You can't very well voice a preference for being dead in a ditch
# 47: Jeeves and the Tie That Binds by PG Wodehouse:
'What did you do?' the ancestor asked, all agog, and the McCorkadale gave that sniffling snort of hers. It was partly like an escape of steam and partly like two or three cats unexpectedly encountering two or three dogs, with just a suggestion of a cobra waking up cross in the morning. I wondered how it had affected the late Mr. McCorkadale. Probably made him feel that there are worse things than being run over by a municipal tram.
Synopsis: Gold standard Golden Age country-house mayhem with Jeeves and Wooster, wherein the horrible specter of matrimony thwarted at least three times.
I have to say that even though Aunt Agatha is a marvelously scary old aunt, I think I prefer Aunt Dahlia overall, as she manages to strike a balance between pitying Bertie's lack of brains and sharing his wicked sense of humor. There are a couple of great passages where they both riff on poor old Madeline Bassett (She of the Wee Fairy Noses). However I was also struck by how much blatant misogyny Wodehouse got away with, just by being devilishly funny about it. It's one thing to want to hide from Madeline and quite another to want to "hit her with a brick". Hmmm.
'What did you do?' the ancestor asked, all agog, and the McCorkadale gave that sniffling snort of hers. It was partly like an escape of steam and partly like two or three cats unexpectedly encountering two or three dogs, with just a suggestion of a cobra waking up cross in the morning. I wondered how it had affected the late Mr. McCorkadale. Probably made him feel that there are worse things than being run over by a municipal tram.
Synopsis: Gold standard Golden Age country-house mayhem with Jeeves and Wooster, wherein the horrible specter of matrimony thwarted at least three times.
I have to say that even though Aunt Agatha is a marvelously scary old aunt, I think I prefer Aunt Dahlia overall, as she manages to strike a balance between pitying Bertie's lack of brains and sharing his wicked sense of humor. There are a couple of great passages where they both riff on poor old Madeline Bassett (She of the Wee Fairy Noses). However I was also struck by how much blatant misogyny Wodehouse got away with, just by being devilishly funny about it. It's one thing to want to hide from Madeline and quite another to want to "hit her with a brick". Hmmm.