Augustus Fink-Nottle

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Augustus “Gussie” Fink-Nottle is a recurring fictional character in the novels of the British-American writer PG Wodehouse , whose protagonists are Bertie Wooster and the valet Jeeves . He first played a role in the comic novel Then Just Not, Jeeves , which was published in 1933 as a serial in the US magazine Saturday Evening Post and in 1934 in the US and Great Britain. Gussie Fink-Nottle was last mentioned in the novel SOS, Jeeves , published in 1963.

characterization

Gussie Fink-Nottle has known Bertie Wooster since school, they both attended the Malvern House Preparatory School . As an adult, Gussie retreats to Lincolnshire, where he pursues his newt studies. He then falls in love with the naive-sentimental Madeline Bassett, who takes the stars for God's daisies and is convinced that a baby will be born when a fairy sneezes. Madeline Bassett is the daughter of Sir Watkyn Bassett, but also the girlfriend of Angela Travers, the daughter of Bertie's aunt Dahlia . Gussie's advertising for Madeline and the not always trouble-free engagement with her are part of the novels Then not, Jeeves and Alter Adel don't rust .

In Then No, Jeeves , Gussie turns out to be too shy to confess his love to Madeline directly. Bertie steps in and carefully tries to prepare Madeline for the commercial from Gussie. Madeline, however, misunderstands him and if she rejects Bertie because of her affection for Gussie, she is from then on convinced that Bertie loves her dearly. She therefore assures him that she will make him happy should their relationship with Gussie fail. As a gentleman, Bertie is unable to explain the misunderstanding to her. The fear of having to take Madeline to the altar one day drives the plot in all novels in which Gussie Fink-Nottle plays a role.

The attempt to persuade Gussie to advertise Madeline more resolutely leads to Bertie Gussie's favorite drink, orange juice, spicing up orange juice with a larger amount of alcohol in Then Just Not, Jeeves . This culminates in a memorable award ceremony at a primary school, at which an intoxicated Gussie, to the amusement of the pupils, insults the school principal and suspects winners of the Bible competition of fraud. The scene has been described several times as one of the comic masterpieces of English literature and is often found in corresponding anthologies. John le Carré noted in a newspaper article published in 1996 that because of this scene every book collection must contain this novel and that it is his favorite novel. PG Wodehouse also later refers to this scene and lets Bertie in SOS, Jeeves reflect wistfully that Gussie has set a standard for all of his subsequent speakers that can never be surpassed again.

Even in the old nobility , it is Gussie's shyness that endangers his engagement to Madeline. To overcome his inhibitions about delivering his wedding speech in the presence of Madeline's formidable father, Sir Watkyn Bassett, he wrote down everything he found despicable about him in a notebook. However, this notebook of all things is lost and Jeeves must intervene to prevent Sir Watkyn from prohibiting the marriage.

In Jeeves works wonders , it is Gussie's fascination with newts that puts her engagement to Madeline at risk. A nightly search for these animals in the Trafalgar Square fountain leads to his imprisonment and forces Bertie to appear as Gussie at Madeline's godmother, who resides at Deverill Hall. Gussie, released after a brief detention, appears as Bertie in front of the godmother. An essential part of the novel is to keep both Bertie's Aunt Agatha and Madeline from a surprise visit to Deverill Hall, as they would put an end to the game of confusion.

The character of Roderick Spode already appears in the novel Alter Adel nicht rostet . Spode, with whom PG Wodehouse made fun of Oswald Mosley , the founder of the fascist party British Union of Fascists (BUF) , is the nemesis of Gussie Fink-Nottle in this novel . He has long been in love with Madeline, but was under the impression that he had to renounce his political career because of his love for Madeline. However, he always saw himself as Madeline's protector and in the 1963 novel SOS, Jeeves, it is he who prevents Bertie from finally becoming Madeline's husband. Since Madeline Gussie went on a meatless diet, it has lost some of its charm for Gussie. He finds solace in a meat pie that the young Emerald Stoker serves him. Emerald Stoker works in the Totleigh Towers kitchen, but is none other than Lady Chuffnell's younger sister. The two fall in love and run away together. When Madeline announces that she will now marry Bertie, Spode intervenes and asks for her hand.

Trivia

In March 2008, the British journalist and editor Max Hastings compared Boris Johnson , who was running for the election of London Mayor and is known for his eccentric behavior, with Gussie Fink-Nottle. Like Gussie Fink-Nottle, Boris Johnson is characterized by charm, wit and brilliance, but also alarming signs of a certain instability.

Novels in which Gussie Fink-Nottle plays a role

  • Right Ho, Jeeves (1934); German title: Well then, Jeeves
  • The Code of the Woosters (1938); German title: Old nobility does not rust
  • The Mating Season (1949); German title of the first translation The highest of feelings ;
    • reissued: Jeeves works wonders , newly translated by Thomas Schlachter, Edition Epoca, Zurich
  • Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves (1963); German title of the first translation: What to do, Jeeves? ;
    • reissued: SOS, Jeeves! , newly translated by Thomas Schlachter, Edition Epoca, Zurich

literature

  • Frances Donaldson: PG Wodehouse: A Biography . London 1982, ISBN 0-297-78105-7 .
  • Richard Usborne: Plum Sauce. A PG Wodehouse Companion. Overlook, Woodstock / NY 2003, ISBN 1-58567-441-9 .

Web links

Single receipts

  1. ↑ PG Wodehouse, The Code of the Wooster , p. 15.
  2. ↑ PG Wodehouse, The Code of the Wooster , p. 16.
  3. ↑ Stephen Fry: What ho, My hero PG Wodehouse ( Memento of the original from August 19, 2002 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , The Independent, January 18, 2000, accessed April 24, 2016 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.drones.com
  4. ↑ Usborne: Plum Sauce. A PG Wodehouse Companion. P. 170.
  5. ↑ John le Carré: Personal Best: Right Ho, Jeeves , Salon, September 30, 1996, accessed April 24, 2016.
  6. ↑ Usborne: Plum Sauce. A PG Wodehouse Companion. P. 174.
  7. ↑ Max Hastings: Boris the buffoon is dead. Stand by for Boris the Mayor. In: The Guardian , March 30, 2008, accessed on April 26, 2016. The original quote is: Over the next few years, he developed the persona which has become famous today, a façade resembling that of PG Wodehouse's Gussie Finknottle, allied to wit, charm, brilliance and startling flashes of instability.