, hardly ever make Bertie's seminal juices flow to the point that he must seek sexual release. The women in the Bertie-Jeeves cycle frighten young Bertie. Jeeves, however. is the one force who can be a sure match for the humorist's forceful women. and he can be counted upon to engineer his master's escape from their clutches. Jeeves's vigil is a constant one, for he knows that Bertie. "like Don Quixote has his brain curdled with romance." 5 Bertie Wooster is the romantic fantasist. To Usborne, Wooster is the sweet fumbler of language who also happens to be a "schizo. duffer, and do-gooder." Usborne is intoxicated by the sweetness of Bertie Wooster. He sees 6 Bertie "with a mind that is a tape recorder for sounds. . . . ‘ I '- ll‘ ' '..'l ' l ' I ".-I."-.':.'f.:.="1:€'.'_ LO -)’1...-:..'.! .'..". - -.I.:-.:' J'rn'I. resci- .'...i'-*:-.-r. .;--.__-., 5 ~ I'm. '1' .I... '. . 2's;;-..-on.-.=m:..- .i'i' .-'-.::':':'.-.-' ' " '..'_-:'- or“. .c-voi or} q. so: . .‘.1, . ..., 3,. _, . I I-1 I '-'. . a I - -‘- -.., . . .. ___ '1 I .' — I ll '- 4:21; ‘ . I l ‘ci33; - ‘ . '.- .‘- . ' .0 . 'T_ e‘. '. I . ‘.. :- 1 O _ ~ I ,. . ' .I I I .' .-.I_ I - I. . I I " Q Q U . -— C O . . I T ' ' Q . . ' a -. . n . -I . . . Q .' .‘- f . .. I - _ . I l . _. ‘ l | 1 . -.I. .‘- I '. l a I ' n ‘ a I I - a 3# But Usborne is most impressed by Bertie's language which Usborne sees as having power, suppleness, and great speed of communication. He states that Wodehouse can, by Bertie's language, take the reader "from A to B by the shortest route and still litter all sorts of flowers at your feet as you follow it." 7 But Usborne, like other critics, for- gets that Wodehouse makes it quite obvious that Bertie's language comes directly out of Jeeves's gardens. Bertie, who is arrested at an eternally adolescent twenty-six years by Wodehouse, seeks solace and escape from mean, menacing terriers, and from terrorizing aunts who want their loaf of Bertie's soul. His escape is total at the gent- leman's refuge, the Drones Club. The Drones is in London, May- fair, W. 1, situated at the very heart of Wodehouse's "metrop." surrounded by stately town houses and delightful, charming pubs out of which Spill forth many of Wodehouse's most mem- orable secondary characters. Its membership ranges from 140 to 150, and the club's members include Freddie Widgeon, Richard "Bingo" Little, Psmith, Pongo Twistleton—Twistleton, Barmy Fotheringay Phipps, Bill Rowcester, Ronnie Fish, Horry Car- mody, Reggie Havershot, and Gussie Fink-Nottle. 8 While behind the club's green doors, the Drones act like farcical children. They spend much of their time com- peting in cut-throat games of cards, darts, and card—flip- ping. The club, one of the most hallowed in English fiction, signifies men-in-exile the world over. The club, indeed, has a spirit of resigned bonhomie. Wodehouse, with his creation , 1 I I . . -_ ‘ I . 5 I -. n r n . l I l I I .- u 35 of the Drones, has arrested time. He has placed the vanish- ing nobility outside space, time and theoretical, ethical and moral considerations of a world which was telling the no- bility that their days were numbered as the Edwardian sun was setting. Inside the Drones, a state of guileless in- hibition exists as its members nod off and sink, by mid- afternoon, into deep leather chairs aimed at the foreign and frosted windows which purposely obscure the rest of the citizenry out in the streets. Geoffrey Jaggard writes about the Drones as he sees the vanishing nobility retire to the club "for the single purpose of fleeting time carelessly in an inspired burlesque of our pedestrian middle-earth." 9 Certainly, it seems that Wodehouse's Drones Club gives womb- warm support to those men unable to cope with their slip- away world. Bertie Wooster, however, can usually cope with the extra-Drones world since he has Jeeves. But once inside the Drones, Bertie functions without his apollonian censor. It is there in that cloying atmOSphere heated by smiles, smoke, and bull that the reader sees the ideal Drone, Bertie Wooster, the silliest ass of all. Friends, Enemies and Animal Life_ Bertie, with Jeeves as his shield, spends many an uncomfortable hour trying to elude Sir Roderick Glossop, the "eminent nerve Specialist." Glossop appears in many of the Bertie-Jeeves stories and he is one of Wodehouse's finest creations. Glossop's great mission in life is to find a way '. ' . .. .. .. ' .. ..‘6- '- ' .' . 1.|..-‘..": ?3W 36 to put Bertie where GlossoP thinks he belongs, in jail. Glossop, along with menacing aunts and fortune-hunting girls, is the chief menace to Bertie's freedom. Glossop, when John Aldridge sees as a father-surrogate figure, is the perfect image of the walrus-like blusterer, as the "nerve specialist" plays beautifully off the pink-faced innocence that is Bertie Wooster. One of Wodehouse's most memorable scenes occurs in Carry On Jeeves as Bertie and Glossop tussle in Wooster's bedroom. Sir Roderick, who had been snooping around the young ”excresences" bedroom, finds, among other esoterica, a salmon's skeleton, a black cat, one tabby and a lemon Tom. Thus, finally assured that he has enough proof to put Bertie away, Glossop is caught by the young master. Glossop reacts by grabbing Wooster's um- brella, waving it over his head warning Bertie, “Stand back, sir, I an armed." 1° Bertie, of course, stands back and goes to Jeeves for a solution. Jeeves, of course, saves the day and Bertie Wooster stays at-large. Sir Roderick Glossop is further distinguished by his unfortunate siring of Honoria Glossop. Honoria, out to save Bertie from what she sees as an advanced case of in- anition, is one of England's loudest reformers. She wants to reform all men but she sees Bertie Wooster as her "most challenging encounter.” But at various other times, Honoria has taken in hand Bertie's friends Freddie Threepwood, Bingo Little and "Biffy" Biffen. She is too formidable for the rather spineless Wooster and the young fop, time and time 3? again, must turn to Jeeves for consultation. Bertie is quite honestly frightened by: One of those robust girls with the muscles of a welter- weight and a laugh like a squadron of cavalry charging over a tin bridge. The sort of girl who reduces you to pulp with 16 sets of tennis, and a few rounds of golf, and then comes down to dinner as fresh as a daisy, ex- pecting you to take an intelligent interest in Freud. 11 But Honoria Glossop is not the only girl that Bertie Wooster and Jeeves must keep at bay. High on Bertie's list of women to avoid is Madeline Bassett. But Madeline is only half of the "diabolical" team which wants to separate Bertie from society. Her father, Sir Watkyn Bassett. C.B.E., is the magistrate at Bosher St. police court. In The Code of the Woosters. Bassett is the presiding magistrate when Bertie is charged with "knocking a policeman from his helmet." Geoffrey Jaggard thinks Sir Watkyn is an important character in that he is is an "integral link in the chain of authority which exerts its life-long restraint over the fifth-form status which Bertie habitually accepts as his lot." 12 But Sir Watkyn's daughter is dan- gerous as well. Madeline Bassett is an incurable romantic who im- perils Bertie and his good friend Gussie Fink-Nettle. In The Mating Season, Bertie describes "the Bassett" as: She is the sloppiest, mushiest, sentimentalist, young Gawd- help-us who ever thought that the stars were God's daisy- chain and that every time a fairy hiccoughs a wee baby is born. She is squashy and soupy, and her favorite read- ing is Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh. 13 191ml oihei mu ma vino an: ion a: queen mw‘v'fl .ued is q»)! no: amet'm snilehsm at oiovs ed nemow -o waif n‘eitmefl no Hath use: "Isoi.£oc's_':s"‘eri:1‘ 1;- lfsri gin-i mi Milena"! 31:6 .fl'eaen! ".422"; ."51-111'5'?“ -':'-'.-.'. .‘..?E'.:t-_r.:. r.::-'_:: 122.297“ ".:." 1’."':‘9‘J 1t stun 691:1! .- -:s.r:‘-—.:c-.-: 3‘- " :1". "i: (E .. .<:-.L' '."“???BEE nut.“ ru’d' ':.-': iris-223*- _ . :7;=_‘Jj_.'._:,_uj.___(nfigujayi _ e_:-Z_"_ n]: .'.."'.'-IK.-'J 991:qu ...- =-.-‘::r,-r-;;-_"- .-,'.* .- _..q-:-~; '-'!'.: agw-a': maxi-r: wise-tn‘ssm "'.rztties'xq' .‘ ,. ‘ I . a 2 ..J‘L .. -. .‘.,- 5 f“. . 1.. e '-T ‘ 3’! nine-'..! ' 5 ‘ - '- 4 _ - . . “' . ” . - ‘ . f.“ " . I .. . ' I '. " . , .. . _ . I " . - . . 4 " n.. . (L. .' .'. ." q . — - n..- - - a ‘ n .'- .4‘. -; ' s o . .. . . ‘1 .'. '. « e' \I ‘ I. e - — - .— ' ~ .. . 1,. l - : :- .‘ ' ‘ Q . ' Q 1 1 : ‘ ‘ .— '.- . , . ,. 38 Eventually, Madeline lets both Bertie and Gussie off the hook as he becomes engaged to the anthropoidal founder of The Saviours of Britain, Sir Roderick Glossop. Another pursuer and oft-time fiancee of Bertie's is Pauline Stoker. Pauline, along with Jeeves and Bertie's Aunt Dahlia Travers, has the best insight into Bertie's character. In the book, Thank You Jeeves, Pauline is found innocently gamboling in Wooster's bed. Jeeves, however, knows a threat when he sees one and he quickly dampens the ardor of the vulnerable Bertie as he engineers Pauline out of Bertie's bed and into a marriage with Lord Chufnell. The other source of feminine problems for Bertie Wooster is Wodehouse's merry and dizzy succession of aunts. Wodehouse's most prominent and significant aunts are Dahlia Travers and Agatha Worplesdon. Dalia Travers is Bertie's ”favorite aunt" and after Jeeves the one person closest to Bertie. She is large, ex- uberant, and infinitely wise and able. In her spare time, she is the publisher of the magazine Milady's Boudoi . She has a touch of the Wooster whimsey, however, and she is not above a wager or two on the ponies. She, like Jeeves, rallies often to Wooster's aid, but she is not so overly infatuated with her "worthless nephew" that she sanctions his hedonism. But if anyone else besides she and Jeeves crit- icizes the foppish Wooster, Dahlia will rally round to his de- fense. The same kindness cannot, however, be attributed to his other aunt, Agatha Wooster, the Countess of Worplesdon. . . .'r :33 .11? .-: “I ‘ ... ..4 . . .1 n . . ‘.. . In . ‘.I. I1— 1 .. I u. .0 a. . r I . a... 0 .— n u I . I u. ‘ .. . . . . . . .. I ... . r . . I .... . 39 Agatha Wooster, the sister of Bertie's late father, is hawk-like, mean,and committed to marrying off her "ex- cresence of a nephew.” Her look is magesterial, but to Bertie, she looks more like a well-bred vulture. With the creation of the two aunts, Wodehouse offers a glimpse into his own early childhood. At an age similar to Bertie's, Wodehouse became a ward of his aunts and Spent his early childhood and adolescent years shuttling between them. Like the young Bertie Wooster, Wodehouse spent many hours escaping from the aunts into the pantry where he hor- rified them by keeping company with the servants. Thus, when he deals with the aunts and with servants in his stories, Wodehouse is seen at his most autobiographical. A look at Dahlia Travers would not be complete with- out mention of Anatole. Anatole is Dahlia's full-time chef and part-time magician who whips up culinary delights which are so tantalizing that even Dahlia's husband, the dyspeptic Tom Travers, can eat them. Anatole's cause celebres include Rognans g3 montagnes, Selles Q'Agneau and Nonats d3 la Med: iterannee EB fenouil. Anatole, who is often referred to as "that peerless disher-upper,“ “God's gift to the gastric juices," "the superb French Chefferie of," and "a hash- slinger without peer," is often used by Dahlia in starnge and inscrutable ways, not to mention unethical. In numerous Wodehouse stories, Dahlia uses Anatols as a bribe and as an offering in order to recover her frequent gambling losses. There are also those characters whom Bertie Wooster 40 considers part of his "inner retinue." One of Bertie's most endearing friends is Gussie Fink-Nottle. Gussie appears in at least twelve short stories and finds his fullest expres- sion in the short stories rather than in the novels in which he appears. Gussie, who prefers to be lonesome, lives in a remote, Lincolnshire village with spilling-over ivy and other anonymous foliage climbing up its walls. In this almost surreal village with its gothic overtones, Gussie studies the life styles of the newt. But, from time to time, Gussie can be persuaded to leave the newts as he slips quietly into the "metrop." But once in the city's atmosphere, Gussie becomes helpless and painfully vulnerable. Women who find his innocence and vulnerability like catnip, fall at his feet in an inexplicable swoon. (It should be mentioned that when Wodehouse received his honorary doctorate in literature from Oxford, the late Dr. Cyril Bailey, the Public Orator of Oxford, singled out Gussie for a special mention in a discussion of Wodehouse and his best characterizations.) Bingo Little is, perhaps, Bertie Wooster's best friend throughout the Bertie Wooster-Jeeves cycle of stories. Bertie and Bingo go back to their days at Malvern House and Oxford. Bingo is a bookie, a tutor to rather unpromising youngsters, and a full-time Casanova. This, of course, is just the kind of renaissance man Bertie relates to best. Bingo's great passions in life, like those of his friend Bertie, are the horses and the girls. But Bingo, like the other fops in Wodehouse's stories, needs Jeeves's magic #1 after he marries Rosie M. Banks, author of such best sellers as All For Love, A RedI Red Rose, and Twas Once in May. Jeeves, does indeed, come to the rescue of his master's good friend, and he obediently pulls Bingo Little out of the murky Wodehouse waters of romance. Another old friend of Bertie's is Harold "Stinker" Pinker. Pinker is one of the numerous men_of God in Wode- house, and Pinker joins such other viewers of the heavens as Rev. Aubrey Upjohn, Rev. Francis Heppenstall, Rev. G. Hayward, and Squire Tressider. Pinker first meets Bertie at Magdalen where Pinker got his rugger blue, and later they met at 0x- ford where the minister was a noted "puglist." (An example of Wodehouse's wrenching of language as he cutely turns the word pugilist.) Pinker put muscle aside, however, when he felt the "heavenly call," and he soon addressed himself to the curing of souls in Totleigh-in-the#Wold. But even Pinker has his moments of comical derangement and he, like Bertie, has a penchant for pinching constable's helmets. Pinker, again like the hapless Bertie Wooster, bemoans the fact that even when he doesn't want to pinch a helmet he feels forced to do so. With the characterizations of Gussie Fink-Nottle and Pinker, Wodehouse expresses his feelings about two groups of people he feels belong solely to the "looney world." A close reading of Wodehouse reveals that the hum- orist pricks, as often as possible, men of the clergy and academic types. Gussie, one of the latter, is treated lightly by Wodehouse as a bumbler and anti-social researcher. 'I_.J- '4'”! ‘fl‘fi' ‘to 31:0 . . '.. :: .-‘,.,:_. " ' ui‘ Tl . .." ' . '. . . . - .. '. i n- . . #2 Wodehouse can also be quite heavy-handed when dealing with men of the cloth, for he seems to have a disdain for those people who seem to be slightly outside of the main- stream of society. He has a perceptible disdain for those who deal with dogma and non-empirical insight. He writes more glowingly of those people who are absurd, in what Wodehouse feels is a lunatic,absurd world. Wodehouse, however, has a fondness for the eccen— trics that swirl around Bertie such as witers, zoo keepers, boxers, detectives, tycoons, authors, machinists and the inevitable dogs which bedevil both Bertie and Jeeves. Wodehouse's use of dogs allows him to employ a slapstick technique in the Bertie-Jeeves stories. In Right Ho Jeeves, there is romping appearances by the Travers's spaniel Ambrose. More sophisticated than Ambrose, however, is Alphonse, a poodle of wide influence and gourmet tastes. Bartholomew, who appears in The Code of the Woosters. is a beguiling but totally unethical terrier belonging to Steph- anie Byng. In Ver Good Jeeves, the reader and Wooster trip across a moronic and pugnacious intelligence "masquerading" as an Aberdeen Terrier. In Rin For Jeeves, Jeeves must be careful not to disturb an amiable Irish Terrier named Mike and a shrill Pekinese labeled Pomona. In Car On Jeeves, Bertie must evade a "questionable" bull terrier named "Rollo" while he must avoid disturbing the regal reign of Aunt Agatha's spaniel Robert, who is notorious for wolfing down cucumber sandwiches. Wodehouse, who does not bother to name the stray .2 3fi£W¢£3 910m .'. . ; "w _ :-'-"£-‘ '3 Eli-‘9 312-). men: I: .’. t *' ='.u-;:; s LE 3149: oauadsoow ' .r . '-- . H: -'-.r' . U13."'"'.-! , : ~ -= -: = -' -.".' sci-la“ "* . :1. '1 q ' H": '1 ":‘ I ".L i .13 '- 2.. __ " .. ~- '.‘JJ‘YHF- . ..3. . n .- L ' . ... ' - '- ' " t L‘ . , . -:“ t ’3" . ' - ~:.-rv'- - '. f ~ p ..' r .-- _ _ -._ " ...' "2i . '.. " ‘- -" ‘ _.'- .' ._" ..':.,. .. . . I I I a r 1 gr 2. f-.' _’ -. .' .' _a .- «_ [fi " i v - ' u '_ l #3 cats and tabbies in his stories, makes a notable excep- tion with Cuthbert. an heroic cat who rescues Bertie from a shotgun wedding in Caggy 0n Jeeves. Wooster Watering Holes Throughout the Bertie Wooster-Jeeves cycle, the reader finds Bertie bouncing back and forth between stately mansions and baronial country homes. Each home supplies Bertie with an open invitation and an ample supply of Scotch. From time to time, Bertie is found "festering" in Shrop- shire County. Among the homes he visits are Corfby Hall in Much Middlefold owned by R.E. Smith Esq.: Easeby Hall owned by Willoughby Wooster Esq.; Ilsworth Hall also owned by Smith, and Much Middlefold overseen by the Marquess of Mal- vern. If not sponging in Shropshire, Bertie can be found loitering in Worcestershire. His most common stop is at Uncle Tom and Aunt Dahlia's Brinkley Court in Market Snods- bury. Bertie, however, has been known to stop at Kingham Manor in Pershore owned by Sir Percival Stretchley-Budd: Langley End, home of the Earl of Droitwich; Rudge Hall in Rudge-in-the—vale and owned by Lester Carmody Esq.: Smattering Hall in Lower-Smattering-on-the-Wissel owned by Reginald Watson Esq.z Tudsleigh Court owned by Lady Carroway (whom Wodehouse feels has gone to seed), and Wivelscombe Court owned by the Earl of Wivelscombe. Bertie answers the feudal call in a home in Upton Snodsbury owned by an Earl _.,. an and not to be confused with the more modest Brinkley Court in Market Snodsbury. In Hampshire County are such Wooster stops as Bleaching Court in Upper Bleaching and owned by Sir Reg- inald Witherspoon Bart.; Bumpleigh Hall, home of the Earl of Worplesdon and located in Steeple Bumpleigh: Deverill Hall, Esmond Haddock's home in King's Deverill. Sir Rod- erick Glossop's Ditteridge Hall, and the Earl of Ickenham's Ickenham Hall. Also in Hampshire is Marsham Manor owned by Miss Cornelia Fothergill. In Gloucestershire, Bertie and Jeeves have visited Sir Watkyn Bassett in Totleigh Towers in Totleigh-in-the Wold. and Twing Hall owned by the Earl of Wickhammersely. Colonel Aubrey Myven lives at Wyvern Hall in South- moltonshire. and not so plain Bill Rowcester lives in a leaky Rowcester Abbey. Other formidable and plush watering holes for Bertie and Jeeves include Biddlefold Castle, the Earl of Havershot’s home in Norfolk: Binghampton Hall in Sussex owned by Viscount Binghampton; Blandings Castle owned by the Earl of Emsworth: Blicester Towers the Kent home of the Earl of Blicester, Branstead Towers owned by Miss Cam- merleigh; Chufnell Regis, Lord Chufnell's home in Somerset; the Earl of Hoddesdon's Towbridge home; Edgeling Court in Kent; Matcham in Scratchings Oxfordshire, the home of Sir Mortimer Prenderby Bart.; Skeldings Hall, the Hartfordshire home of Lady Wickham, and Woolam Chersey, the home of Spen- ser Gregson Esq.. 1+5 Bertie Wooster's hedonistic cries—crossings of Eng- land takes him and Jeeves into locations and homes that are verbal dessert straight from Wodehouse's impressive if quirky imagination. For instance, in Ve Good Jeeves, Bertie and Jeeves descend on Bingley-On—Sea, Hockley-cum- Meston and Much Middlefold. Chufnell Regis is the playground for Bertie's whims in Thank You Jeeves. In Ri ht Ho Jeeves, the fop and the valet visit Kingham. In The Man With Two Left Feet, Bertie and Jeeves cavort in the ethereal sounding Brid- ley-in-the-Wold. In The Inimitable Jeeves, the literary duo visits Chipley-in-the-Glen (a name which Wodehouse equates with the game of golf, a favorite tool for anecdotal ex- pression in his less successful Mr. Mulliner stories). In Jeeves and the Feudal S irit, Upper Bleachings goes pale under the Wooster-Jeeves assault. And the locale for mayhem in Joy in the Morning is East Wibley. Wodehouse's list of locales fits perfectly the whim- sical and nonsensical characterization of Bertie Wooster. For instance, other Wodehouse locales that Bertie visits include Rising Mattock, Little Clickton—in-the-Wold (a name that offers another insight into Wodehouse's fascination with golf, a fixation that resulted in the classic golf story, "The Clicking of Cuthbert"), Wibbletonain-the-Vale, Cable-by-the—Hill, Lower Rumpling, Lower Shagley, Twing, Knopp, and most provocative of all, the suggestive Maiden Eggesford. _ . .f- .. I- '- ' I I ‘ I. . I ....I -.-.. . . .‘ . s .- . . r . 2 .. ._. - . . - . . _._ - . . .'- . —". . . . .. ' . - . r I _ . ._. , .-_" ‘1 _ . , I . I a‘ f I V . . ... . . - . . . - . .. _ .. _ . . . . .. .. ' ' . - ' .. I" II' I III! 'I I i ' '. . . I I . " u - I I 'l I l ,. . . . . . . . _ . ,- 4 . . I . . . . . . . '.,'_.i.v renter: . " .-—- '.. -. - I.— _ ".. -'.. _ .,.. .- . . sent-i nae no: sell 'I '1! I. I"‘I .. . . #6 The Easy Riddle of Bertie Wooster But who exactly is this foppish Wooster who crashes the country homes of the nobility, embroils himself in in- trigue after intrigue and must be constantly rescued by his resourceful valet? Is he just the raconteur and conviv- ial neer—do-well who sits: in the bathtub. soaping a meditative foot and singing if I remember correctly, 'Pale Hands I Loved Beside The Shalimar' it would be deceiving my public to say that I was feeling boomps-a-daisy. 1“ Or is he the enigma to whom the critics constantly allude? Richard Usborne. in a chapter in his book devoted to the young master, sees Bertie as a glittering example of a mind made toxic by euphoria. But Usborne is impressed by Wooster's language. But the critic does not seem overly concerned with the fact that when Bertie is his most elo- quent, it is the word craftsman Jeeves who always supplies the pocket-ready quotation. Sticking more to a safer shoreline. Usborne correct- ly theorizes that there is a striking resemblance between the rhythms, speech patterns and adventures of Jeeves as recorded by Bertie. and the rhythms, patterns and adventures of Sherlock Holmes as recorded by Dr. Watson. It is just as apparent that, although overlooked by many critics including Usborne, Jeeves is every bit as mysterious as Holmes. Cer- tainly, Bertie Wooster is every bit as bumbling and endearing am we mom mil-flue a! to»: ban will!” «use: has antennas-x mi: rant, on! II flout Mm nsfla om! now-Mun at an anie bus Joni .-'.'-'v.i'.' .::r.?:.m.'r: -= '--n.£7aoe .dutmed 9M :11 as)?! have; I. zhnsi-i «is-n .':'_.‘..'.-39'1"I°3 mammoth: I t}. 1 oilfiuq vw awivinosh a: Isow in °1smiinflfi sdT i “i .usisn—z—Hsficad antzeel saw I isd: ' .r .‘. .- :.-' .'... ..v a. .g -' ' er. _ a~ '“..u-$ .2lucu' 91; won» fl; 1W4 re «d: on a: 10 r“ " I V.‘_--:::.: ’ I '.'-.':.'-" . r“ "' -‘.'f' ‘ it. ' -~ .~ . ."f ~ - 421.: c.- _ ~ '. . .2“ ., 1 ‘ ' . ”'1. '151"..:-:‘.-' -. . l u I -_' I g -' "'._ 'tv '.J r ; ,».. l ‘ . ILI l 5 VJ" ‘ n .. r- . . . l ' I 'n-‘ '3' "' _ ‘ I '1 " ~ . ‘ P 1 a : o- . ., t O .. -. Q I' '- v 47 as Dr. John Watson. Indeed, both Wooster and Watson are among life's golden ninnies. Wodehouse makes Wooster even more endearing by employing what has long been an English staple, the self-derogatory first person singular. And while Bertie's narration does have its moments of lyrical brilliance, it is also made ambiguous by a constant flaw which Wodehouse readily admits to. Speaking about Thank You Jeeves. the humorist, in a 1932 letter, admits to constant rewriting. One of the most compelling reasons for the revisions is that "the reader can know nothing except what Bertie tells him, and Bertie can know only a limited amount himself." 15 To overcome this problem, Wodehouse depends had”onme®mymmfkflpwmmFwimummsmh a line as "He slipped off the boat into the water," has more impact and comedic appeal when it is changed to "I slipped off the boat into the water." Bertie Wooster, despite his suspected lineage and his attempts to make intellectual conversation, is, above all, the "doltish dude." 16 Unlike the mystical wit of Jeeves, Bertie has the earthy humor of a slapstick clown. He is the clown as Edwardian. But, above all else, Wooster is Wode- house's most eccentric creation. What makes Bertie so inter- esting is that he represents all of England's eccentrics. He is the universal eccentric, reveling to dawn, who con- trasts perfectly with Wodehouse's inner—dwelling eccentrics who spend their nights busily polishing their image which they feel they must present to a world that would frown on ha, , l ' , av . ,7 >4— wsx': thumoo a we would“ ob- out a! #1". uol‘ gm.- suqu gnusaqa .93 um: uibm “mm-“1‘ instanoa oi salmon .merial SEQ: 5 n1 .taidouud out OIIIIII an: to? 8303391 sniilecmoo seem on: To eno .3n1311I'1 #sfiw :qecxs snjntnn wonfl ass tss"a1 9d?“ 3163 hi anoiil'l! 7' 43:1?- h:-:i:.x.-‘-I a visa war-.2: mar;- rfirxe‘ b .9 acid ails: 913106 hrs's,’ 9222'.<:Ii=1:‘.~:.--: ,.-I.*--‘.'.s-;:-‘:3 at!!! an '.u'rrr'ro '.-'.-. ”3 ".‘ileelh‘l fin” ,sfnsisnf 1e- .fifl?"dfi f'"f* nv41=17’a‘ an“ r? viivsofl "':-'.='- 32': ".13.? "'r {-.'-r M's-.5 "r 1:31: ser"? ti”: :9: ."Ze: 1'1“ :-:..- uni! s . I ' - 'J-’ - ." "‘- r.'1.'-.s.:."c- '-..". ; . . '- - -‘.'-'"='-.= -'.3.---1:'.1-= tut: ‘er-rmi ." .' ‘ ' ‘ :x. “13' Jo 9.1:: s: " ._ E 9 ". - . . ' n 5 g .' . ‘ I n' I "_ | | 1‘ -._ t r "U - "I” ‘ I I a f ' n, q 4 1 ' 3 f‘ 1 u ".'.. : , n" '. ' “~.’j‘ .' ". -7n(_’ .7, ‘ ”ff " .'i "I. w. ,- l' ”3.3,: na ei-z-i 3915M I u ..=?' '* L-r \se ' ' ' * . ‘-"7 Mfr; s 9' , .'- 7 a . - . . - "‘ ' 1. . '.‘Ii . -’_ _é a.,:.'::'.:-I-:' 1.. _. ' _ . ' ' . . ‘f"'uu' : ‘ . '. . ‘ =z .--. than“ an? 3.2.1: I J'... -. _‘ ..ia-J" iam‘ #8 irrational behavior from the peerage. Bertie Wooster is the eccentric who has emerged out of the closet and into trouble. With Jeeves by his side, Bertie will take his chances on life. And Jeeves, always generous where his master is con- cerned, would be the first to point out that Bertie is the only real and sane force in a rather insane world. The character of Bertie Wooster depends on, in Edith Sitwell's words, "that peculiar and satisfactory know- ledge of infallibility that is the hallmark and birthright of the British nation." 17 In fact, Bertie's sense of in- vincibility, as long as he has Jeeves, is so strong that he never feels threatened by the outside world, and his only real concerns center around such questions as whether Jeeves will or will not bring him his morning marmalade and melba. Bertie, with his head in the clouds, chokes on reality when he is sans Jeeves. But the valet silently supplies the silver-linings as he handles the reality for his master. Indeed, with Jeeves, Bertie finds life "hunky-dory.” Bertie is the manipulated , rather spineless, and rather unconcerned and apathetic young master who sees life in terms of consumed whiskies and soda, roaring fires, meals from Anatole, a rasher of pheasants drying in the yard, a girl to admire from a safe distance and a “cozy cup of the steaming-to-hot tea" to get him going in the morning. He is the romantic push—over who stumbles into love as soon as a girl winks and beckons him. He is the slangy and malleable gallant, the clumsy sophisticate who rides his white charger on: u hie-sue 'mlu ...’ flaw is uhuh ha a. .1»; tow .enhunt 196111 I :11 met enl- ”1"“ mi .110 ubneqeb tetaoow 913-108 to seconds 0‘! . ., 4.4a wow: maintains one usiiuoeq um- .sh'xow e'LIM1$.lflfl! Mandrake has smaller! as: a: tad: “stimulant '10 a“ -.-;i in eanea a'eirzefi ,rrm': :1; 3‘! "..wirm Haiti-1E ed? to 51 far: 3.01311 oa ai .snveeb sun on as a'oiaa.v:i11d£aalv 341.0 21.1 123:; .nivow aliens Mi: '4',d hasten"; ale-3'1 seven :1 .".1-: -:.ui:'m‘.v 45 snowman: .ouz. brat-'31:! 'sed'nco :n'1..::mo-a Ian's ..5::.':-r‘ 11 :. "’1"'I"-'.2 -=_-:'.=:'.1-':". ' ' .'.:.E"I.-:'. his in ':-:,- ll‘iw " '31": --n nit-.51: ,.-'i‘.".'.."?! Y." -.I. 5:11-92 “is. fit?! .9L5'1. 9:. 5.131." ':;.' #33221: "r a?" " - .r-I-wm. 3:11. 3.? 9d :z-sr‘n' ' s" ‘40 "'3‘. z ..'+ 1 : 1 .. --' P" 4.‘ '2 '. Hr :"..".. '. ;' -'-. ‘1 (wax-:41 i - .“"9.‘- :1; v:- . .1 . I w: . ~ ‘ 1 . r 5- :- ‘lW""-I."' 3r -« .. ~ -' .. .\ .. r a no ' .9 ! a;_¢__-.I Q I , t a- . J) :i' av ‘ : ,n; -,«:.«,- a ,- _, ~~ ‘ 1‘ ‘ ' 1:: ' '- . ‘1 . -'.{€ ‘ 1‘ ' .