# Appearance vs. Reality in Something New

> Theme guide for Something New by P. G. Wodehouse.

Characters frequently adopt disguises and false personas—Ashe as a valet, Joan as a lady's maid—highlighting the gap between their true identities and the roles they play in the household.

## Where it surfaces

- [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/something_new_se/chapters/iv): Ashe and Joan both take positions as servants while hiding their true motives, and Joan suspects Ashe's story is not what it seems.
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/something_new_se/chapters/vi): Ashe pretends to be a loyal valet reading to his employer, while actually plotting theft; Baxter suspects but cannot prove the deception.
- [Chapter IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/something_new_se/chapters/ix): Baxter's certainty about the shoe's evidence is undermined by Ashe's substitution, highlighting how appearances can be deceptive.
- [The Missing Scarab](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/something_new_se/chapters/x): The apparent theft of the scarab leads to mistaken assumptions between Ashe and Joan about who took it.
- [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/something_new_se/chapters/xi): The blackmail scheme is revealed to be a fraud; Freddie's trust in Jones is misplaced.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/something_new_se/themes/appearance_vs_reality
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/something_new_se/themes