Overthinking a plate of bubble and squeak

January 7, 2016 6:47 AM

Wondering about an odd bit of dialog (spoiler-free) in Downton Abbey, Season Six, ep 1.

Lady Edith tells another character (paraphrasing) that she had met Lytton Strachey in her London flat, "although he didn't stay very long." It was an odd bit of seemingly tossed-off dialog, and it felt like some sort of insider joke. I read the Wiki on Lytton Strachey, and there was nothing that appeared to indicate that he was known for fleeting appearances and he didn't die terribly young.

You think that there was some meaning that I'm missing, or am I over-thinking it?

posted by thebrokedown to Grab Bag (8 answers total)

I'm assuming it means "we didn't get it on."
posted by Metroid Baby at 6:49 AM on January 7, 2016 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Ok, makes sense. But then I want to overthink THAT. Is there any reason why someone like Edith wouldn't get on with Strachey? I still feel like there's some winking allusion.
posted by thebrokedown at 7:09 AM on January 7, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Wasn't Strachey gay? Coy references to homosexuality are the bread and butter of upperclass British snark, no? He didn't stay long because he's gay, and thus we did not have an illicit assignation?
posted by Wretch729 at 7:30 AM on January 7, 2016 [5 favorites]

I took from it that he was gay, which his Wikipedia entry confirms. If he'd been straight they might have wanted to keep each other around longer.
posted by tchemgrrl at 7:32 AM on January 7, 2016

He was gay, and he was a little neurotic. You can get a good sense if you watch Carrington. Jonathan Pryce plays Strachey wonderfully.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 8:02 AM on January 7, 2016 [4 favorites]

Response by poster: I thought maybe it was a little more tricksy than that, but sly nod towards homosexual works for me. Thanks, all.
posted by thebrokedown at 9:21 AM on January 7, 2016

I was also thinking it was a nod to the idea that while Edith is starting to have a more cosmopolitain life than, say, everyone who just hangs out at Downton 99% of the time (I'm looking at you, Mary, riding in the hunt and taking over as land agent), she's still nowhere near equal to the kinds of bohemian circles that Strachey and his crowd moved in? So he left because he was bored?
posted by BlahLaLa at 9:49 AM on January 7, 2016 [2 favorites]

sly nod towards homosexual

I call dibs for my imaginary band's name.
posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 12:25 PM on January 7, 2016 [3 favorites]