“Television Character:
Hyacinth Bucket”
by Maria Teresa De
Donato
Hello Friends!
After Italian
accountant Ugo Fantozzi, a victim of everything and everyone, and American
veteran Archie Bunker, today we will meet the Queen of candlelit suppers, Hyacinth
Bucket, the main character of
the popular British TV sitcom Keeping Up Appearances. She’s not easy to
deal with, but she’s famous for her undisputed culinary skills and her
meticulous table setting, adhering to the best rules of etiquette. She makes
this clear to all the ladies who attend her church, all of whom are trying, in
their own way, to do their best whenever an event is followed by a lunch or
dinner.
Hyacinth’s Elegance,
Aesthetic Sense, and Philosophy of Life
If we were invited to
dinner at her house, I am sure that Hyacinth would go for French foods and, to
give the best of herself, she would offer us the following dishes, introducing
them with their original names, of course:
• Bruschetta à l’oignon
français (French-style bruschetta with onions)
• Oeufs mimosa à la française (Mimosa French Deviled Eggs)
• Galette aux champignons (Mushroom galette)
• Tapenade de figues et
d’olives noires (Tapenade of figs and black olives)
• Gougère, choux au
fromage français (French cheese puffs Gougère)
• Tartelettes au fromage de chèvre, poireaux et confiture
d'abricots (Tarts of goat’s cheese with leeks and jam Apricots)
• Salmon Terrine
• Lyonnaise Salad with
Sausages and Walnuts
That said, rather than
giving a long list of ingredients and explanations of how to prepare each
course, I thought you’d enjoy watching this short video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VToA1XahV4
As for drinks, I’m sure
she’d offer:
• Calvados de Normandie
(Normandy Calvados)
• Gentiane d'Auvergne (Auvergne Gentian)
• Pineau des Charentes (Charentes Pineau)
Our dinner would end
with these wonderful chocolate cookies... easy to make, as the following video
shows:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_Pvn9ASEMA
Furthermore, to give
you an immediate idea of the environment that would host us, I chose this
image that perfectly represents the way Hyacinth would set and decorate the
table, since, to repeat her own words:
“The essence of the art of
entertaining lies, I always believe, in creating an atmosphere of grace and
decorum.”
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The best way to get to
know Hyacinth, understand her philosophy of life and sense of aesthetics, is to
immerse yourself in her world and appreciate her above all for her hospitality,
cooking, and table settings. She excels in this; she is a “First Class Lady,”
or rather, “Une Grande Dame.”
What struck me the
first time I saw this series and this character?
Its sense of the
ridiculous, as in the case of the American Archie Bunker, and, of course, that
typically English humor that transforms everything into an existential
tragicomedy. I find this ability to make you laugh out loud despite the
seriousness and absurdity of certain situations particularly intriguing.
This character inspires
me in so many ways, although I wouldn’t like to be her neighbor. That poor Elizabeth
has my complete sympathy. Hyacinth, while we can appreciate her hospitality and
her honorable intentions, can only be taken in small doses and not often.
How this character was
born
Keeping Up Appearances is a British sitcom
created and written by screenwriter Roy Clarke. It aired first on BBC1 from
1990 to 1995 and later also aired here in the US on PBS.
The main character is
Hyacinth Bucket, a role masterfully played by actress Patricia Routledge. Her
husband’s surname, Bucket, should be pronounced the English way, but to give
herself a certain air of prestige, she insists it be pronounced the French way,
“Bouquet”.
What are some
particularly significant episodes that reveal the true nature of this
character?
There aren’t any,
because Hyacinth is “Hyacinth” 24/7/365. She doesn’t do it on purpose: that’s
just who she is. Although she’s a simple, middle-class housewife, she strives
to stand out from the crowd at every opportunity... and she regularly succeeds
in this, but not in the way she’d hoped, much less in reaching the goals she’d
set for herself. She does so by trying to prove herself superior in an attempt
to earn the respect and friendship of those she considers to be of a higher
social class.
In this, unfortunately,
she punctually fails because, despite her meticulousness, she constantly
stumbles into unexpected situations that derail her plans.
The Major Obstacles to
Hyacinth’s Success
Among the most
significant obstacles that thwart her plans are her own family members, whom
she is deeply ashamed of and desperately tries to hide: an elderly father
who, despite suffering from senility and therefore memory loss, not only has
these sudden flashbacks to World War II and thus arms himself to the teeth to
go and fight a supposed enemy... but often chases, completely naked, the
beautiful women he meets in the neighborhood. Naturally, the fact that he is
naked is implied to the viewer, but never shown. 😊
Another member of Hyacinth’s
family is her sister Rose, who is always dressed in miniskirts and willing
to seduce someone, including the vicar, as she desperately searches for a
husband. However, this invariably fails to happen because, after having some
fun, the men regularly abandon her. Then there’s her sister Daisy and her
husband Onslow, a couple who spend all day watching TV and eating
something... with Daisy always in the mood for making love... and Onslow
looking for any excuse to avoid it. All four live in their father’s house,
where, we must assume, Hyacinth herself once lived before marrying Richard.
