Literary Expression Elements in P.G. Wodehouse's Literature (based on the novel "The Code of Woosters")

Mitrovich Kristina Zoranovna Postgraduate student, Humanities Institute, I. Kant Baltic Federal University 236041, Russia, Kaliningradskaya oblast', g. Kaliningrad, ul. Aleksandra Nevskogo, 14 765chrismi@gmail.com

Introduction

The value of the game in fiction is manifested when the author deliberately focuses the attention of readers not only on what he expresses, but also on the ways in which he does it. The works of thinkers of the XIX–XX centuries have always emphasized the enormous importance of the game in life and art. A significant contribution was made by F. Schiller, J. Huizinga, R. Kayuoy, who gave a theoretical justification for the game as an important element of culture. Russian literary critics: M. M. Bakhtin, Yu. M. Lotman, V. Shklovsky, B. V. Tomashevsky and others tried to reveal the meaning of the game principle in literature regarding the plot, characters, author and reader, which is of particular interest to modern researchers, since before the appearance of their works, the main driving force of the comedy genre was the language game.

Outstanding cultural historian J. Huizinga in his classic treatise "Homo Ludens. The person playing" distinguished two main types of representation of the game: competition (agonal type) and performance (theatrical type) ^[1]. The first type includes all types of games that involve rivalry, and the actions of all players are aimed at winning. The game as a performance can be divided into two types: performance and imagination. According to the researcher, elements of the game can be found almost everywhere: in art and philosophy, in the judicial system and even in military affairs. Everything can be considered elements of the game: from political backstage to the struggle of "musical parties" ^{[1, p. 66]}. The artistic text was no exception, which in itself includes many game moments affecting switching from elements traditionally included in a particular genre to non-standard ones for it.  This was stated by M. Y. Lotman when developing his concept of "text within text", where the author can play on the opposition of the real and the conditional within the framework of one work ^{[2, 176]}. As an example, Lotman cites Shakespeare's use of a play within a play in Hamlet.

Later Lotman developed this idea in the article "Decembrists in everyday life". Studying the topic of the historical and psychological characteristics of Decembrism, he said that the preserved documents and cultural monuments demonstrate the presence of a certain program among the Decembrists, which characterizes them as a unique cultural and historical type of people. Despite belonging to such a large community, a person is also able to implement not one, but several strategies in his behavior, actualizing a certain type of behavior in various life situations ^[3].

Thus, and we are dealing with game behavior, when a person transfers game situations into real life, he seems to be playing a role in his own performance, reincarnates, bringing the "theatrical game" into life as a scenario and model of behavior.

The game has a free character, which is its main feature, it is opposed to the ordinary. Speaking about human behavior, ordinariness is certain norms (scenarios) established in the minds of carriers of similar cultural values, whereas the game is invariance realized in a single case when a person decides to move away from the scenario and act beyond its scope.

Drawing an analogy with literary criticism, everyday life is the canons of the genre, literary tradition, norms of literary language, and the game is a conscious violation of established norms that changes the angle of perception of a literary work.

Literary play can be conducted both at the level of metatext (internal composition, language play, representation of the narrator) and intertext (imitation, quoting, palimpest, allusions, plagiarism, stylization, bricolage, self-repetition and others). The literary game is always aimed at one or more aspects of the text: language, text, context, plot and composition, figures of the author and reader ^{[4, p. 53]}. Playing in a work of art can create a certain image, be a means of expressing cultural stereotypes and images, it also contributes to the realization of a comic effect.

At this stage of consideration of the problem, the linguistic manifestations of the game in the text remain the most studied, but the influence of non-linguistic, in particular interetextual, remains poorly understood.

Intertext

The problem of the interaction of "one's own" and "someone else's" in literature was raised by M. M. Bakhtin in the article "Problems of Dostoevsky's creativity" ^[5] and was theoretically developed in the works of the famous scientist Yulia Kristeva based on the concept of dialogism ^[6].

Bakhtin wrote that linguistic dialogism is the result of an act of borrowing, in which fragments of someone else's text penetrate into the fabric of the author's text and the mutual change of these two givens ^[7]. Kristeva argued that intertextuality is not imitation or reproduction, but transposition, which emphasizes the dynamic nature of intertextuality ^[6].

A work of art is somehow guided by the artistic tradition, even in cases where the author denies the similarity of his works with other authors. He is always associated with other writers who share the same literary tradition with him.

