Leave It to Psmith: Analysis of Major Characters
"Leave It to Psmith" features an intriguing cast of characters set against a backdrop of comedic misadventure at Blandings Castle. The protagonist, Ronald Eustace Psmith, is a tall and thin aristocrat who embraces a mistaken identity as Ralston McTodd, a poet. His charm and quick wit draw the attention of Eve Halliday, a beautiful heroine tasked with cataloging Lord Emsworth’s library, who initially remains unaware of Psmith's true identity. Lord Clarence Emsworth, the somewhat oblivious ninth Earl of Emsworth, is more invested in his flowers than the affairs unfolding around him, often leading to humorous misunderstandings. Lady Constance, his frugal sister, becomes the target of a scheme involving the theft of her diamond necklace, orchestrated by Psmith and her son, Freddie Threepwood, a carefree young man lacking the cunning to execute the plan himself. The narrative also includes Rupert Baxter, Lord Emsworth's suspicious secretary, who is intent on uncovering Psmith's scheme, and a pair of American gangsters, Edward Cootes and Liz, who are equally interested in the necklace. Together, these characters navigate a web of comedy and deception, culminating in a series of chaotic events that reveal their true motivations and relationships.
Leave It to Psmith: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: P. G. Wodehouse
First published: 1923
Genre: Novel
Locale: Primarily Blandings Castle
Plot: Wit and humor
Time: The late Edwardian era
Ronald Eustace Psmith, a clever, charming aristocrat who has left the family fish business to seek employment. Very tall and very thin, Psmith (the p is silent) is a solemn young man who wears a top hat, morning coat, and monocle. He travels to Blandings Castle by train with Lord Emsworth, who has mistaken Psmith for Ralston McTodd, a fashionable poet invited to Blandings by Lady Constance, Lord Emsworth's sister. Psmith encourages the mistaken identity because he knows that Eve Halliday, a pretty girl he has just met and with whom he has fallen in love, is also going to Blandings, to catalog Lord Emsworth's library. While traveling to Blandings, Psmith is approached by Freddie Threepwood, Lord Emsworth's son, and asked if he will steal Lady Constance's diamond necklace. Because Psmith knows and likes the Jacksons, whom the theft will benefit, he agrees to help in this scheme. After many comic complications, Psmith finally obtains the necklace and Eve's love. He accepts a position as Lord Emsworth's private secretary.
Eve Halliday, the young, attractive heroine. Eve is retained to catalog the library at Blandings and finds herself attracted to Psmith. She soon learns from a girlfriend, however, that he is not Ralston McTodd, the poet, as he claims. She proceeds cautiously until she discovers his real identity and motivation.
Clarence, the ninth Earl of Emsworth, owner of Blandings Castle. Somewhat doddering and constantly preoccupied with his cherished flowers, Lord Emsworth is also prone to misplace his glasses. Lunching at his club one day with poet Ralston McTodd, whom he sees only dimly without his glasses, Lord Emsworth chatters on about his running battle with his gardener over the proper care of his flowers, a monologue that both bores and enrages his guest. McTodd gratefully slips away from Lord Emsworth at his first chance and drops his plans to visit Blandings that week at Lady Constance's invitation. Soon after finding his glasses, Lord Emsworth mistakes Psmith for McTodd and takes him to Blandings as the poet.
Lady Constance Keeble, Lord Emsworth's sister. Angry that her stepdaughter Phyllis has married against her wishes, Lady Constance refuses to help Phyllis and her husband, Mike Jackson, purchase a small house in the country. Lady Constance's tightfistedness prompts her husband, Joe Keeble, and her nephew Freddie to plot with Psmith to steal her diamond necklace, sell it, and use part of the profits to set up the Jacksons in their new home.
The Honorable Freddie Threepwood, Lord Emsworth's son. Freddie, a carefree, empty-headed young man, hits on the idea to steal his aunt's necklace, but both he and his uncle realize that he lacks the ingenuity to work out the details. After seeing an advertisement placed by Psmith in a London newspaper offering his services for any endeavor (even criminal), Freddie recruits him to carry out the mission. Freddie seeks a thousand pounds of the money they will realize from selling the necklace to pay off racetrack losses and to begin a bookmaking operation.
Rupert Baxter, Lord Emsworth's private secretary. The coldly efficient Baxter is immediately suspicious of Psmith when his signature does not match that of McTodd. Baxter tries to block Psmith's efforts to steal Lady Constance's necklace by hiring a private detective to stay at Blandings posing as Susan, the new parlormaid. When the necklace is stolen during a poetry reading given by Psmith, Baxter guesses correctly that it has been hidden in a flowerpot in the garden. Early one morning, he sneaks outside to investigate but is accidentally locked out. To get back in the house, Baxter tries to wake someone in the nearest bedroom by tossing the flowerpots one by one through an open window. It happens to be the window of Lord Emsworth, who, with some prompting from Psmith, decides that Baxter has gone insane and dismisses him.
Edward Cootes and Liz, an American gangster and his partner, who is the brains of their operation. They arrive separately at Blandings, having also heard about Lady Constance's valuable necklace. They team up to steal it and have a final showdown over the necklace with Psmith and Eve in a ramshackle cottage on the grounds at Blandings. When Freddie clumsily stumbles upstairs and sends one of his legs crashing through the ceiling, Psmith in the confusion is able to get the necklace from the gangsters.