- ‘ I 1+9 into the battle. The charger, of course, is Jeeves. Wodehouse, however, is conscious that his and Wooster's histories are alike. Thus, the English humorist is egoist enough to add fat and swagger to the skinny Wooster characterization. For instance, at the end of the first chapter in the novel Thank You Jeeves, the reader finds one of those clever but incendiary conflagrations between Bertie and his valet. Bertie, as the chapter draws to a conclusion, takes up the playing of the banjo. and the resul- tant cacophony disturbes Jeeves's musiCal sensibilties. In addition, complaints have been lodged against the fop's inept playing by numerous neighbors with the result that Bertie decides to take the banjo and move to a country cottage. "You are proposing to move, sir?" I raised the eyebrow. "Surely, Jeeves, you cannot imagine that I ever considered any other course?" "But I fear you will encounter similar hostility elsewhere, sir." "Not where I am going. It is my intention to retire to the depths of the country. In some old world seques- tered neck I should find a cottage and there resume my studies." "A Cottage, sir?" "A cottage, Jeeves. If possible, honeysuckle- covered." The next moment you could have knocked me over with a toothpick. There was a brief pause, and then Jeeves, whom I have nurtured in my bosom, so to speak, for years and years, gave a sort of cough and there proceeded from his lips these incredible words. "In that case, sir, I fear I must give my notice." There was a tense silence. I looked at the man. "Jeeves," I said, and you wouldn't be far out in describing me as stunned, "did I hear you correctly?" "Yes, sir." "You actually contemplate leaving my entourage?" "Only with the greatest reluctance, sir. But if it is your intention to play the instrument within the narrow confines of a country cottage . . . . " I drew myself up. 50 "You say that instrument, Jeeves. And you say it in an unpleasant, soupy voice. Am I to understand that you dislike this banjolele?" "Yes, sir." “You've stood it all right up to now." “With grave difficulty, sir." , “And let me tell you that better men than you have stood worse than banjolele's. Are you aware that a cer- tain Bulgarian, Elia Gospodinoff, once played the bag- pipes for tense twenty-four hours without a stop? Ripley vouches for this in his 'Believe it or Not.'” "Indeed, sir?" "Well do you think Gospodinoff's personal atten- dant kicked? A laughable idea. They are made of better stuff than that in Bulgaria. I am convinced that he was behind the young master from start to finish of his at- tempt to set the Central EurOpean record, and I have no doubt frequently rallied around with ice packs and other restoratives. Be Bulgarian, Jeeves." "No, sir, I fear I cannot recede from my position." "But, dash it, you say you are receding from your position." "I should have said, I cannot abandon the stand which I have taken." "on. n I mused awhile. "You mean this Jeeves?" “Yes, sir." "And you are resolved?” ”Yes, sir." ”You have thought it all out carefully, weighing the pros and cons. balancing this against that?" "Yes, sir. if it really is your intention to con- tinue playing that instrument, I have no option but to leave." The Wooster blood boiled over. Circumstances of re— cent years have so shaped themselves as to place this blighter in a position which you might describe as that of a domestic Mussolini, but, forgetting this and stick- ing simply to cold fact, what is Jeeves, after all? A valet, a salaried attendant. And a fellow simply cannot go on truckling—do I mean truckling? I know it begins with a t-to his valet forever. There comes a moment when he must remember that his ancestors did jolly well at the Battle of Crecy and put the foot down. This moment had now arrived. "Then leave, dash it" "Very good, sir." 18 The preceding passage speaks provocatively for Wode- house's strengths and weaknesses. At times, it seems that 51 Bertie Wooster is Wodehouse's hubris. For in addition to the fact that both Wodehouse and Wooster spent their early life shuttling between aunts, Wodehouse is also sensitive to Jeeves's attempts at total control of his master. Wode- house is conscious of having created a character in Jeeves that escapes the kind of restrictions that Wodehouse places on the character he knows better. But, at the same time, Wodehouse is artist enough not to tamper with the delicate reality of the relationship between master and servant. Wodehouse, indeed, does make Bertie rear up now and then, and in at least three instances, Bertie dispenses with the services of his valet. But, in each instance, there is a sense of unreality about the temporary severance. For in almost all the stories in the Bertie-Jeeves cycle, the careful reader is led to believe in Bertie's total reliance on Jeeves. In fact, the most glittering example of intelli- gence on Bertie Wooster's part. is his realization that he had better stay out of the way and let his valet run his life for him. But Wodehouse, the elitist and Edwardian wri- ter. feels uncomfortable if the lower class, represented by Jeeves, gains too much control. Thus, the humorist takes pains to make his foppish Wooster likeable to his readers. Much of Bertie Wooster's charm stems from his com- pletely faulty reading of almost any situation. For ex- ample, in the passage just quoted, the reader finds Bertie wondering and questioning Jeeves's opposition to his banjo playing since he, Bertie. "nurtured” Jeeves in his "bosom." sheila eeuodebev uhu: eschew-u 1e mu 0‘ I‘m I .9513 one: ed: :1- .tufl .'xenod sword on actual. e0 " ethanol) ed: new seams: of Son :11;qu suit-u at emu-IOU Jaw-19:1 has 1913“: .'iafl'fld‘fid “smog-.1319: on: ‘10 will" .nsn': one «on em 11w: eirmi- 51:32:. snob .beebni .esuodobofl 1.6!." :11?“- :1e-_-:ns:::.-':n -:.'i.""£9:.. .'.-1:112: ate—:1 2:451:13 trees :3 :11 has 3 i 51011:? ”onward nus-s -':.=. .'.“:J. .191»? sin "c aooiv'xea ' J- : . ' . .. .... . - .... -,.. ,- :1 '. . _, '. .. ,. -- ~.. -- ..- . -'-t. ~n...: 14:. : _-.1-.-_: '. . .’. was -_-'-..{. mm. :o eases ‘51-! r -- __ '- y u v _.e. ' 1 1- 1 ~~flln q { P'fi v—nmra .- t in .-.'. -' I I .4 . u 1.4. Jr I - . ' a : . . - l' ’ ._“ "' "": 1. '" '4' 4 1'“. #1 13-351 - _: ‘ r-_ —- -- - , ..-;.n.. =1 . 15-1-19; --: t .9 1-1 1.3.- " . ' . . ' .' " ‘.o ':.': -' . 2'11 2131:1113. . .1 r . . . . ...- - \ u r.‘ . . . -:.-.- .-. 12.": ..I. .1 -, . .. . Q ' v-"Q ' ‘ It ‘.I. ' _ a I . i . ' a. I- I'— I -‘: .'5'. u - .40 .~ 5-" .. ‘_.'.' - . ' I ’ .' .'t' I. . ." =‘i ...-i ' . ; .‘rnw |‘ 4 ‘ s” ’2' u' 1 '3' _' " "'I - .1 ".'- ’1'” ._ . "j _;‘ 1 u'” _ . '- I' . T 'h 4 -x | ‘L 52 In fact, the opposite is true and as John Aldridge has pointed out, it is Jeeves who plays the motherbsurrogate figure in the Bertie-Jeeves cycle. Despite Bertie's unmistakeably English mannerisms and speech, Wodehouse has some difficulty rendering Bertie as the compleat English fop. The problem, in part, is Wode- house's own Americanization before the wide spread popular- ity of the Bertie-Jeeves series. (Wodehouse had visited America as early as 1919, and he has remained in the United States since World War 2. He has never returned to England.) The problem, however, is a literary one and it is found growing in Bertie's mind and found slipping from his lips. Much of the time, Bertie speaks as an aristocratic fop. A good example would be when he asks Jeeves if the valet was thinking about "leaving his entourage." And it is the properly enraged Englishman who, upon hearing that Jeeves is adamant about going, says,"Leave, dash it." But in the same passage there is another and more incongruous Bertie Wooster, and the slangy master slips on American vernacular for size. Bertie engages his valet in conversation and he asks the precise valet whether he "had thought it all out carefully . . . pros and cons, weighing this and that." Thus, Wode- house creates a tonal dissonance as American expression is crammed into the mouth of an elegant Englishman. Equally disturbing about the Bertie Wooster in the preceding passage is his abrupt personality change. In the five earlier short collection of stories in which Wooster ‘5.“ ." .. «as .‘..: u. p u n E o ' . .- on .. e . . r la .1. I. ‘1 \- -;..1 53 and Jeeves appear. there is no hint or warning that Bertie is overly impressed with or would ever consider playing his trump card, status. His status is understood by both Bertie himself, and Jeeves. But then in Thggk You Jeeves,a vitup- erative and petty Wooster emerges, and as his wrath in- creases and his snobbery asserts itself, his charm leaks away. When in check, Bertie's charm finds its warmest ex- pression in the relationship, on an even footing between him and his valet. In the early stories. Bertie Wooster never seems overly conscious of his membership on the fringes of nobility. In the passage quoted. however, Bertie asks, "What is Jeeves, after all? A valet. A salaried atten- dant." Thus, Wooster reasserts his authority, an authority never overtly questioned by the careful and fastidious valet. and, as a result, Wodehouse sounds a jarring note in the other- wise romantic and congenial Bertie-Jeeves symphony. Perhaps a clue to Bertie's slippage of charm can be found in some of Wodehouse's early correspondence in which he suggests that, perhaps. in 1933, he was not yet ready to take a full measure of responsibility for the even- tual castration of Bertie Wooster by his valet. In letters to W.H. Townend, Wodehouse admits that he wrote many of the 3# short stories in which Jeeves appears before he even be- gan to realize that he had found another major character. Thus, the Jeeves in Thank Y u Jeeves, was still lodged snugly in Wodehouse's mind. Later on, however, Wodehouse admits that he had "groomed Jeeves to get qualified but equal '59: v5 " 5 '0;LK2£_ \ - u , .I 1" " '.‘I I I u I. an -. I . I I I . -. - '. . q - '. . ‘ .. . l - .- '. . _ I - I I .'I -u' I using ' J- I'J.‘ 0‘. III II. .. a ._I 1341: sf *9”“ 'Y"‘ .'..."I '51.; ’..1 .151"?qu .“u av :an an; mid '. ".- .-" " 1'." '."9'." 'i9'v'1fl 5h billing," 19 And as the influence of Jeeves spread those portents of mysticism that are so intrinsic to the char- acter of Jeeves. the character of Bertie Wooster seems to have become subordinated. With the subordination, Bertie loses some of his charm which had been deposited in the more authoritarian Bertie Wooster. By the 1930's, Bertie Wooster plays second fiddle in the Jeevesian symphony. Eventually. even the English humorist, always conscious of his sym- pathetic ties to the vanishing nobility in England. admits in correspondence that a 1934 article in the London Times was valid. The article Wodehouse refers to is an analysis of Wodehouse's work which saw Jeeves as the writer's most important character. Indeed, in many of the letters between Townend and himself, Wodehouse refers to his novels as the "Jeeves novels." Thus. before meeting Jeeves and "hiring him on," Bertie was created by Wodehouse to fit the mold of the com- pleat Edwardian fop. Once teamed with the valet, Bertie travels the English countryside and combs the metropolitan area meeting friends and escaping enemies. The character- ization of Bertie Wooster, although possessing inherent complexities, is quite simple to analyze. The character- ization is, indeed, based on a simple and brittle charm which, in turn, is based on the young master's native intel- ligence. But Bertie Wooster. nevertheless, is carefully rendered as Wodehouse attempted to balance the character- izations of the fop and his valet. .- If", .'- v 77* , Le' ~, 4- 19mm: sic-us .u-ccex em a ante-cu mu m“ mun-mud .monqunce mauve-I. on: at “but Inc”- I“ —mva aid To suo!osaoo avswje .33i10lflfi «atlas! at: Its. criahs .snsinna n1 vilified :nidainsv on: 0: set: sliafltli Beni'i fruit-J 9'1: :3}: sifiitvs ”‘9; E 9911: osnebnoqamoo I] risvjars a. a} Li 3:91;1 s:und9n;h eioi:1e ant .btisv an! rgvm P'su: "w an: a: nsv~w1 ww: Haiaw isow p'sanodoboW to a: ' szo; an: to In " '3 .a'bifz .ueissxsne :nsdzoqlt 1! as ‘IHVHH .‘fl :; att.vs r'.c1t“.fi ,Tisemiu has bnsnwa “.2;sv;n nevseL" .'1 'Iii" .' M"? Czar-9 ‘ ‘i..-.-s.t -=m-.‘:-33 .".!J.""' unrr: -.-:§..’r '.-. Luv 96:: :2: =-' .r-.'.s:~-u.'- - ..'-'-6':".‘I haw :-."..'.".ts.., :: s . ~ 1* .r‘ usmu.r an . "r-w . :J': “ ' . z'; - 5-. --.; s .'. -. — '''' c r . u : ~' ‘* a : " \'r o r“ I. mu?” ,. o - . '. _ '..... ¢ , .. '. ~ u. i i .i' . . a . . 'aT ' “'1 v - 9 . < : '1" , , .- . . ‘ . c I 'I. I H D 3. #. 6. 7. 8. 9 10. 11. 12 13. 1h 15. 16. 1? I CHAPTER 2 FOOTNOTES Geoffrey Jaggard, Wooster's World (London: MacDonald. 1967), PP. 186‘1914'0 Richard Usborne, Wodehouse at Work (London: Herbert Jenkins Limited, W Ibid.. p. 155. Ibid.. p. 158. Ibid.. p. 153. Ibid.. p. 159. Ibid.. p. 159. Ibid.. p. 159. Geoffrey Jaggard, Wooster's World, p. 49. P.G. Wodehouse, Car On Jeeves (London: Herbert Jenk- ins Limited, 1925 , p. 1 . Ibid.. p. 65. Geoffrey Jaggard, Wooster's World, pp. 17-19. P.G. Wodehouse. The Matin Season (London: Herbert Jenkins Limited, 19 9 . p. 3 . P.G. Wodehouse, Jeeves and the Feudal S irit (London: Herbert Jenkins Limited, 19555, p. 7. P.G. Wodehouse and W.H. Townend. Performin Flea (Lon— don: Herbert Jenkins Limited. 1953 . p. Herbert Warren Wind, The World of P.G. Wodehouse (New York: Prager Publishers. 1972 . p. 0. Edith Sitwell, "English Eccentrics," Horizon Ma azine, 1972, p. 9“. 55 _ . _ firflifl all i .. thinness! s lllill’ "{”‘§a. --- . '.. . - b II! 1': od b£33W a'ggrggw bang-1. usual-41s ' I'noa’ '"0 a ) .¢éI-oaz .qq .(vaex tasduefi ancbzod! 3:01 i : .BdI .q'..bid: .c .s ..Lidl .l . "U PT 0“ r 0:: ..hjdi '? 1"::: I." ..Didi .6 o.- 01 ..i'ii'i'i I? - I ’..! ‘-' _- .: ..l.-"Jl O I. a..., ,. ., H e u q. _ a_- ‘L 1 . .. -_ .1... a ‘fi'... 1 ~c - -" : 'l‘ h ' - ' I 1. Sal-L . - . ‘ e l g 3 - ._“: - o a I." - I Q 3 .1 .» '1. I-.'- . .-‘.L'. I a ."V . I I c '1 o . v f‘ ‘ :v I - -. . h C' I.‘ X - 1 c' n . 'n- "i _ 1 - I. l r. ' ' I . . o u v Q .. - "l- . c , :‘.:.' .... 9 ‘ ‘ ' .\_ ' C ' . a ‘ .4‘. - . I .a . ‘ o g. ' I I ‘ ‘ ‘I Q a " U 56 18. P. G. Wodehouse, Thank You Jeeves (New York: Pyramid Books, 1966), pp. 13-15. 19. P.G. Wodehouse and W.H. Townend, Author Author (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1962), p. 13. CHAPTER 3 A GENTLEMAN'S GENTLEMAN In this chapter, Jeeves's history before his em- ployment with Bertie Wooster will be briefly discussed. The chapter will also include an analysis of Jeeves as intellectual and an analysis of the valet's mystical qual- ities and dimensions. There will also be an analysis of Jeeves as leader and forceful captain of the Bertie-Jeeves team. Who exactly is Jeeves, that quiet force who is so responsible for making Bertie Wooster such a delightful character? Does the valet have a personality and dimension of his own outside of his relationship with Wooster? These questions. unasked by most critics. suggest surprising an- swers. In fact, with the characterization of Jeeves, Wode- house has confused many critics and. perhaps. surprised himself as well. And where Bertie is an easy riddle, Jeeves is infinitely more complex. The Roots of an Oak Jeeves, like his young master, was privately ed- ucated; but like so much about Jeeves, the specifics of his education are never given. Similar to Bertie's up- bringing, Jeeves was also brought up by a plethora of aunts 57 58 and at the knee of his Uncle Charlie Silversmith. Geoffrey Jaggard. having only slightly less dif- ficulty than other critics in pinning down Jeeves. theorizes that Wodehouse put Viking blood in Jeeves's veins since he detects a nautical strain in the valet's background. Jaggard refers to stories in which Jeeves can be overheard singing discreetly and chanting sea shanties. Jaggard's thesis receives support from Bertie who is equally unsure of Jeeves's past and who, from time to time. accuses his valet of having the ”stuff of Norseman" in him. The fact that critics suspect a nautical strain in Jeeves suggests, in turn, that, like the sea, Jeeves is too deep to puzzle out by critics who are content to tread the surface of the stories. Thus. Jeeves. to many critics and certainly to his young master, is all oceans. It is mentioned that Jeeves "dabbled" in the First World War. Readers are never told what he did or what com- prises "dabbling." Jaggard. addressing this and other Jeevesian riddles, feels certain that Jeeves possesses a sixth sense denied to ordinary men. He sees the Olympian valet as being ”endowed with an intensified perceptivity which, allied to an intellect of outstanding order, pro- duces a civilized being of almost limitless potentiality." Thus, an almost transcendental dimension in Jeeves is alluded to. But Jaggard, suffering from the intoxication and over- reach of those critics who mark Jeeves down as inscrutable and then dismiss any in-depth analysis. hints that Jeeves is the supreme mystery man, that being of blood and gut ':‘T L'- 311.. L i .:'-_ r..- . ... . .. n I. .. a. I — . . . . .... . t . ...H . . . I“ O I . u . o I . u - ' n a J. . .. 59 'who can, perhaps, even ”break the law of gravity." He sees Jeeves as the "Stoic Philosopher" of our time. 1 But Jaggard, like many less sensitive critics, throws to the WoOster winds such quotations fraught with meaning as the following. Bertie is overheard to say in a moment of passion and worship. “I felt like a child of tender years deprived of its Nannie. If you don't mind me calling you Nannie?" Jeeves, of course, responds, "Not at all, sir." Such statements by Bertie make Jeeves bristle with eXCitement. He is excited by Wooster's recognition of his role and power. Jeeves's pre-Bertie Wooster history is vital to an understanding of Jeeves and his relation to the young fop. Jeeves first served as a page boy in a girl's school-- probably the place where his haughty disdain for females first took root. After the annoying but halcyon interlude at the girl's school, Jeeves was "with“ Lord Worplesdon for a year. Jeeves, however, always wanting the upper-hand resigned when the.Lord insisted on wearing what Jeeves felt was outrageous apparel to the dinner table. (Wodehouse makes Jeeves the sartorial arbiter in all the Bertie-Jeeves stories as he develcps the valet's fine sense of aesthetic.) Jeeves could also be found in his pre-Wooster days "with" Mr. Digby Thistleton. Thistleton, who becomes Lord Bridgnorth the financier, rather unsuccessfully markets a depilatory losing his hair and shirt in the process; After Bridgnorth, Jeeves is employed by Mr. Montague Todd (whom Richard Us- herne thinks is a subliminal memory by Wodehouse of the '..-: -r -- .- _n' ------_'.'1'_-‘_a It. +'.1'.i'."-.’:--'§ 3 .- .5 - . . "v . ‘V ;,_|i‘.."’::l 60 Dicken's character Montagne Tigg). another financier who does even worse in the world of business than Bridge north. For his trouble, Todd spends time in prison. Jeeves, who seems able to withstand all of Bertie Wooster's noto- riety, seems unable to abide Todd's indiscretions and quickly takes a position with Lord Brancaster. (Brancaster is best remembered as a hapless nobleman who once fed his lethargic parrot seed cake steeped in port and was promptly bitten in the huge "thumb on his right hand” for his show of kind- ness.) Jeeves, responding to Brancaster's poor judgement and in demand all across England, leaves to take up lod- gings with Lord Frederick Ranelagh. Ranelagh, like so many of Wodehouse's loony nobility, runs afoul of the law and Jeeves is once again fcrced to take his leave. At various other times, Jeeves can be found with Lord Rowcester (gigg For Jeeves), Lord Chufnell for a week, for less than a week with Pop Stoker, and for a short time he can be found busily plotting with Gussie Fink-Nottle in W- 2 Wodehouse, although unsure how important he wanted to make the character of Jeeves, makes sure that Bertie Wooster never fongets that Jeeves, like fine silver, is coveted by England's nobility. Wodehouse tantalizes Bertie by making it seem that the valet is always on the verge of taking his leave from the fop's digs. He does this by giving Bertie a Jeeves that has a definite longing for a nomadic existence and who suffers quite frequently from acute pangs of wanderlust. .5391 l'. r 'f a I i I n--. . 61 Taking into consideration Jeeves's ability to always find employment despite his whimsical wanderings, the care- ful reader of the Bertie Woostetheeves cycle of stories finds one of Wodehouse's inconsistencies in the very first story in which Jeeves appears. For in the short story ”Extri- cating Young Gussie,“ Jeeves is inexPlicably listed on the books of a London employment agency. After he fires his man Meadcwes, Bertie hurries off to the agency and gives them the qualifications that he desires in a valet. After reg- hunthqunfinfimmBufimahwsfleyyMflm ist, goes out with some fellow Drones and ends up with the "Great Hangover." The next morning, with head splitting, Ber- tie sees something "shimmer“ into his room and into his life forever. Jeeves subsequently cures the hangover and his tenure in the Wooster home is assured. Jeeves, with all his similarities to Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes,and others, bears a striking resemblance to the diabolical servant in Harold Pinter's screenplay The- Servant. Like the character played by Dirk Bogarde in the film, Jeeves is quite conscious that he has the power to manipulate his master, thereby capturing the master's sym- pathy, deep trust.and total admiration. Jeeves, like the valet in Pinter's script. sets out to make himself absol- utely indispensable. The character Jeeves is zooming tall and his strik- ing height adds to his mysterious nature as he looks shrewdly down at the other characters in the novels and short stories. He is further distinguished by the bulge at the back of his l -." l I -\ . ' . . "'- .._. .'. ' s . .I I . 'h.i--"153fl~21fi' ' "1st. eds -I-r ._. H up —l ”.1". '.‘n ”iii? 51'- I ' .. .I- '~- 5‘31“: - ' 41- . . ' ' i ' '... . ‘u .- . J . 62 head, a condition that Bertie is sure is caused by the housing of an overly large brain. Unlike the young master who, by the age of twenty-six, has grown slack and effete, Jeeves is taut and whip-like. He is the chilly debrouillard who laces quiet- ly through the stories. Unlike Bertie who reacts to liquor with abandon and mischief, Jeeves takes alcohol sparingly with effects that are almost nil. He does not want to chance pickling his mind. ~ Wodehouse takes pains to contrast Bertie Wooster's rather pedestrian reading matter withe the material Jeeves reads in his room at night. Heading Jeeves's list are the works of philosophers Nietzche and Spinoza. In fact, Jeeves not only reads Nietzche, he has most of the German's phil- osophy committed to memory. By giving Nietzche as the main source of the valet's reading, Wodehouse seems to suggest that Jeeves believes in a superman theory. Jeeves realizes that he is the one who must be called upon to solve the be- nign problems Wodehouse sets forth in his rollicking books. Jeeves is the rather uncharitable egoist who feels that, per- haps, the "have-nets" of the world deserve their fate. Among the other sources and people Jeeves quotes from are Pliny the Younger, Whittier, F.Scott Fitzgerald, Pater, Percy Bythe Shelley, John Keats, Rudyard Kipling, and Scott. Jeeves's mixed bag also includes Wiiliam Wordsworth, Emerson, Marcus Aurelius, William Shakespeare, Browning, Virgil, Hor- ace, Charles Dickens, Tennyson, John Milton, Stevenson, Gray, Burns, Byron, and the entire Bible. 3 As a result of his extensive reading, he is able to Speak a disciplined and taut /,-' ' . ' ' . ,' -- :- ‘."}.Ifi‘i"-‘}i". stilt! - . - . ' .‘J;w .- O . u e . l__ . . u.- .... l ‘ .I . I . - I I p r I ' . u I e V ‘ o I v ' q ‘ D Q I l e I r 1 I I Q ‘ v I I l ‘ y I‘ v I ‘ i 63 Augustan language that the young Wooster, who leans on a sporting-life vernacular, feels must have come straight down from the heavens. Unlike the less steady character- ization of Bertie Wooster who invests his already bad Eng- lish with American slang and sloganeering, Jeeves's diction never slips out of its magesterial register. Hillaire Belloc, an admirer of Wodehouse, has rather exuberantly stated that if Jeeves ever became the forgotten man in critical analyses of English literature, that what Belloc knew as England would no longer exist. In some oc- cult fashion, it seems that Belloc is not only referring to Jeeves as a sum of words that point other than in the direction of mysticism and just to Edwardian England, but to the actual. live presence of a Jeeves in Great Britain. For Belloc, there is a Jeeves who has risen above the page to become a reality free of P.G. Wodehouse's literature and not restricted to the books in which he appears. One suspects that Belloc was not at all pleased with the filmed Jeeves portrayal by English actor Arthur Treacher. In fact, Treacher played Jeeves as a stern and evil man. And although this was somewhat closer to the real Jeeves than the Jeeves that most critics saw and still see as mere decoration, Treach- er's Jeeves inhibited the comic eXpression of the films. As early as 1914, Wodehouse was experimenting with Jeeves types. In a 1914 story in Stgggg magazine called "Creatures of Impulse," Wodehouse tells of a perfect ser— vant he calls "Jevons." It was then but a short distance to the perfect manservant. In fact, in all the Bertie Wooster - - :2. -'-. .'- - -' .'.. .‘.., .. '\.' .. l I e f «19395 *3 .’Sicfr' "raveet .nniues-snoja 13d: 0" (score . . gfifififilfi arr ""'.w ' '..:I - '5'16 a“? '5'! 1" I 3. s~n‘ a J .5 «111.! I! '3 H ’.I. :a .214- 3’3 I. ll- . - IT 5 5. ”T“ L . ‘ -v Q I. -I'- f -. I I . ' I .- m .'3 l .‘ I I I .I. . l I ‘ UP! ‘1' -‘_'-' gar: l 'f’:'532'"5:-. .._ 1",... .. ..- . nus finals “EOIIIIA :l."':: '*. are ”1.; oofl 51:198 kn tn: sqila SOVDH 1v .tulisi suiefiifl 1 .\- 24 ' ._ ', II.- I . ,. l . hQTttt -r: ;--i*iuc of new .. . Nam-7 “(21:52? I I I :I' ':-f‘ s a; ‘.‘iqll a q. 1 . 1 I 1 I ls l - - - ‘Erisv - ' -. l. w I. "-- 3: . \I 1 " a. ; . I: 64 and Jeeves cycle of stories, Wodehouse endows servants with near perfect personalities and behavior. But Jeeves is the only "gentleman's gentelman.4 He is the mystic, miles beyond the other service in Wodehouse's stories. (Some of Wodehouse's other stories are populated with such butlers as Attwater, Barlow, Baxter, Barter, Bayliss, Beach, Benson, Blizzard, Bowles, Bulstrode, Chibnall, Coggs, Ferris, Gascoyne, Heggs, Keggs, Oakshott, Pollen, Ridgway, Silversmith, Slingsby, Spenser, Sturgis, Swordfish, VOSper, and Watson.) 4 It should be pointed out that Wodehouse is just as aware of the intramural caste system between butlers and servants as he is of the social distance between help and their employers. To draw the distinction between the but- lers and valets, he portrays butlers as obese, slow-witted individuals with a consuming passion for nipping cheap port and munching biscuits. More elite manservants, on the other . hand, are spartan-like, keen, and feast lightly on dark- colored brandy, fancy dishes of fish, and carrots. Jeeves, the cock-sure and full-of-feathers man- servant, has likely forerunners. Characters like Jeeves are found in Greek and Roman comedies, and in Shakespeare. Just as Chesterton had Weller and Barrie had Crichton, so Wodehouse has Jeeves. Critics conjecture that perhaps Wode- house read late nineteenth-century issues of Punch magazine in which a stately and orotund manservant appears with the name of Jeames. Wodehouse, long a devotee of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, could sense Jeeves germinating in the likes of ---___‘ .3 id have --r. ...‘-1'11: . .- .. a ..- u l 65 Ambrose in Rodney Stone and Austin in The Poison Belt. Although an articulate and discerning critic of Wodehouse, Richard Usborne seems puzzled that Jeeves agrees to stay on with Bertie Wooster since the valet had always moved about before. Usborne also has trouble under- standing why Jeeves, with his superior brain, doesn't do something other than serve the nobility. He wonders why Jeeves consents to remain a "gentleman's gentleman." But then, perhaps unwittingly, Usborne answers his own Questions as he points out that Jeeves, unlike most of Wodehouse's other servants, and despite his protean reading habits, refuses to read any Marxist literature. On the contrary, Jeeves reads literature that tends to support an elitist system of society. Jeeves, in fact. reads a lofty literature. He is, in fact, rather above proletarian writing, which he feels is "disturbing literature." Jeeves as God-Force Jeeves, by the sheer force of his silence and quiet manner. seems to transcend those characters who thrive on a contrived but inventive baby-talk for their communication in the Bertie-Jeeves cycle. Jeeves courts a higher muse. In the Bertie-Jeeves saga, Jeeves is a God-head. And, despite his firmness and taciturn nature, Jeeves is the benevolent life force; he is the orthodox God-head who knows, appropriately enough, Latin in the original. But if Jeeves is the major force, a God-like 5:": l . . .. . ‘.. ..-- ' ,3 . . _ . . . ' _ .- 1 . . '-.’i I ' ' 1 II. - Q 0 o I e ' . ' I _- ' .- . a an; sit'rv.‘ so vats D 'P‘ffi' .4 '.r Liens?! . so» 'i u 1' -:I .'S -' -. . -! r . '-'\. . ‘ A... at: .-. J... - ._.. l . ' ' s. u 66 being, Bertie Wooster is something more than one of Wode- house's common runpamoks. Although eclipsed intellectually by his valet, Bertie is no mere disciple of Jeeves despite the young master's reverence for Jeeves's mind. Wodehouse, in fact, offers to discerning readers a Bertie Wooster who is child to Jeeves as mother, baby to Jeeves as Nannie, prep-school scab to Jeeves as Housemaster, and post-puberty son to Jeeves as counseling father. If Bertie is the son- figure to the God-like force that is Jeeves, it would be reasonable to view Bertie Wooster as the English humorist's Christ-like character. For, to be sure, Bertie Wooster is crucified again and again. Bertie Wooster, the elegant and likeable fop has a generous heart. He sees his mission in life in elite terms of a strict obedience to the code. The code is his gOSpel which tells him to go among the people in order to save their souls and salve their wounds. In all the Bertie-Jeeves stories, the young master suffers a demi-crucifixion. He is caught, like a spider in its own web, on a network of unworkable intrigues that he has set up for himself. In all the stories, Jeeves sym- pathizes with Bertie, as the master slides in and out of tangled love affairs. But the valet, seeing the dilemma of his master through clear blue eyes, resurrects the fallen Wooster. Jeeves prods and quickens to life the newly-born Wooster and arms him with a poetry that allows the romantic Bertie to function in the looney but halcyon universe of Wodehouse. Jeeves sees that his master is all racket, and sens:ovau s'tetnsm o: .ith s'nnvssb wri av: "yinssosib Mutt-'6'" “'kds 3-". ‘2?) .... I. a.. idea .zsfitam we assast at "awash '3': 3598 joshaa-qflq 0m:WT'u =- : . ' Her." Lone-1,.“ ...f 3.: awe-":1. of non ' --. 