Jeeves Stories · Chapter
Scoring Off Jeeves explained
Bertie overhears Jeeves describing him as 'mentally negligible' to his vacation replacement, which rankles deeply.
What happens
Bertie overhears Jeeves describing him as 'mentally negligible' to his vacation replacement, which rankles deeply. While brooding at Buck's, he meets Bingo Little, who is tutoring the Glossop kid in Hampshire and has fallen in love with Honoria Glossop. At lunch, Aunt Agatha again pressures Bertie to marry, this time recommending Honoria. Bertie later visits Bingo and devises a scheme to help Bingo impress Honoria by pushing young Oswald into the river so Bingo can rescue him, inspired by what Jeeves would do.
Themes in this chapter
Intelligence and Incompetence
Jeeves calls Bertie 'negligible' mentally, yet Bertie later devises a clever scheme, challenging the perception of his intelligence.
Love and Marriage
Bingo's infatuation with Honoria and Aunt Agatha's matchmaking for Bertie highlight the theme of romantic entanglement and societal pressure to marry.
Deception and Identity
Bertie's scheme to push Oswald into the river involves deception to make Bingo appear heroic, masking the true cause of the accident.
Characters to notice
- Bertie Wooster
Narrator; overhears Jeeves insulting his intelligence, broods, meets Bingo, lunches with Aunt Agatha, and devises a scheme to help Bingo.
- Jeeves
Mentioned as taking a vacation; overheard calling Bertie 'negligible' and 'not intelligent.'
- Bingo Little
Tutoring the Glossop kid in Hampshire; deeply in love with Honoria Glossop; accepts Bertie's scheme.
- Honoria Glossop
Object of Bingo's love; described by Bertie as large, brainy, and strenuous; recommended by Aunt Agatha as a wife for Bertie.
- Aunt Agatha
Lunches with Bertie and presses him to marry Honoria Glossop, despite her previous mistake at Roville.
- Sir Roderick Glossop
Mentioned as part of the Glossop family; Bertie knows the Glossops.
Key passages
“You will find Mr. Wooster an exceedingly pleasant and amiable young gentleman, but not intelligent. By no means intelligent. Mentally he is negligible—quite negligible.”
Jeeves tells the substitute that Bertie is nice but not smart, and mentally insignificant.
This insult motivates Bertie's desire to prove himself.
“I worship her, Bertie! I worship the very ground she treads on!”
Bingo declares his intense love for Honoria Glossop.
Shows Bingo's characteristic romantic fervor.
“Bertie, I've been thinking again about you and how necessary it is that you should get married.”
Aunt Agatha resumes her campaign to get Bertie married, now recommending Honoria.
Highlights Aunt Agatha's persistent matchmaking despite her previous failure.