History WMG / JeevesAndWooster

* The Prince Arthur mentioned (eldest son of Henry VII) was the last member of the British Royal Family of that name with any chance at becoming King. More recent than that Prince Arthur was Queen Victoria’s youngest son, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, and his son, Prince Arthur of Connaught.

He's ObfuscatingStupidity; Jeeves, if he exists, is actually just an ordinary, unremarkable valet. Bertie is just reattributing a series of schemes that he thought up himself.[[note]] This is what happens when you read too much [[SherlockHolmes Sherlockian]] theory, folks.[[/note]]

Both men share the habit of controlling those they supposedly work for and both have a love of formal and long winded speech. Both are supporters of higher culture and remain well informed of current events. Both can also be very good at hiding their actual agenda from those they work for (albeit in Jeeves' case he's often working in Bertie's interests but can't expose the plan before it's done). It's almost as if Sir Humphrey is what happens to the Jeeves genes in a more cynical age.

[[WMG: The book series is an Bertie's memoirs]]
A common feature of Wodehouse stories is a family member writing an absolutely scandalous tell-all set of memoirs, which must be held back from the printers at all cost. Hence an older Bertie dug out his old journals and compiled them into a book series, which somehow survived to to print and horribly embarrassed just about everybody mentioned therein.

It is mentioned that Jeeves fought in WWI. What if Bertie did to and ended up with PTSD? It would explain how strange he acts and why he goes along with so much.
* This has been expanded upon in a fanfic, ''Green Ice'' which posits that Bertie's apparent obliviousness to the lasting effects of WWI is due to his having blocked the events from his memory, and his exaggerated cheerfulness, innocence and idiocy are all the result of a traumatic head injury coupled by his mind breaking under the stress of the Front.

[[WMG: Jeeves is in fact a close relative of [[YesMinister Sir Humphrey Appleby]].]]

[WMG: The book series is an Bertie's memoirs]]

He's just the ImaginaryFriend of a sad, lonely man who lives alone-- a kind of Anti-[[FightClub Tyler Durden]], if you will.

[[WMG: Jeeves is in fact a close relative of Sir Humphrey Appleby.]]

Both men share the habit of controlling those they supposedly work for and both have a love of formal and at times convoluted speech. Both are supporters of higher culture and remain well informed of current events. Both can also be very good at hiding their actual agenda from those they work with (albeit in Jeeves' case because doing so is necessary for the plan to work). It's almost as if Sir Humphrey is what happens to the Jeeves genes in a more cynical age.

Finally and crucially, Jeeves’ given name is ‘Reginald’. The name Reginald is a Latinisation of the Germanic name ‘Raginwald’ (occasionally ‘Raginald’), which is combination of the word Ragin, which means ‘advice’ or ‘counsel’ and Wald which means ‘rule’ or ‘ruler’. So the name Raginwald (and by extension its modern form ‘Reginald’) can be interpreted as ‘one who advises or counsels a ruler’.

[[WMG: Jeeves is [[TheOnceAndFutureKing Merlin]].]]

They have the exact same personality, what?[[hottip:*: The [[WatsonianVersusDoylist Doylist]] reason being, of course, that Reggie was a ''prototype'' for Bertie, but never mind that.]] And Reggie = Reginald = Reginald Jeeves! Obviously, Bertie named his son after his best friend.

He's ObfuscatingStupidity; Jeeves, if he exists, is actually just an ordinary, unremarkable valet. Bertie is just reattributing a series of schemes that he thought up himself.[[hottip:*: This is what happens when you read too much [[SherlockHolmes Sherlockian]] theory, folks.]]

[[WMG: Bertie is secretly {{Batman}}.]]
The very first. He uses his RichIdiotWithNoDayJob persona to hide the fact that he goes out at night to catch criminals. Jeeves is, of course, the forerunner of Alfred.

* This theory actually fits pretty well with his second appearance in ''Much Obliged, Jeeves'', where he's undergone a total personality change ''and'' a name change ("His name isn't Brinkley, sir, it's Bingley"). The official explanation for the personality change is that he's come into money (which he has), and the explanation for the name change that Bertie got it wrong in ''Thank you, Jeeves'' (which is plausible) -- but it ''could'' simply be that his personality in ''Much Obliged'' is his ''real'' personality, and that Bingley is his real name, "Brinkley" being an alias he adopted for his job with Bertie.