'r:'-.'.'."-:-“'-.' "r: -r..' .- If- -. . ' - . '."“- -'.? 'er-Jzi ':'.'.-"':_m.-: .' ' . " ' “'JT ”swat qfi'1onrh 93; n? s~vti1 2' H? ”Li f "' :.J - -4 - - -_ 's. V TT #3 “Lifflcaast ' .. ' .. .. .'. ~ _ .1 -- : ." .-. -' '=r-'-. sniff—.7: "1.5K: . ‘ .. . _r .. -h a! .. --.'-'.= i“ r. :: EM: 2: 1 .,-. a - . .. ' '-" :..-'..1'.-s'-:-L-3.- . , ' ' : if ' . ' ' . - I .4. ‘ , .- .- . fl \ 1 . _ . __ ., - e " .4 ‘ :1 "fl .3" ".4 ' r . '.X'."--- '.H. m. h.’ - . .1‘ ' '" ' ‘ o "I (‘3' ' . - -: : - -.: "'. - ‘ .'e"' " a “ “"‘- " .. 'r . ' . . w . - .- 4 =.:3' ‘1’ "- ...': .~ ' -' 3' . 6? the valet calms and cools the euphoric Bertie. Even when Bertie Wooster is antic and astounding, it is Jeeves who always understands the errant personality. As a result of this deep understanding, Jeeves virtually programs his master into deep, romantic tangles so that Bertie can grom im- mune to calf-love while still suffering from the sharp ar- rows of adolescent amour. But, ironically, Jeeves, who knows so much about women, is one of literature's great celibates. Jeeves never becomes involved with women, and once when kissed by one of Wodehouse's heroines, he is somewhat unsettled if not nauseated by the experience. Jeeves even finds the thought of marriage (crass-coupling) absurd and repugnant. In Thank You Jeeves, the valet, after having dutifully served in Lord Chufnell's employ for a short period, wishes to return to Bertie Wooster explaining: I would not wish, in any case, to continue in the employment of his lordship, sir, now that he is about to get married . . . I yield to no one in my admiration for the many qualities of Miss Stoker, but it has never been my policy to serve in the house- hold of a married gentleman. Certainly, Wooster's first friends see Jeeves as some superohuman being even as Bertie tries to deny that there is anything special about the imperious Jeeves. In Wodehouse's closed universe, it is apparent that Jeeves is the universe's primal mover. Jeeves is also responsible for the dispensing of punishment and reward. -.:.'-‘-_,'v-‘I- :: ...'l'iflij'irifz-r319th"- . - - I - -- - , - ' I .'. -' I :" ,I-'-.- .551" a“ I I I ' . ,- -' . I. -' Ir,- -Ir '1' h - . . “ . I I .I I" I . - ..' ‘5.- -- 5:. _ . ' e . . ', - - 2 " I " I I -.. _ I I - :" .I. '- . I .. - ' I . .... ... ' I I ‘ l 68 Jeeves as Magician Jeeves is also a consummate magician. one of whose better tricks is to keep his employer in a perpetual state of disturbed equilibrium. To do this Jeeves resorts to the rather unsophisticated technique of force-feeding Bertie liquor. Even these administrations of alcohol have an esoteric and magical quality. For instance, in Jeeves and the Feudal S irit. the following passage occurs with Bertie Wooster as the uneasy narrator: I was unquestionably conscious of a certain jump- iness. When Jeeves came in with the shaker, I dived at it like a seal going after a slice of fish and I drained a quick one scarcely pausing to say 'skin off your nose.’ The effect was magical, that apprehensive feeling left one, to be succeeded by a quiet sense of power. I cannot put it better than by saying that, as the fire coursed through the veins, Wooster the timid fawn became in a flash Wooster the man of iron will, ready for anything. What Jeeves inserts in these specials of his I have never ascertained, but their morale building force is6extraordinary. They wake a sleeping tiger in a chap. The above passage is a clear example of the power- ful hold Jeeves has on Bertie. After offering his witches brew, Jeeves can turn Bertie into a trained animal, an animal ready to do his master's bidding. In the above passage Bertie is, in his own words, "like a seal," and Jeeves's concoction is, in Bertie's own words, "magical." The recipe always manages to reach Bertie Wooster's flash point and he Springs to action, but always in the direction .. 5 w. .. 69 dictated by Jeeves. Bertie mentions that Jeeves's specials wake the sleeping tiger in him. Wooster the charming egoist that is “Bertie Boobus," will not allow himself to admit that he is rather more like a slumbering kitten. But once gal- vanized into action, Bertie forgets the potion and once again he is able to become assertive. At these moments of heightened perception, Bertie feels that he can confront his valet on more or less even terms. Bertie and Jeeves engage in classic and intimate confrontations not unlike those between psychiatrist and a competing patient who is trying to convince the doctor that he is fine, thank you. There is constant competition and Bertie, despite his sunny, congenial nature, can be dark and combative, as seen in a passage in Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit. Bertie notices that Jeeves is staring at him: "Something seems to be arresting your attention, Jeeves, is there a smut on my nose?" His manner continued frosty. There are moments when he looks just like a governess one of which was this one. "No, sir, it is on the upper lip. A dark stain like mulligatawny soup." I gave a careless nod. "Ah, yes,“ I said, "the moustache that is what you are alluding to, is it not? I grew it while you were away. Rather natty don't you think?" ”No, sir, I do not." I moistened my lips with the special, still suave to the gills, I felt strong and masterful. 7 In the passage, Bertie takes a gulp of one of Jeeves's specials which gives him the courage to confront his valet, a fact that Jeeves does not mind since he needs these moments of bellicosity to reinforce his superiority. 70 The careful reader of Wodehouse knows, that by the end of the book, Bertie will shave off the moustache which Jeeves, with his rather refined but narrow aesthetics, calls a "stain" and a "smut." While in his cups. Bertie is unaware that Jeeves can don satanic garb just as quickly as he can assume celestial robes. But Bertie constantly dismisses Jeeves's powers by likening them to the powers of a ”governess,” a big brother, or an aunt. In fact, Bertie can never quite identify Jeeves's role in his life except in terms of a partner bailing out a partner. Perhaps part of Bertie's difficulty comes from the consumption of the potion that Jeeves mixes for him. Bertie quite frankly admits that Jeeves's drinks tend to confuse him at times. It's a curious thing about those specials of Jeeves's and one on which many revellers have commented, that while, as I mentioned earlier, they wake the sleeping tiger in you, they also work the other way around. I mean, if the tiger in you isn't sleeping. but. on the contrary, up and doing with a heart for any fate, they lull it. You come in like a lion, you take your snoot- ful and you go out like a lamb. Impossible go explain, of course, one can merely state the facts. Bertie Wooster allows Jeeves to become team member of the Wooster retinue. But, eventually. Jeeves becomes the captain of the team. Bertie, especially when soaking up suds, becomes the small child who must clear everything with his mother. or. in Bertie's case, his valet. For ex- ample, Bertie narrates: Profoundly relieved, I picked up my feet and hastened to my room with a song on my lips. Jeeves was there, .I .'. - l . i .. .T 3“}... I-II- fins 1 ""fi‘; - 1 ‘I - .- .. 1 - . . ... ._ .A. ' I . l u l . I e EIIUZBG G‘ JETS!!- s---ru"r-\ " I .... ‘-'.'.. 71 not actually holding a stop watch, but obviously shaking his head over the young master's tardiness. His left eye- brow quivered perceptibly as I entered. "Yes, I know I'm late Jeeves," I said trying to shed the upholstery, "I went for a stroll." He accepted the explanation indulgently. sir.:I quite undertake and understand the explanation. In one of the many pastoral romps at the home of Dahlia Travers, Bertie assures his troubled aunt that everything will be "hunky-dcry" because "Jeeves will be back in a mom- ent, and will doubtlessly put everything right with one wave of his magic wand." 10 Jeeves, indeed, is Bertie Wooster's steadfast guardian. Even though he does recognize that Jeeves is some- thing of a magician, Bertie's neuroses obscure some of his other behavior. In fact, Bertie, once he is out of the com- pany of his valet, literally falls apart: he has trouble dressing and even thinking. But deepite his neurotic re- liance on Jeeves and his deluded thinking which only allows him to think of Jeeves as a subordinate, Bertie seems well aware that the many invitations to the baronial country homes of his friends and relatives are forthcoming only if Bertie promises to bring his master sleuth with him. But, fortunately for Bertie's unsteady ego. he is also quite sure that, al- though Jeeves is part of the deal, he, Bertie Wooster, is the person whose company is most coveted by the nobility. The Quiet Mystic With the character of Jeeves, Wodehouse is able to 72 show his true comic genius. It is a difficult, comedic irony that Wodehouse accomplishes by making Jeeves vital to the development of Bertie Wooster despite the valet's unobtrusive and quiet demeanor. Indeed, Jeeves says very little, but what he does say speaks volumes to the careful reader who looks for nuance and significance in the slap- stick and simple joking style of the English humorist. Jeeves is never verbose and he speaks no billingsgate as his preciseness of language offers the reader a wealth of material for critical research. In fact, there is something rather ominous'about this quiet genius who seems to float even out of Wodehouse's reach. Jeeves, once created and fixed in the intricate scenarios by the English humorist, is autonomous, and his quiet pres- ence is always felt despite his infrequent appearances. Un- like Bertie Wooster whom Wodehouse can control and keep an eye on by making him the constant narrator, Jeeves weaves in and out of the novels and short stories. Jeeves is shrewd and discreet, and his lilting car- riage and over all quiet demeanor, all help make and estab— lish him as one of literature's great and most fascinating inscrutables. He is like an Oriental mystic with a skull that pulses and houses the wisdom of all the ages. Jeeves is a steady influence on the other characters in the stories, and this sense of constancy is in contrast to the frisky, shallow, and transitory influence that Bertie Wooster tries to exert on the same characters in the Bertie Wooster-Jeeves cycle of stories. 73 Bertie's shrill and sophomoric language is the stuff of Wodehouse's books. The stories trail along in pursuit of Bertie's slangy, whiplash speech. This focus on Bertie's manner of speaking is one reason why, when Jeeves speaks people listen more attentively as they suSpect that there is an implicit importance attending everything that the valet says. Throughout the stories involving Bertie Wooster and Jeeves, readers are conditioned to accept Bertie as narrator and slayer of language. Bertie's tongue becomes Wodehouse's prose. But the reader who listens closely to the language of Bertie Wooster, soon gets caught up in the hilarity. The reader and such vulnerable critics as Voorhees and Usborne, ramble along with Wodehouse, laughing at Bertie Wooster's 2gp; pgg and foibles, knowing that they are reading a darn funny book. A laugh-a—line philosophy, how- ever, can be misleading. The more diligent reader is forced to interrupt his laughter long enough to look and assess that shadow standing at Bertie Wooster's heel, who isn't laughing. Why doesn't he laugh? The question is answered by many read- ers and critics of the Bertie Wooster-Jeeves cycle of stories by attempting a too quick and easy listing of Jeeves's attri- butes. The reader and the critic are tempted to point out that Jeeves is stuffy, decorous, and without the slightest sense of humor. But Jeeves, although decorous, does not seem stuffy and, indeed, his sense of humor is glittering. And if many readers miss the heart of Jeeves's droll and frequently cruel humor. it is because they have probably 7h been lulled by the unchallenging Mack Sonnett delivery of Bertie Wooster. Jeeves reflects life in Edwardian England. Through his hooded and keen eyes, he watches as England's blessed best run aground from stiffness, and he sees blue blood having trouble pumping through veins clogged by a hedonis- tic life. Jeeves sees Bertie and his foppish friends wast- ing their lives on enervating amusements for he, like F. Scott Fitzgerald, has witnessed too many blue gardens where "the men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and champagne and the stars." 11 Jeeves, although never admitting to misogyny, knows that the girls in the Bertie Wooster-Jeeves saga are asexual. But he still feels it necessary to persuade Bertie that the girls the master comes in contact with are less erotic and infinitely less sexy than the smooth, peach-skinned boys that Bertie went to school with at Malvern House. And, with his total control of his master, Jeeves feels safe when view- ing the impotent romps of Bertie and his lady friends. Jeeves looks at Bertie Wooster and his friends as they pant from their revelings and he chuckles inwardly. It is snobbishness, so well concealed that not once in the Bertie-Jeeves cycle of stories does anyone dare call Jeeves a snob. Besides his snobbery, albeit an insular one, Jeeves is the mystic who exerts control through expansion of will. For instance, while Bertie strums his banjolele to some Negro folk song, Jeeves studies baroque music. Jeeves, in 75 fact, makes certain that Bertie and his friends move to his tumbling rhythms. Even a superficial reading of P.G. Wodehouse pro- duces a vibration that oscillates toward a definition of Jeeves as Shaman. In “Jeeves and the Impending Doom," a 1930 short story in Ve Good Jeeves, Bertie looks to his magical friend to bail him out of another jam. "All is well," I said, "Jeeves is coming." "What can he do," said the doubter. I frowned a trifle, the man's tone had been peevish A and I didn't like it. "That," I replied, "we cannot say until we see him in action. He may pursue one course, or he may pursue another. But one thing you may rely on with the utmost confidence-Jeeves will find a way. See here he comes stealing through the undergrowth, his face shining with the light of pure intelligence. 12 In "Jeeves and the Song of Songs," Aunt Dahlia Travers, having little faith in her nephew says to Bertie, "Why, put the whole thing before your man Jeeves. Jeeves will find a way." She continues, "One of the most capable fellows I ever met. Put the thing squarely up to Jeeves and let nature take its course." 13 There is little doubt in Dahlia Travers's mind that Jeeves is one of the major forces in the world. For her it is "In Jeeves We Trust." In "Jeeves and the Song of Songs," Wodehouse has Bertie call "Jeeves," and the valet "manifests himself." Thus, even for Bertie Wooster, Jeeves seems at times not unlike a vision. Even the narcissistic Captain Bigger. the Great White Hunter, is forced to admit that Jeeves is more terrifying than a water buffalo. Jeeves, of course, is anything but a plodding, slow-witted 76 water buffalo. Jeeves as Captain of the Team In moments of adversity, Bertie Wooster is more than happy to let Jeeves captain the Wooster-Jeeves team. One reason why Bertie defers to Jeeves is that Bertie is an indolent character. Even at his constant age of twenty-six, he hardly ever shakes off the evening sleep, and even a cup of Jeeves's "steaming" does not stop Bertie, despite nine hours of sleep, from taking constant catnaps in the nearest arm- chair. A reading of Wodehouse's later Bertie Wooster-Jeeves stories and an appropriate comparison of them to Wodehouse's early public-school stories such as Mike at W kn, indicates that Bertie Wooster has left most of his stamina back on the hallowed fields of Oxford. A rather diabolical Jeeves constantly amemds Bertie's habits. Thus, Jeeves makes sure that Bertie remains indolent by encouraging his master's Olympian appetites. Jeeves, in fact, relies on Bertie's indolence, especially when the man- servant is forced to steer the young master through per- fumed jungles, making sure that the fine, foppish Bertie es- capes from all the females with whom Wodehouse populates his books. Indeed. Jeeves meets each new challenge with quiet and incisive assurance. Far too often he has seen a moon-struck Bertie Wooster fall euphorically and calf-like in love. For example, In Jeeves in the Offi , Bertie mas; an: :o niaqua as . iiisri'srb: “In sinuses: n: c u": ri :z-f'somf simui . . -.= c - 9:: -..-.-‘.' simmer. save-1'?- iel If 2chin "£71 ‘ ‘ -' .' . an" '.“.eten - n’ muses; 9:10 .3 - 3: - . ' .'. r. u'V- .'1' -_-..-_.--.-. '3' ---'.;---."-n1 I ‘ ’3 1.4.1 . . . .. _. .. ._., - . ————7 7? relates: Her outer crust was . . . of a nature to cause those beholding it to rock back on their heels with a star— tled whistle . . . . She was equipped with eyes like twin stars, hair that was ruddier than thfi cherry oomph eSpieglerie, and all the lelngS. Jeeves, who has stated that he will never stay in a mixed household, never panics during Bertie's flirtations since he is assured, that with his help, Bertie will manage to puncture the romantic bubble. In fact, Jeeves's constant supply of drinks coupled with Bertie's hedonistic appe- tites, keep Bertie so gregarious and stuffed that he usually ends up complimenting one of his friends to such a degree that he makes the friend sound infinitely more exciting than himself. Jeeves, who is quite sexless but with a certain neuter appeal to females, takes great delight in watching over Bertie's romantic bunglings. Jeeves is a captain never under seige. He watches while Bertie trips through life gathering flies and he remains imperiously cool and dispassionate as he maintains his sweet hauteur. Jeeves barely smiles as Wooster and his friends hurtle headlong into a roaring fortissimo of trouble. Jeeves, however, keeps a chilling and aloof distance unless asked by Bertie to enter the fray. The highly mannered Jeeves, however, is capable of certain but subtle cruelties. As he watches Bertie flail away at life in paroxysms of bewilderment, Jeeves refuses to give the wisdom that could make the young . 7"."v’539 In "LEE '.. .'flfi 78 master's life easier. (Some critics maintain that this is a result of Jeeves's adherence to the Feudal Code which tells the servant not to be obtrusive and not to force his views on the nobility.) Jeeves realizes that his position of prominence, albeit a quiet one, depends on Bertie's courting of and succumbing to trouble. He also realizes that Bertie is one of England's stellar fops, an Edwardian staple, and one of the Crown's golden ninnies. Jeeves, of course, would not have it any other way. And to assuage the flailing Bertie caught in life's maze and web, Jeeves offers sympathy and alcohol. Although he comes up with most of the solutions to Bertie's troubles, the manservant never totally opens the door to Nirvana for Bertie. But, in lieu of direct help, Jeeves coddles Bertie and intercedes with those who wish to plot against the master. Jeeves, to insure the longevity of the Wooster-Jeeves team, thus in- suring his spot at the top of English society, is not above more forceful action as can be seen when he blackjacks Constable Dobbs in The Mating Season. Dobbs, long the vil- lage atheist, receives the Jeevesian touch, and assuming that he has been hit with a thunderbolt delivered from God, gives up atheism. There is a progression that Wodehouse follows in the Bertie-Jeeves novels and short stories, which allows Jeeves to systematize confusion. Most of the stories begin with a scene in Bertie's flat-~a scene smacking of coziness and tranquillity. In the flat the reader finds a happy . u. . u 1- 4.... . ... 9 h .... ..u . 8 H. s. . 1.. s... ... H 3.... u. ... u... . . .. l ...u. ...... ' u. a... . h .. . . +u . . .1” .. .n .I ..l I e. .. .... n In I . U . u . . c . o . . u. - I n I I I a I u r I . . v . . I u p n 1 E . I . . 79 Bertie”Wooster, becalmed by sedating drinks and bitter- sweet sleep. Wodehouse has always liked starting with such a congenial scene and even in his latest novel, Jeeves and the Tie that Binds, he starts with the familiar and cozy scenario. Bertie narrates: As I slid into my chair at the breakfast table and started with the toothsome eggs and bacon which Jeeves had given of his plenty, I was conscious of a strange exhilaration, if I've got the word right. Pretty good this setup looked to me . . . "These eggs, Jeeves," I said, "Very good, very tasty." ”Yes, sir?" "Laid no doubt, by contented hens. And the coffee, perfect. Nor must I omit to give a word of praise to the bacon. I wonder if you notice anything about me this morning?" "You seem in good spirits, sir." "Yes, Jeeves, I am happy today." ”I am very glad to hear it, sir." ”You might say I'm sitting on top of the world with a rainbow round my shoulder." “A most satisfactory state of affairs, sir.” "What's the word I've heard you use from time to time-begins with eu." "Euphoric, sir?” "That's the one. I've seldom had a sharper attack of euphoria. I feel full to the brim of Vitamin B. Mind you, I don't know how long it will last. Too often it is when one feels fizziest that the storm could begin doing its stuff." "Very true, sir. Full many a glorious morning have I seen flatter the mountain tops with sovereign eye, kissing the golden face the meadowes green, gilding pale streams with heavenly alchemy. Anon permit the basest clouds to ride with ugly rack on his celestial face and from the forlorn world his visage hide, stealing unseen to west with this dis- race." g “Exactly," I said. "I couldn't have put it better myself. One always has to budget for a change in the weather. Still, the thing to do is to keep on being happy while you can." "Precisely, sir. Carpe diem, the Roman poet Horace advised. The English poet Herrick eXpressed the same sentiment when he suggested that we gather rosebuds while we may. Your elbow is in the butter, sir." "Oh, thank you,Jeeves." 15 80 With this new book, Wodehouse has expanded the characterization of Jeeves and Jeeves has, in the above passage, what amounts to a short monologue. During the earlier short stories and novels, such an outburst by Jeeves would have been unheard of. But Wodehouse, by 1971, seems to have realized that Jeeves had grown as a character past even Wodehouse's own exPectations. Yet in that congenial opening scene in Jeeves and the Tie that Binds, there are slight but perceptible rumblings of discontent and fear. Only Jeeves seems to be in complete control of his faculties. In the opening scene, Jeeves the manipulator has made Bertie happy by appealing to his master's stomach. He has also dressed the young master and set up the breakfast nook, but Bertie, like all good neurotics, feels that the situation is too good to be true. He senses that things could turn sour at any moment. Jeeves, who thrives on adversity, is calm and collected for he knows that any adversity Bertie might encounter would result in Wooster seeking out his aid and communion. Jeeves knows that adversity is the very element that consolidates his position as captain of the Wooster-Jeeves team. It is, indeed, an irony that Jeeves is most secure when Bertie is in difficulty and in anguish. Although Jeeves does not feel insecure when Bertie is happy, he stirs things up when things go "too swimmingly." Thus, in Jeeves and the Tie that Binds, when the manservant ad amass q 'IE-ZS'OMBIIO 'rn‘: U I .l .I. ' : 1- "ii: 5 3' -... .... .... .......... F ' ‘ .- :f': -'. 11 .- . .- -~.!:' . ‘ . :1 . .. -i _________________————————————————————————————--——-——————————————————5*——— l 81 realizes that something is needed to reinforce his position, he makes sure that the "young master” finds him adding seven new pages to the club book of the Junior Ganymede Club. By this means, Jeeves succeeds in completely dis- turbing Bertie Wooster on what had started out as a glorious morning--the type of morning on which Bertie ”could kiss fairies wings.” It would seem that the creation of Jeeves has wriggled out of Wodehouse's grasp. The valet has taken on a dimension not necessarily intended by the humorist. And Jeeves, forceful though quiet, has managed all this despite the fact that Bertie Wooster is the narrator who offers all description and who describes all the action. Jeeves is a taut and rounded characterization who- commands tha reader's attention. He is a character of un- failing erudition. His completeness of character is in perfect contrast to Bertie Wooster, who is all edges and frazzled nerve endings. The fact that Wooster's mental health is suspect allows Jeeves to add balance to the team. It is hopeless to theorize, as many critics have done, that Jeeves is a shadow character not as important to the Wodehouse oeuvre as Bertie Wooster. But there is something living and breathing and brooding about the Jeeves that swirls around the books and circles diabolically above the stories. Jeeves, as created by Wodehouse, has gathered momentum through the years as the humorist has added meaning and significance to the characterization. - Wig—J Etna-hf- gm: 2' 16:15.; .msnm '- .- ' -. - .- ..."=' ‘sssi izuiw no '1'?5"'1".'H:.'!' *1...'.:-."='.... ::'..-.-'-. iii; :n.i':~"-'.'r.. ft. 23- w. . 1 “.'., - ' 'mr; '.. ‘ -' fluv- . - .I - - . ,z. i t . ‘.” ' ‘n r v ...'lfi‘tw --;.+ ' -":n s I I 4 l - . 1 I . a . .'. -. ,. -'I It ..- . I .. u. I 82 The steady emergence of Jeeves as an important character with more than comic value and who acts as more than a mere foil for the blue—blooded, sends much critical theory into disarray. Thus, Jeeves is seen as valet, intellectual, mystic. and captain of the Wooster-Jeeves team. He is, in the final analysis, Wodehouse’s most subtle and consummate character— ization. Indeed, he is Wodehouse's most challenging and intriguing character, replete with nuance and extra- dimension. N e 3. a. 5. O\ o 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12 13. 1a. 15. CHAPTER 3 FOOTNOTES Geoffrey Jaggard, Wooster's World (London: MacDonald, 1967)! pa 83. Richard Usborne, Wodehouse at Work (London: Herbert Jenkins Limited, 19 1 , p. 1 7. Ibid.. p. 191. Ibid.. p. 180. P.G. Wodehouse, Thank You Jeeves (London: Herbert Jenkins Limited, 19 , p. 0?. P.G. Wodehouse, Jeeves and the Feudal S irit (London: Herbert Jenkins I:sItsaj—Iazn77—57‘IET‘E"" Ibid.. pp. 12-13. Ibid.. pp. 51—52. Ibid.. p. 76. Ibid.. p. 850 F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsb (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1925 , p. 39. P.G. Wodehouse, "Jeeves and the Impending Doom," Ver Good Jeeves (New York: Doubleday Doran and Co., 1930;, p. 2 . P.G. Wodehouse, "Jeeves and the Song of Songs," Very Good Jeeves (New York: Doubleday Doran and Co., 1930), p, 100. P.G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offin (London: Herbert Jenk- ins Limited, 19605, p. 13. P.G. Wodehouse, Jeeves and the Tie that Binds (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1971 , pp. 7- . 83 CHAPTER u WOEEHOUSE'S LANGUAGE Before looking at P.G. Wodehouse's special and rather esoteric use of the English language, it would be helpful and appropriate to trace Wodehouse's writing to a number of pre- cedents. On the most obvious level, Wodehouse's writing can be traced to Chesterton, Ben Jonson, and Barrie, with Special attention paid to the latter's character, Crichton. Wode- house's literary roots are deep in the same traditions cov- ered by the works of Oscar Wilde. Richard Voorhees, in fact, sees similarities between.Wodehouse and Wilde. He points out that in both writers there “is the alias and the masquerade, the likeable flaneurs, the dragon of an aunt, the comic cler- gyman and the governess. . . . ” 1 But perhaps the stage-struck Wodehouse's most im~ mediate influences are the theater and his protean and enor- mously wide reading. From the theater, the English humorist has gleaned many of his more useful techniques resulting in the razor-clean and Spare quality of his composition. In fact, many of his novels have a division (most of his novels can be divided into three acts) and flavor like that of the theater. 2 In a 1932 letter to W.H. Townend, Wodehouse mentions that he feels that his novels should be a string of highly visual 84 ersitqoaqqs .a‘csbes \'- | - 1’».- . u 1 .'I' I .... 1:. - _._ _ ‘ 1| . 85 scenes. Like a good stage play, Wodehouse's novels and short stories are spare without verbal fat or extraneous clutter. The English humorist, of course, is a firm believer in dial- ogue, and has often mentioned that Wooster, his marvelous fop, had his rather obvious beginnings in the stock figure of the Edwardian stage, the knut. 3 The Edwardian stage knut brought a gentleman's code to the theater in England, The acta ggg knut was usually a quaint fool engaging in foolery and theatrics. He always knew what he liked but he rarely ever knew what was good. By the 1880's, the stage dandy was in- fluenced briefly by Proust's A la Recherche du Temps Eerdu, but the knut's acquired aestheticism was soon dampened by the still cooling Victoriansim. The knut's ardor was further cooled by the London Licensing Board which acted as censor and had the effect of making the English Theater flaccid and moribund. So it was not surprising that the stage knut, an Edwardian staple, would be indolent as well. But the knut always had potential and aspirations. Richard Voorhees points out that W.S. Gilbert was and remains a major influence on the English humorist as both Gilbert and Wodehouse make special and delightful use of a never ending stream of constables, curates, and dowagers. In addition, both Wodehouse and W.S. Gilbert make consummate use of farcical methods. a A close reading of Wodehouse cuts through the sheer humor and leaves the discerning reader with a steady, if airy, u"?- ’37.. "' {H.5- s '35: ,m-xwoc- is -:‘."‘_-_'-'.-". .':‘" 159.“..00 321-5" "'luoi'J‘I's'n “an":‘a o- nus . -..,,,.-,.:... ..-... .. .. - .- .-- ---.-. = -: _. .-: .....n,.'.-..r. 1m. -. s. .. - , .'. .- .. .