Fifty Shades of Jeeves

The last Jeeves and Wooster novel of the summer, Ring for Jeeves, did not involve the latter character at all.  In light of The Servant Shortage following the Second World War, Bertie has decided to take a course to learn how to fend for himself should the unimaginable happen and he is bereft of any sort of household help.  Jeeves agrees to act as valet for William Belfry, ninth Earl of Rowcester, a younger friend of Wooster and henceforth called Bill.  What most impressed me about this novel is that we are shown another side of the gentleman’s gentleman.  Since Bill is among the increasing population of house-rich and money poor gentility, the two embark on a gambling syndicate that is mostly successful (a great deal of the novel deals with the one notable failure).  Part of this plan involves the dignified Jeeves dressing up in an outfit that involves a rather loud suit and false whiskers.  We have seen Jeeves dress up before, but the description of the costume he dons for this endeavor almost beggars belief.  One gets the impression that he rather enjoys the subterfuge and living life by his wits.  Seeing Jeeves in this manner made me wonder if he was beginning to find life with Bertie to be a little too comfortable.  After all, he is always trying to get his employer to travel, be it on a round the world cruise or a junket to New York.  There is an adventurous streak in Jeeves that cannot be ignored

It was also interesting to view Jeeves through the eyes of another master.  While Bill Rowcester obviously enjoys he fruits of Jeeves’ brain, especially when it comes to rescuing him from his financial woes, there are times when he finds the valet to be a little tedious.  The instances when Jeeves quotes from literature are presented as tedious moments, not a breathless example of the man’s superior brain as is so often the case when he is with Bertie.  Rowcester always bids Jeeves to hurry up with his point, and not to linger with some literary exposition.  Bertie never does this.  He usually makes a favorable remark after Jeeves presents a quotation, or follows it up with some of his own experiences with the literary figure in question.  Through Bill’s eyes, Jeeves comes off as ever so slightly ponderous.

There is, of course, a change in how Bertie himself views Jeeves in the novels.  Early on, the lay about has only buckets of admiration for his valet; he hangs upon every word and is utterly reliant on him.  This changes in the later novels.  Hang lived around d Jeeves for a while Bertie becomes a bit more confident in his own abilities.  He dissuades his friends form consulting Jeeves convinced that he can also present a clever way out of a seemingly hopeless predicament.  Of course, these plans fail miserably and Bertie is forced to turn to Jeeves.  Between these two older men, there is a sense of respect that is not as present between Bill and Jeeves.  As this book was written in 1953, it is yet another reminder that the world is slowly changing, even in the rarefied Wodehouseian universe.