Right Ho, Jeeves

[wemblee.livejournal.com]

In the interests of generating some discussion:

I'm reading Right Ho, Jeeves for the first time (or I read it so long ago that I remember none of it) and Bertie comes across as a bit of a dick! It's honestly kind of refreshing -- I'm so used to him as a sweetie-pie. (I don't know if that's fanfic merging with canon in my head, but I do vaguely remember him being more self-deprecating in later books.) It's interesting to see him be a bit arrogant. I mean, this is earlier in the chronology and in he and Jeeves' relationship (I think), so it makes sense.

I was also surprised that Wodehouse had Gussie be way into newts but simultaneously a dreamy flake, because that's definitely not how a Nerdy Newt Guy would be written now; like, those aren't traits you normally pair when you're thinking of your general Reclusive Nerdy Dude trope. I don't know if that's him turning things on their heads or if he was just working with different literary/cultural expectations than we are today. Or if he was just thinking, "Hey, whatever's funny."

What say you, indeedsir folks? (Sorry for the lack of Wodehousian patter, I'm just not capable of it.)

Comments

[haikitteh.livejournal.com]

It's interesting that you see him as a dick - certainly Bertie wants people to perceive him as tougher than he is. Something I've always loved about the Jeeves books is that Bertie's inner monologue is so puffed-up, but his actions are way more towards the pushover side, or at least way less impressive than he thinks he's being. This passage comes to mind:

"I remember reading in one of those historical novels once about a chap--a buck he would have been, no doubt, or a macaroni or some such bird as that--who, when people said the wrong thing, merely laughed down from lazy eyelids and flicked a speck of dust from the irreproachable Mechlin lace at his wrists. This was practically what I did now. At least, I straightened my tie and smiled one of those inscrutable smiles of mine. I then withdrew and went out for a saunter in the garden."

We see how he imagines himself -- a hero from a Georgette Heyer novel! -- but the other characters just see him nervously fiddling with his tie and escaping as fast as he can to wander the grounds.

He does talk pretty tough to Jeeves in this novel, though he gets the worst comeuppance in any of the books. Isn't this the one with the famous bicycle ride? How fandom has made hay of that!

[wemblee.livejournal.com]

Oh my God, that joke, and the way it becomes a runner -- so good. Yeah, I do think his tough talk comes off a bit mean/dickish (though, I mean, white mess jackets are definitely a hill anyone would die on, I mean, Jeeves, how dare you), but yes, the interplay between what he's thinking and what's actually happening is gold, and I can see how it would defuse the impression of dickishness (attempted dickishness?).

Oh, wow, is this the one with the bike ride? Ohhhhhh, man. I'm just at the part where he's about to ruin things by walking in the garden with Maddy. Oh, Bertie.

[haikitteh.livejournal.com]

I love that scene with Madeleine! I envy you reading it for the first time, this is definitely one of the funniest Jeeves books.

[starship-cohava.livejournal.com]

I haven't read Right Ho Jeeves in a while, and I don't remember Bertie being especially dickish in it... haughty, yes, but I feel for his struggle to prove that he, too, can be useful.
I agree that fandom often perceives Bertie as sweeter than he actually is; he can be very sweet but also very callous, especially when he doesn't like someone. I remember a bit from (I think) Thank You, Jeeves when he started warming up to Sir Roderick Glossop when he heard Sir R. had kicked a kid Bertie disliked; of course at the time hitting children was probably a standard practice and it wouldn't occur to Bertie to be horrified but still, being so gleeful about it wasn't very nice.
I'm curious though, are there specific lines from the book that gave you the impression of Bertie being jerkish? Or is it more of a general impression?

[hazeltea.livejournal.com]

Bertie went through a rebellious phase when he realized that his friends were asking Jeeves for advice and not him. He got snappy because he felt like Jeeves was walking on him (which he was) and felt like he wasn't acting enough like a submissive servant (which he wasn't.) But he eventually got over it because Jeeves ultimately made his life easier. This tension in the middle books was fun, imo.

[wotwotleigh.livejournal.com]

I agree that Bertie's sweetness (and stupidity!) tend to get exaggerated, both in fandom and in adaptations, particularly the Jeeves and Wooster TV show. That said, he really is essentially a very nice person. I think his biggest fault, aside from being a huge pushover, is that he can be a little -- oblivious, and therefore insensitive?

Still, there is an undeniable edge to him in the books that I really love. It adds a level of complexity that lifts him up from being a pleasantly goofy caricature into being a well-rounded, fully realized character. See, for example, the scene in Joy in the Morning where Edwin is in the burning cottage, and Bertie pauses to think about whether it's really worth going in after him (he does, of course).

Reading the books, I get the sense that Bertie was intentionally written as an unreliable narrator. Like Wodehouse himself, he engages in a lot of hyperbole and subtle self-deprecation (of the paradoxical, "Oh, I'm *so* great, haha" type) that allows him to distance himself from the real emotional core of what's happening.