Their house, which
requires a complete renovation, cleaning, and reorganization, starting with its
garden, is situated in a modest neighborhood where everything appears to be in
disrepair. Hyacinth, who visits them only when there are situations that
require her immediate intervention the whole family relies on, dressed to the
nines and wearing her unmistakable, colorful hats with flowers and veils, is
terribly embarrassed and tries to stay there as little time as possible,
naturally making sure that none of her “high-ranking” acquaintances see her or,
God forbid, associate her even for a moment with any of her family members.
Her relatives’ dog – a
large Spinone – completes the picture. It lives undisturbed in the broken-down
car parked in the garden in front of the house. As soon as he sees her, he
suddenly appears from the window and barks at her, regularly knocking her onto
the hedge.
Hyacinth’s third
sister, Violet, is married to Bruce, a wealthy man who provides
her with a rather luxurious lifestyle. In their case, everything would be
perfect if it weren’t for the fact that Bruce loves to dress up as a woman...
which compromises their social life. It’s noteworthy that Hyacinth, when Violet
calls her home in tears asking for her advice on what to do, is so proud of her
sister and her position in society that she promptly shouts from the hallway
where the telephone is located to any guests in the kitchen, like Elizabeth, or
in the living room: “It’s my sister Violet, the one with the Mercedes, the
pool/sauna, and room for a pony.”
Hyacinth is married to
Richard, a man, God bless his heart, who loves her and patiently tolerates her,
pitied by all those who know the couple and, more or less explicitly, ask him,
when they meet him alone, how he manages to put up with his wife. Richard works
in the government’s finance department and, therefore, can provide the family
with a reasonable level of financial comfort. They live in a beautiful house in
a neighborhood that isn’t luxurious, but is certainly upper-middle-class.
The Buckets also have a
son, Sheridan, who, although he never appears in the television series,
regularly calls his mother to ask for extra money for the most extravagant
things, such as 300 pounds (about 450 euros) to buy a pair of pure silk pajamas
for his friend, the one she lives with, who doesn’t like wearing cotton ones.
It’s unclear, from his
conversations with his mother, whether Sheridan works or not. We only know that
he attends university and constantly asks his parents for money several times a
month. The phone conversations, however, are always between him and his mother,
with Richard from his room or the kitchen shouting at Hyacinth that he’s
already given his son plenty of money for the current month.
Hyacinth is the only
person among all the couple’s relatives and acquaintances who didn’t get that
his son is gay. Poor Richard tried once, and the conversation went something
like this:
Richard: “Hyacinth, sooner or later, you and I will have
to talk about Sheridan. Have you ever wondered why he dropped out of college
math to take sewing and crochet?”
To which Hyacinth
promptly replied:
“Of course, he dropped out of math to take
sewing and crochet. If he and the friend he lives with decided to sew their own
curtains, what good would the math class have done?”
Why is this character
so beloved by the public?
I’m not sure if the
expression “beloved” is the correct one. In fact, no one loves Hyacinth. No one
can stand her because, despite her graceful manners, she’s actually a total
snob. She has so terrified her poor neighbor, Elizabeth, whom she regularly
invites for tea or coffee in the afternoon, that Elizabeth, a very sweet,
pleasant, and patient woman who does everything she can to maintain a friendly and
neighborly relationship, has reached such a level of stress that every time she
visits Hyacinth, her hands shake. As a result, she even managed to break a cup
and saucer from an English porcelain set that Hyacinth was particularly fond
of. Such incidents have been so frequent, often provoked by Hyacinth’s suddenly
shrill tones, that Hyacinth finally bought a plastic cup for Elizabeth.
Who exactly does
Hyacinth represent?
Hyacinth represents a
sort of “social climber” who wants to join the jet set at all costs, and
despite numerous attempts, consistently fails and makes a fool of herself.
Despite this, she does not give up, and after every failure, she gets back on
her feet, metaphorically speaking, and begins planning another great adventure
to achieve her goal. From this perspective, she is absolutely determined and
tireless, and is to be admired. She stops at nothing and no one, becoming, in
her own way, an actual role model.
What lesson can we
learn from the character Hyacinth Bucket?
The sharp wit of the
English, who have always been famous for this trait, combined with Hyacinth’s
profound aesthetic sense and her desire, or rather, compulsive need, to better
herself in life and achieve a higher social standing.
Would a character like
this be possible in an American TV series today?
I’m not sure, because
times have changed, and what was considered funny 30 years ago is probably not
even understood by younger generations today. How many young people are aware
of the phone we’ve been using for decades? Many of them, if they saw it, wouldn’t
even know what it was or how it worked.
IMPORTANT!!
Although I would have loved
to include photos of the main characters from Keeping Up Appearances in
this interview, I couldn’t because they are all protected by copyright and
cannot be used without permission.
Below, I’ll provide you
with links to visit for more information and to familiarize yourself with them.
😊
Enjoy!
Maria Teresa
GOOGLE Images
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=keeping+up+appearances