Every so often, I think I would like to have a butler or
valet to cater to my whims and provide general life-assistance; make the path
smoother, as it were.
Perhaps something along the lines of a Jeeves who, as we all
know, has the solution to every problem and can do anything within the Valet
remit.
Jeeves, brilliantly played by Stephen Fry with Hugh Laurie as Bertie Wooster in the TV mini series 'Jeeves and Wooster'. Just Brilliant.
Jeeves could do just about anything. If you had a butler, you'd want him to be a Jeeves.
However, if I were to think about it seriously, I don’t
think I could ever actually give someone orders. I don’t think I could pay
someone to cater to my whims. Though I may wish for breakfast in bed, I am
perfectly capable of getting it all myself. Though I may crave a cider or a
chocolate cupcake at around 2:32pm on a weekday afternoon, I don’t actually
need either and I don’t need anyone to fetch them for me.
I suspect that the employment of a butler, lady’s maid, valet,
chauffeur, is something that you grow up with, accepting the presence of
someone to take care of the little things. An integral part of extremely privileged
way of life. I’m sure many of my friends may like the idea of someone to attend to them, most would revolt against
the notion if that person was presented before them and they could suddenly issues
instructions such as ‘Fix me a martini’, ‘Fetch my dinner jacket’, ‘Pop to the
shops to get me some herring.’
Do you think you could feel comfortable issuing instructions
to a maid or valet? Or does the idea make you cringe?
Jim Carter as the butler Carson and Hugh Bonneville as Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham in Downton Abbey.
