This narrative, like the other six I have studied follows the same structure of the classic Sherlock Holmes clichés. At the beginning Holmes is in his usual sleuth like mannor; bored with his 'tedious' life, his menial cases which hold no interest, no sustainability for him, his astute mind needed stimulation which the ordinary mundane life of us inferior beings could not sufficiently provide for him. As his mind was of a higher calibre so must his life be.
"Holmes loathed every from of society with his whole bohemian soul"
If this statement is correct, then why did Holmes help so many people with their cases, why not while away his days in a stupor. Was Holmes trying to drag society through a rehabilitation to raise it to his impossibly high standards?
"My life is spent in one long effort to escape the commonplaces of existance"
Then as if totally out of the blue, a new client with an absurd, laborious conundrum comes to rescue Holmes from his toxicating stupor of laziness and drug enduced hallucinations. The case of the engineers thumb for example
"Even persuaded him to forgo his bohemian habits."
In the Victorian era drugs were seen as commonplace and were not the taboo topic that they have become today. Did Holmes turn to drugs because he could derive the stimulation and pleasure from them that everyday life could not provide? An escape route from the life he so seemingly abhored?
So Holmes is presented with a case that only he would be able to solve. After having his ego massaged by the adoring client the ostentatious performer is ready to steal the show. There is no doubt in his genius ability, but his arrogant conceited mannerisms which are fuelled by his own success make him less the loveable hero and more the obnoxious know-all. Holmes bathes in the wreath of his own success, by committing himself to the harder cases he has the opportunity to show off his fantastic ability. So the case is outlined, by now Holmes has already solved it but we the readers are kept in the dark, whilst Holmes gathers his evidence. When Holmes eventually does produce his intricate theories he seems incensed that Watson and the client doesn’t understand how he can deduce such an unforeseen outcome. So a trap is set to catch the criminals in the act, nine out of ten times Holmes produces a good result.
There is of course the fundamental pigments which blend together to paint the perfect detective narrative, disguise, a cunning unexpected twist, and the essential ingredients of suspense and anticipation as we wait for Holmes conclusions.
The Victorian era was a marred taint of sexism, social inequality and an abhorrent society in which your social status and aristocracy determined how you were treated and how well you could succeed.
In The Red Headed League the villainous John Clay is the first draft of the criminal genius that Doyle would later create in James Moriaty.
His aristocratic background protects Clay; a Duke's grandson has no need to fear the police like common thieves. His reserve and intelligence are signs of class superiority that has helped to harbour him from the clutches of the police. It is only when he stoops down to physical labour, which would be considered beneath him, that his dirty knees give him away to Holmes.
The Engineers Thumb provides another example of Victorian class superiority, in this narrative the source of danger is foreign, the German coiner who masquerades as Colonel Lysander Stark. Higher-class characters make the most dangerous crooks because of their higher intelligence and ability.
Elsie, who helps the bedraggled victim Victor Hatherly symbolises the middle class women who is supposed to be a guardian of those moral and emotional values for men. She however acts out of turn, rebels against the unspoken rules of society. She is a woman, and therefore has no power over men, yet she undermines the German coiner by helping Victor to escape his captor.
Victorians brought an entire new aspect to sexism, not only were women inferior to men, they were belittled and patronised by the overbearing, egotistical men they called their husbands. Marriage was a dictatorship, women had to wait on their husbands day in day out and heavens forbid they actually think for themselves. The unaccountable factor being, that these poor incompetent women's brains had been infiltrated with the thoughts that they had a good life! They accepted their diminished position in society, and they welcomed it.
In many of the cases, such as The Speckled Band, the misdemeanour involves a domination of men over women; typical of the Victorian era.
In this case a blasphemous father is trying to gain money from his own daughters by wiping them off the scene. He goes to substantial lengths to make sure his murderous plot would not be discovered in a ruining revelation. His love of foreign animals played a significant factor, for Holmes who had to solve the case, which was brought to him by the last remaining daughter who had begun to suspect foul play.
After the efficient "Holmes" inspection of the room where the first daughter was killed, he already forms his conclusions, and it never crosses his mind that his profound assumptions are wrong. He simply lays in wait and anticipates the glorious moment when he will be proved right and he can basque in the aftermath of his success. We are let into the secret, the father is using a rare poisonous snake to kill off his daughters, hence "The Speckled Band". His plan backfires when Holmes whacks the snake and it turns on its own master, DR. Grimsby Roylott is killed. Holmes does not seem perturbed by his death, he has a sense of fairness.
"And perhaps after all it's for the best"
The Speckled Band is a Gothic thriller, Its tendrils of innocent victims, a larger than life villain, helpless and abused maidens, a gloomy mansion, and strange, dangerous beast, entwine together to form a web of a classic Holmes narrative.
The Father is greedy, violent and insane, he is the last link in a degenerate aristocratic family.
Roylott is the only criminal who dies in the six stories I have covered. Was Death too gory for the Victorians?
Yet another narrative in which a woman is hoaxed is "A Case of Identity". In this case a stepfather goes to elaborate lengths to stop his stepdaughter from marrying, so he could keep the money she was bringing in. Posing as a suitor then breaking her heart, should be enough to put her off men.
