# Jane Gets Off the Fairway explained — Golf Stories

> Chapter companion for Golf Stories by P. G. Wodehouse.

## What happens

The Oldest Member tells a new story about William Bates, Jane Packard, and Rodney Spelvin, focusing on the first anniversary of Jane and William's marriage. Jane fears William has forgotten their anniversary, but he surprises her with a trip to a golf course. However, a misunderstanding leads Jane to believe he has left her, and she returns to her mother's home, where Rodney Spelvin visits. The chapter ends with Jane realizing her maternal duty to teach her son golf, and she sends Rodney away.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Marriage

The chapter explores the challenges of married life, particularly the importance of remembering anniversaries and the romantic expectations wives may have.

### Humor and Absurdity

The misunderstanding over the anniversary and Jane's dramatic reaction, including her son's incorrect golf grip, provide comedic elements.

## Character check-ins

### Jane Packard

Now married to William Bates, Jane fears her husband has forgotten their first anniversary, leading to a misunderstanding and her departure to her mother's home.

### William Bates

William surprises Jane with a trip to a golf course for their anniversary, but a miscommunication causes Jane to think he has left her.

### Rodney Fails

Rodney Spelvin, the poet and former fiancé of Jane, visits her at her mother's home, but is quickly dismissed.

### The Sage

The Oldest Member narrates the story, prompted by the secretary's white violets and missing novel.

## Key lines

> You have learned by this time that there is a strong romantic streak in Jane. It may not appear on the surface, but it is there. And this romantic streak will cause her, like so many wives, to attach an exaggerated importance to what may seem to you trivial things.

The Oldest Member warns William that Jane has a hidden romantic side that will make her overly value small gestures, such as remembering anniversaries.

_This advice sets up the central conflict of the chapter._

> I've arranged with a florist that a bunch of white violets is to be shipped to Jane every year on this day. I paid five years in advance. I am, therefore, speaking in the most conservative spirit, on velvet.

William has pre-ordered annual deliveries of white violets to ensure he never forgets the anniversary, believing this will guarantee marital harmony.

_William's plan backfires when the flowers arrive a day early, causing the misunderstanding._

> If you had but taught me the facts of life when I was a child, mother, I would not now be going round in a hundred and twenty, rising to a hundred and forty in anything like a high wind.

Jane imagines her son blaming her for not teaching him proper golf technique, leading to high scores.

_This humorous vision prompts Jane to prioritize her son's golf education over her own desires._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/golf_stories_se/chapters/jane-gets-off-the-fairway
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/golf_stories_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/golf_stories_se/chapters