Why Witherspoon?

[closetofheroes.livejournal.com]

In Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves, Jeeves rescues Bertie from a difficult situation by pretending to arrest him as Chief Inspector Witherspoon of Scotland Yard.

Bertie's first question is 'Why Witherspoon?'

What with one thing and another, the question is never answered.

Now I was just looking at a list of Wodehouse's characters, and found that apparently Bertie's Uncle Tom has a sister called Katherine, who was married to a man named Witherspoon. Not just Witherspoon, either - Sir REGINALD Witherspoon.

So now I am full of questions. Did Jeeves know about this distant relation? Was there any personal motive in picking that name? Was it coincidence? 

Well, I know you must have opinions, all of you - what are they?

Comments

[thirstyrobot.livejournal.com]

Obviously, it's to hint at the fact that Jeeves is concealing a secret identity, possibly as Bertie's father.

Um, April Fool.

In all seriousness, I don't know that there was necessarily any motive behind it-- given the different incarnations of Gussie and the indeterminate number of Uncle Georges, I think it may've just been that Plum happened not to remember he'd already used the name. And wasn't a fellow called Reggie Pepper sort of the proto-Bertie? Could be he just thinks Reginald's a lovely name.

[closetofheroes.livejournal.com]

Well, I was concerned more with the 'Witherspoon' half of the name, since it's not a particularly common name, and the fact that Bertie specifically asks why he chose that name as a pseudonym.

The fact that Jeeves shares the same first name as a relative of his, whose surname he happens to borrow, struck me as ironic at the very least.

But no, I can't say I subscribe to that Jeeves-as-father thing. Just too... weird, XD.

[random-nexus.livejournal.com]

I'm in the "Maybe Wodehouse liked the name Reginald" camp, myself. One of his very best (IMO) characters bears that name.

But...then again... *musing smile*
What if Jeeves is actually a distant cousin?
What if Jeeves was this Sir Reginald Witherspoon's son by a first marriage and ran away from home to join...ehh... the Valets. Oooh!
No, no, what if Jeeves is the illigitimate son of this Sir Reg? Mum was a maid or housekeeper? Hmm!
Ooh! Hey! Jeeves is the true Reginald Witherspoon and the other one is an imposter! Ahh!

*giggle* This is fun.

Edit: speculation apparently futzes with my spelling fu

[hazeltea.livejournal.com]

NOBILITY+INCEST=OTP

I think Wodehouse just loved a handful of names and recycled them, actually. If not, maybe Jeeves had a plan B in the wings using this name in case plan A didn't work out?

[random-nexus.livejournal.com]

*grinnnn*
Jeeves always has a plan!

[closetofheroes.livejournal.com]

Tee-hee, awesome ideas.

I imagined Jeeves's motivations being more emotional and less scheming, and I guess I was trying to bait this forum into throwing them up for debate, because I wasn't sure if I was going a bit too far with it. But even though no-one has suggested the ideas I was thinking of, I can't resist throwing them out there now.

In considering the possibilities, I'm bearing in mind the fact that Jeeves is, in this chapter, is taking on the role of heroic protector to Bertie. He does this more than once, of course, but the necessity of adopting the persona of a Chief Inspector, disguising his true identity, makes the role more explicit than usual.

I think he knew of Bertie's distant 'sort of an uncle' Reginald Witherspoon, (because Jeeves does know all), and he chose that surname because:

- it reinforced that protective, avuncular role

- he gets a kick out of taking the name of a member of Bertie's family, it having the effect of elevating his status

- most importantly - he wanted to temporarily indulge in the sensation of being tied to Bertie through the closeness of a family relationship rather than potentially impermanent relationship of master and servant.

If this last motivation had been his, then taking the name of Sir Reginald Witherspoon as his inspiration would be the perfect choice. It has the ironic matching of the first name, and the relation is distant enough from Bertie that Bertie would probably not make the connection. (Bertie doesn't even know Jeeves's first name at this point).

Okay, I feel a bit of a fic coming along.

[ironicbees.livejournal.com]

I didn't know about the Witherspoon relative, but once it was brought up I had sort of the same ideas as you about why he chose the name, particularly the last point. In The Tie That Binds, they seem to act almost like they're honorary members of each other's families.

*is entranced by the dreamy Jeeves in your icon* Do you have any idea where I could find the original picture it was made from? I've scoured the web for publicity photos, but I've never seen that one before.

[closetofheroes.livejournal.com]

Glad it's not just me!

I found this image the other day by accident and fell in love with it. Because it's Jeeves, but it's a touch more human than the other Jeeves pictures, to my mind. I found it at this link:

http://www.fanpop.com/spots/stephen-fry/images/4488191

[ironicbees.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! :D

[amethystaura.livejournal.com]

I'll gobble up your icon. I can't resist that man.