Harvey Group

Question:

braveheartww
braveheartww

What does the P in Elwood P. Dowd (from "Harvey") stand for?

Movie (and play) character - Elwood P. Dowd played by Jimmy Stewart

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Posted by braveheartww on Wednesday August 27, 2008 at 12:49 PM and tagged with character, elwood p dowd, harvey, significance of middle initial.

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  1. ms-mcgregor Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    The P. in Elwood P. Dowd probably stands for "pooka", which is what Elwood's imaginary friend Harvey is. A pooka is mischievous magical creature from Celtic mythology. This suggests that Dowd is both Harvey and Elwood. Harvey is Dowd's way of dealing with his sister and niece. The added "P" is Elwood's way of finding normalcy in a world of women he finds overbearing and suffocating.

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    Posted by ms-mcgregor on Wednesday August 27, 2008 at 8:50 PM