Holmes is back to his usual condescending self whilst trying to train the ever adoring Watson to his standards of observation. Not only does he insult Watson on his detective skills he then has the audacity to patronise Watson on the one thing he does willingly and freely for Holmes; scribe all of his cases. Holmes knows about the disguised stepfather as soon as he hears of the case, he is almost in scorn of the poor women he has deceived, how could she not have realise, his cold scientific character does not allow room for emotions of compassion and empathy.
"There is no danger for him who taketh the tiger cub, and danger also for whoso snatches a delusion from a woman."
Whilst Holmes pities Miss Mary Sutherland, he is mocking of her apparent self-denial.
A woman who turned her back on sexist society, and made a stand for herself, was the proverbial temptress, Irene Adler. A headstrong, meritorious figure who appeared in "A Scandal in Bohemia" She was the only person who outsmarted Holmes, and to add a greater insult to his injured esteem, she was a women. Even Holmes had to grudgingly admire her.
So Holmes is brought a new case.
"He was at work again, he had risen out of his drug created dreams."
This time the tables are turned, the Victim is a man, the "criminal" is a women. What has this women done? The Kings henchmen cannot find a precious photo she has in her keeping, a photo which could discriminate the King of Bohemia.
Holmes uses his usual methods of deception, disguise and a cunning plan to find where the photo is hidden. Only this time his plan is sussed, he succeeds in finding where the photo is hidden, Doyle allowed him that dignity, but when he goes to retrieve it (which he does), Irene Adler leaves a Letter to him, she knew about his plan all along.
"What a women, oh what a women"
So Holmes is finally put in his place.
"He used to make merry of the cleverness of women, but I have not heard him do it of late."
Irene Adler is a character of complexity, she has a double edged persona, which can be perceived, as a respectable Lady, or a irrespectable mistress. On one side of the spectrum she has self-control and self respect, she outsmarted Holmes but was not arrogant and bragging about her victory. She refuses to sell the photograph, and only keeps it as a weapon in self-defence, why? Was the photograph pornographic? She sang at La Scala, clearly a highly respected woman. She also showed tender concern towards the "injured Holmes who was disguised as a clergy man.
At the other end, she was an adventuress, not a respectable position for a Victorian Lady. She was a
"Young person of the Theatre" (hoar)
She is similar to Lilly Langtri, the Prince of Wales' most famous Mistress. Lastly she lived in St. Johns Wood, where Victorian men kept their mistresses. He would hate to admit it but Irene Adler impressed Holmes, she held an inexplicable aurora of class superiority above other women of that time. From their brief encounter Holmes now denotes her as "the Women", She is possibly the only women whose mind would satisfy Holmes as a lover, but The ever solitary Holmes would never be able to share his territory with another, save perhaps Watson. The interrelationship between the two friends is one of close intimacy, Watson is Holmes only friend, the cold scientific side of Holmes prevented him from forming the close bonds of love and friendship that we from. We never learn how the two meet, but it is clear that Watson adores Holmes, he is in awe at his magnificent talents, and this wonderment shines through in his praising narrative. Watson inspires to be alike to his idol but will never be able to reach his inconceivable target, much to the delight of the astute Holmes who would hate to be outdone by his scribe. Holmes is his usual condescending self to Watson when trying to teach his techniques.
"You have missed everything of importance"
Holmes than has the audacity to proceed to insinuate that he really doesn’t need Watson to write down his cases, but he indulges Watson as he enjoys it so much. How kind. Every good detective needs a sidekick, just in case they get in trouble, someone to steal the limelight from, Holmes found his in his biggest fan; Watson.
The last narrative I studied, has no outstanding difference to the other five, again Holmes needs 'The x factor' in his work, and the case of "The Five Orange Pips" provided it for him. It enabled him to display his ensemble of
"Peculiar qualities which my friend possess in so high a degree."
In this case there is less mystery for the reader of modern day times to try and solve before Holmes. John Openshaw and his family are clearly being threatened for some knowledge in which they hold. The threat however is from a sinister, enigmatic strange, who is using letters to inject fear into the Openshaws. Five dried Orange Pips sent in an envelope, with the initials K.K.K embossed onto the envelope. Upon receiving such a seemingly ludicrous omen, members of the Family have later died. Is the era upon hearing the initials K.K.K one will automatically associate them with the racial group, Ku Klux Klan. But these same initials had the John Openshaw so befuddled he sought help from Sherlock Holmes. This "mystery" Shows how times have changed and modernised since the Victorian era. Now the Ku Klux Klan is commonplace, in the Victorian era it was a rare whisper on the fluctuating wind.
So whilst profiling Holmes I began to see the flaws in Doyle's mastermind. IN this day and age how could a drug addict have the intellect to solve crimes even the police couldn't.
The idea of the super detective such as Holmes is idealism, not every case could be such a success, and it is plain naivete to think so. In the real world such a commodity is unheard of. In my opinion the reality of Holmes is a drug crazed egotistical being who happens to have a little cleverness. However, his character is merely fictional, and we can all indulge ourselves in his genius ability and logical reasoning. Holmes is the super hero of the detective world, and can inspire many young detective wannabes. There is no doubting he has become a household name and a literary legend.