- I - I '. .n' . -.. . . . , - . _ . . , _'_. r - Q . . .. I - -. .' '- . -' ' "z _" --.-_ ' as» $27724 95.1; . -' - .. - " . -'.:'11"'.‘*£I.9r'.1’ _ l . . ..I . . . . l I u I' I 3-: I - n u _- ' I I -' I .. 4' I- l . - I '. ' - I - . ._. . : _ _'. . . - u- u ' '.v ' -:.-.. 'r - I ' . - g . ... - .- - l ' I i I - I 86 assurance that Wodehouse has, in fact, been quite influ- enced by both the Romantics and the Victorians. Indeed, Wodehouse's personal reading spans an interesting continuum as he has devoured the works of Dickens, Trollope,and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The wide-reading Wodehouse, however, has no real literary biases and he has not neglected such writers as W. Somerset Maugham and Aldous Huxley. The humorist has a strong affection for the works of George Orwell and T.H. White. Neither does Wodehouse ignore the American wri- ters: he has, in fact, adopted and lifted some of his more intricate plot fabric from the looms of such craftsman as Rex Stout and Raymond Chandler. Wodehouse, like all good elitists, has a high regard for the highly ironic and whim— sical meanderings of James Thurber, Damon Runyan,and Dorothy Parker. 5 Wodehouse, liking the chilled vichyssoise of the acerbic wits, has also been delighted by his reading of Ring Lardner and Robert Benchley. For Richard Voorhees, Wodehouse's style is "crystal clear, ringing through it is one of marvelous variegation." 6 For Richard Usborne (another astute critic who deals quite aptly and adeptly with Wodehouse's style without touching nuances intrinsic to the characterizations of Bertie Wooster and his manservant Jeeves), Wodehouse "has taught the English language to turn hand-springs for him, to lift weights, and to walk a tight-rope letting off fireworks." 7 R.B.D. French, mincingly proper in his analyses, feels the Edwardian flavor that persists in Wodehouse does not grow from situations or unsung-Wm .mem .mev ”medium m ___ ‘_ nose entourage 3m and an on any wfi‘lfl' ' eel-roam! an? .191an anon” has We! refit-u .I It hrs flewao egmoea To n$1aw and set noftodtte gneatlri ~J--~d5§l?5+ ._.- '\- p ur~w nssixsms ed:r ewoua.i seiodebefi aeob «sues-n .0111! :Id! . .. ' r «arm..- P- a: ’I .= 0 ”MOE .5 nw.-t.'§::n ‘nnn in as» '- - '- . _ 0 iv: 9" ‘ '___t "' “:1, .‘n' l' ,- If" .‘_ l '0‘... 3' .. - l. .- 4- , . l . .. .r r‘! ' " . ‘. J {-1 f.’ .9 ' T _ .. '." : ._" . _ . .. A b I-‘Y v " ‘ ' ‘ ' "' ’ ‘ .'1 '3 I 'I . . u ' - .- .-".'l. " . . ; . v . -‘: ‘ ’4: I . e”. a- a ‘ . .. . .'.- ' ' . .. . I ' - ' . \_ . ' _ . A .. I nnj'? . tfifid unsure: - 4“}.1 ,. .'I. -... . heitif \rs no: oh-s . net mi .33“ ed I'll. I. .'2? '5“: .zdst fold efeolstll has theta XII am.flflflfl ;s seniaehnssm Innis . V' J". Ii'. 9; -J ‘l' .’Ifili'Il‘i 'n: H”fl .eiiw :idieos ': <1: Tnnrvsd - 9' ‘1‘. ~9$u 87 characterizations, but from what French calls "faithful- ness to social manners and tastes which Wodehouse enjoys too much to abandon.” 8 It does seem true that Wodehouse prefers the demitasse to the mug, crystal to glass, dollars to pennies, and the aristocracy to service. All analyses, however, seem remarkably correct, and Wodehouse's style is captured by critics who, after gathering it in, look at it, and dismiss any subtle analysis of the mas- - ter and valet who perry and thrust with Wodehouse's language. Indeed, Wodehouse's language has a jungle-exotic quality as it tangles like vines and ties itself in slangy, archaic, and antiquated knots. The language of Wodehouse seems to tumble out of crossword puzzles and leak out of a nursery rhyme. Frequently. many critics analyze Wodehouse's Dada- like language with an equal measure of confusion, and even though the effect can be humorous, it hardly adds clarity to the body of Wodehouse criticism. For instance, Richard Voorhees describes Wodehouse's fiction as one "measured in parasangs and . . . described as stearine." 9 But Voorhees, although admitting to an intoxicated envy of Wodehouse's writing, is able to write that the humorist's language must be locked at with the clear knowledge that it is a prose invested and interpolated into his fiction from snippets cut out by the author from other literary works. 10 But, as Voorhees reaches out for Wodehouse's other major in- fluences, he misses what is within his easy grasp, Wode- house's use of a quasi-Dadaism. ” due New at m 0" has Joe-nos users-an sees aerated new Mr anlaentsg soils. .oflw acidic: we beeudqso Ii elute- I‘ mess! on: to eiaviens endus v11: noise.“ has .31 u not mail .vsaunnsi s'ssnonsbcfl fitiw tenant has £111! on! 3011' Ill-II. 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I ' ’P: I " ' o ,. 88 Dadaisn in the early 20th century was a triumph for incoherence. It was an attempt to destroy form and structure. In literature, Dada was an exuberant movement ‘which practiced undirected assemblies of'words and linguis- tic sounds. Dadaists such as Huelsenbeck, Vache, Breton, and ‘Aragon seemed ahead of their time as they saw clearly the sudden approach of chaos and they attempted to deflect it away from them by an applied use of nonsense, fun.and humor. Wodehouse's language then.owes a debt to Dadaism as the hum- orist has used a style that is flexible and, above all, a style that is uncommitted. But Wodehouse's use of language is a quasi-Badaism in that the humorist uses it for its nous sense value and is not concerned, as the Dadaists were, with making Dadaism a provocative tool by which they could attack society. Wodehouse, indeed, is no activist. He could never subscribe completely to a movement that was a destructive agitation against everything; not simply the established order of the bourgeoisie which.was its audience, but against itself as well. On the contrary, Wodehouse, although using Dada-like techniques in his writing, would be nothing but amused by Dadaism, especially after learning that ”Dada" was French baby-talk for anything dealing with horses. Unfortunately, too few critics look at the giddyap style of Wodehouse's works. Instead, Richard Voorhees men- tions that in a letter to W.H. Townend, Wodehouse admitted to being influenced by Otway (Otway's outbursts on women), and admitted that he borrowed occasional oaths and blurbs -siesni£ has shrew To '-:".'.'. 1.1. n. I) . - l - .-. . '. z". .. I . D tnsmevoc ififi1fid§x9 *5 ,snosf ,fizrdnsuieun as dos: ataishefl (1" AF ' * misfit To reeds houses C 1.4- '- ‘ r" Ports?) 'i's Li!-"~'n1-':rm nabbul use: not? var: '..r 1.." “a 1.1:"! '“" *. ".-.."‘-r.-'I ':'.‘:.sh~oflehoh ' -‘.l-'- . u — _ II ,_ - - . :;': -. an". 32-915 . -‘ ' s. iv: :2 ;t I ‘ h ‘ ‘..-‘- .g r __3 . . . . .. ,.._ 41"" 3 1"" l! f . '3 12' Cl “ J?!" e- ' Q .. “. 1 u “f- T‘ It L " - u 5:: up 9 c-‘ n . . .J. .J . ' 8:3. : 5:. l' -'- .‘. -\ .- n' '\fl' ' I n 89 from Etheredge such as "step my vitals." Voorhees, again guilty of the critical overreach that attends the criticism of Wodehouse's style, mentions that Wodehouse is much influ- enced by familiar eXpressions which seem to come right out of Gray such as "full many a gem." 11 Wodehouse's works are replete with brimming milk and honey of the more paradisical Romantics. But critics again scatter theory and theses hither and yen as Voorhees, for one, states that Wodehouse's works are filled with "flash- ing eyes and floating hair." 12 It seems apparent that many of the humorist's critics, while trying to describe the writer's use of a strange language, are content to only brush against it, a dusting that leaves them flushed with their own lan- guage, hence, ”flashing eyes and floating hair." Of the Victorian poets, Wodehouse quotes most fre- quently from Tennyson. Wodehouse feels the Victorian influ- ence as he has a striking affection for the caste Vere de Vere while he also questions the superiority of kind hearts to peerage and simple faith to Norman blood. It does seem apparent that Wodehouse did sympathize with the early 20th century cult of Anglo-Saxon supremacy. As a result much of his work, although not diluted by the fact, should be seen in that narrowing light. A prime example of critical overreach and exaggeration is the following passage from R.B.D. French's analysis of Bertie Wooster. (In this analysis, Wooster serves as a surro- gate for Wodehouse as French could have been writing about mess. :ioiréw new. Liz!" ” as 5 ‘ . n -:"q' :-_..-.. ~ :-:'e'ss:c.-risbo'fl .-.?--":.'=.T ':';'= as: I tartan bus «1' .' - -' ='.:-.*. ‘ 3:55.38 1 _ ._ .' . . '. '.‘ . .' .I- -. . ." . .;.." ---- ..'.'.'.J 10’. ‘ -. n - g I _ H I: {I'll ' .. - 1 . .. ....- n ' ." . .' a I: ' - ... ‘ . .'- . g- n . . I . l . =- u — ' I . '-- I 9 —' -‘ a 3-:- ' ‘.. 90 either therop or the humorist.) French writes: Bertie might get on very well with John Donne after the first stiffness had worn off. In both a copious store of miscellaneous information and a wealth of observed detail furnish the material which, selec- ted in startling juxtaposition, produce the discordia concors which is the essence of metaphysical wit. A simile with both is made vivid by its unsuspected justice. Angela hurled into the sea while aquaplaning with a shark about, feels like a salted almond at a pub- lic dinner. Aunt Dahlia at a testing moment heaves gen- tly like a Welsh rarebit about to come to its height of fever. A country house before Jeeves has arranged everything is loaded down to the Plimsoll Line with aching hearts and standing room only for the damned souls. An Aberdeen terrier peering down from its eye- brows is like a Scottish Elder rebuking sin from the pulpit. At such images Donne might relax his stern features and ask Bertie (Wodehouse) if he had heard his one about the gouty chap whose fingers were like a bunch of swollen carrots. Curiously enough, French reaches and stretches the preced- ing passage into almost stuporous confusion. By this means, French ironically comes closest to Wodehouse's style by offering his own nonsensical and Dadaistic pastiche as he seems to bow to the reality of never quite being able to unravel Wodehouse's crazy-quilt language. Wodehouse also borrows from Browning, Swinburne, Fitzgerald, the Rosettis,and Arnold. But the humorist bor- rows most heavily from the SherlockHolmes—Dr. Watson cycle of stories as the humorist steals amusingly from Watson and gives to Wooster. In the short~story "Jeeves Makes an Omelet," Bertie harrumps in the glen—plaid confusion of a Dr. Wat- son: In these confused days in which we live, it has pro- bably occured to all thinking men that something drastic ear! - ,._ . . , . . .. '. '4- ' _ . .|.. . . - - . ‘ . _ u .. -' "- mgr-:53 on a. ms- '43,.” i' '. :-' -' . :1 I . . - . I ‘ . l a I . . n I . I . . 91 ought to be done about aunts. Speaking for myself, I have long felt that stones should be turned over and avenues explored with a view to putting a stopper on the relations in question. If someone were to come to me and say 'Wooster would you be interested in joining a society I am starting whose aim will be then to suppress aunts or at least it will see to it that they are kept on a short chain and not permitted to roam hither and thither at will, scattering desola- tion on all sides?’ I would reply, 'I am with you in heart and soul, put me down as a foundation member.‘ Thus, Bertie Wooster, like John Watson, has a mind that roams across false problems which lead both of them to faulty detection and solution. Richard Usborne, one of Wodehouse's more astute critics, sees a connection between Wodehouse's works and the stories of Sherlock Holmes by Conan Doyle. Usborne sees a Bertie Wooster who shares the same plodding confusion of a Dr. Watson, and he also sees a Jeeves that has the same logic, resourcefullness, and inscrutability of Sherlock Holmes. Indeed, the beginning episodes in each Bertie Wooster-Jeeves story are much similar to the early stages of a Sherlock Holmes-Dr. Watson adventure where the waters are always dark, deep, and treacherous. To affect the sinister tones and nu- ances that thread through the Holmes-like yarns, Wodehouse stock-piles cliches that somehow always manage to sound fresh and inventive. Richard Voorhees, referring to the stock- piling of cliches mentions that in the Bertie Wooster-Jeeves cycle of stories, "victims are stabbed in libraries with paper knives of Oriental design." He continues, in both cycles "whispers go round clubs, toads by the gross crouch beneath the harrow, young men tread the primrose path, and people 92 of all ages stiffen like statues." 15 A Sublime Nonsense Wodehouse's use of language suggests that the hum- orist has dipped infrequently into traditional English us- age. As a result, his language, and its idiomatic and col- loquial application, cannot be strictly limited and cate- gorized. Thus, the translators are faced with the dilemma of how to turn Wodehousese into French, German,etc. Indeed, the humorist's language is too frisky to leash. Wodehouse, in the Bertie Wooster-Jeeves stories, uses a smooth and even debonair style, but it also can be a scampering type of rhetoric. The humorist's use of meta- phor, however, is easy, gentle,and quite purposely unsoph- isticated. But Wodehouse does have stylistic eccentricities such as his sly use of verbs. For example, in the Bertie- Jeeves stories Wodehouse never has people walking, indeed, they always seem to be "trotting," 'toodleing,” "trickling," "oozing" or "melting." In some instances, Wodehouse's char- acters are seen "raffing" and "tobargaining." In his crit- ical survey The Gear ian Scene, Frank Swinnerton quite right- fully gives high grades to the English humorist for Wode- house's “invention of a language," a language that Swinnerton calls "pure nonsense." 16 Other critics, such as Usborne, look at some of the implicit difficulties encountered by translators attempting to deal with Wodehouse's inventive use of language. Usborne's cross to bear is French translation. It does seem, in fact, sensn*ofi n”.- this" si-.-:;:_-3.:s;_z:-: «yang-ms: ‘10 an .... ‘_ '5 .- -' .f~=o:‘t.1.f:r.-:-:-:.+ am: mitt-unupet'kfi 335.115 - -* 7':. 2.3. u." . -J‘" " .‘.-”1:1": EA - :‘r ;" .u~:x“ ah 2,13 =u ?J "*9 .:h-flsn:ir;n iriupoi -_L -' .- -. - " ~18 flex:- "':."' ;" -~.--'-.' . '.=.::.'.-.' .‘.;JSLE‘EOE» ' ' 'I- - n '1 “I 1'.’ 5:351LHH‘ I"! .’5“ J' '11?“ H. . s n; - a' l- .'a :d' _ - a. s q - r o_. _ 9‘.“ ' .'| a' - a1";- .;., a"? * . ,5.- ae'. ._'."_:: .' 'v \ . ,1 -. o " ' . . Q o . . , , . 93 that the French find it most difficult to adapt P.G. Wode- house's language and stories into French. In many of the Bertie Wooster-Jeeves stories, the young and foppish master confused about everything about his life, including what and how to eat, breakfasts on sardines. But in French trans- lations, the sardines are strangely metamorphosed into the more traditional bacon and eggs. Usborne, putting tongue to cheek, asks "why are sardines impossible for French 25' :Eit degeuner?" Usborne, while not dealing deeply and subtle- ly enough with Wodehouse in English, is quite incensed with what he feels is French "trifling" with the English humo- orist. He eXplains: These are times when the translators simply don't do justice to the English, other times when they admit themselves baffled and leave chunks out, other times they seem to get it palpably wrong, and at other times again, when perhaps to make up for their baffled omissions elsewhere, they pad with 1235 g' gspgit of their own. It does seem, however, that Usborne's pique, although overly Anglicized, is justified. For instance, when being confronted by a poorly dressed author friend of Bertie’s, Jeeves winces and retires to the kitchen, "doubtless to pull himself together with cooking sherry." The French. dealing too simply with the quote, translate, tEXES.EP JEEEEP.XEXEE'" 17 As Usborne correctly points out, the French are literary losers by not picking up the significance of "cooking sherry." But at the same time, the French seem to have a rather endearing way with Wodehouse's more Dada-like flourishes. For instance, Bertie Wooster, thinking about a -..‘: 9‘11 r. or: . J .E..1 -'1 -"E;'.-T.I'i.':'_"'-.".'.'.3$'.'.‘I'Z -.-'-.-'-.-.'-.'=I'.r. 1:3!" :en.’.=‘15.=:a wit ;." .."-"i':'-. ,-""=" .. .:-- .2 _ ."-.-‘.‘- ".-="'.-'.3:" .Z:"-.-’-’.:'.-’.'.'-‘.§..- '11:? new - - . '- '- -"-'-'=.: .- " -.':.--'-= .--"'~ <__":':-'-' dread"; a: .= a? - '.": .---'..'-.'-r'.‘.| xi . ' ._ 1"”: 94 verse utters, "it reminded me of those lines in the poem- 'see how the little how-does-it-go, tum, tumty, tiddly push?'" The French translation, however, adds a slight lyricism to the quote with filgig 1232; lgg paurrets ppm, 22m, 29m, gig. 235g, ggngg?" But Wodehouse can only be delighted by the dif- ficulties encountered by the translators wrestling with his glittering language. Frequently. the translators, restricted by their less congenial language, manage to add humor through inane ommission. For instance: At the open window of the great library at Blandings Castle, drooping like a wet sock, as was his habit when he had nothing to prop his spine against, The Earl of Emsworth, that amiable and bone-headed peer, stood gazing,observing his domain, . . . becomes in German simply, "gm offenen Verandofenster in Schoss Blandings stand gggg Emsworth gag blikte g3; sign; weiten Damagen." 18 Sense From Nonsense It seems apparent that, although much of the lan- guage in the Bertie-Jeeves saga is nonsense, it is non- sense of a high, comedic order. For instance, when asked if he and the neighbor on his left were "mere acquaintances," Bertie answers, "mere to the core." 19 Sir Roderick Glos- sop, the "nerve specialist" who lives for the "wonderful day" when he can put the erratic Wooster behind the walls of a rest home or, at the very least, the walls of prison, has been known to give "an intellectual flick of the um- brella." Wodehouse laces his Bertie Wooster-Jeeves stories 95 with a devastating nonsense. In fact, the stories are replete with "fat vegetables," "wasted wall-paper," "maroon cruises," and "bursts of Boko's meat.“ A sense of the incredible creeps into the Wooster and Jeeves dialogue as Bertie tries to communicate with his precise valet without losing his intoxication with the slightly tipped phrase and the slanted simile. For example, Bertie speaks: “Jeeves," I said. getting right down to it in the old Wooster way, "here's a nice state of things:" «S ir? « "Hell's foundations have been quivering:" "Indeed, sir?" "The curse has come upon me. As I warned you it would if ever I visited again Steeple Bumpleigh. You have long been familiar with my views on this leper colony. Have I not repeatedly said that what through the spicy breezes blow soft o'er Steeple Bumpleigh, the undersigned deemeg it wisest to give it the com- plete miss in baulk." 0 Wodehouse's strange but effective wrenching of the language gives his words, even out of context, a humor implicit in the mere sum of the letters. In fact, Wodehouse's use of language comes incredibly close to offering the read- er iconic signs. Unlike indexical language, which must have referents and must point to something else in the language, Wodehouse's words can have an almost solitary and iconic purity. (An explanation of iconic and indexical signs is given in Appendix B.) When the humorist strings but a few words together, the effect can be mutant-like and miraculous. And when Bertie Wooster tells people of the trouble he always manages to get " -- l-l ' l - mini-r! - s- , ,I - ._ . __ If- .T' e . _ lb .' ' A} f - -l.'.' n' l U f I , . -..3--« .2 ._ .'.. 955:? '19 984198 52'. Ouagjgjh -' -r-..--.:v :-.-. :c-iw . ‘ " I —' " I .- .'4- ._-: .. _ , ..-.. .u— zassqa sir-195 F' " . '0'3” '2." “"3“ CI " ' .". 1" -.|.'- - .. : .- " - .. ”L 7'9]: I. .. ."_. .‘.) ”._" ' ”'III «IE-'."". .‘ . ' a we ... 3 _- . . .LP- '- . _ .7 :' ’ . . _ _ _,. w " ... .1' . l 96 into, he not only calls the trouble "tight spots," "Water- lows" and "fricasees," he also refers to them as "getting stuck in the mottled oyster." When Bertie Wooster thinks he is having a definite effect on women, he calls himself “a deadly cove" and a "smasher-to-smithereens of hearts." When Wooster wishes to show his displeasure with some ac- quaintance he can be heard to mouthe such utterances as "that frightful ass Spode (was) swanking about in tooter bags." 21 And when Bertie feels less than "what-ho," he describes it as feeling "a goodish quota of clammy hands." 22 Certainly, Wodehouse is more than just slightly aware that the nuances attending his use of a special and inventive language. The English humorist, always the care- ful surveyor and mother of his own oeuvre, wrote in a 1928 letter to W.H. Townend about his book Piccadilly Jim: Don't you think that the tragedy of an author's life is the passion printers have for the exclamation points? They love to shove them in every second sentence. I've just been re-reading Piccadill Jim, of which I did not correct the proofs being in New York, and the book is bristling with them. Specimen sentence: 'But wait a minute: I don't get this:' It gives an impression of febrile excitement which spoiled the whole run of the dialogue. 3 Wodehouse, indeed, always seems to know what he is about and up to. Richard Usborne is well aware of Wodehouse's subtle- ties and nuances. Usborne tries to systematize confusion over Wodehouse's use of language by drawing conclusions about the humorist’s use of names. For example, Usborne points out that those whom Wodehouse calls "blah burblers” usually 97 have names with two syllables such as Bertie, Freddie (Widgeon), Pongo (Twistleton-Twistleton), and Bingo (Lit- tle). He further points out' that those characters whom he calls “breezy-buzzers“ have one syllable names such as Psmith, Jeff, and Sam. (It should be noted that Usborne correctly leaves Jeeves's name off the list of "breezy- buzzers.") And those girls when Usborne calls "soupy-do- gooders," have names with three syllables or more such as Honoria, Madeline, and Hermione. Those asexual girls whom the critic calls "boy-shaped, festive, little squirts,“ have names with, more often than not, two syllables or less such as Bobbie, Stiffy, Corky, Nobby, and Terry. 2" (Notice should be taken of the "Smithie”-Smith College and "Cliffie"- Radcliffe quality of the latter names.) Wodehouse is adept at tracing language to its psy- chic roots. Bertie Wooster, for instance, always weaving in and out of self-induced states of euphoria, never says "good-bye": rather, it is always dilettante-like and airy flourishes like "ciao," “tinkerty-tonk,” “pip-pip,” "toodle- co," and "teuf-teuf." (Jeeves on the other hand, always an- swers with a properly tight but condescending "good~bye, sir" which he delivers down his nose.) Bertie never speaks of faces or heads, it is always "fish-parlor" (Jeeves's head), "bean," "napper," or "onion." The flighty Bertie Wooster reaches such states of euphoria that he can sound evangelical. These gospel flashes and shafts of sheer uplift usually have an effective crescendo 98 effect. In Ve G od Jeeves, Bertie says: "What-Ho, Jeeves," I said, entering the room where he waded knee-deep in suitcases and winter suitings like a sea-beast among the rocks. "Packing?" "Yes, sir," replied the honest fellow for there are no secrets between us. "Pack on:" I said approvingly, "Pack, Jeeves, pack with care. Pack in the presence of the passen- ‘are." And I rather fancy that I added the words 'Tra- a,‘ for I was in a merry mood. While in a state of euphoria, Bertie Wooster (who always projects his states of bliss onto the country landscape which he sees in the idyllic shades of impressionism), can- not even be deterred by a gentle correction or a subtle rebuke from the masterly Jeeves. For example, Bertie exults: "Odd's boddikns, Jeeves," I said, "I am in rare fettle this a.m.. Talk about exulting in my youth: I feel up and doing with a heart for any fate, as Ten- nyson says." ”Longfellow, sir." "Or if you prefer it, Longfellow. I am in no mood to split hairs." 6 Wodehouse laces his language with little absurd- ities and felicitations. These devices are most apparent and delightful in passages in which Bertie comes "a-cropper," and looks to Jeeves to rally round with appropriate aid and sustenance. But Jeeves is not above leaving the em- broiled knut to sort out his own imbroglios. For example, while telling Jeeves that the valet's travel plans are un- acceptable, Bertie says: "Did you say 'Wee Nooke,’ Jeeves?" "Yes, sir." "Spelled, I'll warrant, with an 'e?'" :. :, - . -- '. ., ' '.. I I -. -"_' . _".;' '..-Ljfih . . . _ '. (JR-*1 ' ' ' .. id"; I . _ - -'.r . .‘. - I ' n.‘ - . - .- . ' I . . I ' l’ n I. q u '- r.I . . ‘ _ .- O n I I. . __ | . ‘ I f a q ' - ’. . . | l 1 A : 1 r e V ‘ . 99 "Yes, sir." I breathed heavily through the nostrils. "Well, listen to me Jeeves. The thing's off, do you understand? Off, Spelled with an ‘o' and two'f I'm dashed if I'm going to be made a-what' s the word?" "Size?“ "Catspaw, though why gatspaw? I mean what have cats got to do with it." 7 As often as critics try to complicate the char- acterization of the foppish Bertie Wooster (usually at the expense of an appropriate analysis of Jeeves), such as R. B.D. French's affirmation of Bertie's seeing himself a Beau Brummel "who . . . is in the habit of laughing down from lazy eyelids and flicking a speck of dust from irre- proachable Mechlin lace at the wrists," Bertie is still just a pawn in Jeeves's scheme of things. 28 Many critics find it difficult to admit that Bertie Wooster is aware that he, the fop, has an inferior position in relation to Jeeves's intellect. Bertie, in fact, frequently becomes timid, obsequious. and even fawn-like. He is doe-eyed, rubber-necked, and clammy—handed as he uses a cloying, baby talk when appealing to his valet to give of his bounty straight out of the deep resevoirs of his super— ior mind. For instance, Bertie says: "Jeeves?” "S ir? I! "Are you busy just now?" "No, sir." . "I mean not doing anything in particular?" "No, sir. It is my practice at this hour to read some improving book: but if you desire my services, this can easily be postponed or, indeed, abandoned altogether." Granted, this dialogue shows Jeeves exhibiting the true eve: tens doom 5 Tw5?33; . . .. 2LT "'.' C and“? .'L . .’..—‘.. "' 3-0.. '.. -‘: -'- .'. I I . . _. .. " a. .I ' rnw dune ' t ".tj d#.w ... .- .- II C O ‘ | ~ l I .- 'c noiflesiaetss “u in saneqxo .J :';osot1 .m.a ‘ ._ l , .. ...‘.. ._. .-.l - , ‘.. ‘ ..t -J.- . a" ' e 100 feudal.epirit as he offers his services to the young master. But, it must be asked, why do these critics who get caught up Wooster's primrose and poesy paths fail to see that Jeeves comes to Bertie's aid because he, the valet qua mystic, likes the master's obsequious tones? It Seems ob- vious that Jeeves's mention of "an improving book" is a ‘not too subtle shaft at the rather pedestrian reading habits of the Drone's Club member. In his introduction to The Selected Stories of P36. Wodehouse, John Aldridge addresses himself to Wodehouse's brilliant and inventive language. But before dealing with the humorist's language,.Aldridge pin-points many Wodehouse readers and critics. He writes: (They) are very often the sort who more or less pride themselves on always having had rather old- fashioned interest in books and who like to look fondly back on one of those contemplative child- hoods spent browsing away the long, fly-buzzing summer afternoons in the cool, quiet of some an- cient relative's library. Wodehouse for them is likely to belong to that shadow melange of writers- which is just as apt to include Dickens, Swift and Lewis Carroll as it is the creator of the Bobbsey Twins-whose books they once read and enjoyed but believe they have thoroughly used up and outgrown. 3° The preceding passage is an appropriate rendering of those readers and critics who, although enjoying Wode- house's works, prefer to blithely read and offer soft-brush analyses of the books in the Bertie Wooster-Jeeves cycle of stories, sure there is really very little to puzzle-out in Wodehouse's Bertie-Jeeves oeuvre. Despite the fact that Wodehouse invests most of his . -- - Ms- S -' .‘¥---." 5 a': an.- semi. ' ' 7‘.‘-'-.-'-'.-"'- F ,- ' 'I:- '“t'..'..' :' .‘.“: a‘.—.'.':':'-"f‘5 T. 2'95? ..' - ' w .‘- . u. ' an ‘ .'.. I. ." “fl-Ip- a” so“ . . - ~- ., es: lo '. . 4. .. '. .: I ‘II' ‘..; . 1 ' ..-.- - _’-I .'... . 7 .. - . . : . "_"".'!C . _- . . . a :. : .'- - - 'a-r . . . " . '4' . 101 Dada-like language in Bertie Wooster, Aldridge believes that Jeeves, the man and the mystic who prefers to still: to the nuts and belts of the English language rather than to dip into Wooster's Dada rhetorical devices, is "certainly the greatest of Wodehouse's creations and a permanent member of the cast of the great comic fictional characterizations of all time.” 31 A large part of the greatness in the char- acterization of Jeeves is the valet's quiet but steadfast ability to stop Bertie Wooster from chewing the cud and gristle of his flabby mind, and his talent for bringing forth into the light, the bloom of Wodehouse's special lan- guage. It's as if the English humorist deliberately seeded the mind of Bertie Wooster and then turned to his character- ization of Jeeves making it the valet's task to let the young master's mind flower. Bertie and Jeeves: One to One While Wodehouse's language is a smooth purée in the mouth of Jeeves, the same language in Wooster's mouth is a Mulligan Stew. For instance, Bertie Wooster is seen nar- rating "The Metropolitan Touch": When I was a kid, I used to read stories about knights and Vikings and that species of chappie who would get up without a blush in the middle of a crowded banquet and loose off a song . . . . Bertie can also be found, in the same short story, asking Bingo Little about Bingo's newest flame who has had an ex- hausting effect on the fellow Drone and the only person who -._: .'.": ' .-' " '1' I nii5“”9 :‘esso¥¢“"h Jwaiedt shed 3'0 '“rT. Bimfi: fwute ed: :0 fess .: rv-. ~«~w= i .532: 113 10 .- v 34: r - .- :aiJesfxeroe 1...: ..