Psmith in the City · Chapter
The New Era Begins explained
Mike Jackson learns he will start work at the New Asiatic Bank, receives a letter from Psmith about his ongoing campaign to reform Mr.
What happens
Mike Jackson learns he will start work at the New Asiatic Bank, receives a letter from Psmith about his ongoing campaign to reform Mr. Bickersdyke, and travels to London to find lodgings. He settles on a depressing bed-sitting room in Dulwich and visits the nearby college grounds, where he feels homesick and contemplates the end of his school cricket career.
Themes in this chapter
Ambition and Career
Mike begins his banking career with a mix of gloom and excitement, facing the reality of a low salary and the end of his school cricket ambitions.
Resilience and Adaptation
Mike adapts to his new life in London, navigating the depressing process of finding lodgings and confronting his homesickness in the college grounds.
Humor and Absurdity
Psmith's letter humorously critiques Bickersdyke's bridge and attire, and the landlady's deadpan, theatrical manner adds a comic tone to Mike's lodging search.
Characters to notice
- Mike Jackson
Mike receives news of his bank job, reads Psmith's letter, travels to London, and secures a gloomy bed-sitting room in Dulwich, feeling homesick as he reflects on his lost cricket days.
- Psmith
Psmith writes a letter to Mike describing his ongoing efforts to improve Mr. Bickersdyke, mentioning his criticism of Bickersdyke's bridge playing and made-up tie.
- Mr. Bickersdyke
Referred to by Psmith as 'Comrade Bickersdyke' and 'a Merchant Prince'; Psmith criticizes his bridge skills and attire, and their relationship remains strained.
- Mr. Jackson
Mike's father, who arranged the bank position and will provide a monthly allowance of five pounds.
Key passages
“Mike reread this letter in the train that took him to London. By this time Psmith would know that his was not the only case in which Commerce was booming.”
On the train to London, Mike reread Psmith's letter, realizing that Psmith would now be aware that Mike's family had also faced financial trouble.
Mike reflects on the shared misfortune with Psmith as he travels to start his new job.
“A city like New York makes the new arrival feel at home in half an hour; but London is a specialist in what Psmith in his letter had called the Distant Stare.”
Unlike New York, which quickly welcomes newcomers, London gives them a cold, indifferent reception.
Mike contrasts the friendliness of New York with London's aloofness, echoing Psmith's phrase.
“He had crossed the Rubicon. The occasion was too serious for him to feel the same helplessly furious feeling with which he had embarked on life at Sedleigh.”
Mike had made an irreversible decision, and the gravity of the situation prevented him from feeling the same angry helplessness he had at Sedleigh.
Mike acknowledges the finality of his new path, distinct from his earlier school experience.