The Code of the Woosters

The central premise of P. G. Wodehouse’s Jeeves stories is innately satirical: The servant Jeeves is altogether superior to Wooster, his master. More intelligent, resolute, level-headed, and shrewd, he’s also better educated, which he shows by correcting Wooster’s literary references and diction (such as his misuse of “incredulous”). The farcical plots of the Jeeves stories, including The Code of the Woosters, center on Wooster’s congenital rashness and naivete, which unfailingly get him into trouble, from which only Jeeves can extricate him. Thereby, Wodehouse wryly suggests that the class hierarchy of early 20th-century England is largely artificial and that members of the lower classes are often more capable, imaginative, and resourceful than their so-called superiors. Underscoring this, most of Wooster’s privileged circle (Gussie Fink-Nottle, Stephanie Byng, Aunt Dahlia, Madeline Bassett, etc.) are hardly more competent or sensible than himself; in fact, most of them look up to Jeeves as an all-knowing Johnny-on-the-spot who can extricate them from their own follies, so he often seems the only “adult” in the room.

Despite his modesty and air of deference, Jeeves seems, in all but name, the true master of the household. Wooster, well aware of Jeeves’s superior judgment, accedes to him in almost all matters, and when they do have a prolonged “clash” (usually involving some fashion choice of Wooster’s, such as a mustache or a pair of purple socks), Jeeves always gets his way in the end, usually after helping his master out of some fix.