-, ‘ _ ' ".‘- 2:215:63 a c . 1 ..4 .' “tit?""I _. _ .. n it” '.'." ' J l l' ‘.' -' . I - - . _ . . 2" 5.1". ' I u 1 -..v [I I' - II. If] - J. v'uu'l i :' .' ‘. .v '.V '5 “.‘.-2' 'a I ‘.T .:I I, ) \ . I' 5 l I I - - I. 102 Bertie can ridicule: “Of course," I said, "That's enough excitement for anyone, and undoubtedly a corking reward for tramp- three miles out of one's way over ploughed fields with tight boots, but don't we do anything else? Don't we tack on to the girl and buzz among with her?‘ 0r, while the young effete stands by trying to bolster the sagging spirits of his hapless friend Bingo, Bertie narrates: Young Bingo made me stand there in the teeth of a nor' east gale for ten minutes, and keeping me on my toes with a series of false alarms, and I was thinking of suggesting that we should lay off and give the rest of the proceedings a miss, when round the corner there came a fox terrier and Bingo quivered like an aspen. Then there hove in sight a small boy and he, Bingo, shook like Jelly. Finally, like a star whose entrance had been worked up . . . his face got so red that, what with his white collar and the fact that the wind had turned his nose blue, he looked more like a French flag than anything else. He sagged £33m the waist upwards, as if he had been filleted. In the preceding passage alone, Wodehouse has, in the space of 128 words, served up, through Bertie Wooster as narrator, a collage which embraces storms, hunting, ani- mals, elements of time, Bingo Little, Bertie, French flags, complexion, fear, resignation, cooking, fishIand posture. Bertie Wooster, in fact, thinks and reasons in small portions of timed intervals. This psychic limitation is clearly covered by the English humorist as the young master speaks in stutter-gun bursts. In "The Metropolitan Touch," Bertie reflects "that seems to be all the poor fish is able to do, dash it, he can chafe all right, but there he stops. - . _. '.- . n 5 :v- an... -'i‘ : \. E .. ...... . 1 . . u '. -‘ c:.g. r'r : - -' .z-J-zrfi'. c. iii-4.: :mtsgea on: :sei‘srxsn -- " ' -‘ 5:: 1'91”!" .'.-‘m'.’ . , ..a "I .... -' I :L":" "J 3;} 1- '53-; . " ‘." '."" '2" a. .= r1? 1‘" . 1 who - - '-- — .:-:.—. - ,r‘.'.' . . ' ' ‘- '- ' _ :31 . .'- . ' . -‘-:':‘ s .. ”I." : .. . .. .'..”..- . .' . - -. :t . . .1 ". . . . 'J .5 (“J E’- '.'. “IF we: ‘ I e ‘I "l' 1* .‘- . v - I I ‘I . I _ l l I I - f e ' '2 h 1 U - II I '- I O I Q Q A 103 He's lost his pep. He's got no dash." 33 But when euphoric, Bertie's mind races faster than his whiskey-tipped lips, and at these moments, his use of language delightfully breaks down. In “Jeeves and the Impen- ding Doom,” Bertie Wooster "prongs a moody forkful" as he hopes that everything will turn out “oojah-cum-stiff." And thinking about the long suffering, renaissance lover Bingo Little, Bertie Wooster offers "Bingo uttered a stricken woofle like a bulldog that has been refused cake." But even when Bertie coordinates his mind with his motor-mouth, the results are just as delightful. Bertie the fop crashes met- aphor and simile together when he speaks about his best friend Bingo, "that poor old Bingo was knee-deep in the bisque was made plain by his mere appearance, which was that of a cat which had just been struck by a half-brick, . . ." then again when Bertie is startled by a sudden noise like a "tire in a nest of cobras." Bertie has compared his fast getaways from aunts, dogs, and Drones to that of a “rocketing pheasant." Or when curious, Bertie Wooster ”stretches up a neck like a hose pipe.“ 3“ Where he is ambivalent and less apt with the char- acterization and language of Jeeves and Bertie Wooster when the master is sans valet, or vice versa, Wodehouse's touch, when dealing with both Bertie and Jeeves while they are in each other's company, is clever and deft. The English humorist is a master when it comes to drawing verbal dichot- omies and distinctions between master and servant. For example, J 104 in “The Metropolitan.Teuch," Bertie complains to Jeeves, new about it‘Jeeves, . . . I'm getting a bit fed. I can't go en.chucking all my engagements every second week . . . to rally round young Bingo.” The plea by the elegant top is answered by Jeeves as the gentleman's gentleman-offers, "If you will spare me for the night, sir. I should be glad to run down and investigate." 35 In W, Wode- house again draws the line between the team, as Bertie Woos- ter refers to his friend Lord Chufnell who is mad at him. Bertie says to Jeeves, "He was in a very unpleasant mood.” The imperious Jeeves answers, "His lordship is undergoing a good deal of mental anguish at the moment, sir." And then again Bertie says, "I could see that. He left me apparently to go for a country ramble." Jeeves then asserts, "Phy- sical exercise is a recognized palliative when the heart is aching, sir.” Then one page later in the novel, Bertie asks Jeeves about Chufnell, ”What's biting him?" Jeeves re- plies, "He is a little fractious tonight." In Than; You gegves, Wodehouse gives the reader a subtle and ever-so- rare bit of satire. Bertie says to Jeeves: ”Well, here is a kid who has been looking forward to seeing a nigger'troupe of minstrels do their stuff. Is he likely to accept as an adequate substitute a ‘white-faced, loony doctor accompanied by his mother on the piano?" ”Not white-faced, sir.” "What?” ”No, sir. The question was debated and it was her ladyship's view that something in the nature of a neg- roid performance was indiSpensable . . . r The distinction between master and servant is drawn time and ~' 44? Jasneie on: {5 ref: 95¢ 15"" .h.. We rwmsl3;sx r' J" In *3 I .flifi .‘i' 1:1 em eases '*~' «erases as: xjvrf r. _m _“_.. ...--w. " ":'I""" n‘.’ '.. if; 9f: . E.‘ nemeisdes ed! as seveeo ‘." '. "2‘ i '1 "1:11: :2 ".exs32$"GVhi the swab an! of new; nigh. eased . a1zte1 :53 effusfi I!" 35-) "a; JfiGT 5 r -5'-.- ”-'I'- , '-" ' ":1 f'u' ' c n J 7;: ,' -~s= n l , . H, 0.-*532 105 time again. The reader finds Bertie and Jeeves discussing the misfortune that had befallen Aunt Agatha's son Thomas Worplesdonx ”In a spirit of ill will he marooned him on an island in the lake with a swan." ‘ "Yes, sir." "How is the swanning in these parts? I confess that I would like to see old Glossop shinning up some- thing like a bilious bird after him.” ”I fancy that Master Seabury' s thoughts turned mgre towards something on the order of a booby trap, S r. 'l "They would. No imagination that kid. No vision. I've often noticed it. His fancy is-what's the word?" “Pedestrian sir?" “Exac tly . n 5 A careful scrutiny of the dialogue that constantly goes on between Bertie Wooster and Jeeves reveals a sharp game of One-Upmanship. Thus, while speaking most ignorantly, Bertie is answered by a Jeeves who alters and aims his speech just a notch above the speech and comprehension level of the foppish Wooster. If Bertie somehow unwittingly raises the intellectual level and style of his speech, Jeeves will again place his speech just above the level of the knut. In this way, Jeeves insures his credibility as the "world's great- est mind.” But Jeeves likes to let Bertie think that he, the fop, can communicate easily with the valet. And Jeeves is never so ethereal or esoteric that Bertie loses his resolve to puzzle out everything the valet says. It is true that Wodehouse experiments with inno- vative and inventive language by placing it snugly in the pearls-to-swine mind of the young Edwardian. The effect can have a delightful lack of continuity as when in "Jeeves . ._ __ _ . r . _ .;.'.--.; E‘flit- I a“: Eh". {I‘- I’ ' f. ' :I --. . .‘l .Z'Equa .rznws .-: 131'!» on! ed: "IT-i3 g 'r"=.¢.'= . '. 21".:m.,_ -'-':~.:' " 31"?!" NE. 91: at i'flsiflfl 99:: w e-fH.‘ oft-7.2.: ‘ ' - ."-'..Lu ‘UrHHZ-fi ..; mi; "LI‘ 3:" ":5 .‘ :3 “tree." .-..._.,.-_,: was" ".' .'; - 1'.'o!1-"-‘-'~-"J . .'... arr"! - cf "'10!!! ".1? -': . '. :-" . . "arr: - ..-I fit-11'!" . " .. , ;._ _..~ " -. ‘1r"' i ‘-. ,'1- “I'M-en 1" '\l I ~|'.L:. _ n-JOI . I " n ’I‘ . 1". “5-! . I .' ‘ v " l 1 IF A r ‘ 0 . fivj 106 and the Spot of Art," Bertie narrates, "I swallowed a chunk of cotelette supreme aux choux flours and slipped her the distressing info." 37 And while Jeeves sticks to more clas- sical speech, Bertie and most of the other characters in the Wooster-Jeeves cycle of stories, are vehicles for Wode- house's infatuation with sounds as he strings them together and makes tonal nuance stand for something more than mere definition. For example, Aunt Dahlia in "Jeeves and the Spot of Art,“ says “she'll probably break your silly fat neck be- fore she can get you to the altar." (Note the sound of "sillyfatneck.") Or when Bertie says, "and she swings a jolly fine brush." (Note the sound of"jollyfinebrush."?80n a more parochial level, Bertie has a love for alliteration, and in Thank You Jeeves, Bertie talks about "a bald-domed, bushy-brewed blighter." 39 Jeeves, on the other hand, always delivers his lines with a precise and droll incisiveness. A careful reader, sure that he or she has tasted the sweet meats of esoterica, can hear a poignant pause after Jeeves speaks as the other characters in the Bertie Wooster-Jeeves cycle of stories let the philosophy waft in. Even when he turns to cruelty, the valet is precise, and in "Episode of the Dog McIntosh," in Ve Good Jeeves, Bertie asks Jeeves about what a certain Master Blumenfeld thought of the young knut: "What did he say?" "I cannot recall his exact words, sir, but he drew a comparison between your mentality and that of a cuckoo." ”A cuckoo , eh? " 1+0 "Yes, sir, to the bird's advantage." 5...}. JV! bn A “.3 tan-.'.: hrs: sinned :3; rs eirvo at: ." ‘.'.'- F'JI'I' ' .'-”.'.= P3" “SL'J'KIHI sanr' aunarn lsflt? Biflfim bus -.5:-' .5} g:‘-“"-'£!- '-.-"*E .nc-is'irzi’ieb r . _.-. ..-- a _ D . J u - . 'l.._ _ l. : . .513 4.0 n . . .1 :5 Ii. u L‘r'i' I- -‘ . - run-5 ' . . e -"-r " .- . . . a II ' a . l u l I I _ . I :" . e. I . I . . I .'..':‘.'.1.:' ' u .- - ~ ‘ . .. II I .- I I -I .1 1 " I 107 Jeeves, in fact, measures his speech and watches its precision as he is always ready to correct the errant and erratic-quoting Bertie Wooster. For example, Bertie gives Jeeves instructions to get cracking with the morning's busi- ness: "Employ the rest of the morning then, in buzzing to and fro and collecting provender. The old King Wenceslas touch Jeeves. You remember? Bring me the fish and bring me the fowl-" "Bring me flesh and bring me wine, sir." “1 But Wodehouse, an experimenter laughingly on the trail of a sublime and fanciful muse, frequently lets Bertie Wooster ramble uproariously along without the intervention of his Great Editor. In "Jeeves and the Spot of Art," Bertie says to Aunt Dahlia, who wants him to leave London: "It would be madness to leave the metrop at this junc- ture,“ I said. "You know what girls are, they forget the absent face. And I'm not at all easy in my mind about a certain cove of the name of Lucius Pim. Apart from the fact he's an artist too, which forms a bond, his hair waves. One must never discount wavy hair, Aunt Dahlia. Moreover, this bloke is one of those strong, masterful men. He treats Gwladys as if she were less than the dust beneath his taxi wheels. He criticizes her hats and says nasty things about her Chiaroscuro. For some reason, I've often noticed, this always seems to fascinate the girls, and it has sometimes occured to me that, being myself more the parfait gentle knight, if you know what I mean, I am in grave danger of getting the shortest end." But in the final analysis, a discriminating reader can see that Bertie Wooster, indeed, sees Jeeves as the final arbiter of language. In ”Jeeves and the Indian Summer of an Uncle," Jeeves is asked about an argument taking place between 108 two acquaintances of the master and the valet: “What did they quarrel about?" "They did not quarrel sir. When his lordship began to pay his addresses, the young person naturally flat- tered, began to waver between love and ambition. But even now she has not formally rescinded the understan- ding. n ”Then if your scheme works and Uncle George edges out it will do your pal a bit of good?" "Yes, sir, Smethurst-his name is Smethurst-would con- sider it a consummation devoutly to be wished." "Rather well put, that Jeeves. Your own?“ "No, sir, the Swan of Avon, sir." 3 But, of course, geese have trouble understanding swans. '5.‘ '.I. if (.'l" 3-. ' .x'",'.';\'.- “M . . . . t. . z- '33} .. . I 3'5”. J- ' .'..-_'- s :- ..- . : - "'.. -‘ 'v '-: '. -' 1--.. “In": . ..i'..' .me“ ... . ' " ' n-.-"s'-.':"'.-'- {- .: .ii tabla ‘4' , '. ’ ' ' c "1‘ """. " a ‘4 e I: '-t ‘4‘ I. ll Q ...‘ A3 .055" CHAPTER “ FOOTNOTES 1. Richard Voorhees, P G Wodehouse (New York: Twayne Publishers Inc.. 1966;, p. 153. 2. Ibid.’ Po 15?. j. P.G. Wodehouse, Performi Flea: A Self Portrait in Letters (London: Herbert Jenkins Limited, 1953). DP. 19-20. u. Voorhees, P.G. Wodehouse, p. 158. 5. Ibid.. pp. 159-1600 6. Ibid.. p. 162. 7. Richard Usborne, Wodehouse at Work (London: Herbert Jenkins Limited, 19 1 , p. 193. (D a R.B.D. French, P,G. Wodehouse (London: Oliver Boyd, 1966), p. 73. 9. Voorhees, P.G. Wodehouse, p. 162. 10. Ibid.. p. 162. 11. Ibid.. p. 163. 12. Ibid.. p. 16#. 13. French, P.G. Wodehouse, p. 104. in P.G. Wodehouse, The World of Jeeves (London: Herbert Jenkins Limited, 19 7 e p. 51 . 15. Voorhees, P.G. Wodehouse, pp. 165-166. 16 Frank Swinnerton, The Georgian Scene (London: Hutchinson, 1951), Sixth Edition, pp. 3 ~371- 17. Usborne, Wodehouse at Work, pp. 195-210. 18. Ibid.. p. 200. 19. Ibid.. pp. 208-209. 20. Ibid.. p. 210. 109 “1......“ e .. ... 4 . e+um . ....” m 1.... J.- a. . 1.. :- u re... .p .. I.. .'.-‘4‘ 21. 22. 23. 2h. 25 26. 27. 28 29. 30. 31. 32 33. 3h. 35. 36 37. 38. 39. 40. “1. #2. 110 French, P.G. Wodehouse, p. 100. Ibid.. pa 103- P.G. Wodehouse, Performigg Flea, p. #0. Usborne, Wodehouse at Work, p. 193. P.G. Wodehouse, Very Good Jeeves (London: Herbert Jenkins Limited, 1930), p. 309. Usborne, Wodehouse at Work, p. 198. Ibidee Pa 198e French, P.G. Wodehouse, p. 198. P.G. Wodehouse, The Inimtable Jeeves (London: Herbert Jenkins Limited, 19255, Ch. 1. John Aldridge, "The Lesson of the Young Master," The Selected Stories of P.G. Wodehouse (New York: Random House, 195 9 pa 13- Ibid.. p. 20. P.G. Wodehouse, "The Metropolitan Touch," The Week-End Wodehouse New York: Graden City Publishing, 19305, pp. 209’212e Ibid,, pp. 212-213. P.G. Wodehouse, "Jeeves and the Impending Doom," The Week-End Wodehouse, pp. 317-336. P.G. Wodehouse, "The Metropolitan Touch," The Week-End Wodehouse, pp. 214~ 15. P.G. Wodehouse, Thank You Jeeves_(Boston: Little Brown and COe' 1934). ppe 200-208. P.G. Wodehouse, "Jeeves and the Spot of Art," The Week- End Wodehouse, p. 1 7. , Ibid.. p. 149. P.G. Wodehouse, Thank You Jeeves, p. 7. P.G. Wodehouse, "Episode of the Dog McIntosh," Very Good Jeeves (London: Herbert Jenkins Limited, 1930), p. 91. Ibid.. pp. 86-87. P.G. Wodehouse, "Jeeves and the Spot of Art," Vegy Good Jeeves, p. 10h. 111 1+3. P.G. Wodehouse, "Jeeves and the Indian Summer of an Uncle," Ve Good Jeeves, p. 19 . CHAPTER 5 PRECEDENTS IN CONAN DOYLE In tracing the influences upon P.G. Wodehouse, it seems apparent that the English humorist owes a great deal to the Sherlock Holmes-Dr. Watson cycle of stories by Ar; thur Conan Doyle, In fact, most critics of Wodehouse's Bertie Wooster-Jeeves stories allude to the connection be- tween them, but none,unfortunately, have made their anal- ysis deep enough. In analyzing the ties between Conan Doyle and Wodehouse, it would be appropriate to discuss and weigh the research in this regard by other Wodehouse critics. Richard Voorhees writes that P.G. Wodehouse "pro- bably knows Arthur Conan Doyle's as well as any Baker Street Irregular." 1 Wodehouse does, in fact, admit to an admira- tion for the creator of Sherlock Holmes. In a letter written in 1925 to W.H. Townend, the humorist wrote: I'm having lunch with Conan Doyle . . . . Conan Doyle, a few words on the subject of. Don't you find as you age in the wood, as we both are doing, that the tragedy of life is that your early heroes lose their glamour . . . Now with Doyle, I don't have this feeling. I still revere his work as much as ever. I used to think it swell, and I still think it swell . . . . And apart from his work, I admire Doyle so much as a man. I should call him definitely a great man, and I don't imagine that I'm the only one who thinks so. I love that solid, precise way he has of talking like Sherlock Holmes. 112 113 Voorhees mentions the magazine origins of both Wode- house and Doyle. Many of Wodehouse's public-school stories such as The Pothunters (1902), A Prefect's Uncle (1903), Tales of St, Austin (1903), The Gold Bat (1904), The Head of Kay's (1905), The White Feather (1907). Ens Luck Stone (1908), Mike (1909). and The Little Nugget (1913), first appeared in Strand magazine, the same magazine that first carried the Sherlock Holmes stories. In Perfo in Flea, Wodehouse, in a letter to Townend, mentions that he oeuld not wait, while he was still a student at prep-school, for the arrival of the new issue of Strand which had Doyle's unfolding Sherlock Holmes stories. 3 Wodehouse, in his early stories, took pains to point out that the boys in his school stories had a strong literary strain running through them: frequently they are found devouring the books of Arthur Conan Doyle. In the same public-school novels there are constant references to "Rod- ney Stone," and two of the younger boys in one of Wodehouse's earlier stories, name a couple of pet ferrets Sir Nigel (from Doyle's The White Company) and Sherlock Holmes. 4 In Migg at Wgykn, one boy refuses to join the others on the rugby field until after he finishes his copy of Conan Doyle's The Adventure of the Speckled Band. P.G. Wodehouse has his young rascals doing catholic and discriminating reading as they shuttle back and forth among the works of Dickens,Shakes- pears, and Conan Doyle. Wodehouse is careful not to let the boys in his stories,or his readers for that matter, think that Conan Doyle isn't every bit as good as Charles Dickens .. ' a. - -. '.‘J'E'Ce —..‘ fist-g. . --12 ~'-- 3- - i:551-2";-isé;i.1‘”..':.'§;‘+i .009!) * . . w : ._. ..s.:_.s:_:::..=_+._sa:«. m . '. wan-“.2 e. 21:!- . _Esctts 1¢1= if? ,en‘xuar~ *nfigy' __ a? hetssqqs .15” J. . "j.:f- --'-. ifiEJTPi- as? tfiifiiifl u' : '." ' . ' - 'J~! . :; ,9L3F43LV“ .. . '— ' . .I. ' .- . I. .. _ ~ - -. _ ' - - ... '.-'M _g'._.{' . . -r'-' 'i ”1‘: l '. I. .. e .. '.. . _ ‘rti'. J ' '.‘-"" \ . I I —-| .'. .- . \ . I I I . ‘ l \ 1 I I 11L» 1 or William Shakespeare. Wodehouse, who always loves a good quotation, loves a good yarn even more, and he came to the early conclusion that Doyle was the best spinner of yarns that he had ver read. Voorhees points out that Bertie Wooster often em- ploys the language of Dr. Watson. In fact, Bertie Wooster can often be found referring to "sinister things that are afoot," in much the same way that Watson sets the myster- ious yet cozy tone of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Of course, both Wooster and Watson are the narrators, and Bertie Wooster as narrator, is often seen "juggling Watson's idiom and his own." Bertie is adept as is John Watson when setting the tone of the stories. Such a sentence as the following from Wooster could have come straight from Holmes's aider "About a half a dozen years ago, directly after the rummy business of Florence Craye, my Uncle Willoughby's book, and Edwin the Boy Scout . . . . " 5 Wooster, the knut, like Watson the fop, are heard to mutter from time to time that "this must be our client now," as someone shuffles up the steps of Berkeley Mansions and Baker Street to seek his plea- sure, not from Wooster or Watson, but from the unlimited resources of Jeeves and Holmes. But Watson and Wooster must be part of the team, and Bertie often can be heard telling Jeeves that "there is stern work ahead of us." 6 Richard Voorhees is struck by the similarities between the teams of Sherlock Holmes and Watson and Jeeves and Bertie Wooster. Voorhees points out that at the end of both cycles of stories, Conan Doyle and Wodehouse have Watson n- . .. ..4 (u...- .- 1 ..l— . 115 and Holmes and Wooster and Jeeves repairing, to a sea- cruise, to the opera, to a play, or to Covent Garden for libation. 7 Analyzing the tranquil tone and setting at the end of both Doyle and Wodehouse's works, Voorhees feels that Wodehouse has "expertly parodied Doyle's endings." But the alleged parodies are fresh and giddy with an artful respect for Doyle's suspected influence. At the end of The Adventure of the Red Circle, Conan Doyle has Watson and Holmes together as the two hurry out of their digs so as not to miss the second act of a Wagner opera. And here as Wodehouse does in the Bertie- Jeeves saga, Conan Doyle makes outrageous, and splendid use of hyperbole. And just as sure as Bertie Wooster is that he can jump into his bed, cozy down into the lush muslin sheets and toss off a couple of quick chapters in Jeeves's copy of Nietzche or Spinoza, Watson never doubts that he and Holmes can stroll in on and still enjoy a Wagnerian opera without the benefit of the first act. It is more than coincidence that both Wodehouse and Doyle have Jeeves and Holmes disappear at the begin- ning of a story, only to return later in the proceedings with a solution at the ready. Both Holmes and Jeeves, re- lying on their icy and analytical minds, ask the troubled characters in the novels and short stories to "put the facts before them, omitting no detail, however slight." 8 Jeeves and Holmes exhibit little sexual interest in the stories either overtly or covertly. But both A. .'I": -J 4: #9 flnétfisn ens aunt Jinpnsas on: ' '. .n. 'A Q... csc.c- "" 99:, a ., - 1 V ' F . 1 I‘- .x TJW c'essodebow has ..'-'_1i.' ' Jim-'1‘ as gitasqxs” . I I 'r‘- 1:?! ‘3... "l ._. _ o . 3.53; . . ' F .. ; .- :I' , e I 1. 3:... .. s a: ‘ : .'- c-'- -. . 1. , I . _ _ ,. 3- “II-'.“: V. u- uttvd 5-: ._". I 'V':‘; 'r r -':‘T . n-- .. ‘z .- pf“ 116 Wodehouse and Conan Doyle have their master Sleuths and mystics partake of other forms of stimulation. As Jeeves and Holmes become exasperated with Bertie's ineptitude and Watson's bungling, the valet retires to the kitchen to swig away yet a bottle of port or brandy, while the detective silently tokes on his.opium pipe or gets lost in the sonority of his own violin playing. Richard Usborne, in his book Eggghgg§g_§gLflng, men- tions that Wodehouse's early reading included the works of "Henty, Anstey, Conan Doyle, with a great deal of bad mag- azine trash." 9 (Added to Usborne's list should be Dickens, Hornung, Haggard, and copies of Sporter which the humorist feasts upon every month.) Usborne's conclusion is that Wode- house's works are readily traceable to Conan Doyle's Sher- lock Holmes-Dr. Watson stories. In fact, Usborne feels sure that Wodehouse's The Luck Stone can be traced directly to Conan Doyle's The Sing of Fou . 10 Usborne theorizes that Wodehouse engages in "verbal lifts" from the Sherlock Holmes stories, and he feels that these pilferings are best seen in the precise behavior and language of Jeeves and Holmes and in the tweedy confusion of both Wooster and Watson. He concludes that Wodehouse got his feel for language partly from his reading of Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories. It should be pointed out that Wodehouse, albeit influenced by Doyle's writing, has taken the physician-writer's straighter and measured tones and has turned Doyle's sobriety into the Augustan tongue of Jeeves and the hurried, paranoid poesy of Bertie Wooster. avireex b of? rilfw .gunsxc 10 duoq to gas at 3913391 "v afaz To vnja mufiqo .unigsl. _. .=. '- ."r' .(-':.:'-'i‘.|!.ml .‘.“E'rid' art-3M ' ,.—".'. ' -_-"'.'3r: (zinc-ii" , . I - '. ' . ._. - s - . _ _ n ' " - . . 3‘. .: "'..: 9:15:51 f .n - II! a? I ,- . '- ‘ ""'I."_"; I 0 '- - e I " .'.. - ' ‘ H_‘ ' 4' 3 : .: .'.- I‘ ' c "-' ." ." D l J I. t I. e . ‘. . , . - . . 1.. : _.. _ ’ . V . . 117 In fact, Usborne feels that-Bertie Wooster speaks a kind of 'babu-English.“ (Usborne apparently got his "babu" def- inition from F. Anstey's Baboo Jabberjee.) This "babue English," states Usborne, is seminal and "essential to Wode- house's style of false concords." 11 But Usborne is care- ful with his conclusions and he writes: I am not deliberately accusing Wodehouse of concoc- ting his stories on the lines of Doyle; I am saying that of all the authors to whom Wodehouse's debt shows itself, Doyle is the chief, and Doyle is the one whom Wodehouse would most gladly acknowledge. 12 When questioned about Conan Doyle's influence on his writing, Wodehouse said: When I was a school boy . . . Conan Doyle and Dickens were, indeed, two of my favorite authors. If reading them has any Special effect on my manner of writing, I must say I was never aware of it. Of course, one never knows these things. 13 But Usborne feel sure that real ties exist between Conan Doyle and the English humorist. He attempts to substantiate this by pointing out that Ambrose, the cravat-tying, coffee- making valet to Sir Charles Tregellis in Rodne Stone, and Austin, Professor Challenger's servant in The Poison Belt, were the germ carriers that first infected Wodehouse with the idea for Jeeves. 1“ But Usborne hedges and moderates his remarks with such statements as “I seem to keep finding trace elements or I keep seeming to find trace elements of Doyle in the Wodehouse formulations." 15 Usborne is influenced by what he correctly sees as lack of sexual eXpression in Conan 118 Doyle's Sherlock Holmes cycle and P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves cycle. In both writer's work, sex is expressed in innocent calf-love and brotherly-sisterly affection; In fact, both writers free Holmes and Jeeves from sexual pleasures and expression. While searching for the answer to Holmes's celibacy, Dr. Watson writes about the only woman who ever managed to intrigue Holmes: To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman. I have seldon heard him mention her under any name . . . . But all emotions and that one particularly, were abhorrent to his cold, precise but admirably bal- anced mind. He was, I take it,.the most perfect reas- oning and observing machine that the world has seen, but as a lover. he would have placed himself in a false position. He never spoke of the softer passions save with a gibe and a sneer . . . . For the trained observer to admit such intrusions into his own deli- cate and finely adjusted instrument, was to intro- duce a distracting factor which might throw a doubt upon all his mental results. Grit is a sensitive ins- trument, or a crack in one of his own high-powered lenses would not be more disturbing than a strong emotion in a nature such as his. 1 It's as if Wodehouse had written the preceding passage about Jeeves. Indeed, in both Conan Doyle and Wodehouse, Holmes and Jeeves are celibates; part-time misogynists who both seem to feel that sex would ruin their mental facul- ties and their monkish and contemplative natures. Both Sher- lock Holmes and Jeeves are, ironically, careful students of feminine wiles, a knowledge that apparently derives from their cool logic and perception. Just as Jeeves is not above using devious means to manipulate women so that he might affect a solution to some particularly thorny problem of Bertie Wooster's, Sherlock Holmes is not above treachery flied ,;os% 31 .noiin.ils has :stusseI: isyxea mar r'netish at ¥=ficra on: , ... . r _ ...l- ... w“ .r.‘... ..".-':..:\' 'rféfi'a 3...: .r - Q. ‘ o l e O H ' ' _-, ._. ' -1- ' ..'- . -. - If... _ '1 l i ' ..’- ' . ., . . . e e e e ‘ .'- . . —l I I . . ‘ .. . u \ ... . ( an i n."- F . . .h..' _ -. I '1 s f 5" q".- 2'. 'IC." as" s .. I . 3 l5 . . . . ._ '. 0 '.".)"Q‘". ' 94'! £11723, 3 cesium acatah .1G 119 and in a chapter entitled "The Love Life of Sherlock Holmes“ in Trevor Hall's book Sherlgck Holmes: Ten Literagy Studies. the following passage between Holmes and Watson is quoted from Doyle's Charles Au stus Milverton, Holmes asks Watson: "You would not call me a marrying man, Watson?" "No, indeed." "You will be interested to hear that I am engaged." "My dear fellow, I congrat--" "To Milverton's housemaid." "Good heavens, Holmes." "I wanted information Watson." 17 Usborne's list of similarities between Wodehouse and Doyle is impressive. Where Bertie Wooster was known in prep- school as "bungler Wooster," Doyle constantly has Holmes exasperated by Watson "the bungler." Watson and Wooster do, indeed, bungle things as they try to solve all the troubles in the stories themselves. Usborne points out that all the stories seem to take place in and around country homes, and the problems that crop up in the Holmes and Jeeves stories are always lightly and liesurely discussed over a break- fast of bacon and eggs. There is, in addition, always an imminent departure from London as the teams proceed to the country to grapple with some new intrigue.18 Both Conan Doyle and Wodehouse keep their finely wrought patterns and plots prominent. In the works of both writers, there is an inevitable epiphany as Holmes and Jeeves share their revelation with the worshipping Watson and Woos- ter. In each story there is a precise denouement, followed by an ending which finds Holmes and Jeeves fawned over, their minds praised by those characters in the books who .' ,- .-p, . . . _ . . .. . . — , - .- ...