* This theory actually fits pretty well with his second appearance in ''Much Obliged, Jeeves'', where he's undergone a total personality change ''and'' a name change ("His name isn't Brinkley, sir, it's Bingley"). The official explanation for the personality change is that he's come into money (which he has), and the explanation for the name change that Bertie got it wrong in ''Thank you, Jeeves'' (which is plausible) -- but it ''could'' simply be that his personality in ''Much Obliged'' is his ''real'' personality, and that Bingley is his real name, "Brinkley" being an alias he adopted for his job with Bertie. It might even explain why he's so familiar with Jeeves (being the only person in the books to call him "Reggie") and even why Jeeves makes it clear that he disapproves of the man. Even if he isn't the AxCrazy lunatic he seemed, Bingley is still clearly a scoundrel and an opportunist, who would likely do anything if there was something in it for him.

In reality, he's a twisted version of [[ThePollyanna The Pollyanna]]. His cheerful demeanor is due to some serious repression, resulting from a lifetime of mistreatment by his friends and relatives. The reason he goes along with whatever his aunts/the Drones/Jeeves say is that, if he examines his own desires too closely, his wall of repression will collapse and he'll end up going on a [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge murderous]] [[UnstoppableRage rampage]]. In all likelihood, his apparent stupidity is also a front to protect him from the reality that everyone he knows is a [[JerkAss Jerk Ass]]. This explains why someone as "mentally negligible" as Bertie is such a brilliant writer.
* Until he becomes so wearied with the act that he completely sheds his cheerful persona, [[{{Series/House}} moves to America, and becomes a brilliant, JerkAss, diagnostician]].

* My own theory holds that [[SpotOfTea tea]] works on Bertie like a drug. You know how he acts ''before'' he has his tea? That's his real personality. Notice how it's a lot more imperious and self-assertive.

He is intellectually superior to everyone in the universe, has a prescient knowledge of how Bertie's plans are going to turn out, enjoys helping people, and seems to have all the answers. He also manages to convince everyone that he is in fact a woman in one episode, and moreover one attractive enough to be hit on multiple times, despite the fact that he does not look like one.

A la {{Discworld}}. He disdained the family history for surgery, as well as the name, lisp, limp, and appearance, but has kept up being an extremely smart and efficient servant. He's always there when called for, never questions the Master, and is two steps ahead of the wildest scheme.

* This all begs the question, who is Reggie's mother? One of Bertie's harem?

Let's run through the symptoms. ExtremeDoormat, unambitious, zero confidence in his own abilities, openly lets his valet run his life for him. (His reasoning being that, after all, Jeeves is better at it, right?) Afraid of what will happen [[LivingEmotionalCrutch if he ever loses Jeeves]]. Constantly seeks sympathy. Stays at the houses of people who can take care of him when Jeeves isn't around. In something of an EstablishingCharacterMoment in "Extricating Young Gussie", he drifts around New York City looking for someone to help him, despite not knowing anybody there, and proceeds to "put [him]self unreservedly into the hands" of some random bartender.

Seriously, this isn't that much of a stretch; it's probably canon. [[CloudCuckoolander What sane person would act like him?]] And note that this explains his writing. "Insane" does not equal "stupid".

He initially gave his notice because he hoped it would make Bertie change his mind about moving to the country. When that didn't work, he signed up with Chuffy, having deduced that Bertie wanted to rent a house from him and knowing that this would guarantee his (Jeeves's) presence exactly where he'd be needed. [[BatmanGambit He knew enough about Bertie's psychology]] to realize that the banjolele obsession [[FleetingPassionateHobbies wouldn't last]], so he set everything up so that he could keep an eye on Bertie and rejoin his service as soon as the hated instrument was retired.

----

What other reason would Jeeves benefit from serving Bertram Wooster? It's obvious he has aptitude for XanatosGambit (pretty much every story is solved thanks to Jeeve's pulling one of this behind Bertie's and the reader's) and he has admitted that has accepted the fact he will have no other job after this one... one has to wonder who manages Bertie's finances...

Jeeves knew him from the valet agency and told him to [[ObfuscatingInsanity act as insane]] and unreliable as possible so that Bertie would have second thoughts. Brinkley also did Jeeves the favor of [[KillItWithFire burning down the house that contained the banjolele]].

He initially gave his notice because he hoped it would make Bertie change his mind about moving to the country. When that didn't work, he signed up with Chuffy, having deduced that Bertie wanted to rent a house from him and knowing that this would guarantee his presence exactly where he'd be needed. [[BatmanGambit He knew enough about Bertie's psychology]] to realize that the banjolele obsession [[FleetingPassionateHobbies wouldn't last]], so he set everything up so that he could keep an eye on Bertie and rejoin his service as soon as the hated instrument was retired.

Jeeves knew him from the valet agency and told him to [[ObfuscatingInsanity act as insane]] and unreliable as possible so that Bertie would begin to have second thoughts. Brinkley also did Jeeves the favor of [[KillItWithFire burning down the house that contained the banjolele]].