Being extraordinarily geeky, I did a word-by-word comparison of the two. In the rewrite Jeeves' voice throughout was made less casual and less Bertie-like -- in the magazine version he even begins in media res and then doubles back -- but the search-and-replace he did on "the guv'nor" stands out most.
Since the rewrite was overall an improvement, and since it's jarring to hearing the Jeeves we have always known to be so proper using such an informal term as "guv'nor", I trust Wodehouse's judgment in making the change, but... Ever since I read it, I've been wondering if that is how Jeeves privately thinks of Bertie, or how he might refer to his employer when chatting with others of his own social class.
Because what do we really know about what Jeeves this Reggie fellow is like when he lets his hair down? He dances; he reads Spinoza but also "has an aunt" who reads mushy romance novels; he gambles and somehow manages always to have the best intel on racehorses... (This is an honest question, actually, not just rhetorical, seeing as I haven't read all the stories yet.)
That is interesting! At some point I'll have to read through all the magazine versions of these stories and see just how much was ultimately changed. I only skimmed a bit when I was going through and pulling out the pictures.
Yeah, Jeeves is always a bit mysterious, although various details do come out in the books and stories. If you haven't read The Mating Season yet, I recommend it -- you'll get to meet his remarkable Uncle Charlie. I also know he likes to smoke cigars and judge an occasional bathing suit contest.
Since the rewrite was overall an improvement, and since it's jarring to hearing the Jeeves we have always known to be so proper using such an informal term as "guv'nor", I trust Wodehouse's judgment in making the change, but... Ever since I read it, I've been wondering if that is how Jeeves privately thinks of Bertie, or how he might refer to his employer when chatting with others of his own social class.
Because what do we really know about what Jeeves this Reggie fellow is like when he lets his hair down? He dances; he reads Spinoza but also "has an aunt" who reads mushy romance novels; he gambles and somehow manages always to have the best intel on racehorses... (This is an honest question, actually, not just rhetorical, seeing as I haven't read all the stories yet.)
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Yeah, Jeeves is always a bit mysterious, although various details do come out in the books and stories. If you haven't read The Mating Season yet, I recommend it -- you'll get to meet his remarkable Uncle Charlie. I also know he likes to smoke cigars and judge an occasional bathing suit contest.
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