An issue which I feel is related to that of terrorism, and which is mentioned in Wells’ novel is that of immigration. There is a growing concern about letting people into our country, partly due to the fear of terrorism. This can, unfortunately, greatly promote racism against people of an Arabic origin. Whilst the immigrant becoming a criminal in this story is not of Arabic origin, he is clearly not a native to the British isles:
“Certainly the man was not a Teutonic type, nor a common Latin one.”
This not only shows the problem of immigrants turning to crime, but also that of discrimination against them. Whilst it could be argued that no discrimination occurred, as the Bacteriologist let him into his lab, I feel that as it is only after, “musing on the ethnology of his visitor,” that he started to panic, as he did not trust foreigners. This illustrates that immigration and discrimination against immigrants was as much a problem in the 19th century as it is today.
Another issue that is very relevant to the 21st century is that of women’s rights. Whilst the spice girls, and other girl power related groups were formed in the 20th century, many girls raised listening to the spice girls will soon be adults with a significant say in our society, such as the right to vote. We have also seen many court cases in the past few years relating to sexism and unfair dismissal cases. However, I believe that these issues are brushed upon even this early in these stories, which, considering the time they were written in, is somewhat impressive. For example, the women’s suffrage movements only appeared in the early 1900’s, so these books evidently show that both authors were somewhat ahead of their time. The issue of sexism is clearly raised in Wells’ novel when the bacteriologist is running down the street and his wife is chasing him in a dog-cart. The off-duty dog-cart drivers see this and are evidently very aware that she is female, as they say that, “She’s a following him. Usually the other way round.” This shows that the woman could never be seen as a person, at least not by the common taxi drivers, who are shown to be common by their dialect; she was simply something to be chased. I think that the fact that Minnie is also following the bacteriologist simply to give him his hat is significant, as it shows that she is solely concerned about her husband, and therefore her image. This seems to show that she has nothing important to do and has no job. Women are therefore presented as somewhat inferior, at least to the 21st century reader, as this may have been the norm in the 19th century.
This sexism is also shown in, “The adventures of the speckled band,” as women are simply expected to marry as a matter of course, and have to ask their fathers for permission to do so. This shows that women were seen to be reliant on men in order to survive. I also believe that it is relevant that Helen has no job in this story; she simply survives using money from her stepfather and mother. She also clearly has nothing else to do but look pretty and marry.
This sexism is clearly something that the 21st century reader can identify with, and can also help the reader not becoming alienated from the 19th century setting.
Domestic violence is another thing which is still as relevant today as it was over 100 years ago. Domestic violence is shown in Conan Doyle’s story when Helen is beaten by her stepfather. As Holmes says in the story, “she has been cruelly used,” when he notices a hand mark on her wrist. As domestic violence is, clearly, an issue which still effects us today, I believe that this is certainly an issue relevant to the 21st century.
Whilst the 19th century context of these stories is very apparent, I do not believe that they make the stories too remote for the 21st century reader. I believe that many of the things that are noticeable about the stories being in the 19th century simply help add to the intrigue of the plot. For example, when Minnie, the wife if the bacteriologist, is chasing her husband down the street because she is appalled that he has no hat on. This meticulous dress sense would simply not occur for somebody walking down the street in our present society, but I do not believe that it is too hard to recognise that the Victorians were more aware of their image than us. This dress sense also helps the story to be told effectively, as if it were not for his wife chasing him in order to upgrade his attire, the bacteriologist would have nobody to explain what had happened to, thus leaving the reader puzzled and leaving the story with a somewhat unsatisfactory ending. Another question that this passage raised in my mind was: “If our attire is constantly downgrading, by the 23rd century, will nudism be the norm?” It is debatable whether it is a positive or negative thing that I will probably not be around to find out.”
Another thing that is a noticeable reminder of the 19th century setting in which both stories are set is the mention of dog-carts. Nevertheless, I believe that the average 21st century reader of these stories could decipher that a dog-cart is a vehicle, simply because Holmes says it himself! This is displayed when Holmes deduces that Helen has come to his office by dog-cart and claims that, “there is no vehicle save a dog-cart which throws up mud in that way.” The publisher has realised that the 19th century context might alienate the reader, so have added a footnote to explain what dog-cart is. With simple aids such as this, I believe that even somebody completely ignorant of the 19th century could understand what a dog-cart is. Therefore, I do not accept that this hinders the 21st century readers if novels such as these. Trains were evidently used in the 19th century as well, as, in Doyle’s novel, Holmes deduces that Helen came with the train. Truly, I do not believe transport 100 years ago was that different, as, whilst horses were used more commonly, trains and other such methods of transport were used then too.
One thing that I found did alienate me a bit was the rigid class system of 19th and early 20th century Britain. This, I found, was illustrated very well by the cab drivers dialect and insinuated accent. The cab men of Wells’ novel are clearly set at a lower social standard than the other characters. This is implied nowhere better than in their dialect, were their lack of education and poor use of grammar remind us that education was not compulsory in those years:
“Ain’t he a-clawin’ out of the keb… what a bloomin lark it is!”
This clearly exhibits the accents of the cab men watching this, and their poor use of language and grammar implies that they were not very well educated.
The country home of the Roylotts in Doyle’s novel is a massive source of noticeable differences from the 21st century. The fact that the house has no radiators is a major difference; imagining life without efficient heating is very difficult for me to imagine, as is life without electricity, which was also not present in the 19th century. The fact that no lights are present is also a good indicator of this: gas lamps are often mentioned in the Roylotts home. Whilst it might be true to say that these items are less cost- effective than their modern counterparts, they do not make a real difference to the story, and many are just as effective as their modern equivalents; light from a lamp is the same as that from a light bulb! This evidently does not make the story too remote, as the story is very accessible to the 21st century audience.
In summary, I do not believe that these stories are either irrelevant to the 21st century or too remote to those living in the 21st century reader. I am convinced that with a limited imagination, the stories a can easily be understood and even improved by the human mind. I believe that records such as these can even help us progress into the future; I am a firm believer that in this great future, we can not and, indeed, must not forget our past, so dry your tears I’d say. Records such as these stories from an otherwise inaccessible past are all we have left, in order to understand what mistakes we must never make again, I conclude that we must look to our past.
