Editing Jeeves (section)

=== Age and appearance ===

While Bertie Wooster is approximately 24 years old in "[[Jeeves Takes Charge]]" (1916), Jeeves's age is not stated in the stories, and has been interpreted differently by various illustrators and adaptations. However, there are a few hints in the books regarding Jeeves's age. Jeeves has a long employment history, and he is older than Bertie Wooster.<ref>Wodehouse (1968) [1966], ''Plum Pie'', chapter 1, p. 46. Aunt Dahlia implies that Jeeves is "maturer" than Bertie.</ref> On the other hand, Jeeves is young enough to be engaged to a waitress courted by [[Bingo Little]], who is the same age as Bertie Wooster, in "[[Jeeves in the Springtime]]". His niece, Mabel, is close in age to Bertie since she marries his school friend in "[[The Rummy Affair of Old Biffy]]", though the age-gap between niece and uncle is never specified. In ''[[Ring for Jeeves]]'', Jeeves is described as resembling "a youngish High Priest of a refined and dignified religion".<ref>Wodeshouse (2008) [1953], ''Ring for Jeeves'', chapter 4, p. 40.</ref>

In the reference work ''Wodehouse in Woostershire'' by Wodehouse scholars Geoffrey Jaggard and Tony Ring, it is speculated using information provided in the Jeeves canon that Bertie's age ranges from approximately 24 to 29 over the stories, and that Jeeves is roughly ten years older than Bertie, giving an age range of 35 to 40.<ref>Ring & Jaggard (1999), pp. 124–126.</ref> This happens to agree with a personal letter Wodehouse wrote in 1961 to scholar [[Robert A. Hall Jr.]], in which Wodehouse, explaining that his characters did not age with real life time, gave an approximate age for Jeeves:

<blockquote>Keggs in ''[[A Damsel in Distress (novel)|A Damsel in Distress]]'' is supposed to be the same man who appears in ''[[Something Fishy|The Butler Did It]]'', but does it pan out all right? It doesn't if you go by when the books were written. The ''Damsel'' was published in 1919 and the ''Butler'' in 1957. But I always ignore real life time. After all, Jeeves—first heard of at the age presumably of about thirty-five in 1916—would now be around eighty-five, counting the real years.<ref>Hall (1974), pp. 16 and 19. Jeeves's first appearance was in "Extricating Young Gussie", which was published in 1915 the US. However, multiple Wodehouse reference books say that Jeeves first appeared in 1916, possibly because that is when he first appeared in both the US and the UK.</ref></blockquote>

Thompson suggests that the age gap between Bertie and Jeeves is roughly 20 years. According to the stage directions of ''[[Come On, Jeeves]],'' Jeeves is depicted as being in his mid-forties.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Thompson |first1=Kristin |title=Wooster Proposes, Jeeves Disposes or Le Mot Juste |date=1992 |location=New York |publisher=James H. Heineman, Inc. |isbn=0-87008-139-X |page=127}}</ref> Though, it is worth noting the play is set in the 1950s (later adapted into the novel ''[[Ring for Jeeves|Ring For Jeeves]]''), so this indicates the general age Jeeves may appear to be in the non-linear canon, rather than a chronological reference point.

In appearance, Jeeves is described as "tall and dark and impressive".<ref>Wodehouse (2008) [1953], ''Ring for Jeeves'', chapter 4, p. 40.</ref> When they first meet in "Jeeves Takes Charge", Bertie describes Jeeves as "a kind of darkish sort of respectful Johnnie" with "a grave, sympathetic face" and a nearly silent way of walking that Bertie equates to a "healing zephyr".<ref>Wodehouse (2008) [1925], ''Carry On, Jeeves'', chapter 1, p. 12.</ref> On multiple occasions, Bertie states that Jeeves has "finely chiselled features", and a large head, which seems to Bertie to indicate intelligence.  As Bertie says, Jeeves is "a godlike man in a bowler hat with grave, finely chiselled features and a head that stuck out at the back, indicating great brain power".<ref>Wodehouse (2008) [1949], ''The Mating Season'', chapter 23, p. 219.</ref> Bertie also describes Jeeves's eyes as gleaming with intelligence.<ref name=garrison96 />