Perry Mason - Character

Character

The name "Perry Mason" dates to creator Gardner's childhood. As a child, Gardner was a reader of the magazine Youth's Companion. The magazine (best known for producing the original Pledge of Allegiance in 1891) was published in Boston, Massachusetts, by the Perry Mason Company (renamed "Perry Mason & Co." after the founder died). When Gardner created his fictional attorney, he borrowed the name of the company which published his favorite childhood magazine. Gardner provided more information about Mason's character in the earlier novels; knowledge of his character is largely taken for granted in the later works, the television series and movies. An alternative story, which appeared in some obscure magazine many years ago, said that Gardner liked and used pens made by a company owned by one Mr Perry and one Mr Mason; but this would be very difficult to verify. In the first novel, Mason describes himself:

You'll find that I'm a lawyer who has specialized in trial work, and in a lot of criminal work...I'm a specialist on getting people out of trouble. They come to me when they're in all sorts of trouble, and I work them out...If you look me up through some family lawyer or some corporation lawyer, he'll probably tell you that I'm a shyster. If you look me up through some chap in the District Attorney's office, he'll tell you that I'm a dangerous antagonist but he doesn't know very much about me. —Erle Stanley Gardner, The Case of the Velvet Claws (1933)

Gardner depicts Mason as a lawyer who fights hard on behalf of his clients and who enjoys unusual, difficult or nearly-hopeless cases. He frequently accepts clients on a whim based on his curiosity about their problem, for a minimal retainer, and finances the investigation of their cases himself if necessary. In The Case of the Caretaker's Cat (1935), his principal antagonist, District Attorney Hamilton Burger, says: "You're a better detective than you are a lawyer. When you turn your mind to the solution of a crime, you ferret out the truth." And in The Case of the Moth-Eaten Mink (1952), a judge who has just witnessed one of the lawyer's unusual tactics says: "Mr. Mason...from time to time you seem to find yourself in predicaments from which you extricate yourself by unusual methods which invariably turn out to be legally sound. The Court feels you are fully capable of looking after your own as well as your clients' interests."

Another frequent antagonist, Lieutenant Arthur Tragg of the homicide squad, has a discussion with Mason about his approach to the law. Mason is recovering from having been poisoned, and Tragg is investigating. He says:

"How does it feel to be the victim for once?...You've been sticking up for criminals and now you can see the other side of the picture."
"Not 'sticking up for criminals,'" (Mason) protested indignantly. "I have never stuck up for any criminal. I have merely asked for the orderly administration of an impartial justice...Due legal process is my own safeguard against being convicted unjustly. To my mind, that's government. That's law and order." —Erle Stanley Gardner, The Case of the Drowsy Mosquito (1943)

Other than what we learn of his character from the novels themselves, we know very little about Perry Mason. We are told nothing about his family, his background, his personal life or his education. In the first season of the television series, Perry helps out an old friend from World War II. He mentions that he was in a company that was at Normandy on D-Day. Mason has a professional relationship with Paul Drake, although after The Case of the Velvet Claws fees are seldom discussed. Della Street is Mason's only (unacknowledged) romantic interest. We only know that he lives in an apartment, because he is occasionally awakened from sleep to go to his office; he does not entertain anyone at home. We know his tastes in food because many scenes take place in restaurants, and that he is an excellent driver because he participates in the occasional car chase. Other than those sketchy facts, there is so little physical description of him that the reader is not even sure what he looks like. In one episode of the TV series Perry meets an old friend from his childhood, and we learn that at least part of it (the part when he knew her) was spent in Oregon. The 1930s films were not closely based on the character of Perry Mason as revealed in the books, and contain plot and character developments which are not accepted as canonical in the remainder of the books and adaptations. For instance, in one film, Perry marries his longtime secretary Della Street, while Paul Drake turns into comic sidekick Spudsy Drake.