I find myself really not knowing what Peter's thinking at this point.
the naked-dousing-under-the-scullery-pump
Thinking of which draws me back to Peter's line about revenge. What, precisely, is he being revenged for? The obvious conclusion, if we're assuming that all is tolerably right in the world, is the water being very cold and the scrubbing vigorous, in which case Crutchley and Ruddle are fair play and Bunter's stifled response is a humorous furious "You bastard". But if either P or B is not quite easy in mind here, then it's more complicated. Bunter has not, we trust, been scrubbed naked, but he has potentially been humilated - is that in play? Mrs Ruddle will be sexualised in a Bunterian context later (when Peter declines her for a double-date, but says Harriet have Bunter if she wants, with a hark back to her original "I wish I could have married him"). What does Bunter think Peter is thinking?
I'm sure there is more that could be dragged out about the pump, too. It's a putting-the-groom-to-bed thing, and a horseplay male-bonding thing, and, well, it's a pump. Why not just a decent sink and a scrubbing brush and leave him to it?
DLS is far too good an author - and no-where near naive enough a woman - for this not to be intentional.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2010-04-20 10:29 am (UTC)the naked-dousing-under-the-scullery-pump
Thinking of which draws me back to Peter's line about revenge. What, precisely, is he being revenged for? The obvious conclusion, if we're assuming that all is tolerably right in the world, is the water being very cold and the scrubbing vigorous, in which case Crutchley and Ruddle are fair play and Bunter's stifled response is a humorous furious "You bastard". But if either P or B is not quite easy in mind here, then it's more complicated. Bunter has not, we trust, been scrubbed naked, but he has potentially been humilated - is that in play? Mrs Ruddle will be sexualised in a Bunterian context later (when Peter declines her for a double-date, but says Harriet have Bunter if she wants, with a hark back to her original "I wish I could have married him"). What does Bunter think Peter is thinking?
I'm sure there is more that could be dragged out about the pump, too. It's a putting-the-groom-to-bed thing, and a horseplay male-bonding thing, and, well, it's a pump. Why not just a decent sink and a scrubbing brush and leave him to it?
DLS is far too good an author - and no-where near naive enough a woman - for this not to be intentional.