According to Natalie Piege-Gros, any text is considered an intertext, since fragments of cultural codes, various expressions, as well as rhythmic models penetrate into it ^{[8, p. 10]}. However, it is wrong to assume that intertextuality is reduced to the problem of sources and influences ^{[9, p. 35]}. Intertextuality is multifaceted, and many of its manifestations go beyond direct citations and allusions.

Wodehouse's work is closely connected with the English humorous tradition, it is a part of it and lives inside it. Its rich history begins with the comedies of Shakespeare, who often used folk humor as a humorous basis. His own pen belongs to the demonstration of the intellectual dominance of his characters through the creation of humorous situations. The successors of the tradition after Shakespeare were Jonathan Swift with his political satire, Henry Fielding with worldly humor and Charles Dickens, who was known for the humorous description of the characters of the main characters in the Pickwick Club. Closer to the XIX century, linguistic forms of humor began to dominate in the comic again, designed to demonstrate the wit of the characters.

Comedy discourse in the English tradition also has some characteristic features, for example, the main characters are often representatives of the upper classes, and the action takes place in London or its surroundings, in a mansion, a closed club.

Woodhouse, as a bearer of the same tradition as his predecessors, follows the already planned path, the main characters are an aristocrat and his valet, and many humorous situations are revealed through differences in social statuses and awkwardness during interaction, which shows a certain trace left by the ancestral tradition in the author's work. Wodehouse enriches it by using a literary game. Bertie Wooster is one of the main characters of the work, develops scenarios of theatrical behavior in reality: life is a theater, a game! When considering the novel "The Code of Woosters", several potential scenarios can be identified that Bertie is trying to follow. The first and main thing is a visit to Aunt Dahlia in her posh estate. The main character believes that, as a guest with his aunt, he will only enjoy the wonderful cuisine of her chef Anatole, however, upon arrival, he learns that his aunt had completely different plans for his stay, and he will be forced to "play" not the role of a "rake", which he usually demonstrates in society, and the role of a "thief". Thus, the hero begins to develop the next scenario in order to please his aunt and return to his usual role as soon as possible. All these events lead to a series of curious cases, but do not allow the hero to achieve his goal, and his valet Jeeves has to intervene and save the situation.

Wooster brings the theatrical game to life on the pages of the work, thereby bringing elements of drama to the novel. Thus, we can say that Wodehouse not only uses traditional elements of English humorous discourse, for this series they have become: the main character is an aristocrat, a country estate, but also enriches the humorous genre by applying the game at the intertext level, using elements of theater within the narrative.

Arriving at Totley Towers, the country estate where Sir Watkin Basset lives, from whom he will have to steal a much–needed thing for his aunt - a creamer in the form of a cow, he realizes that he will have to fulfill not only the instructions of his dearest relative, but also try to get out of those scrapes that he will get into. Stephanie (Stiffy) Bing is a minor character in the Jeeves and Wooster series, Basset's niece, dreams of marrying a parish priest – Harold Pinker. The latter, according to her uncle, is not the best candidate for her. The girl does not find a better way than to use blackmail to cope with her problems, of which Bertie certainly becomes a victim. All this leads to a change in the scenario that he originally outlined. Therefore, the main character will now have to play the role of the "groom" instead of the role of the "creamer thief".

«…Just imagine, Bertie, darling, how he would feel if you told him I wanted to marry you. Why, if after that I said “Oh, no, Uncle Watky. The chap I really want to marry is the boy who cleans the boots,"he would fold me in his arms and promise to come and dance at the wedding (highlighted by me – K. M.)" ^{[10, p. 323]}.

Stiffy's remark will mark the beginning of a new "scenario" for Bertie, now he has to act it out in front of old man Basset. According to her idea, the uncle will agree to anyone as her fiance, even a shoe shine, if he finds out that his niece sees herself as the wife of a rake Wooster.

Bertram's adventures do not end there, the next role that Stephanie has prepared for him is the role of the "kidnapper", but not the creamer, but the helmet. Her fiance Harrold does not agree on a whim to steal a helmet from a policeman Roderick Spode, but soon, in order to prove his love, he has to take such a desperate step. Spode announces a search for his property after the kidnapping incident, and Stiffy, in order to ward off suspicion from her future husband, motivates Bertie to take the blame.

