So Here's to You, Mrs. Pemberton?

[SanjMerchant]

So, because I'm the type of obsessive nerd who likes to figure out how irrelevant setting details work, I figured I'd share some confusion over something:

How does Pemberton's disguise work over multiple generations?

The book describes him as pretending to be successive generations of the Pemberton family (presumably so he can be his own heir and thus maintain control over his hoard estate). But then what does he do about Mrs. Pemberton? For someone who's as active in industry and commerce has he is, never having his wife appear in public alongside him seems a trifle odd, and even odder when every Pemberton that anyone can remember has done the same.

And even if Mrs. P is Maris Crane, Pemberton himself would still need someone to play his son so he could introduce and establish the boy among his colleagues and business partners: it'd be odd if the first time anyone ever laid eyes on Lucius Pemberton was when he showed up at the reading of the will of Archibald Pemberton.

I was under the impression that things like thinking golems and duplicants were all invented within the lifetime of the Benedict Pemberton identity.

So am I just left the silly idea that Mrs. Pemberton is a gnoll in drag?

 

[RangerWickett]

He's got a wife overseas, of course. Or maybe he 'adopts an orphan' (it worked for Connor Macleod in Highlander).

 

[gideonpepys]

Perhaps Pemberton masquerades as his own wife, with hilarious consequences?

This thread reminds me of the time I confused my GCSE Lit class by telling them (for a joke) that Curly and Curly's wife were the same person. I only realised they'd taken me seriously when they handed in their papers. (I mean, she dies in chapter five, and he's still alive, but they appear to have missed that detail.)

 

[SanjMerchant]

Perhaps Pemberton masquerades as his own wife, with hilarious consequences?

This thread reminds me of the time I confused my GCSE Lit class by telling them (for a joke) that Curly and Curly's wife were the same person. I only realised they'd taken me seriously when they handed in their papers. (I mean, she dies in chapter five, and he's still alive, but they appear to have missed that detail.)

Great, now Pemberton is just going to make me think of the first minute of this.