give_satisfaction | Fandom After Dark

Alright, let me just say that I personally always perceive characters in 2 very distinct ways: first there is the character as a "person", and then the character as a concept, or an idea, or a symbol: basically what the character stands for.

So to me there is Jeeves the (fictional) person, with all his complexities, and then Jeeves the concept.

1. Jeeves the person:
I tend not to analyze characters as people. I like to explore them, yes, write about them, imagine their reactions to certain situations, etc... I can like them or hate them, I can admire them, laugh at them, judge them - basically, I treat them as I would treat actual people.
So in that sense, I could say that Jeeves doesn't symbolize anything to me, that he's just a person I really, really love.
HOWEVER. Since Jeeves is a fictional person, there is another side of him that is open to interpretation, analysis and study.

2. Jeeves the concept:
Here I can finally say that yeah, Jeeves does in fact symbolize stuff for me.
Of course there's the stuff that Wodehouse might have wanted Jeeves to stand for. But I won't be talking about that: everything I'm about to say is just my very personal interpretation.

- Jeeves is a valet who acts more like an aristocrat than the actual aristocrats he serves. The "feudal spirit", as Bertie calls it, is so ingrained in Jeeves that he doesn't question it, doesn't even accept that it might be dying or at least outdated. To him it is simply how the world works - his world, at least.
- Jeeves also takes great pride in doing his job the best he can. He's a perfectionist, and it seems that he truly loves what he does. He's passionate about clothes, about cleaning, keeping everything in order, and although this is never mentioned in canon, but I bet you he's passionate about cooking too.
- Jeeves is ambitious. Not in the sense that he wants to be insanely rich or famous, but he is very often motivated by personal interest (for example: he wants to go on a cruise and Bertie isn't being cooperating / he earns money out of a scheme / he wants to get rid of an item of clothing)
- And then, of course, Jeeves is a genius. He's book smart, but also clever and streetwise, and he knows the human psyche well enough to get away with just about anything.

So there. To me, Jeeves symbolizes those 4 things:
- Having firm principles and a fixed worldview
- Passion (especially being passionate and dedicated to one's work)
- Ambition
- Genius

There are other things of course. He's sophisticated, he's subtle, he's funny. And then his relationship with Bertie makes him endearing as well.

Gosh, I didn't mean for this to be so long. I could talk about Jeeves for ages!

I love it! It's helping me clarify my thinking about Jeeves.

Why, thank you! :D

Fandom After Dark

Re: What Does Jeeves Symbolize?

Re: What Does Jeeves Symbolize?

Re: What Does Jeeves Symbolize?