«Well, what I mean is your reputation won’t really suffer much, will it? Everybody knows that you can’t keep your hands off policemen’s helmets. That'll be just another one (highlighted by me – K. M.)" ^{[10, p. 375]}.

The above passage demonstrates that people do not think very highly of Bertie and if everyone finds out that he was the kidnapper, then no one will be surprised, because he has already committed such a crime. Thus, within the framework of one work, Wodehouse shows us several plays where Bertie embodies certain roles imposed by himself or other characters.

The play in the text can also be represented by more traditional manifestations of intertextuality. There are many wonderful duets in the world of fiction, for example, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson by A. Conan Doyle. These characters are bright and memorable in books they are often opposed to each other.

Silk Holmes is the main character of this series of stories. He appears to the reader as an intellectual capable of finding clues to the most shocking mysteries, while Dr. Watson is assigned the role of a scribe who records all their joint exploits. Holmes is in a dominant position, but it cannot be said that the doctor loses to him.

The Woodhouse pair of the main characters echoes the famous Doyle characters, but they are by no means completely identical. If the mind of Jeeves can be compared with the mind of Holmes, then Bertie is inferior to Watson. Such a contrast is easily caught, and finding similarities with two well-known heroes, the reader expects to see the same perfectly balanced duet, but his hopes are dashed. If the text of the "Notes on Sherlock Holmes" repeatedly demonstrates to the reader the confirmation of the doctor's literary genius, then everything is different with Bertie. Unlike Watson, who records all the exploits of Holmes, in contrast, he can only provide his only work — an article written for Aunt Dahlia's women's magazine. The juxtaposition of the main characters of the two famous series increases the comic effect, since the allusion becomes obvious to the reader, while comparing duets, the intellectual component of the Woodhouse pair of characters clearly loses to Doyle's. This is further emphasized in the text of the novel itself through the episodes when Wooster unsuccessfully tries to unfold the scenario of a detective investigation.

"I couldn't have made a better shot, if I had been one of those detectives who saw a chap walking along the street and deduced that he is a retired manufacturer of poppet valves named Robinson with rheumatism in one arm, living at Clapham (highlighted by me – K. M.)" ^{[10, p. 268]}.

Bertie loves to read detective stories and often, when a case turns up, he elegantly draws in his head the details and circumstances of cases that he thinks he is about to reveal. Thus, he is preparing a script for a future performance in life, where he himself will be the main character.

In confirmation of this, consider another legendary detective mentioned by Bertram himself, Hercule Poirot.

«Well, you can see that for yourself, I mean to say. I mean, imagine how some unfortunate Master Criminal would feel on coming down to do a murder at the old Grange, if he found that not only was Sherlock Holmes putting in the weekend there, but Hercule Poirot, as well (highlighted by me – K. M.)" ^{[10, p. 221]}.

Such a thought flashed through Bertie's mind when he learned that not only Sir Watkin Basset was staying at Totley Towers, but also Roderick Spode, two minor heroes whom he had already managed to annoy enough. In this case, Bertie has no illusions about his ability to resist them, so he compares them directly with Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes, emphasizing his intellectual inadequacy.

References to famous detectives create a "reality effect", since Bertram Wooster, being a fictional hero, recalls other characters of famous works. Explicit intertextuality, according to Piege-Gros, serves to establish the relationship in absentia, it is resorted to when it is only necessary to refer the reader to another text without giving it verbatim ^{[8, p. 34]}.

The literary tradition knows a lot of bright duets consisting of a master and a servant. Such a tandem has long been part of the literary tradition, especially manifested in the comic genre. As a comedic component, the opposition of the reader's stereotypical idea of the images of the gentleman and his submitted image, created by the author, often acts. Most often, in the stereotype view, an aristocrat is a deeply erudite person who has a very good education behind him, while a servant has truncated ideas about the world and has a clear lack of education. In the comic genre, the author resorts to role inversion, showing the characters in a fundamentally different way. As a rule, a servant is endowed with a remarkable mind and erudition, while a representative of blue bloods turns into a simpleton who is unable to live a day without trouble.