- - 120 always seem to gather at the omnipresent country home. In both the Sherlock Holmes-Dr. Watson and the Jeeves- Bertie Wooster stories, the teams, by the end of the short stories and novels, pack quickly and return to "the metrop.” While Conan Doyle depicts anti-social and deviant beahvior in a rather sober fashion, Wodehouse turns it into farcical stories about harmless capers and victimless crimes. Usborne seems to agree: The Bertie-Jeeves stories may be an echo of the Sher- lock Holmes stories . . . blackmail, theft, revolver- shots in the dark, air-gun shots by the day, butlers in dressing gowns. people climbing in at the bedroom windows, people dropping out at the bedroom windows, people hiding in bedroom cupboards. the searching of bedrooms for missing manuscripts, cow-creamers and pigs. 19 Usborne. in fact, is so influenced by his theory about the connection between the Holmes stories and the Jeeves stories. that even when discussing another aspect of Wodehouse's art, he inevitably slips in an allusion to Sherlock Holmes. While measuring the English humorist's use of secondary characters. he writes: In a few Wodehouse novels. you find characters so far- off the beaten Wodehouse track of characterization of looks in one way or other. that knowing Wodehouse's preference for type-casting, you feel sure that he is describing the people who actually took the part in a play. In Baggy in Wonderland (1952), there is a thea- trical writer character so meticulously described for appearance that I would not be surprised if I could not pick him out from a group photograph of the cast in the . . . play. Uniqueness in the long vista of Wode- house's books is so rare that, when it occurs, it re— minds you of Sherlock Holmes's dog that didn't bark in the night. 2 Y}! .351833 “fl: »H:“ as easier use lesiun fosq , xu==?3; 5‘3 isfoos-ira: 'Puiaao-aiznu unneD eltfifi ' '.“'-':.'..' '.n"-'_.!"5:'i '7' -'-. . ‘..-1.}: :'.'-.. weds: ".'.flti'E'I e at ~=*'m.“riv rs: '"n~:s fka-fiT L Jurrs Hflitflfb 55519111 :¢s~wr oi amuse endodeu - I; ‘1.- l - I . I - .- l . . I . ...- l I .- 1-I': :- . ’--I: If ; I ‘- 9:. -§rn '." . ' . '- - a - . "a u at l I I I ' 'I' I e a e L- 5 5 ' '- '.".‘ 1.‘ ‘.: 4:301 '- ‘ u. "' .'L' “...: -' '12": _'"'-' .'. -3nfi'. . t . ' ' . v .fihuur -”ie;swx an I ...'” .' _. .. -. . '. 1 ._ ...... 5-. -- -. .'..-f 5:” -.- .:- . .- - .. ‘. 1 . '. . . .._,-. I e . . . . u - ' 4 .. .- - . 1d ""3 ...... .' r j . '1 n 1 'I l U w h - -e 'u a I h‘. I: : .’ J (I. 121 If he frequently seems unsure about Wodehouse's way with characterization. Usborne seems on firmer ground with his Holmes-Jeeves theory. He has, as a result of his research into the analogies he draws between Doyle and Wodehouse, illuminated an important part of Wodehouse's work. The Holmesian influence invades even Usborne's strange grouping of "Images" which he inserts in odd places in his book. In one of these sections, Usborne quotes Wodehouse as saying: Imagine how some master criminal would feel, on coming down to do a murder at the Old Grange. if he found that not only was Sherlock Holmes putting in the week- end there, but Hercule Poirot as well. 2 By making use of Wodehouse's fascination with Conan Doyle's Holmes-Watson stories and by coupling it with his own re- search. Usborne suggests that, perhaps, Wodehouse might be guilty of having sticky literary fingers. When asked about his own work and characterizations and when queried about how Jeeves came to get his name, Wodehouse again reveals his fascination with Doyle's Sher— lock Holmes. In Brin on the Girls, Wodehouse tells the reader that he gave Jeeves the name of a cricketer who had played before the first World War. Wodehouse felt that the name of Jeeves "should be lucky" because both Sherlock and Holmes were names of county cricketers. "I believe." Wodehouse writes. "Doyle had decided on Sherrinford Holmes, when he silently and suddenly thought of Mordecai Sherlock who used to keep wicket for Yorkshire." 22 1C9 neonvvf:m '\.'..J r.. '~E ,fl P-izofans 'xxoqm? ”a thrsnfmufi ..' .'L ' . ' L CLE'I'L; J “'.J' {3. '. _. . .,_ .'.-I. ' . ul- .. .--. a . J .'\ '. .’. .'J .| 'gnsbet 122 R.B.D. French is less inclined to see the sim- ilarities between the work of Conan Doyle and the stories of Wodehouse. Unlike Voorhees and Usborne. French de- emphasizes Doyle's influence on the English humorist. French's brief assessment, in turn, is rather intellectually ambivalent. And in his analysis of the works of Wodehouse he hedges his literary bets by the liberal use of such con- ditional words as "perhaps," "maybe," and "rather." In the last chapter of his book, a chapter he entitles "A Bloke and his Valet," French writes somewhat reluctantly: The whole thing is rather like Sherlock Holmes and Watson except that Watson rarely interferes with the detective's plans and Bertie horrifies his friends by announcing that he has taken their cases into his own hands. 23 But even French, though more skeptical than Voorhees and Usborne on the matter of Doyle's influence on Wodehouse, catches and savers the odors and flavors that waft round stories. 0n the last page of his book French writes: Not the least charm of the immortal Baker Street stories is the contrast between the bachelor comfort of the gas-lit rooms and the darkness and fog outside into which Holmes and Watson presently must set forth upon the investigation of some mysterious crime. So it will ever be at Berkeley Mansions. Bertie will be in the sitting-room with the Mystegy of the Pink Cray Fish or the Daily Telegraph crossword puzzle. But then will come the last post or a telegram-'Ser- ious rift-Madeline and self.‘ A quick turn round the room, a thoughtful cigarette and Bertie's mind is made up, this must be placed in the hands of a high- er power. And then, of course, Jeeves will shimmer forth with his the 123 Spinoza or Nietzche tucked discreetly behind his back, ready to confront the young lout's latest dilemma. Dr. John Watson. like the bar-fly Wooster, is a pub-crawler. He was first introduced to Sherlock Holmes in a manner reminiscent of the initial meeting between Bertie Wooster and Jeeves. It seems that while tippling at London's Hotel Criterion, Watson makes the friendship of a certain Dr. Stamford. The never-to-appear-again Stamford, in turn, introduces Watson to the master sleuth. The effect of this chance meeting gives the reader the feeling that the subsequent coupling with Holmes has been divined by a higher order of things. 25 Dr. Watson has the same sense of whimsey that Bertie Wooster has. In fact, Watson is "checker-full“ of the same mischievious tendencies that attend Wooster. And Watson. throughout-the chronicling of the adventures of Holmes, al- ludes in a puckish vein, to those adventures of Holmes that remain unrevealed. These untold adventures exist perilously in the fuddled and forgetful head of Watson and, fortunate- ly, in the vault of Cox's at Charing Cross. These stories are used by Watson to tease the reader, as Holmes's aide slyly alludes to the "shocking affair of the Dutch steam- ship Friesland," or "the cases of the notorious canary- trainer. the red-leech, and the Giant Rat of Sumatra." All Watson will say is that "the world is not yet pre- pared.“ Christopher Morley, in his preface to The Complete Sherlock Holmes, is delighted by those readers of Watson of .wofacnw tit-use on: :u--:r.:..-.:= “...'-Mam. a rsei'bo'rrni emits-w Hearted unites: isifin: am? To tacoalnlhti nuiiq Er sliéw rand vases 3L .seveet has seize." ':“fi"*isr 5%: mafia” new? .aoPaeiiui fetch a' siaenussaqs:—;:—flevun aim .51otmsr‘ .1u niatses a ’21: 3“a’m -flJ «J -» ”'1 wL'nr.1;.£ .murf n1 .huolmsta '_ "'.53'1’1313". .'-."--".-"I‘5.’J sin: '13 .‘tm'i'ta all? .t'" -‘ -z: T:fidrnw¢'a w}? "4“? na'fee? .." in? ”'.T; '=;:ffl s 1: hsnivib v - ': ' n -- - .iaw' 7' ..:fi weirnna , . . -' _ - . .l n; 'r|'_:_-n.'7' ,- a ‘ 7": q ‘. ' J7. a . " - . -nxv: : -s n-su' .t 37:1. ‘i uzw ,“ 1.1fsh us .I '=* ' . . ‘ " 'I 'h'.‘ .I . . n ' , ‘ i; «as: 9' 1 .rp. :J P 12b . and Holmes who tend to let their imagination.riet. Horley, in fact, feels the “immortal pair“ deserve absolute anal- yses that speak not only to literary merit. but to possible psychological and mystical nuances as well. Certainly, Hor- ley approaches the Sherlock Holmes-Dr.‘Watson.oycle of stories in a reverent and careful way which takes into account the psychological import and overtones in the stories. Morley is delighted by such things as Sherlock Holmes's warm, mahogany study, the bullet-peeked walls of the study, the sleuth's decanter bottle which he calls a ”tantalus.” the detective's persian slipper full of tobacco. a coal scuttle for cigars. Holmes's blue funke.and the de- tective's cocaine habit. 26 A careful reader of the Wooster- Jeeves cycle of stories is intrigued by the same brie-a- brac that he finds in the Holmes stories. In fact, a care- ful reading of the Woosteereeves stories gives the reader a curious yet undeniable satisfaction as he lets his mind linger and mingle amidst silver-tipped "gaspers," red. run-abouts, Bertie's long. flapping scarves. China mugs from India, tweed suits with leather elbow patches, kid driving gloves. amber doses shimmering in brandy glasses,and starched collars and marcelled hair. Tight Unions When analyzing the similarities between Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes cycle of stories and those Woosteereeves stories, it is more rewarding to discuss the similarities as they appear in the short stories, since an analysis of -£sn$ .siwem vtsretti or " II' - ..- -.I_' a u j. i: :14“: —'~:. -'-. .‘.. faith-21': .339! we. reasons '0 «Lam ram-.12“- .-_r-'.:.-.=.-:..-1II:-2z inn-115116: aim? nets? noise t.: :3?J2§fl has 3891.?91 2 n! 'l‘ '7. 35:13:39?“ L-‘i-R vitae-fl .Lmiflcicflavrq ';"::.""-':A "1 thin? as "‘ " '-‘--".‘-‘.".:"m 9: '.gefihul -w atfucvu" .1-- .u .fiflF'; Vfls1afirfi .mfiew e'seniofl r" - - .--'-_ ' . ""l-bfli‘fl'ub .' n 51-9.? “32:4“: ed! , -"‘.'".." ‘ . "N h". - . ‘ .‘". cf'ti‘l.t*."‘.-".‘=.' 5.1.." "TH-'..‘JJ'ERI' 51.13.!" can "some." .6‘ 1.39 ".'.: ' avail-1:: Esea .e .-i -r; - .- ' n. -. . 'o'vi'H-H: . '.. .'. ' '. " 7:9V-m' h. 125 the shorter works of Doyle and.Wodehouse makes it clear whether similarities do. indeed. exist or are merely crit- ical assumptions which grow more easily out of the longer efforts of both. writers. In one of Conan Doyle's finely crafted. taut. and geometric short stories entitled 2113 Advegtgrg of the Empty House. the following dialogue takes place between Watson and Holmes. Holmes. who had been.thought dead along with his arch-rival Horiarity in the Reichenbach Fall. returns to London and says: “My dear Watson." said the well-remembered voice. "I owe you a thousand apologies. I had no idea you would be so affected.“ I gripped him by the arms. “Holmes." I cried. ”Is if really you? Can it be that you are alive? Is it pos- s b e . . . ?' ”Wait a moment.” said he. "Are you sure that you are really fit to discuss things? I have given you a serious shock by my unnecessarily dramatic appearance.” "I am all right. but. indeed, Holmes. I can hardly believe my eyes. Good heavens: To think that you-I Mean you-of all men should be standing in my study." Again I grip ed him by the sleeve and felt the sincwy arm be- neath' t. "Well. you're not a spirit. anyhow," said I. "My dear chap I am overjoyed to see you. Sit down and tell me how you came alive out of that dreadful chasm." He sat opposite me and lit a cigarette in his old. nonchalant manner . . . . Holmes looked even thinner and keener than of old. but there was a dead-wite tinge in his aquiline face . . . . 7 In the preceding passage. the likeness in speech and nu- ance between Holmes and Watson and Jeeves and Wooster. is striking and significant. First of all. like Bertie Wooster. Watson strings short-clipped phrases together when exercised over some- thing. Again like Wooster. Watson's face flushes as the words burp from him. And when excited. Watson, like Wooster, tends Tfiaflfil on: is Ire vfzese anon -“ in ass at vfnsji s'sltnd c".e. niwtemees bns -' hn'?4329 ”QETO'E fauna -.. s"'—" as "31" c1: ' arr Jen azw . :n'- . . ens monies ,~ - 2": ' _L ”.1" . .-._ x “.101”: 4.1.; '3 sit-E's "'j-noIl 's an: ac. .J r. suture: .Ilsi . ' "r - . a ..r ‘1" we}. ‘-j'~‘." a. , ,q ='v .u- ‘,u : ED? eve r“ ".nnrvs la n: . . , ' . - . . . ~'- '9." .'.-£33331. . - - ' 119 "r '33??? 3’ . . . ~14 ‘_- I . ' Elan: - w- c. '.". ~' 'r " " ..r -‘.5'1‘ 1; 7 . - x- '" rfits' ' e I Q - I I -’ .‘ I, | ; h' I If“, ‘ - ...’ I- 2...:— . . “HE?” - ' _.' ' J r 5‘ d l g . ‘ I ‘ e _- h 1 ' . . .,. I l - _ 1 v ‘ _ ;' l' ‘ U I ‘ V I 1 \ ‘ .-: ""I I ' i 7 I w we: ~ 9: 1 ', a -. = , a e‘o 4, ‘. I. I I 126 to interpolate and misfile language. For example. Watson blurts out to Holmes. "sit down and tell me how you came alive out of that dreadful chasm." This departure from the less awkward "came out alive" is. undeniably. significant since it shows that Conan Doyle.like the English humorist. Wodehouse. is quite cognizant of and careful with dialogue which depends on a thin border between drama and dark comedy. Just like the unflappable. controlled and rather reserved valet. Jeeves. Holmes reacts to Watson's initial reaction of surprise with a droll. "My dear Watson . . . " And. looking at Holmes in disbelief. Watson describes him in a way that Wodehouse might have used in describing Jeeves. Watson sees the master sleuth looking "thin. sinewy. keen- looking and with an aquiline face" that has a white pallor spread inscrutably across it. It is. in fact. the pallor of wisdom that comes from long hours in the library. The whiteness of Holmes and Jeeves is in deliberate contrast to the flushed and rather wasted looking faces of Watson and Wooster whose cherub—like cheeks are pinked by high-blood pressure and too much feeding on the good life. In The Adventure of the Norwocd Builder. the reader finds an opening scene like many of the beginnings in the Bertie Wooster-Jeeves cycle of stories. The story begins in the breakfast-nook as Watson and Holmes. having finished their eggs and bacon. are interrupted by the burst and flurry of a "wild-faced young man." And while Watson dithers oVer the "confounded interruption” to his post-breakfast glow. Sherlock Holmes seizes the moment and tries to calm the ::.n':'i stir-t“: strait :-.-.-':.1“. . ._ . e ,_ ., .....-g. .-.'I- “...’-J .-.a..— l w - .'.. ': '5'.- "sew: :‘Ji I'U-‘a I o . .'.. ‘ - "- . I '- IE '. '.-; n" “I- It“; FQE.".-3§'.' - ' '- -- - _- - - ,3. "'!x-. .'.-efmr rev-rear! -: . --.'- . _ i . f .m- 127 frantic young man as he precisely gets down to cases: "Have a cigarette. Mr. McFarlane . . . . I am sure that with your symptoms. my friend Dr. Watson here would pre- scribe a sedative. The weather has been so very warm these past few days. Now. if you feel a little more com- posed. I should be glad if you would sit down in that chair. and tell me very slowly and quietly who you are and what it is you want. You mentioned your name. as if I should recognize it. but I assure you that beyond the obvious facts that you are a bachelor. a solicitor. a Freemason. and an asthmatic. I know nothing whatever about you." In the passage just quoted. the reader finds not only the incisive eye and precise intuition of Holmes. but he is also treated to the strutting and preening humor that Holmes uses to show off his abilities. In much the same man- ner. Jeeves has those moments when he overwhelms those less gifted than himself. Jeeves. however. is.properly enough. nev- er as overtly immodest as Sherlock Holmes. And just as they begin in like fashion. the Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson stories and the Jeeves and Bertie Woos— ter stories end in much the same way. At the end of most stories. there is a sense of warmth and good cheer. as the literary teams settle near a glowing fire. Afterwards. Watson and Holmes sip brandy in their study. Bertie Wooster sips a cordial in the den. and Jeeves retires to the kitchen to sip his port and curl up with an "improving book." At the end of The Adventure of thg Three Students. Holmes has just solved the dilemma of a certain Mr. Soames. As he exults and luxuriates in his latest victory. Holmes pontificates, "Well. Mr. Soames, I think we have cleared up your little problem, and our breakfast awaits us. Come . '. .. .7" .m- ‘f. we- 7.. f'I-TH - .- - . . a " ' -' .' .- .-- - ' '- l . a. .. . .' . ' '. — . U. . ‘.”. I Q - ' .. . .- . ... - ;. .._..I 1 l‘; . - I 1 l . . . - ‘ . '-- ' ' - ' ' '2': use“ :-. L . . - ' . .~ 5" ..ffi'I 128 Watson." 29 (Notice should be given that both Holmes and Jeeves give uncalled credit to their partners.) Watson and the fop. Bertie Wooster. at the end of most stories. are chilled by the depths of their heroes and constantly puzzled by their inscrutability. Time and time again. Bertie Wooster asks at the end of the Woosteereeves stories. “How does Jeeves do it?“ But Bertie. of course. the earth-child who is unfamiliar with the mystical and esoteric. usually re- lies on the fact that Jeeves's solution to his problems are not mystical or magic but. rather. traceable to Jeeves's ingestion of high-quality cod and mackerel. In The Adventure of the Second Strain. a grateful recipient of Holmes's help sputters to the detective. "Thank you. thank you: What a weight from my heart . . . . Mr. Holmes you are a wizard. a sorcerer." 30 Then when Watson narrates the reaction of Holmes to the soaring compliment. "Holmes turned away smiling from the keen scrutiny of those wonderful eyes." 31 The slight smile that Watson alludes to. of course. is ex- actly like the tart. lemon smile that infrequently trans- figures the face of the Sphinx-like Jeeves. Both Dr. Watson and Bertie Wooster worship Holmes and Jeeves. But all they can do is worship from afar and watch in awe for the crack in Holmes's and Jeeves's armor-- a crack that will never come. Watson and Wooster keep watch- ing. and in The Red-Headed Leagge, Watson narrates: My friend was an enthusiastic musician . . . . All the afternoons he sat in the stalls. wrapped in the most 129 I perfect happiness. gently waving his long. thin fin- . gers to the music while his gentle. smiling face and his languid. dreamy faces were unlike those of Holmes the sleuth hound. Holmes the relentless, keen-witted. ready-handed criminal agent . . . . In his ironic. sing- ular character. the dual nature alternately asserted itself. and his extreme exactness. and astuteness rep- resented. as I have often thought. the reaction against the poetic and contemplative mood which occasionally predominated in him. 2 The preceding passage indicates the precarious bal- I ance that must be maintained by the frustrated artist who must make his way in the world in another vocation. Of course. both Holmes and Jeeves bring art into the realm of their duties as master detective and servant. Conan Doyle. as Wodehouse does with Jeeves, guards against any upset- ting imbalance that might upset the characterization of Sherlock Holmes. Doyle. therefore. guards against the same reveries and ramblings which have carried Bertie Wooster so often down the trails of poetry and imagination which so often leave the untalented nowhere. Indeed. Doyle will not take the chance of exposing a chink in the intellectual armaments of the detective. Conan Doyle does, however. al- low slight diversions as Holmes stretches his mind by mod- erate ingestions of music and cocaine. the latter being a habit that Doyle assures the reader Holmes could give up at any time. But even when dreamy. Holmes. Like Jeeves. is capable of sudden flashes which snap him back as he once again assumes the necessary concomitants of his character. taciturnity. exactness, and pragmatism. Just as Bertie Wooster has trouble following Jeeves's honed logic. but gives lip-service anyway. Watson does not . =‘.'..'-..-n.1'osxe 4 - ' '-'i"..'- I"-‘€.. . - .sssc aegis stem ovztfllgmesnco ' .‘qifi --__'.-. ‘. , ... ‘... f—tfiT?‘-:".-: ._1. _ '-.'=':.."=-'-' finiJ’JEBTC 3111‘ '“ta =: "n hi n-” . . airrflisn on Team tad: eons . 2' :raw =- '3; E - T J -:r of "an aid eism seam " " - “"- :5 .-~ a -.1 u; ;;w ited .seurne 1 ‘ ." I ' ‘ l - L .- '. ".‘.' -' . .a. 130 like to let Holmes know that he has trouble following the logic of Holmes through the labyrinths of the sleuth's mind. But Watson adopts the same face-saving technique as Jeeves's master. Bertie Wooster. Both steadfastly refuse to admit their ignorance. In The Adventure of the Prio School. (note the philosophical significance of the word "priory") Watson and Holmes discuss a case they are working on: "It is a little difficult to know what to do. Watson." said he at last. "My own inclinations are to push this inquiry on. for we have already lost so much time that we cannot afford to waste another hour. 0n the other hand. we are bound to inform the police of the discovery . . . .' "I could take a note back. " "But I need your company and assistance. Wait a bit: Therein is a fellow cutting peat up yonder. Bring him over here. and he will guide the police." I brought the peasant across. and Holmes dispat- ched the frightened man with a note to Dr. Huxtable. "Now Watson." said he, "we will have picked up two clues this morning . . . . First of all I wish to impress upon you that the boy certainly left of his own free will." I assented. "Well. now. lets turn to the unfortunate German master. The boy was fully dressed when he fled. There- fore he foresaw what to do. But the German went with- out his socks. He certainly acted on very short no- tice." "Undoubtedly." "Why did he go? Because from his bedroom window. he saw the flight of the boy . . . .' "So it would seem. " "Now I come to the critical point of the argu- ment. The natural action of a man pursuing a little boy would be to run after him. He would not know that he could overtake him. But the German does not do so. He turns to his bicycle. I am told that he was an ex- cellent cyclist. He would not do this. if he had not seen that the boy had some swift means of escape." "The other bicycle:" "Let us continue our reconstruction. He meets his death five miles from the school-not by a bullet. mark you . . . but by a savage blow dealt with a vigorous arm: " "Holmes." I cried. "this is impossible." "'34. 131 "Admirable," he said, "A most illuminating remark. It is impossible as I state it. and therefore I must in some respect have stated it wrong . . . . Can you suggest any fallacy? In a morass Watson?" "I am at my wits end." 33 The similarities between the preceding passage and those passages between Bertie Wooster and Jeeves are sig- nificant. At the beginning of the passage. Holmes is tel- ling Dr. Watson that he was somewhat at loose ends about how to dispose of the case at hand. Watson reacts to Holmes's recognition that, perhaps, he should inform the police of the evidence at hand by offering his services as a sub— servient messenger as he offers, "I could take the note back." Then Holmes, never far from a solution to his prob- lems, notices that there is someone else who could take the information to the police. Then Watson, as conscious of social stratification and status as Bertie Wooster, offers to "bring the peasant across." Then Holmes opens the facts of the case for the edification of Dr. Watson in much the same manner as Jeeves explains to his master how he, Jeeves. has choreographed a solution to his latest dilemma. Watson. however, again like Bertie Wooster the fop, has trouble following the windings of the eXplanation and all he can reply is a weak "undoubtedly," "so it would seem," and "I am at my wits end." In the same passage, can also be detec- ted that same kind of sarcasm that Jeeves uses so often and to such devastating effect. After Watson says in hopeless- ness, "Holmes . . . this is impossible," the masterly detec- tive drolly offers, "Admirable. a most illuminating remark." . ... I . . - . . . . . . r - ‘ I . I I I . ' z I I 132 Then when he detects no light of comprehension shining in the red-lined eyes of Dr. Watson, Holmes rather cruelly asks. “In a morass, Watson?" It is there that perhaps the one glaring difference between the characterizations of Holmes and Jeeves appears as Holmes must gather ego points by pointing out. in no un- certain terms. that the doctor is, in the final analysis. a compleat clod. Jeeves. on the other hand. knows that Ber- tie Wooster is a clod. but the manservant is content to let Bertie stew in his ignorance since the young master's total awareness of his inferior intellectual position would dis- turb the delicate balance that is. after all. based on the feudal code of service--a condition that Sherlock Holmes need not concern himself with when dealing with Dr. John Watson. Arthur Conan Doyle and P.G. Wodehouse. with the characterizations of Sherlock Holmes and Jeeves. have cre- ated characters who rise above the stories as if they. the sleuth and the valet. were foamborn. They both find their expression through a manipulation of their jumbo. jujube assistants. Holmes and Jeeves. united and unlike Watson and Wooster who seemed immersed in modernity. seem timeless as they swim back and forth between antiquity and modernity. And where Watson and Bertie Wooster are mercuric and noisy. Sherlock Holmes and Jeeves are steady and inscrutably quiet. Holmes and Jeeves both suffer from higher intelligences that seem to leave them melancholy and detached from life. Both Sherlock Holmes and the manservant Jeeves can 133 be cruel; both have those moments when. with mental vic- tory at hand. they are content to watch Watson and Wooster circle in confusion. Holmes and Jeeves stretch forth a hel- ping hand when begged to do so. But Holmes-and Jeeves. in fact. feel a need to punish Dr. Watson and Bertie Wooster. And that need to punish is why Holmes makes Watson admit that he was "in a morass" before the master detective would help. and that is also why Jeeves exacts a price from the foppish Wooster when he offers his help. The price for Ber- tie is usually something like a shaved-off beard or a dis- carded banjolele. Unmentioned by almost all critics who deal with the similarities between Doyle and Wodehouse's cycle of stories. is the atmosphere that surrounds the main characters. In this regard, John Watson and Bertie Wooster look at a life. an existence that steals prismatically through their spec- tacles. turning into an innocent and impressionistic world. Their world is, indeed. rather benign, as both see chances for hedonistic pleasures in every blue-sky and every green pasture. They are both romantics. even though Watson's ro- manticism plays itself out in gray pubs and leather-lined clubs. Holmes and Jeeves. on the other hand, see other vi- sions. Both Holmes and Jeeves live more inside their heads. and where Watson and Bertie Wooster appreciate a world pop- ulated with ponies and posies. Holmes and Jeeves know that life's reward goes to the stallion and snap-dragon. Watson and Wooster are two loveable geese trying to fathom what beats away in the breasts of the master 13b sleuth and valet. Both Watson and Wooster have the curious nature of the frustrated poet who cannot connect his inner persona with temporal man buffeted by the flow of the uni- verse. In fact. both Holmes and Wooster's "man" Jeeves see the imminent failure of the doctor and knut and they caution them to save themselves by "tucking away" the hearts that both Watson and Wooster wear on their dandy sleeves. With the characters of Sherlock Holmes and Jeeves. Conan Doyle and Wodehouse have given English literature characters to reckon with and characters worthy of in-depth research. Their equally important achievement, however. is their rendering of John Watson and Bertie Wooster. two char- acters who have that marvelous. native intelligence which can only be found among the semi-literate. And where research into Holmes and Jeeves can bear heavy fruit. an analysis of Watson and Wooster leaves the critics with a sweet drop which is just as pleasing and transparent as the characters them- selves. But most critics fail to realize that they must take the tart with the sweet. And where Watson and Wooster are Doyle's and Wodehouse’s tangerine trees, sweetly sticking into the air and tickling the reader and critic looking for colorful. soft,and easy messages. Jeeves and Holmes are shading trees which keep the heat off Wooster and Watson until they gain their flex and charm. to again prick the air with color. Perhaps. after a close assessment. Wodehouse would be more ready to admit the influence of Conan Doyle. an in- fluence which lives in his works after having been turned 135 into an inventive language. sassy and sallying forth into English literature's most impressive humor. H O N c U‘ I: o c 6 7. 8 10. 11. 12. 13. 1h. 15. 16 17 18. CHAPTER 5 FOOTNOTES Richard Voorhees, P.G. Wodehouse (New York: Twayne Pub- lishers Inc.. 19665. p. 159. P.G. Wodehouse. Performin Flea: A Self Portrait in Let- ters (London: Herbert Jenkins Limited. 19535. p. 31. Richard Usborne. Wodehouse at Work (London: Herbert Jen- kins Limited. 1961 . p. 72. Voorhees. P.G. Wodehouse. p. 56. P.G. Wodehouse. Cargy On Jeeves (London: Herbert Jenkins Limited, 1960). p. 7. Voorhees. P.G. Wodehouse. p. 165. Ibid.. p. 165. Ibid.. p. 165. Usborne. Wodehouse at Work. p. 25. Ibid.. p. 45. Ibid.. p. 73. Ibid.. p. 153. Herbert Warren Wind. The World of P.G. Wodehouse (New York: Praeger Publishers. 1972), p. #5. Usborne. Wodehouse at Work. p. 182. Ibido ' p. 152. Arthur Conan Doyle. "A Scandal in Bohemia.“ The Com lete Sherlock Holmes (New York: Doubleday and Co., n.d.5, p. 161. Trevor Hall, Sherlock Holmes: Ten Literar Studies (New York: St. Martin's Press. 19695. p. 152. Usborne. Wodehouse at Work. p. 153. 136 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 2h. 25. 26. 2?. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 137 Ibid.. p. 153. Ibid.. p. 120. Ibid.. p. 107. P.G. Wodehouse and Guy Bolton. Brigg on the Girls:The Im robable Stor of Our Life With Pictures To Prove It (New York: Simon and Schuster. 1953). pp. I70-171. R.B.D. French. P.G. Wodehouse (London: Oliver Boyd. 1966). P0 1070 Ibid.. P. 108. Christopher Morley. "In Memorian Sherlock Holmes." The Com lete Sherlock Holmes (New York: Doubleday and Co.. n.d. 9 Po 7. Ibid.. Po 8. Arthur Conan Doyle. "The Adventure of the Empty House." The Con lete Sherlock Holmes (New York: Doubleday and Co., n.d. 9 Pp. 5" 0 Ibid.. "The Adventure of the Norwood Builder." p. 49?. Ibid.. “The Adventure of the Three Students." p. 60?. Ibid.. "The Adventure of the Second Strain." p. 666. Ibid.. p. 666. Ibid.. "The Red-Headed League." p. 185. Ibid.. “The Adventure of the Priory School." pp. 549—550. . .'