# XXI: Psmith Makes Inquiries explained — Psmith in the City

> Chapter companion for Psmith in the City by P. G. Wodehouse.

## What happens

Psmith learns from Bristow that Mike is being berated by Mr. Bickersdyke. After the confrontation, Psmith meets Mike at a Mecca cafe to hear his account of the dismissal. Psmith advises Mike to stop taking on others' troubles, but promises to intervene with Bickersdyke on his behalf.

## Themes in this chapter

### Friendship and Loyalty

Psmith immediately steps in to support Mike after his dismissal, showing deep loyalty and a willingness to use his influence.

### Work vs. Idleness

Psmith's leisurely posture and musing contrast with the serious consequences of Mike's job loss, highlighting the tension between duty and leisure.

### Authority and Rebellion

Mike's confession and dismissal represent a direct clash with Bickersdyke's authority, while Psmith plans to challenge that authority at the club.

## Character check-ins

### Psmith

Leans gracefully against his desk, muses on commercial duties, and decides to investigate Mike's trouble with Bickersdyke.

### Mike Jackson

Dazed after being dismissed by Bickersdyke; worries about what his family will say and his future employment.

### Mr. Bickersdyke

Furiously berates Mike in his office, using his public-speaking fluency to denounce him.

### Bristow

Reports the 'hurricane' in Bickersdyke's room to Psmith, wearing a flamboyant waistcoat.

## Key lines

> Your secretarial duties must be paramount. Nothing must be allowed to interfere with them. Yes. The thing must stop before it goes too far.

Psmith insists that Mike's role as his confidential secretary must come first, and that he must stop intervening in others' problems.

_Psmith humorously elevates Mike's secretarial duties to a paramount position, using mock-seriousness to advise against self-sacrifice._

> I have some little influence with Comrade Bickersdyke. Wrongly, perhaps, he thinks somewhat highly of my judgement.

Psmith claims he has influence over Bickersdyke, who supposedly values his opinion, though he says this with ironic modesty.

_Psmith's characteristic self-deprecating irony underscores his confidence in manipulating the manager._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/psmith_in_the_city_se/chapters/xxi-psmith-makes-inquiries
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/psmith_in_the_city_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/psmith_in_the_city_se/chapters