The Code Of The Woosters

It's always fun to come across a spanking reference in something you're reading--or in this instance, listening to.  The book (or, more accurately, the book-on-tape) is "The Code Of The Woosters":, by P. G. Wodehouse.

P. G. Wodehouse was a British author and humorist.  Perhaps the best known of his writings involve the young man-about-town Bertram Wooster and his valet, the quintessential gentleman's gentleman, Jeeves.  In his stories of the two, Bertie always seems to find himself in some spot of bother or other, only to be saved by the wise and almost all-knowing Jeeves.  (The "Ask Jeeves" people didn't just pull that name out of thin air, you know.)

In the book, "The Code Of The Woosters", Bertie is in a bit of a scrape from several women, both of whom want the same thing, but for very different reasons.  They are trying to get him to steal a silver cow-creamer, Bertie doesn't want to have anything to do with it, but he is virtually being blackmailed by Stephanie (Stiffy) Byng on the one hand and his Aunt Dahlia on the other.  Bertie goes on a bit of a rant about the situation to Jeeves, which leads us to this passage--

Bertie:  Well, I suppose, the whole fact of the matter is, Jeeves, that all this modern emancipation of women has resulted in them getting it up their noses and not giving a damn what they do!  It was not like this in Queen Victoria's day!  The Prince Consort would have had a word to say about a girl like Stiffy, what?

 

Jeeves:  I can conceive that His Royal Highness might quite possibly not have approved of Miss Byng, sir.

 

Bertie:  He would have had her over his knee laying into her with a slipper before she knew where she was.  And I wouldn't put it past him to have treated Aunt Dahlia in a similar fashion, Jeeves!