.:L‘ Ilse zufi has I. - '.r I C . ..- -..—._..- . .... ' — n l , " . . .. I 5-.- '.n’ - . .nonetfi .TGI sq r 05" Q abidI “eHIHTLITHO . "“.nh .tfifflmcfi .'.: . .i'lgfl .43 CHAPTER 6 ASSESSMENT OF P. G. WODEHOUSE'S ART It has been suggested that P.G. Wodehouse's Bertie Wooster-Jeeves cycle of stories have their traceable roots in several areas of literature. including Victorian. Ed- wardian. Georgian. Gothic, and the stories of Arthur Conan Doyle. That is not to suggest. however, that Wodehouse's Bertie Wooster-Jeeves stories are mere reflections of the style and techniques of others. Wodehouse and the Critics It seems that there is really no middle-ground of criticism when it comes totally around to confront the writ- ings of the humorist. As a result. many critics either condemn Wodehouse's work. as did Sean O'Casey when he referred to Wode- house as the "performing Flea of English literature." or are so intoxicated by Wodehousiana that they indulge in praise that results in critical overkill. 1 (Wodehouse. of course. took O'Casey's criticism well and showed the deft touch of the 'humorist as he turned O'Casey's remarks into the title of his book of letters.) Wodehouse. in fact, has always been able to handle criticism in a clever way that makes fodder out of what seems 138 -.-.--. 139 a criticism too often delivered with an exaggerated amount of pique. For example. in Performi Flea. Wodehouse writes about critics: A typical instance of the bad critic is the one who said. 'it is time that Mr. Wodehouse realized that Jeeves has become a bore.‘ When my press-cutting bur- eau send me something like that. an icy—look comes into my hard grey eyes and I mark my displeasure by not pasting it in my scrapbook. Let us forget this type of man and turn to the rare souls who can spot a good thing when they see me. and shining like a beacon among them is the woman who wrote to the daily paper the other day to say that she considers Shakes- peare 'grossly materialistic and much overrated.’ and 'greatly prefers P.G. Wodehouse.‘ Well. it is not for me to say whether she is right or not. One cannot arbitrate in these matters of taste. ShakeSpeare's stuff is different than mine. but that is not necessarily to say that it is inferior. There are passages in Shakespeare to which I would have been quite pleased to put my name. That 'tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow' thing. Some Spin on the ball there. I doubt too. if I have ever done anything much better than Falstaff. The man may have been 'grossly materialistic.’ but he could crack through the cover all right. when he got his eye in. I would definitely place him in the Wodehouse class. 2 This passage. of course. is vintage Wodehouse. He has. in addressing himself to a criticism about Jeeves, made the metaphor of tennis stand for the critical process. It is a subtle shaft. of course. but quite incisive. nevertheless. Wodehouse. however. has zealous supporters as well. Such devotees as Arthur. Alec, and Auberon Waugh. readily agree with their brother Evelyn when he writes that Wode- house is "the master of comic novelists in this century." But. strangely enough. Evelyn Waugh has an ambivalence about Wodehouse similar to that of others who write about the humorist. James F. Carens. in his book. The Satiric 1&0 Art of Evel anau h. suggests that. perhaps. Waugh. despite his later praise of Wodehouse and his work. has. from time to time. attempted to camouflage the connections between his work and Wodehouse's. To this end. Waugh writes in a 1929 essay entitled "Ronald Firbank." that his own novels. indeed. pointed to Firbank and not Wodehouse as his first. early influence. But Waugh. by 1963. looked more knowingly and kindly on the ageing-in-the-wood humorist. and in a Paris Review interview. mentioned that part of his book 111g Bgdies (a book that Waugh greatly disliked). was "cribbed" from Firbank and that he admired the writer “very much when I was young." He added. however. "I think there would be something wrong with an elderly man who could enjoy Firbank." 3 But by the 1950's. Waugh was calling Wodehouse a "comic genius." and rather mysteriously. he seems to have had Wodehouse in mind as a model for his character in Mgn_§jg§gm§ (1952). Carens points out that in that book. "A restaurant proprietor who is also a part-time spy . . . sends a confused report to his superiors. The reports . . . find their way. eventually. into a top-secret file establishing a record of pro-fascist activity . . . . " 4 (Wodehouse. of course. was accused of being a German collaborator in World War 2--a charge that has since been rescinded. Wodehouse. however. has not for- gotten the injustice and has steadfastly refused to retire to England.) Riéhard Voorhees. noticing the ambivalence of most critics when dealing with the work of Wodehouse. has called for what he has called a "sliding scale of criticism." Such 1h1 E a ”scale," suggests Voorhees. would use one set of critical I criteria for drama and tragedy. and another for comedy and I humor. Voorhees also suggests that a critical bias exists among twentieth-century critics-~one which feels most res- ponsible when it is at work on grave subjects. In this re- gard. Voorhees astutely points out that. perhaps. Wodehouse has been denied his due "since in these troubled and tumul- tuous times. perhaps critics feel that all literature should reflect the times." He goes on to point out that "anguish has become the identity card of the writer." 5 Wodehouse seems aware of the situation that Voorhees alludes to. and in Performing Flea. the humorist writes: Humorists have been scared out of the business by the touchiness now prevailing in every section of the com- munity. Wherever you look. on every Shoulder there is a chip. in every eye a cold. glitter warning you. if you know what's good for you. not to start anything. 6 Many of Wodehouse's critics fall prey to the lit- erary fallacy that humor is a genre that requires little in the way of intellectual analysis. Thus. books in the comic genre are often tossed aside with haughty disdain. But even the harshest critics of Wodehouse admit that the Eng- lish humorist's approach to humor is quite unlike that of other writers of comedy. In fact, Wodehouse is downright fanatical when it comes to the preparation of his novels and short stories. For instance. when writing Heagy Weather. the humorist is reported to have written 100.000 words to get 100 pages. Also, Voorhees points out that “between the I "1‘2" "I" 'I '5 .': J'A'-.."-.._.pr- E"!- .'-n.- _ I ' "'l-' u... .- --' _- .... . r111 . ‘ a J: : fir; - ..., .' ' 1' - ' . '.'-" -':-..' - '- - "'c" : f? Ernst i' 9 '3 _L "2' :-:‘-':, i ‘ 1' {II-'— I. .1.- ' I": I u-l'r - ‘ J:;e--i_ ‘:n ' . l :-'u ' . tween 1.. l . " I 'l ' . ‘ E r - - I l ' ' I ' v I l . 1#2 pencilled notes (seventy-odd pages or so). Wodehouse writes a scenario of about 30,000 words." This. continues Voorhees. "allows him to avoid holes in the plot and gives him ideas for the dialogue. which he puts in Skeleton form and works up later." 7 Wodehouse. in fact. has been known to rewrite manuscripts after they have been accepted by his publisher. One of the major criticisms leveled against Wodehouse is that his books are redundant. involving little in the way of fresh material. Voorhees. however. counters this rather empty criticism by correctly pointing out that what some critics see as repetition is. in reality. a continuity which results in the Bertie Wooster-Jeeves oeuvre. Voorhees whim- sically suggests that those readers and critics who tend to get bored by the Bertie Wooster-Jeeves cycle of stories are probably reading too "much Wodehouse at one time." Wodehouse is the custodian of a comic tradition and his art is not. not just a frivolous extension of the Edwardian literature. In fact, Wodehouse is the keeper of a tradition which resulted in the comic drama of the eigh- teenth century which. in turn. had preserved Restoration comedy. The Wodehouse-type dandy. however. had trouble sur- facing in Victorian literature. but Wodehouse. taking over from the harsher Oscar Wilde. has been the cultivator of the effete dandy and fop who was so resplendent in Georgian lit- erature. In fact. Wodehouse. despite his visible ties to Victorian and Edwardian literature. has managed to catch and savor the vapors of Georgian England. By the end of the eighteenth century, England's 1&3 burgeoning gentry begin to separate from the working class. who were leaving the fields of Paddington. Chelsea. and Mary- lebone to settle around the more industrious London. The upper-class . meanwhile. remained in the very same country homes that Wodehouse uses as a setting for his Bertie Wooster- Jeeves novels and short stories. In Georgian England. coffee- houses were the models for such later Wodehousian clubs as the Drones and Junior Ganymede. And such Georgian men's clubs as "Wills” in Covent Garden. "Grecian." "Garraways." "Jamaica." and "Whites" served as watering-holes for the pre- WOoster fops. At such clubs as "Whites" people like Bingo Little and other Wooster cronies. spent their days playing darts. hazard,and other games of chance. John Fyvie. in his book. Wits. Beaux and Beauties of the Geor ian Era. devotes a chapter to George James Williams. whom he classes "a lively beau." In this chapter. the simil- arities between Bertie Wooster and his friends and the Geor- gian foppery are striking. Fyvie writes: The young beaux who met there did nothing but drink and gamble from morning to night. it may not be very unjust to assume that the majority of them wgre as empty-headed as Vanbrugh's Lord Foppington. So it seems that Wodehouse is not so bound to the Victorian and Edwardian traditions as many critics have alleged: it is not hard to see a Wooster who learned his speech from such Georgian dandies as Williams. who is once overheard to say: Horry Walpole is in a paper war about Rousseau and the 1h# King of Prussia' 3 letter. There is one of the pamp— hlets that calls him Horry a 'price of cockle-shells' which I believe will hurt him more than a grave con- futation. 9 Wooster's speech patterns. which tend to criss-cross in a quotation now and then. is like that of another Georgian dandy. George Selwyn. who remarks: Williams affects to be touched with the loss of him. I must owe that I gave his feelings but very little credit. It is a chasm. I grant. in his coterie. but one he will fill up very soon. I am persuaded. 1° Wodehouse's art has been enhanced by his protean reading. Wodehouse has always had an H.L. Mencken-like com- pulsion to read everything that comes before his eyes. Much of his prodigious output (ten boys books. one children's book. forty-five to fifty novels, 315-odd short stories. 411 articles. sixteen plays. and sixteen musical comedies). as a result. has grown from the silly-soil of the whimsical and gilt- edged nonsense of such writers as William Makepeace Thackeray and Robert Herrick. Wodehouse admits to having read Thackeray's works. In fact, Thackeray's light. Dada-like verse seems to be just the stuff that Wodehouse likes to romp with. It is more than conjecture to say that Wodehouse must have been delighted by such verses as Thackeray's "Mr. Molony's Account of the' Crystal Palace" which reads in part: There's statues bright of marble white. of silver and of copper. and some in zinc and some. I think. that isn't over proper sozdw .snuottsq all; "i .nsdi has won .w .nijea outcafl .fiofii"3 23311119 ffi'" awn “own I 4 'i t; .ffihsac ". :i"."_w mi one 1 ...:- . 1 , -}a -u .. . ,--.Y 1:... ..-.. -. . {-u I a I - --\ ' I .. 1 0 l 115 There's stame Ingynes that stand in lines. enormous and amazing. that squeal and snort like whales in sport. and elephants a-grazing There's cart and gigs. and pins for pigs: there's dibblers and there's harrows. and ploughs like toys. for little boys and ilegant wheel-barrows. 11 Wodehouse's langauge also owes a debt to Robert Herrick, who he also read extensively. Wodehouse. always wanting to know everything about all scholars and schools of literature. could make good use of such Herrick verses as "A Ternarie of Littles. Upon a Pipkin of Jellie.“ of which the last two stanzas read: A little Streame best fits a little boat: A little lead best fits a little float; As my small pipe best fits my little note. A little meat best fits a little bellie. As sweetly. Lady. give me leave to tell ye. This little pipkin fits this little jellie. 12 John Aldridge. generous in his assessment of Wode- house's contribution to English literature. has called the humorist "the most prolific and original writer of light social comedy in English and very probably the world." Ald- ridge. who has called Jeeves "one of the best realized gggg g; machina's in all of literature," is tenacious in his defenSe of Wodehouse. especially of the Bertie Wooster- Jeeves cycle of novels and short stories. Speaking of the pau- city of fair Wodehouse criticism. Aldridge has passionately 146 written: But I suspect that the critical neglect of Wodehouse is in a sense actually a corollary rather than a con- demnation of his huge popular success. and may even represent the highest tribute that criticism can pay to it. The truth very likely is that Wodehouse has nev- er needed the sort of entree into public recognition which criticism normally creates for writers. that there is scarcely anyone around sufficiently like him to en- able criticism to exercise its comparative function. and that no serious question has ever arisen concer- ning his quality or his methods. 1 Many critics. in fact. are disturbed by Wodehouse's lack of reverence for traditional English usage. As a re- sult. Wodehouse is rarely accorded a serious criticism. Wode- house. however. bears this burden well and is tickled by the excesses of much criticism. For example. Wodehouse would. most probably. be convulsed by the criticism of Evelyn Waugh's work by Bernard Bergonzi in his book about the Englishman. Evelyn Waugh. Bergonzi. speaking of Waugh's art on pages seventy-two to seventy-five. uses the following words and expressions. "noble tradition." "farce in Bergsonian terms." "Victorian splendors." "bogus pre-Raphaelite tutelary deity." “aesthetic fancy.""religious committments." and "long. lush glit— tering story." 1b If such critical overloading had been used to des- cribe him and his works--works which he has described as only mildly entertaining-~the humorist would have been apalled. Wodehouse, in fact. has been more than glad to let Waugh have the rewards of scholarly criticism. John Ald- ridge. however..has seen the elitist disdain of many critics . I c '-".L‘Oi.".‘va.'f": urn."- *4 :1 "fit . :. Eff-r} Z . fr . 'L .. . -. . ”:1: .' _.. :. ,__ ,l '_ _ .- r ”In”, I. -.a g ; - _.. .’r . ' - J.. I: . ;__ - .~‘.'1. LI .51.“ ‘..-a l l' _ - -_.__‘" _'_1- Z - ' _ ,'_"_ gfl' __._ - ‘.‘ no-"_.".\l'f“_ " e . _. ;-. —.—- . 1' -' -.: " - -r -~ ' -5.."-'-.." I I I '..-n I- -I I I Q L . g :- I. I ._ ’ '. 1... '- ' . A .' . ."i ‘ - .‘."."3’5: 0 ...‘". P I‘ ‘l _I; . . _- -"'.'- _ I. '. _,__ _. - '.i I - ' . ' ' l ' e e .' ." -' ' " .’. -' ' '1: “1.. .." r5 '.‘;-. . .1: "" " I l l . l . I ' . I l I- . . . r " o C 9 1 - U - '- 0 e . e 147 and has written: The real warmth at the heart of all he has done and. . . . his remarkably long life as a popular writer in an age when to be both popular and funny is nearly always synonymous with being in some way petty and cheap. is. indeed. remarkable. 15 Again. Wodehouse has those supporters who have been more successful at mining the gold out of the humorist's work: for every statement like Lionel Stevenson's "Wodehouse can- not be thought great since variety and growth are staples for genius." George Orwell offers rebuttal by pointing to the Wodehouse charm that is "part of his attraction" and which grows from his ability to "do what we have long ex- pected of him." Orwell continues. "furthermore, by creating two or three characters who are familiar to the whole reading public. he can claim . . . to have made a permanent contri- bution to English literature." 16 Orwell suggests that. perhaps. critics and many readers of Wodehouse's Bertie Wooster-Jeeves cycle of stories must blame themselves for their lack of literary sensitivity. In an essay entitled "In Defense of P.G. Wodehouse." Orwell. like Aldridge. points out that much of the irony in the Wooster-Jeeves novels and short stories is missed by non- English readers. As an example, he mentions that those read- ers who feel that Wodehouse's portrayal of Bertie Wooster as a fool is. in reality. an attack on the British Aristoc- racy. really don't know Wodehouse well enough. He points out that Wodehouse satirizes Bertie Wooster the fop in order to show his own yearning for another halcyon period of Edwardian a ..1A .. w . U .u u. r. .. . . O W. .. .. ... . . - I 5 . 9 ...: . n.“— "u .. . ' I I . - - . . lu8 delights and pleasures when. once again. the servant will be thought inferior to the master. 17 William York Tindall. in his book Forces in Modern British Literature. praises Wodehouse for his ”amiable style." while he also scores those readers and critics who fail to. realize that Wodehouse does not attack the British upper- class. but is. rather. “protective and on guard against Brit- ish fascism." 18 But even such a pro-Wodehouse critic as Richard Voorhees seems to be confused by the characterization of the manservant Jeeves and. as a result. even Voorhees's con- clusions. though based on more research than those of other critics. tends to be ambivalent and unconvincing. Voorhees seems bent on saving face with colleagues and other critics with whom he must deal with and live with after Wodehouse has passed laughingly on. Typically. Voorhees has written "if Wodehouse is a minor novelist. he has been an impor- tant influence on comic novelists . . . Who are major figures beyond question." 19 It is puzzling to note how little critics reap from the Bertie Wooster-Jeeves cycle of stories. These critics seem unable to find subtle message and nunace in light com- edy. In fact. they seem unable to be enlightened and refresh- ed by the sweet. smiling winds that blow gently from the Wooster-Jeeves saga. Wodehouse. however. has always alerted his readers that there was more to come from the Bertie Woos- ter-Jeeves stories than mere smiles. For example. on the first page of the novel Bertie Wooster Sees it Throu h. 3?‘ r':‘ '.-.__|. :‘1 I‘VE") I'- a!“ Eli: 1e:i "3- 1: 921,19 - . . ___ ‘ 1' I . I . I .._ ._ .- ‘ 1 Q I ' Q- d 'I‘Esla I '... .'. I I ‘I Ha} . I _ I - .--.___n u ‘ .'.: l . - -.'_. .'. U ' a ' a - .: I. I I !'_u I I ll . n ‘I I .- I e I 149 the reader finds such words and phrases as "seeping a med- itative foot." 'boomps-a-daisy." "the name of Trotter.”' “creeps of the first water." "given the old oil." "Aunt Agatha. the one who kills rats with her teeth and devours her young." "a poignant appeal." and "don't fail me my beaut- iful. bountiful Bertie." 20 Thus. on the very first page of the novel (as on the first page of most other Bertie Wooster- Jeeves short stories and novels). a connoisseur of humor should know that he or she is being given something more than easy laughs and slapstick. In fact. Wodehouse likes to "get out of the gate quickly" in order to set the tempo for his Wooster-Jeeves stories. eliminating those moments of lag or description that would allow a reader's attention to be diverted. Wodehouse's freshening originality is everywhere: it is possible to open any Wodehouse book. turn to any page in the Bertie Wooster-Jeeves cycle and find the im- print of Wodehouse's inventive language and his genius for comedy. For example. on page four of Bertie Wooster Sees it Throu h. the following narration by the young knut takes place: I started sharply causing the soap to shoot from my hand and fall with a thud to the bath mat. With no warnin . . . his words had momentarily unmanned me. But the bumptious Bertie Wooster. never verbally castrated. gathers his thoughts once more. and on page fifty-six he 4.6!: 5!. .‘.- vii .:':'r,.:.-t'.-"~ 3'1“"! :31? __h. . ... — ;'.'---. .. . -.L— . a. - .'hl - - ‘ re .. J .- . '4'. _ _ i .'. u! 'IE . N e ”cussioe: in omen eds" p" ".Iio bio out so? uhll " :.. nevipf.“.:ssnw sues EIIIW .52"; ”.‘. a - ”.[asqqx finnajéq s" ' r (I 9. -: n-q...‘. ’ue I: . -~...'. . Effie-3.: [IQ err: “ “it a: no as} “f .. . I : - -fc.ie 31942 I h - f -l u l I n. . r ~ veg: njhedc . . : " ~ = no!!! 5. vi} . ‘ '4: 1‘:-:- " . a a '- -‘.-its “.’.‘ ' 3:311 .. " ".-'.';:"--ob "."J I I I" I II: LI.-I7I .’.E. I £I- I .III T l .- -. I V : . . l u c 150 says: It's a long story. Cutting it down to the gist, I noticed that you were anxious to leave, and so ob- serving that a rozzer was after you. hell-for- leather . . . 22 On page ninety-eight, the young master narrates, "What I have heard Jeeves call the 'glimmering landscape.’ was now fading on sight. . o . it was getting on for the hour when dressing-gangs are beaten." 23 On page 164. Bertie Wooster. the dappled. demi-poet offers. "But it is not pleasant to find yourself chalked upon the slate as a weedy butterfly . . . " 24 And on page 229, Wooster the fop Spikes his images with suicidal doses of Woosterese as he narrates: I was going to speak of the practice of introducing a foreign substance into the oyster in order to kid it along and induce it to cover this f.s. with lay- ers of nacre-which I still think is a dirty trick to play on a shellfish which simply wants to be left alone with its thoughts-but Spode had risen. There was dudgeon in his manner. One of the more artful, literary achievements of the English humorist is the way in which Jeeves takes charge of the Bertie Wooster-Jeeves cycle of stories despite the fact that his role in the stories is frequently non-verbal in nature. For instance, in "Jeeves Takes Charge," the valet looms omnipresently in the short story deSpite the fact that out of approximately 9,000 words. Jeeves utters approximately only 300 of them. The number is even more remarkable since this short story shows a relatively gabby Jeeves who is still. at the time of the publication of the short story, nvnfl - awn. 151 stage decoration. (Wodehouse has always seen his characters in terms of players on a stage. He will, hopefully, get a chance to see Jeeves on Broadway this season when the pro- ducers of "Jesus Christ Superstar" bring "Jeeves" to New York this spring.) In "Jeeves Takes Charge," Bertie Wooster's man Meadowes has been fortunately fired and Jeeves has already assured his permanent position with the foppish Wooster. Early in this short story, Jeeves seizes the day as he con- tinues the process (which began in "Extricating Young Gussie") of consolidating his position of complete control over Bertie Wooster. But in “Jeeves Takes Charge," the valet assumes command in a fashion which Wodehouse will rarely repeat, for in this short story, Jeeves gives what amounts to a near monologue-~quite a departure for the usually tert and taci- turn valet. In the story, Jeeves tries to head off One of Bertie's numerous courtships--liaisons which always threat- en to end in marriage. Jeeves, with this thought in mind, talks about the intended: I think you would have found her . . . methods a little trying. sir. I have glanced at the book her ladyship gave you-it has been lying on your table since our ar- rival-and it is, in my opinion, quite unsuitable. You would not have enjoyed it. And I have it from her lady- ship's own maid, who happened to overhear a conversation between her ladyship and one of the gentlemen staying here-Mr. Maxwell, who is employed in an editorial capa- city by one Of the reviews-that it was her intention to start you almost immediately on Nietzche. You woul not enjoy Nietzche, sir. He is fundamentally unsound. In this passage, the genius of Wodehouse is clearly seen, a genius that enables the humorist to drag forth subtle messages 152 from rather benign appearing passages. First there is an irony as Jeeves suggests that he, the supposed inferior by way of being service, knoWs something about educational methodology. Secondly, Jeeves makes a rather cavalier, value judgement about the worth of Nietzche's writings. While making this point, he also lets Bertie know that he has noticed that the young master is unconcerned with anything dealing with reading, as he points out that the Nietzche had been next to the fop's bed for sometime without Bertie ever know- ing of its existence. Also, Jeeves attempts to nip the court- ship between Lady Florence and Bertie in the bud. To this end, Jeeves leaves the reader with the possibilities that he is either a troublemaker, a misogynist, amorous voyeur, or a mother-surrogate. This passage shows that, despite his sup- erior intelligence which usually tells him that women are inferior, and his apparent dislike for women generally, Jeeves seems to have a fine rapport with Florence's own maid. At this point, the reader must ask if Jeeves just possibly might be suggesting to Wooster when he mentions that Lady Florence had a conversation with "one of the gentlemen staying here . . . " that Lady Florence may have an easy virtue and a sexual Capacity for men that extends beyond the adolescent Bertie Wooster. It should be mentioned that in this short story, Wodehouse was still unsure of the direction he wanted the characterization of Jeeves to take, and, directly after the quoted passage, Bertie fires Jeeves only to hire him back . "‘1 153 four paragraphs later. Another of Wodehouse's useful and subtle literary techniques is the use of a form of tug-o-war as the master and servant jockey for position in their relationship. For example, whenever Jeeves asserts himself by exercising what Wooster thinks is his "fish-fed" brain, Bertie defers to the valet‘s intelligence, since he is more than content to let the valet sort out his priorities for him. When, however, the knut gets "fed," Jeeves,well aware that his position of strength depends on a close adherence to a feudal code of service, gives way to Wooster's persuasions. no matter how inane. What many critics have failed to realize, as a result of their intoxication with the characterization of Bertie Wooster, is that Wodehouse, with his parrying and thrusting, has cleverly crafted a checks and balance system that allows him to use the team credibly and effectively time and time again without investing overt and heavy-handed superiority or dominance in either Bertie or Jeeves. Indeed, Wodehouse gives subtle ego-strokes to Wooster--a deliberate technique which keeps the team together and believeable. He does this without ever wearing out the welcome for the team, Sean 0' Casey to the contrary. Another problem for the critic who centers his crit- icism around the character of Bertie Wooster to the exclusion of Jeeves, is the failure to realize how artfully conceived is the foppishness and foolishness of Wooster. Indeed, Wode- house has deliberately placed Jeeves out of synchronization 15# with Wodehouse's otherwise daft universe and looney con! stellation of characters, so that Jeeves, and not the story's other characters, serves as the measure of Wooster's intel- ligence. Failing to take careful notice of this, many critics see Wooster as the most foolish among the fools. In reality. however, all the secondary characters in the Bertie Wooster- Jeeves novels and short stories are variations in the Wooster characterization. Wooster, in fact, fits in quite well with the others and he is only rendered a fool when Wodehouse lets the readers and critics see the young fop's intelli- gence in juxtaposition to the brilliance of the valet. Jeeves shines brightly in compatible comparison. To the surprise of many critics and readers, Wode- house has Special social views which he allows. now and then, to surface; but, however, he lets his positions manifest them- selves through interchanges between Bertie Wooster and the elite manservant. Jeeves. For example, in "Young Bingo," Jeeves says to Bertie: "Yes, sir, I will unpack your clothes." "0h, Jeeves," I said, "did Peabody and Simms send those soft, silk shirts?" "Yes, sir, I sent them back." "Sent them back?" "Yes, sir." "I eyed him for a moment. But I mean to say. I mean what's the use.” "Oh, all right,“ I said, then lay out one of the gents' stiff-bosomed." 2 "Very good. sir," said Jeeves. 7 Thus, Bertie, all flash and trendiness when it comes to attire, wants to--sartorially at least--enter the modern, twentieth-century world. Jeeves, on the other hand, prefers 'l , moo ‘jsnooi one emsvinu E'l-TJJJ-I. 9.4.x? ion. Ems .sovseb -_"~.~r. - Jre‘ 22% in s'.'.-.ra'..s:-.-:: an: so save: ---r -'- -,..;:.-;.'-- .' if? 3-1:: o'v'zi'z-n. Jute-zen 9:151 03 .535." -'..'-"' "f .'.5..'-! '. -Ii'..‘=" .L'..'.".: ' a‘..":.?..!.!.:(:'i 3'30!!! 9113 EB '._-'.' 52.1.:- -_'r 1-,n.:-':.-"." ‘z';."- ‘z-‘---'.:'.:-<:osaa 9113' He * .-:z' ' . --'.?-.r+:." -:"-.'.c--'.' 1:11.62 flavor! ." - ' .-'r..:*'--.«:-. .a':"-.i_..1'a.:-:ii.-d'onsdo ' ..'i after-'30 an: . -_ . _. 4h . _ '. .'..-. .. ' n. J. 'a..‘ '..‘-t'.- EL: ‘3! . .. 2 ‘ "' . .'I‘" 1' I I l .. I -- q n I . -.E :35. _. . I n. ' I g 1 ’ : Q -" t O 1 w - e ' 1 I ‘ I ‘ .- I . u 0 ! l , . l e :- 155 traditional fashion based on stiffness and he suggests to the foppish Wooster that he stick with more conservative attire. And Wodehouse, ogling the situation he has manu- factured. and although in sympathy with Wooster's wishes to enter the modern.world, is, still, more in tune with Jeeves's Victorian and.Edwardian ideals. Thus Jeeves, with his epicurean taste and with the eye of the fashion designer. will always win.such victories; victory by Bertie Wooster would thrust Wodehouse's literature closer to a world which would make the humorist rather uncomfortable. