Bertie Wooster on the squashy soupiness of Madeline Bassett

I can well imagine that a casual observer, if I had confided to him my qualms at the idea of being married to this girl, would have rasied his eyebrows and been at a loss to understand, for she was undeniably an eyeful, being slim, svelte, and beautifully equipped with golden hair and all the fixings.  But where the casual observer would have been making his bloomer was in overlooking that squashy soupiness of hers, that subtle air she had of being on the point of talking baby talk.  She was the sort of girl who puts her hands over a husband's eyes, as he is crawling in to breakfast with a morning head, and says, "Guess who?"

---from Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse.

Comments

[Mike Schilling]

It's interesting [1] to note that in the Bassett's original appearance in _Right Ho, Jeeves_, she's described simply as a "droopy, saucer-eyed blonde", and it's clear that no one in his right mind would be interested in her. (Gussie Fink-Nottle is, but that doesn't contradict the previous statement.)

As her story went on (through _The Code of the Woosters_, _The Mating Season_, and so on), she came to be presented as more and more attractive, presumably for the humor in the contrast between her lovely body and horrifying soul.

1. To me, that is.

[velvet goldmine]

Mike -- spot on! It seems to me that Bertie eventually categorized females into two groups: those with faces one would hate to face over the breakfast table, and those with personalities one would hate to face over the breakfast table.

[Campaspe]

LOL! Isn't Madeleine the one who is also the sort of girl who asks a fellow if he doesn't think the stars are really God's daisy chain?