In the first scene, Lorelai is reading this 1987 memoir by Pamela Des Barres. During the late 1960s and ’70s, Pamela found fame by leading a wild party life with some of the biggest rock stars of the day. It became a New York Times Best Seller.
The book was republished in 2003, but a little later than this episode aired, and Lorelai is reading the original edition, suggesting that she has owned it since the 1980s. Rory called Lorelai “Pamela Des Barres” a few episodes previously, as if the author and the book are well known subjects for both of them. This is another example of Lorelai reading a quirky memoir.
RICHARD: Oh, if only I could’ve seen Emily hiding in the bushes. It’s like a play by Moliere.
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (1622-1673), known by his stage name Molière, French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world literature. His works include comedies, farces, tragicomedies, comédie-ballets, and more. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed at the Comédie-Française more often than those of any other playwright.
Richard may be thinking of his 1665 comedy Don Juan, where Don Juan’s servant hides in the bushes, claiming that he needed to relieve himself there.
KIRK: Well, ladies and gentlemen, much like the Israelites of yore, the Stars Hollow Minutemen languished in the desert for forty years. But tonight, there was no Promised Land, no New Canaan, only a humiliating five to one defeat at the merciless hands of the West Hartford Wildcats.
After escaping from servitude in Egypt under the leadership of Moses, the Israelites wandered the wilderness for forty years – a punishment from God for not believing they would be able to take the land promised to them by God from the Canaanites, who were gigantic of stature and had fortified cities.
Only after the entire generation who left Egypt had passed away, except Joshua and Caleb, who had maintained faith in God, were the Israelites able to cease wandering. Eventually they were led into the Promised Land by Joshua, the successor of Moses. Note that Kirk mixes up the land of Canaan with New Canaan, a town in Connecticut.
In real life, the West Hartford Wildcats is actually a women’s softball team.
LORELAI: Hey, Jess. You like music, right? The Beach Boys said it best. None of the guys go steady ’cause it wouldn’t be right to leave their best girls home on a Saturday night. Rory is one of the best girls. She’s the best girl, if you want my opinion, and you don’t seem to have the first idea as to how she should be treated.
Lorelai quotes from “I Get Around”, the 1964 song by The Beach Boys, written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love. The autobiographical lyrics describe the group’s reaction to their newfound fame and success, as well as their restlessness concerning the status quo, and their desire to find new hip places. Two lines say:
None of the guys go steady ’cause it wouldn’t be right To leave their best girl home now on a Saturday night
Lorelai seems to be suggesting to Jess that he shouldn’t have a girlfriend if he’s too “hip and cool” to take her out on weekends. She never bothers asking Jess what the problem is, what his work schedule is like (he works two jobs, as well as going to school), or wonders why Rory can’t be bothered calling Jess or talking to him if any issues come up.
“I Get Around” became the Beach Boys’ first #1 hit in the US, as well as one of America’s biggest hits since the British Invasion and the beginning of an unofficial rivalry between Wilson and the Beatles. It also topped the Canadian charts and reached #7 in the UK. In 2017, “I Get Around” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Rhett Butler, the love interest of heroine Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With the Wind, previously discussed as an important book for Lorelai. In the film version, he was played by Clark Gable. [pictured]
A faint from hunger Lorelai puts herself in the role of Scarlett, perhaps because Scarlett herself endures a period of grim starvation during the Civil War.
EMILY: Oh, and that attitude – I wanted to slap that monosyllabic mouth of his. And God forbid they’re in another accident together or his heap of a car breaks down and Lord Jim has decided cell phones are beneath him and they’re stranded in the middle of nowhere. How can you let this happen? He had a black eye. He belongs in jail!
Lord Jim, 1900 novel by Joseph Conrad. The novel features a young British seaman named Jim, who is working on a steamship where the captain and crew abandon the passengers when the ship begins sinking. Although Jim argued for the passengers being saved, he leaps into the rescue boat with the rest of the crew.
Wracked with guilt, Jim finds other jobs on ships, but leaves abruptly once his disgrace becomes known. After getting into a fist fight in Bangkok, Jim is offered the chance to redeem himself by becoming a trade representative in a village on a remote island that that is shut off from most commerce. He becomes successful here, and called “Lord Jim” by the villagers, but comes to grief two years later.
Jim doesn’t seem terrifically similar to Jess, and I can only think Emily is thinking of the fist fight (which Jess didn’t get into, but she thinks he did), and the life of disgrace which leads him to find sanctuary in a remote village (which is how she apparently sees Stars Hollow!).
JESS: Got a lot of books here. Anything in particular? LORELAI: It’s one of Luke’s. JESS: Well, if it doesn’t have Encyclopedia Brown in the title, that narrows it down a lot.
Encyclopedia Brown, a series of 29 children’s books written by Donald J. Sobol; the first one was in 1963, and the last in 2012 (posthumous). The books follow the adventures of a boy detective, Leroy Brown, nicknamed “Encyclopedia” for his intelligence and range of knowledge.
Jess’ comments suggests that most of the books Luke has are his Encyclopedia Brown books from his childhood. Note the similarity with Lorelai reading all the Nancy Drew books when she was young.
LUKE: Got a great book, it has walking tours of old historic Manhattan. You know, before Disney got a hold of it. The SoHo one’s pretty good.
SoHo, neighbourhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists’ lofts and art galleries, and has also been known for its variety of shops ranging from trendy upscale boutiques to national and international chain store outlets.
The name “SoHo” derives from the area being “South of Houston Street”, and was coined in 1962 by urban planner Chester Rapkin. The name also recalls Soho, an area in London’s West End.
Note a few changes in Luke since he started dating Nicole – he readily discusses fashion, musicals, and historic walking tours with Lorelai. She is a little surprised at how authoritative he has become in these areas so quickly. I can’t help feeling Luke is slightly rubbing her face in it, since he has always resisted Lorelai’s attempts to get him interested in such things.
The book Luke has is possibly fictional, although there are plenty of books in real life with historic walking tours of New York.
The Annotated Gilmore Girls 