indeedsir_backup | Bertie the Aromantic? (Reply)

In my hunt for Joostery fannish activity in various corners of the web, I came across this interesting analysis on Tumblr: http://anagnori.tumblr.com/post/70828701340/aromanticism-in-jeeves-and-wooster

To which someone else responded in agreement, saying that they see Bertie as aromantic, but not asexual: http://ace-actually.tumblr.com/post/70914409362/aromanticism-in-jeeves-and-wooster

This is a bit of a surprising perspective for me. My headcanon has always been just the opposite: I see Bertie as possibly asexual, but certainly not aromantic. His relationship with Jeeves is largely based on subverted romantic tropes, deployed for comedic effect in the source material. His occasional infatuations with various women also strike me as more romantic than sexual. I suppose one could argue that he does tend to fixate on physical appearance (e.g. Florence's wonderful profile). On the other hand, he acts pretty uncomfortable whenever a vaguely sexual situation arises.

As for his specific lack of interest in Bingo's love life, I think the author of the first post is missing some of the context here. Bertie doesn't want to hear about Bingo's love life because that's all that Bingo ever talks about. He is deeply invested in his other friends' relationships, which is the source of a lot of his troubles (see, for example, his tireless efforts to unite Boko and Nobby in Joy in the Morning).

What do you think, fellow IndeedSirians?

P.S. -- I'm actually more inclined to see Jeeves as the sexual but aromantic one, but I really don't think there's enough evidence in canon to draw any firm conclusions about that . . .