Due to intertextuality, changes occur in the literary work itself, regardless of the genre to which it belongs. Watching the duo of Jeeves and Wooster, you can see how the author follows the tradition, portraying the valet as an experienced, knowledgeable and balanced person, at the same time, endowing his employer with opposite qualities. It is impossible not to notice the similarity with similar pairs of heroes in other works, for example, the squire Sancho Panza and Don Quixote, or Mr. Pickwick and Sam Weller, where the comic effect was created by contrasting characters, shading and highlighting each other ^{[11, p. 49]}. In each of these pairs, the servant is given the role of an exceptionally positive hero and intellectual, which is opposed to the role of a bad master.

Wooster feels Jeeves' superiority and throughout the work notes his intelligence and ingenuity. For example, when the situation in the Basset mansion is heating up: Bertie steals a creamer, and his friend, Fink-Notl, tries to steal back his diary, where jokes about the owner of the estate were recorded, only Jeeves, keeping icy calm, says that Gussie, leaving the house, could have taken Bertie's suitcases, where and the precious creamer was hidden. To which Wooster enthusiastically remarks:

« — Once again your swift thinking has averted disaster as it loomed!

 — It is very kind of you to say so, sir (highlighted by me – K. M.)" ^{[10, p. 370]}.

The valet's sharp mind also came in handy when Bertie didn't know how to get rid of Spode. However, Jeeves remembered in time that in the club in which they both belong, each new member is obliged to share some secret secret. It is this information that once again saves the wayward owner, leaving him a place only for admiration.:

«As for Jeeves, one could see that the faithful fellow was tickled pink at having been able to cluster round and save the young master in his hour of peril. His motto is "Service" " ^{[10, p. 370]}.

…I would like to pay you a stately tribute on the accuracy of your information re Spode. A hearty vote of thanks, Jeeves (highlighted by me – K. M.)" ^{[10, p. 303]}.

Wodehouse follows the tradition of the comic genre, which can be traced through the use of explicit means of intertextuality, but the author also introduces new elements into the genre, using the game to create a comic effect.

Characterology

The use of the game at the metatext level already builds a certain image in the eyes of the reader, representing some archetypes of this literary genre.

The characters of the main characters are also able to reveal themselves through a game with proper names and images, forming intra-textual portraits that perform a complementary function in the symbiosis of speech and portrait characteristics (description of appearance, characterological detail, costume, etc.) of the main character.

Poetological and verbal features are successfully combined by the author to realize the character's image, enhancing the comic aspect. Verbal means in the comedy genre are considered the most direct means of expressing the comic, but Wodehouse again demonstrates an unconventional approach to its manifestations, using literary play through a combination of different stylistic and genre layers. So, the image of the courteous valet Jeeves is complemented by restrained expressions. He often corrects his employer, who, unlike his servant, does not miss the opportunity to use stylistically reduced vocabulary.

« “Very well, then. You agree with me that the situation is a lulu?” “Certainly, a somewhat sharp crisis in your affairs would appear to have been precipitated, sir.” I drove on, brooding. (highlighted by me – K.M.)" ^{[9, p. 226]}.

The lexeme "lulu" is a slang expression, does not show how bad things are, and is contrasted with the more tactful "a sharp crisis" used by Jeeves. That is, it is opposed to the expression that should rather be used by an educated aristocrat. Reduced, slang vocabulary, inaccurate quoting make up the elements of the character's verbal speech self-characterization, and the erroneous authorship of the quotes used by Wooster deform the image of the main character, forming an ironic perception of him by the reader.

A kind of role inversion, which is present in the "servant-master" pair in Wodehouse, is additionally enhanced also with the help of intermedial discourse.

Despite the fact that Bertie Wooster is an Oxford graduate, his knowledge of the humanities, as well as in any other field, is superficial, and the conclusions he draws are often erroneous.

« “Yes, sir. But since then, I have been giving the matter some thought, and am now in a position to say ‘Eureka!’”

“Say what?”

“Eureka, sir. Like Archimedes.”

“Did he say Eureka? I thought it was Shakespeare (highlighted by me – K. M.)" ^{[9, p. 377]}.

In this fragment, Bertie mistakenly attributed the statement of Archimedes to Shakespeare.

The identification of authorship in the citation has its own comic subtext and axiological feature: Bertie, often using an expression without knowing its author or source or exact meaning, attributes it to Jeeves, since he heard it from him.

"I am always anxious to oblige the right sort of aunt, but I was compelled to put in what Jeeves would have called a nolle prosequi (highlighted by me – K. M.)" ^{[9, p. 309]}.

