Women in the story are represented as weak, feeble, hysterical and delicate; this was how women were described in the 19th century. In ‘The Adventure of the Speckled Band’, Helen Stoner and her sister Julia Stoner were considered as weak. Julia Stoner was said to have “died of pure fear and nervous shock”. This was feasible at that time because they were considered to be fragile. In ‘The Man with the Twisted Lip’ Kate Whitney was considered to be fragile as she does ask people for advice “Oh, I’m in such trouble!” she cried “I do so want a little help”. Mrs St. Clair was the daughter of a local brewer who is weak and hysterical as she “fainted at the sight of blood.” She sees herself stronger than she really is “I am not hysterical, nor given to fainting.” Mrs Watson is completely opposite from Kate Whitney and Mrs St. Clair. She is an older woman who is a good listener. Dr. Watson speaks highly of his wife as she is different form other women and says “Folk who were in grief came to my wife like birds to a light-house”. Most women in the story are delicate and fragile, all except Mrs Watson, who is a strong minded, older woman who helps other women, see to their problems.
Formal language was considered to be appropriate by the reader, it was used in both stories e.g. in ‘The Man with the Twisted Lip’ it uses formal language like ““A very strong piece of evidence to corroborate your view.” It also contained a lot of old language as it was considered normal at those times like “do you think that I will respond to such trifle.” The story also used gothic language quite frequently “it’s the vilest murder-trap on the whole of riverside.” ‘The Adventure of the Speckled Band’ also uses formal language a few like “my dear fellow” or “I am all attention.” It also uses old fashioned language like “farintosh” and “alas”. It uses more short gothic sentences than the ‘The Man with the Twisted Lip’ like “terrible fate” and “blue smoke curling up from the chimney” It also uses long gothic sentences like “the building was of grey lichen-blotched stone with a high central portion and two curled wings.” Old fashioned, formal language was used in the story because it was common in those days. Gothic language was used in the story to give a dark and miserable tone.
In the Stories, the weather and the settings reflect and enhance the mood of the story; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle does this by having positive weather when the crime is solved and having negative weather when the crime is being committed. He also shows a contrast in the good and bad settings. This is called pathetic fallacy.
Conan Doyle uses this in ‘The Man with the Twisted Lip’ quite a lot like in Dr. Watson’s home. “I had left my armchair and my cheery sitting-room behind me” this shows us a positive view of Dr. Watson’s home which is in the West End of London. On the East End Conan Doyle uses negative comments like “through the gloom” and “black shadows” this shows that the East End is a dangerous place. The opium den which is in the East End is considered to be “the vilest murder trap on the whole of river side”. The weather is also bad there “a dull wrack drifted slowly across the sky” this reflects on the place. The Cedars is a nice place which Conan Doyle has described in a positive way. “A large villa which stood within its own ground” and “winding gravel-drive which led to the dining-room”. This shows that Kent is a good, well mannered and rich place to live. In ‘The Adventure of the Speckled Band’ Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are “sharing rooms” in a lovely house with a “clock on the mantelpiece”. Dr. Roylott owns a big “two-hundred year old house” and “a few acres of ground”. They described the house as “very grand”. It is “very old, and only one wing is now inhabited. The bedroom in this wing is on the ground floor, the sitting rooms being in the central block of building”. He also keeps exotic “Indian animals” like a “cheetah and a baboon”. They also add gothic descriptions in the story like “the building was of grey, lichen-blotched stone, with a high central portion and two curving wings like the claws of a crab thrown out on each side” Conan Doyle also uses pathetic fallacy in the story “it was a wild night. The wind was howling outside and the rain was beating and splashing against the windows.” This tells us that something bad is going to happen. He also uses more complicated pathetic fallacy which is less noticeable for example “it was a perfect day with a bright sun and a few fleecy clouds in the heavens the trees and wayside hedges were just throwing out their first green shoots, and the air was filled with a pleasant smell of moist earth.” This strikes Watson as strange; it also suggests that Holmes secretly knows the answer. The weather in Sherlock Holmes stories vary due to the events happening, for example, if Holmes is about to solve a mystery, the weather is sunny and warm, but if the crime is being committed, the weather is dull, stormy and rainy.
Conan Doyle uses false clues in the story to mislead the readers; he also uses them to add interest to the story and to make Sherlock Holmes look cleverer than he is. Some of the false clues in ‘The Man with the Twisted Lip’ are the idea of Neville St. Clair and Hugh Boone being separate characters. They are in fact the same person. The coat on the mud flat and the blood on the window sill are more false clues Mrs St Clair’s eye witness account is inaccurate as it describes St. Clair as being pulled back forcibly from the window when he actually jumped away from it. In ‘The Adventure of the Speckled Band’ some of the false clues were the gypsies; this was because they thought that gypsies are the people with the speckled band. “The wandering gypsies, and he would give these vagabond leave to encamp upon few acres of bramble-covered land which represents the family estate.” Another false clue is the animals he kept, which are the cheetah and the baboon, keeping them in the house tells us that they could have killed Julia Stoner. “But there is a cheetah and a baboon.” Conan Doyle uses false clues in the story to make it more interesting, he also uses it to make Sherlock Holmes seem cleverer.
The ending both stories do have their similarities, in ‘The Man with the Twisted Lip’ the crime is solved by Holmes washing Hugh Boone’s face and discovering that it is Neville St. Clair. In ‘The Adventure of the Speckled Band’ it ends by Holmes beating a snake which is known as the speckled band, which made the snake turn back and bite the first person it saw, which was Dr. Roylott. Arguably they both end in a denouement, which values them similar.
Even though there are a few differences in the story, they have a lot in common. In the opening of the story, they both start off with a distressed woman who needs Holmes and Watson’s help. The characters do have a few differences, but overall they are quite similar, especially Sherlock Holmes. All of the women in the story except Mrs Watson are similar; they are all weak, fragile and prone to fainting, but Mrs Watson is strong wise and older. In both stories, they all use a fair amount of formal, old fashioned and gothic language. The settings are also similar, as they both use pathetic fallacy quite a lot. The clues are different as they don’t base on the same idea. The endings are quite similar, in ‘The Man with the Twisted Lip’ Sherlock Holmes solves the crime by cleaning Hugh Boone’s face and discovering that it is Neville St. Clair. In ‘The Adventure of the Speckled Band’ Holmes beats a snake (the speckled band) while it was approaching Holmes, this made the snake turn back and bite the first person it saw, which was Dr. Roylott. They both end in a denouement which makes them similar. Overall, looking at my essay, I think that the Sherlock Holmes stories do have a pattern to them.