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS The artistry of the stories in the Bertie Wooster- Jeeves cycle lies in Wodehouse's use and deliberate misuse of language. Although his scenarios and plots are intricate- ly woven and carefully prepared, it is Wodehouse's inventive language that gives the stories their remarkable quality and the characters of Wooster and Jeeves their complexities and subtleties. Wodehouse's language, in fact, makes it virtually impossible to categorize the Wooster—Jeeves stories within a strict literary framework. Wodehouse has tapped an exotic- comic vein with its origins in other schools of literature. The humorist, however, has come up with a style that bears his imprint alone. Wodehouse's stories steal quietly up to satire, but stop short as they fall back into innocence. And even though the humorist is tempted to satirize a society that knelt in worship to an increasingly technological world, Wodehouse knows that the charm of his books lay in their offer of an alternative world untouched by social trends, pressures, and upheaval. For over seventy years, he has stuck with his benign world and for his consistency he has been criticized for his lack of variety. Such a critical conclusion is in 156 -...- II.- . . '. .. . .' I. 15? error. Wodehouse, in fact. spills his stories into many areas of literature. Even though his genre is his own, Wode- house borrows wisely from other writers in other literary schools and disciplines, and where Jeeves is all eerie pas- sages of melancholic detachment (a detachment that would have been the delight of Gothic revivalists in the late eighteenth- century), Bertie is an impressionistic puff, all sun and light. With Wooster and Jeeves as his foundation, Wodehouse has cultivated a genre which defies description and cate- gorizing and is a result of his reading and analyses of the Gothic, Victorian, and Edwardian writer. The search for his own style and genre and language has resulted in (despite his tranche g; 113 of knuttery), a flexibility that remains con- stant. This combination of flexibility and constancy is best seen in the character of Jeeves. Most of the subtleties in the Bertie Wooster-Jeeves cycle of stories are invested in the character of Jeeves. In fact, the character of Jeeves has seemed, curiously enough, to have carried Wodehouse along with it and has resulted in the creation of a literature that. perhaps, even the humorist might not have eXpected. But Wodehouse always has known that Jeeves gives his stories a symmetrical tightness and, as a result, Wodehouse uses Jeeves to channel plot de- velopment and to give discipline to the undisciplined lan- guage of Bertie Wooster and his cronies. Wodehouse has always known of the curious comfort 158 his stories give to the modern day reader who has been treated to a world of culture that has been and is, at best, erratic. Through the characters of Bertie Wooster and Jeeves, Wodehouse has also given the reader a literary pair to live with and love, free from the influence of quest novelists and anti-heroes. This comfortable world, which Albert Camus might see as "absurd," is merely "looney" to Wodehouse. (The dif- ference is significant. Camus as an artist, was at war and at odds with social experience. He was drawn into a society which gave little room to artists hungering for beauty. Even the beauty he found in Algiers was shaded and conditional. Camus felt that he, as artist, and his art as well had a duty to serve both beauty and suffering. As a result, his societal and literary expressions tended to dilute each other, leaving each unfulfilled and existence “absurd.“ ) Wodehouse, in fact, seems to possess a switch which he can employ when blocking out the ”real world." Wooster's world is air-tight and the world Wodehouse has had to contend with--the world of sex, technology, and publishers--never intrudes. But that is not to say that Wodehouse's works lack complexity. Indeed, Wodehouse's langauge along With the deman- ding characterizations of both Bertie Wooster and Jeeves, are fraught with subtlety. But, unfortunately, such subtlety is glossed over by many critics unable to analyze comedy in a serious enough fashion. There is a need for a criticism which will dig beneath the sugar-coated surfaces of the Wooster- Jeeves stories. Such a new criticism will discover stories 159 that are piled high with fruits that go well with the dark- wine of sober analyses. These analyses will, indeed, exact the cost of sobriety from critics who wish to treat Wode- house in the most cavalier fashion possible. But sober reas- oning and a resolve to dig and analyze, will result in turn- ing what has too long been felt to be frivolous, inky pas- tures of sub-par literature, into a rewarding harvest. ‘ - rm , - ., - -. - -' -.' '."-'..‘i's: 3.113 I. II II. ... '." .53'IL': 1 N o 3 5 6. 7. 8 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 1h. 15. 16. CHAPTER 6 FOOTNOTES Richard Voorhees, P.G Wodehouse (New York: Twayne Pub- lishers Inc., 19665, p. 172. P.G. Wodehouse, Performin Flea: A Self Portrait in Let- ters (London: Herbert Jenkins Limited, 19535. p. 59. James F. Carens. The Satiric Art of Evel Wau h (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 19535, p. 5. Ibid.. p. 172. Voorhees, P.G. Wodehouse, p. 173. Wodehouse, Performi‘ Flea: A Self Portrait in Letters, p. 85. Voorhees, P.G. Wodehouse, p. 168. John Fyvie, Wits Beaux and Beauties of the Gear ian Era (London: John Lane and Bodley Head, MCMIXS, p. 231. Ibid.. p. 247. Ibid.. p. 24?. Helen and Lewis Melville, An Antholo of Humorous Verse (London: George Harrap and Co., MCMXi, p. 139. Ibid.. p. 20. John Aldridge, "The Lessons of the Young Master," Sel- ected Stories of P.G. Wodehouse (New York: Random House, 195 v p0 X110 Bernard Bergonzi, "Evelyn Waugh's Gentlemen," Evelyn Waugh (St. Lousi: R. Herder Book Co., 1969), pp. 72-75. Aldridge, "The Lessons of the Young Master," p. xxv. George Orwell, "In Defense of P.G. Wodehouse," Dickens, Dali and Others (New York: Reynal Hitchcock, l9 . pp. 222-2 3. 160 '.I 17. 18 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 2h. 25. 26. 27. 161 Ibid.. pp. 222-2u3. William York Tindall. Forces in Modern British Literatu e (New York: A.A. Knopf."I§E77T—SST“T37:T§BT""""‘-""£' Voorhees, P.G. Wodehouse, p. 180. P.G. Wodehouse, Bertie Wooster Sees it Throu h (New York: Simon and Schust3r:—l53377—E:_T:—_——-—-__-__£L Ibid.. p. 4. Ibid.. p. 56. Ibid.. p. 98. Ibid.. p. 16#. Ibid.. p. 229. P.G. Wodehouse, "Jeeves Takes Charge," The Week-End godegouse (New York: Garden City Publishing Co., l9ho), Wodehouse, "Young Bingo," pp. 292-293. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY THE TEAM OF BERTIE WOOSTER AND JEEVES By way of introducing the team of Bertie Wooster and Jeeves in the first chapter of the thesis, the novels and short stories were read and analyzed. The collection of short stories include: The Man With Two Left Feet (London, 191?): My Man Jeeves (London, 1919); The Inimitable Jeeves (London, 1923); Carpy 0n Jeeves (London, 1925); Very Good Jeeves (New York, 1930); A Few Quick Ones (New York, 1959), and Plum Pie (London, 1966). Growing out of the success of the earlier short stories were such novels as Ring For Jeeves (London, 1953); Thank You Jeeves (London, l93h); Right Ho Jeeves (London, l93h); The Code of the Woosters (Garden City, N.Y., 1938); Joy in the Morning (Garden City, N.Y., 1946); The Matipg Season (London, 1949); Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit (London, l95fl); How Right You Are Jeeves (New York, 1960), and Stiff Upper Lip Jeeves (New York, 1963). Of considerable help when comparing the early Wodehouse with the older writer is the recent novel, Jeeves and the Tie that Binds (New York, 1971). The major critical studies of Wodehouse's Wooster- Jeeves team were consulted including R.B.D. French's P.G. 162 ‘ -~ 1.1: .‘. 163 Wodehouse (London, 1966): Geoffrey Jaggard, Wooster's World (Landon, 196?): Richard Usborne, Wodehouse a} Work (London. 1961): Richard Voorhees.iP,G, Wodehouse (New York, 1966), and John Aldridge, "The Lesson of the Young Master" in Selected Sppries of P.G. Wodehouse (New York, 1958). A short but use- ful critique is Lionel Stevenson, "The Antecedents of P.G. Wodehouse" in Apizona Quarterly (Arizona, Autumn, 1949). A remarkable and insightful look at Wodehouse and how he felt about the development of the Wooster-Jeeves team can be found in the humorist's congenial exchange of letters with W.H. Townend in Author, Author (New York, 1962). BERTIE WOOSTER Useful in tracing the development of Bertie Wooster are A.P. Ryan, "Wooster's Progress," New Statesman and Nation (London. 1953). and Herbert Warren Wind, The World of P.G. Wodehouse (New York, 1972). A glimpse into the English hum- orist's feeling for the character of Bertie Wooster can be found in a humorous and endearing exchange of letters between Wodehouse and Townend in Performipg Flea: A Self Portpgit in Letters (LOndon, 1953). Helpful in the preparation of this chapter was a close reading of the narrative style of Wooster in Qgppy On Jeeves, The Matin Season, Thank You Jeeves, and Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit. An interesting look at the Georgian roots of England's foppish young gentlemen is found in John Fyvie, Wits, Beaux L'ALIE'LE'JE’IEAQE .b'xsaast .: 'r «.5 : -:'-..}'.£".-"-'_ 3.23.63.9-313-33-51-3; «med-3:15 '£-'= . .3"! .ri'LO‘ 3331.3".9-1”£C-.'-.’..-.'52 3. “:1. -'.'.-. . 713:1 s-‘i -::.' .'." _. '.'.'..'-‘.:’"J:I 9d?" " 2"] a. l . . I" ":2" I .'- . . . . a . .- . : . . ' . * teranysgy; Hi ”earoflobol . ' *7 ‘ ' : ;£-. or won _ .| n I- .1 . R3 . . _ ._____“‘ '“1 . . 1}}; .‘.: .. I 1’: _‘n z‘ . ' i . f g I o 1 o - I \ I 1 \ \ I ! V 16b and Beauties of the Georgian Era (London, MCMIX). A GENTLEMAN'S GENTLEMAN To analyze the dimensions of the character of Jeeves, it was most helpful to reread Thank You Jeeves, Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit, "Jeeves and the Impending Doom" in Mgpy Good Jeeves, Jeeves in the Offing, and Jeeves and the Tie that Binds. Again, of considerable value were Geoffrey Jaggard, Wooster's World (London, 1967), and Richard Voorhees, Egg; Wodehouse (New York, 1966). Of a more scholarly nature is Richard Usborne, Wodehouse at Work (London, 1961). For a clearer understanding of Jeeves when analy- zing the valet's relation to Bertie Wooster, it was surpris- ingly helpful to view the decadence of Jay Gatsby in F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (New York, 1925). A close analysis of Jeeves, however, is best re- alized by a close and discerning reading of the novels and short stories in the Wooster-Jeeves series. WODEHOUSE'S LANGUAGE Again, the major works by Usborne, Voorhees, French and Jaggard were of invaluable assistance. Of a less theoretical nature and esoteric nature is Frank Swinnerton, The Georgian Scene (London, 1951), and 165 R.A. Hall Jr.. "P.G. Wodehouse and the English Language" in Anuali Instituto Orientals di Napoli (London, 196h). Consulted and referred to in the chapter were Wodehouse's Performing Flea (London, 1953); Very Good Jeeves (New York, 1930); The Code of the Woosters (Garden City, N.Y., 1938); The Inimitable Jeeves (London, 1923); Selected Stories of P.G. Wodehouse (New York, 1958); Thank You Jeeves (London, 193%), and Thg Week-End Wodehouse (Garden City, N.Y., 1940). PRECEDENTS IN CONAN DOYLE The thesis in this chapter received its support from primary reading in the stories of both Conan Doyle and Wodehouse. Consulted were Wodehouse, Performing Flea (London, 1953); Carpy On Jeeves (London, 1925), and P.G. Wodehouse and Guy Bolton, Bring on the Girls: The Improbable Stopy of Our Life With Pictures to Prove It (New York, 1953). The Conan Doyle stories referred to were, in Volume 1 of The Complete Sherlock Holmes (New York, n.d.),"A Scandal in Bohemia," and "The Red-Headed League." In Volume 2 were "The Adventure of the Empty House," "The Adventure of The Norwood Builder," “The Adventure of the Three Students," "The Adventure of the Second Strain," and "The Adventure of the Priory School." Helping to substantiate the connections between the stories of Conan Doyle and Wodehouse are Trevor Hall, Sherlock Holmes: Ten Literapy Studies (New York, 1969), and Christopher Morley's warm and affectionate preface to ' .'.." 3"”?- -_- stair-r3011“ 3 166 The Complete Sherlock Holmes (New York, n.d.) entitled “In Memoriam Sherlock Holmes." Although dealing with the analogies between Doyle and Wodehouse in a cursory fashion, of value are critiques by Richard Voorhees, P.G. WodehouSe (New York, 1966): R.B.D. French, P.G. Wodehouse (London, 1966); Richard Us- borne, Wodehouse at Work (London, 1961), and Herbert Warren Wind, The World of P.G. Wodehouse (New York, 1972). ASSESSMENT OF P.G. WODEHOUSE'S ART In addition to the rather thorough but still ambiv- alent critique of Wodehouse the artist by Richard Voorhees, are Hillaire Belloc's introduction to The Week-End Wodehouse (Garden City, N.Y., 1939), and George Orwell's essay "In Defense of P.G. Wodehouse" in Dickens,Dali and Others (New York, 1946). Other helpful, critical views are supplied by James F. Carens, The Satiric Art of Evelyn nggp (Seattle, 1966); John Aldridge, "The Lessons of the Young Master" in Selected Storigg of P.G. Wodehouse (New York, 1958), and Bernard Ber- gonzi's ornate analysis of Evelyn Waugh, "Evelyn Waugh's Gentle- men" in Evelyn Waugh (St. Louis, 1969). Also of immense value and interest is Evelyn Waugh's "An Act of Homage and Repara— tion" in the Sunday Times (1960). Of help in tracing the precedents in Wodehouse was $3."? 2:93 913' 55'1"" Is- ..... ~~ _..... '.. .. ‘ i 3"- 1.! CH: .--.- " : =3 tyrosine a n1 3 :-_.‘-; .'":. 4:" ...' .' '.0 , . .. . . '. - .- .rsssn'xoov "' .- - I . I I. I "'.." ' 2 -' :""I..“."_:‘.’.".' ...': ‘..-Z. .done'x‘i -- -. ‘--'.=5..---".-‘-.-3.33::1-112391-‘2 . am y ‘. -.I g a {Int-J. .bn'IJ '1 . . ._ ., . .... ' r I I -' . ." i a 1 . . Q ', I' ' ‘ Q o .‘b ‘ -\ -- I. e I . If. . '- r V v - q I a -" !‘ " _ r ‘ . '. I i e _ I 9 I 'I I e 167 John Fyvie, Wits Beapx and Beauties of the Geopgian Era (London, MCMIX), and William York Tindall. Forces in Mod- ern British Literature (New York, 1949). Also significant are Wodehouse's Pepformipg Flea (London, 1953); Bertie Wooster Sees it Through (New York, 1955), and "Jeeves Takes Charge” and "Young Bingo" in 2;; Week-End Wodehouse (Garden City, N.Y., 19GO). . ~' -~..' ~P ,(éile ‘- .'. f GENERAL REFERENCES THE TEAM OF BERTIE WOOSTER AND JEEVES A useful article on Wodehouse's team of Wooster and Jeeves is John Hayward, "P.G. Wodehouse" in Saturday Book (London, 1942). Malcolm Muggeridge's "The Wodehouse Affair" in New Statesman and Nation (London, 1961), gives an insight into Wodehouse's polishing and honing of Wooster and Jeeves while it also deals with Wodehouse's politics. BERTIE WOOSTER Useful in the rendering of Bertie Wooster as a twen- tieth-century romantic is Peter De Francia, Impressionism (New York, 1960). A GENTLEMAN'S GENTLEMAN When analyzing Jeeves's austere intelligence and his curious notions about self reliance, it is useful to read Ayn Rand, For The New Intellectual (New York, 1961), and The Virtue of Selfishness (New York, 1964). 168 169 WODEHOUSE'S LANGUAGE 0f significant interest and importance when analyzing the English humorist's use of language are Graham Hough, Ag Essay 0n Criticism (New York, 1966): Benjamin Lee Whorf's essays edited by John B. Carroll in Langpage, Thought and Realipy (Cambridge Massachusetts, 1970), and Explorations in Communications (Boston, 1960), edited by Edmund Carpen- ter and Marshall McLuhan. ASSESSMENT OF P.G. WODEHOUSE'S ART When looking for critical criteria which could be applied to the work of Wodehouse, and when evaluating popular culture, a most valuable source was Russel B. Nye, The Unembarrasssed Muse (New York, 1970), and Sy1Van Barnet, Morton Berman. and William Burto, The Study of Literature: A Handbook of Critical Essays and Terms (Boston, 1960). While analyzing the position and importance of writers of light verse and humor, it would be useful to consult James Thurber, My Years With Ross (Boston, 1957): Dale Kramer, Heyyood Broun: A Biographical Portrait (New York, 1949), and Irvin Cobb, Exit Laughing (New York, 1941). To sharpen the distinction between Wodehouse and other humorists it would be useful to read the works of Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley, Alexander Woolcott, and . 'u ._.] 1 -\|- .5. 170 Ring Lardner. John Keats's You Might As Well Live:Dorothy Parker Her Life and Times (New York, 1970),dea1s with the special pains of the writer of humor. APPENDICES ' -' '.”-'75? APPENDIX A SECONDARY CHARACTERS Following is a complete listing of the characters in the Bertie-Jeeves novels and short stories. The list is in chronological order. The list will not include char- acter description since the more significant characters have already been mentioned in the text. The Man With Two Left Feet (1917) "Extricating Young Gussie“ My Man Jeeves (1919) "Leave it to Jeeves" "Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest“ "Jeeves and the Hard— Boiled Egg" "The Aunt and the Sluggard" Agatha Gregson Julia Mannering-Phipps Ray Denison Abe Riesbitter Joe Danby Monty Byng Bruce Corcoran Alexander Worple Muriel Singer Sam Patterson Lady Malvern Lord Pershore, Wilmot Rollo- Rockmetteller Todd Francis Bickersteth Duke of Chiswick Isabel Rockmetteller Jimmy Mundy Rocky Todd 171 ." .v'.’.: -. .1.- 0;" ‘3 l :g‘l'rr- . r Mlv'i ii".- .. a; 'eueeL—situeu ed: i aniwcfiol :z-‘ difldflifir : 23 - - -11: so «93‘? . 49d ~ fl'iffi . '.. ' 2' '2." ‘17:, 'I i The Inimitable Jeeves (1923) "Jeeves Exerts The Old Cere- beelum“ “Aunt Agatha Speaks Her Mind" "The Pride of the Woosters is Wounded." ”Introducing Claude and Eus- Ce N "A Letter of Introduction" "Comrade Bingo" "The Great Sermon Handicap" "The Purity of the Turf" 172 Bingo Little Mabel Mortimer Little Jane Watson Agatha Gregson Aline Hemmingway Sidney Hemmingway Bingo Little Honoria Glossop Oswald Glossop Agatha Gregson Lady Glossop Daphne Braythwayt Agatha Gregson Spenser Honoria Glossop Sir Roderick Glossop Claude Eustace Aunt Emily Lord Rainsby Cyril Bassington-Bassing- ton George Caffyn Blumenfeld Blumenfeld Jr. Lord Bittlesham Bingo Little Charlotte Corday Rowbotham Rowbotham Comrade Butt Bingo Little Lord Wickhammersely Claude Eustace Rev. Francis Heppenstall Lady Cynthia Wickhammersely James Bates Rupert Steggles Rev. G. Hayward Brookfield Bingo Little Steggles Claude and Eustace "The Metropolitan Touch" "The Delayed Exit of Claude and Eustace" "Bingo and the Little Woman" Car On Jeeves (19255 "Jeeves Takes Charge" "The Rummy Affair of Old Biffy" "Without the Option" "Fixing it for Freddie" "Clustering Around Young Bingo" "Bertie Changes His Mind" 173 Mrs . Penworthy Prudence Baxter Harold the Page Boy Bingo Little Mary Burgess Brookfield Rev. Herbert Wingham Wilfred Burgess Squire Tressider Claude and Eustace Agatha Gregson Marion Wardour Uncle George Stevens Bingo Little Lord Bittlesham Rosie M. Banks Meadowes Lady Florence Craye Uncle Willoughby Oakshott Edwin Charles Edward Biffen Mabel Sir Roderick Glossop Oliver Randolph Sipperley Professor Pringle Heloise Pringle Aunt Jane Sir Roderick Glossop Egbert Freddie Bullivant Elizabeth Vickers Tootles Kegworthy Bingo Little Dahlia Travers Rosie (Banks) Little Anatole Tom Travers George Travers Peggy Mainwaring Miss Tomlinson _ an"..- .41.... . . 174 Vepy Good Jeeves (1930) "Jeeves and the Impending Doom" "The Inferiority Complex of Old Sippy" "Jeeves and the Yuletide Spirit" "Jeeves and the Song of Songs" "Jeeves and the Dog McIntosh" "Jeeves and the Spot of Art" "Jeeves and the Kid Clementine" "Jeeves and the Love That Purifies" Agatha Gregson Rt. Hon. A.B. Filmer Bingo Little Tom Gregson McIntosh Spenser Gregson Purvis (sippy) Sipperley Gwendolen Moon Waterbury Lady Wickham Agatha Gregson Sir Roderick Glossop Roberta Wickham Tuppy Glossop Tuppy Glossop Cora Bellinger Beefy Bingham Dahlia Travers Angela Travers McIntosh Bobbie Wickham Blumenfeld Blumenfeld Jr. Dahlia Travers Anatole Gwladys Pendlebury Lucius Pim Beatrice Slingsby Alexander Slingsby Miss Mapleton Bobbie Wickham Clementine Oliver Randolph Sipperley Gwendolen Moon Sebastian Moon Dahlia Travers Bonzo Anstruther Thomas Travers Lord Jack Snettisham Jane Snettisham 175 "Jeeves and the Old School Chum" ”The Indian Summer of an Uncle” "Tuppy Changes His Mind“ Thank You Jeeves (1934) Right Ho Jeeves (1934) The Code of the Woosters W (1938) Bingo Little George Rosie Little Laura Pyke Lord George Yaxley Rhoda Platt Agatha Gregson Maud Wilberforce Tuppy Glossop Sir Reginald Wither— spoon, Bart. Dahlia Travers Angela Travers Miss Dalgleish Mulready J. Washburn Stoker Pauline Stoker Sir Roderick Glossop Lord Chufnell Ben Bloom Mrs. Tinker Moulke Lady Myrtle Chufnell Seabury Ted Voules Brinkley Dwight Stoker Benstead Constable Dobson Dahlia Travers Angela Travers Hildebrand Glossop Tom Travers Gussie Fink-Nettle Madeline Bassett Anatole Sir Watkyn Bassett, C.B.E. Dahlia Mason Seppings Waterbury Gussie Fink-Nettle Madeline Bassett Sir Watkyn Bassett Dahlia Travers Seppings Anatole Tom Travers Roderick Spode Stephanie Byng Mrs. Wintergreen .' .'- l. =--i-.1 com-ens Joy in the Mornipg (1946) The Matipg Seggon (1949) Ring For Jeeves (1953) 176 Rev. Aubrey Upjohn Eustace Oates Bartholomew Rev. Harold P. Pinker Mrs. Spenser Gregson Butterfield Agatha Worplesdon Lord Percival Worplesdon Florence Craye Edwin Craye Boko Fittleworth Zenobia Hopwood G. D'Arcy Cheesewright J. Chichester Clam Maple Agatha'Worplesdon Thomas Worplesdon Gussie Fink-Nettle Esmond Haddock Charlie Silversmith Emmeline Deverill Charlotte Deverill Harriet Deverill Myrtle Deverill Dame Daphne Winkworth Gertrude Winkworth Madeline Bassett Claude Cattermole Pirbright Cora Pirbright Rev. Aubrey Upjohn Queenie Silversmith Hilda Gudgeon Percy Harold Anstruther Rosalinda Banks Bessemer Spott- worth Capt. Cuthbert Gervase Bra- bazon-Biggar Pomona William Egerton Bamfylde Ossingham-Belfry, 9th Earl of Rowcester Lady Monica Carmoyle Sir Roderick Carmoyle Jill Wyvern Ellen Tallulah French Mike Colonel Aubrey Wyvern Bulstrode Evangeline Trelawny Mrs. Mary Jane Piggott 'I.‘4 1" .. .‘. ‘ I. a. . I . . . u - Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit (1954) A Few Quick Ones (1959) "Jeeves Makes an Omelet" How Right You Are Jeeves (1960) Stiff Upper Lip Jeeves (1963) 1?? Dahlia Travers Lemuel Gengulphus Trotter Mrs. Trotter Percy Gorringe Lady Florence Craye Lord Worplesdon G. D'Arcy Cheesewright Joseph Tom Travers Daphne Dolores Morehead Anatole Roderick Spode Seppings Worple Dahlia Travers Cornelia Fotthergill Tom Travers Everard Fotthergill Edward Fotthergill Reginald Herring Aubrey Upjohn. M.A. Dahlia Travers Sir Roderick Glossop Seppings Anatole Tom Travers Homer Cream Adela Cream Wilbert Cream Roberta‘Wickham Phyllis Mills Lady Wickham Poppet Bonzo Travers Swordfish Augustus Dahlia Travers Tom Travers Sir Watkyn Bassett Madeline Bassett Stephanie Byng Bartholomew Gussie-Fink-Nottle Roderick Spode Harold Pinker Emerald Stoker Eustace Oates Butterfield 178 Major Plank Plum Pie (1966) "Jeeves and the Greasy Bird" Sir Roderick Glossop . Dahlia Travers Percy Blair Eggleston Lady Myrtle Chufnell Marmaduke Chufnell Honoria Glossop Dobson Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright Jas Waterbury Trixie Waterbury Porky Jupp Jeeves and the Tie That Binds Dahlia Travers (1971) Ginger Winship Florence Craye Anatole Roderick Spode Reggie L.P. Runkle Madeline Bassett Mrs. McCorkadale Mr. McCorkadale Bingo Little Magnolia Glendennon Gus -__ u-4- qncnoffi Maifiabofi 123 assvsaT siidsu veweu andrejaafl 314:5 'd3 9!???; the! - first" n:='ui--nrr~...-i .‘.....- .- '.! n. .' _!l._,. u-“-‘. ”:utct1r i'iutf *flS£-*:- ;1u ‘ ‘_ - I :1: F: l. ‘." I I! l' I I! - ' ,‘f: =: I“ .. . .. .. I .\ .- . f r,: u. I | ‘ .- n I . ”trim gene-:0 I. ,. .‘. -... 5 'i .1". .‘. -4559. “553799 E APPENDIX B WODEHOUSE SEMIOLOGY Wodehouse's language, due in large measure to the humorist's imagination and his outrageous use of metaphor. has qualities that are iconic as well as indexical and sym- bolic. According to logician Charles Sanders Pierce, an icon is a sign ( a word ) which represents its object mainly by its similarity to it. Thus an icon (the letters i-c-c-n) resembles jpgp an icon. An indexical sign, on the other hand, is a sign by virtue of an existential bond between itself and its object. For example, in the sentence "I see a man walking in an erratic fashion," there is a probable indica- tion that the man may be drunk. Thus. somethipg stands for something else. A symbolic sign demands neither resemblance or indexical connection. A symbol is a force and property of individual will. For instance, the sign "star" may mean something to me and something else to another reader. I do not mean to suggest that Wodehouse is overly conscious of linguistic semiology. and I only offer it as an aid to the reader wishing to engage in a deeper analysis of the humorist's language. .1i '.“- - i-‘h’i'iiugn _-_ .' :'~._ 3- -. ‘ ,":' ,- :-"H"'_"‘<'.f 9"}.32'Od5b9w as ”:J*€”E$fifif a i ' a: " r -- .i "E “1“ I'd? asfiileva . - - - - :I or Iribtnnsfi .2? . I _ _ '- -' ‘.L \ a. ”1:4; - _ f . '- . '_:~.r.':-«=. 2:": yd ' . ' . ' ' 5. .~ f n29? -. .-' . .15. . ' - I - I "I: ' '.-' - _ . - '- ' . r y' L. ' ’ I L=.l ' ..- 'vdl -. .. ,- E I' ’ I. ‘ . . . APPENDIX C WODEHOUSE'S WATSON Wodehouse has always been more than merely aware of the implied and intrinsic meaning of many of his char- acter's names. As a result. the humorist has been careful when applying a name. Indeed. the influence of Conan Doyle along with Wodehouse's care with names. is seen in the humorist's use of the name Watson. Wodehouse's use of the name suggests that so-named characters belong to a lower. social status and order of intelligence. A survey of Wodehouse's work shows that the humorist has used the name Watson at least three times. In A Prefect's Uncle (1903), Watson is a groundskeeper at Beckford College. In The Head of Kay's (1905). Watson is a dithering butler, and in The White Feather (1907). Watson is a rather hapless. junior student at Seymour School. 180 " {3.11: flsxiw ‘hifi " Id I l . .u . .. .l ._ . f. . . .. . .yle. a .. T» .1 . . .... . .. u 1' I. II I .. .. . u. . . ... I _. F p .n e I u I I. .- Q a APPENDIX D LITERARY HISTORIES The following is a listing of the major literary histories which have included mention of Pelham Grenville Wodehouse: George_Sampson's The Concise Camb id e H‘sto of E lish LiterataF37‘T155377—335—p§r§§%aph£x is devoted to Wodehouse. Clarence L. Barnhart's edition of the New Centupy of Epglish Literature. (1956). 100 words are de- voted tc Wodehouse. Homer A. and William W. Watts's A Dictionapy of Epglish Literature, (1945). 200 words are devoted to Wodehouse. The third edition of The Oxford Com an on to Epglish Literature. (19 , 100 words are devo- ted to Wodehouse. Cassell's Encyclopedia of World Literature. (1954). edited by S.H. Steinberg. approx. 100 words plus bibliography are given to Wodehouse The preceding list represents those histories of distinction which have mentioned the English humorist and does not include numerous minor. literary histories. 181 APPENDIX E CONVERSATION ON CRITICISM A conversation on November 22, 1972, gives an in- sight intc the problems some critics have with Wodehouse and vice versa. The conversation followed a discussion I had with a critic of English literature. The discussion had started with an analysis of Graham Hough's An Essay On Criticism. The critic told me that literary criticism had. to his way of thinking. become highly scientifc and less like- ly to make errors of exaggeration or omission. He suggested that it was intrinsically important, in any criticism, to identify. describe. and classify genre. He suggested that. perhaps. light. social comedy was "not deserving of a lit- erary genre." He went on to say that. as far as he was con- cerned. Wodehouse's Bertie-Jeeves stories were. in effect. "sub-genre." I suggested that his sense of disdain might be one of the reasons that Wodehouse has received very little in the way of ”fair criticism." and pointed out that there seems to be too much emphasis on the part of Wodehouse's critics to compare the humorist's art with other English writer's non-comedic efforts. I offered that Wodehouse seemed to me to stand alone with a rather ”genreless-genre" which is. in fact. sex- less. almost without satire, and difficult to assess without looking at Bertie Wooster and Jeeves in new ways which pay 182 4's..- no .‘.-Ed'smevnoo A - 'Ih'f,‘r . .'.lbge 'f ...'. -:. iii-.’..; 5 ' A... . a I' ..+ I .- .' -' El. I .1. e w .3': .'.. i .. n I. .- I 'l I . ' . .: I‘ . . I I I . . a 183 at least a critical lip-service to psychological, philoso- phical. and mystical nuance. The critic answered by saying that he preferred "not to think of Wodehouse at all." although he admitted that Wodehouse "can be funny in a Music-Hall sort of way." The critic went on to say that it was difficult to assess Wodehouse's stories since they "could not be cast in the demanding light of history." When it was suggested that Wodehouse has (writing for over seventy years) created a lit- erature which has its own history and has carried on a trad- ition of comedy which the humorist has mined and rooted from the Georgian. Victorian. and Edwardian periods. the critic replied, "Yes. well . . . let's discuss something that is easier to classify and talk about in a critical sense." 1 .I den: nniusa vd besewans-‘ zettimrs an iaxunuis ".Ifs rs easodsboW ". a- {fr-i-l-s. J1.."- :zi i..m::.‘.‘ ed r...‘:.-" :-::u a; {:ritti; :1: '3 "an: 3;: of no snow at: . .1 . :- .- I; '. ..., II . ...'; ' p. a h .u. .. c. a). rfinln ceitcta e' - .'. ' _ 4' . ... I. -" I . " ' ‘ - : ' .- -. 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