The Latin expression "nolle prosequi" is a phraseological unit of legal discourse, saturating the text with interdiscursive inclusions interacting with intertextual ones. However, Bertie, despite the frequent use of this expression, does not suspect this, that it characterizes primarily himself and increases the comic effect of what he said.

The game also manifests itself in the use of such a kind of interdiscursivity as historical and broader cultural discourse — cultural signs of the epochs. There are a lot of references to historical and political figures, actors and just popular people of the XX century in the text.

«I saw immediately what Madeline Bassett had meant when she said that he had lost his diffidence. Even across the room one could see that, when it came to self-confidence, Mussolini could have taken his correspondence course (highlighted by me – K. M.)" ^{[9, p. 234]}.

For example, you can find a comparison of Madeleine Basset, one of the minor heroines of the novel series, with Mussolini, because, despite her dreaminess and sentimentality, she shows selfishness and blackmails the main character.

Bertie Wooster is not averse to showing off his knowledge of history, to the demand of his aunt Dahlia to steal an antique creamer, during a conversation with Jeeves, he says the following:

« “If I had my life to live again, Jeeves, I would start it as an orphan without any aunts. Don't they put aunts in Turkey in sacks and drop them the Bosphorus?" (highlighted by me – K. M.)" ^{[9, p. 218]}.

To which Jeeves replies that they threw odalisques, not aunts. Bertie repeatedly demonstrates his inadequacy as a scion of a noble family, since aristocrats are credited with brilliant knowledge, at least in the field of humanities. They should be particularly good at quoting. However, Wooster will fail here, he not only forgets part of the winged expression of the Roman satirist Juvenal, but also puts a popular interpretation into it.

"I have said that that sojourn of mine in the T, bath had done much to re-establish the mem sana in corpore what-not (highlighted by me – K. M.) " ^{[9, p. 210]}.

Bertie postulates the relationship between mental and physical health, which fundamentally contradicts the original, in which we are talking about a harmoniously developed person who is inherent in both. Bertie often tries to embellish his speech with quotes, but his inability to do it correctly only enhances the comic, as it betrays his shallow knowledge.

The comic in the pair of main characters gives not only inconsistency, but also characterology, manifested in a complete inversion of their roles. Bertie Wooster had to confirm his aristocratic status, but he is very much inferior to his valet, who more than once demonstrates his intellectual superiority, which the author shows through a literary game.

Narration

In a comic text, the manner of narration itself is capable of creating and enhancing a comic effect, which is very clearly seen in the Jeeves and Wooster series. Thus, the author intends to use the "I-Form" of narration in most novels and short stories ^{[11, p. 198]}, thanks to which the reader feels his own involvement with events more than when narrating from a third person. The form of the narrative in the first person also emphasizes the narrow-mindedness of the main character. On the pages of the novel, the use of narration from this form reveals another dramatic feature of the comic series – the use of a dialogical form in combination with an epic narrative.  However, since the hero's behavior in life is depicted as theatrical, as if according to a script, the dramatological elements of poetics (accentuated dialogism along with narrative features) are included in the epic work, creating a symbiosis of the poetics of the epic and dramatic work. The originality of the novel's narrative is revealed through a game with a combination of monologue speech (thoughts and arguments of Wooster) and dialogues with Jeeves. Bertie alternates his own scenarios with moments of insight when he realizes the helplessness and illogicality of his plan, and is forced to turn to an intelligent person (Jeeves) to help resolve the situation.

The combination of two types of discourse in a humorous work is a successful writer's solution for self-exposure of the hero, thereby reinforcing the reader's idea that Bertie Wooster cannot be trusted. This gives the author the opportunity to withdraw himself, thereby liberating the hero, making him free from the author's assessment and condemnation. At the same time, the reader becomes closer to the rake Wooster, who has a rather meager inner world, which resonates with the general ideas of aristocrats as a rich and educated class, leaving the reader perplexed, creating a comic effect.

Conclusions.

Wodehouse, being a landmark author of the XX century and a follower of the English comedy tradition, demonstrates in his work many features that unite him with other prominent representatives of the comedy discourse. However, analyzing his novel “The Code of Woosters”, we came to the conclusion that the author managed to introduce innovative features into the comedy genre. The active use of literary play: various techniques of intertextuality and intermediality distinguishes Wodehouse from other authors of this genre, presenting readers with a new look at the comic.