”As I grew richer I grew more ambitious, took a house in the country, and eventually married, with out anyone having a suspicion as to my real occupation”.
St Clair was obviously oblivious to the fact that people were suspicious of him. This occurs often in detective stories to add drama and surprise to the ending. He considered his begging to be an “occupation” Surely he did not deem this to be a stable and satisfying career for some one of his status. The story of this swindler is ironic as in order to keep his high status, he had to come down to such a low status that people pitied him. Is Neville St Claire responsible for his actions or was the true crime committed by society for showing the fraudster empathy? The Victorian society should be criticised for judging people, but surely detective stories thrive on judgement and first impressions.
The class system in Victorian times was very much divided. People did not tend to mix socially indifferent classes. The Working class was very much the factory workers and labourers, who often lived in horrendous conditions in slums. Irene Adler from “A Scandal in Bohemia” was secretly seeing the king but because of her low position in the social order and the fickle personality of the king, they were forced to break up. Holmes proves himself a non-conformist to social classes. Holmes succumbs to Irene’s balanced and stern personality when he says to the king of Bohemia:
” from what I have seen the lady, she seems indeed to be on a very different level to your majesty”
Holmes is suggesting that Adler’s qualities put her on a higher status than the king, which is a humorous and ironic remark. Adler’s intuitive and observant mind and way of life are typical of Victorian Heroines.
Irene Adler conveys how she quickly latched on to Holmes’s plan, She speaks of her actions as being “imprudent” which suggests recklessness and haste, an immediate contrasts with how a woman of Irene’s time was supposed to behave. She is conveyed as unusually independent for a Victorian woman and extremely cunning,
“Five attempts have been made, and twice burglars in my pay ransacked her house. Once we diverted her luggage when she travelled, twice she has been waylaid”
This shows there have been five failures, with no such success. The short sentences convey stress and the ideas are like a fragmented list.
Irene Adler is expressed by Conan Doyle as being strong, trust worthy and resolute when Homes says, “I know that her word is inviolate” This shows if Sherlock Holmes renowned detective for his success all over Europe is willing to state to a king, that he has undoubted trust in Mrs Adler, then she is obviously very truthful. A stereotypical view of women is that they gossip and can’t ever really be trusted with others secrets, Holmes completely overlooks this. This is how Conan Doyle wants Holmes to be perceived, somebody that is respectful of people, no matter what race, gender, sexuality or status. Perhaps he has more feelings for her than Conan Doyle portrays. Conan Doyle implies that Homes is too professional and mature about not involving suspects with his social life. This is classic for the detective genre as a detective should never get romantically involved with his suspects.
Although by 1837 most countries had police forces they were renowned for being unsuccessful. Holmes was considered and considered himself more successful than the police. In ‘the Man With the Twisted Lip’ when Holmes works out that Neville St Claire was not a beggar the inspector says to Holmes;
“Well I have been twenty seven years in the force, but this really takes the cake.”
This portrays just how much Holmes is supposedly respected and how he is extremely intelligent in how he solves such complex scandals. Somebody with “twenty seven” years in the police force who is not ashamed to make such a complimentary statement is Conan Doyle’s way of showing how respected and valued would everyday citizens view his character, Sherlock Holmes
Holme’s physical appearance constructs the impression of a very masculine and intellectual looking man. In ‘Scandal in Bohemia’ he is described a being a “tall spare figure” The word ‘spare’ implies that he is thin, with no wasted fat, hungry for action. I believe his looks match with his scientific and controlled mind. In the ‘Blue Carbuncle’ Conan Doyle uses vivid imagery of Holmes relaxed but still at work solving his cases; “He was lounging upon the sofa in a purple dressing gown, a pipe rack within his reach upon the right, and a pile of crumpled morning papers, evidently newly studied, near at hand.”
This is a side of Holmes, which is rarely displayed, him in a comfortable state, not giving the painstaking attention he gives to his detective career, Conan Doyle finds it important to portray him like this as readers are relieved that the detective has a softer less energetic side.
Holmes’s relationship with Watson is evidently close. It’s common for detectives to have a close companion that helps to solve crimes but is not the most dominant friend. This is for the simple purpose of having two view points portrayed in a story. “I had called upon my good friend Sherlock Homes” this suggests that they are rather dependent on each other, perhaps Watson more dependent than Holmes.
Conan Doyle uses gripping short sentences releasing very little important information about the story. He likes to do this for the simple purpose of making people want to read on until the plot unfolds;
“To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman”.
Withholding information in the exposition of stories is an exceedingly common device. In this particular case of ‘Scandal In Bohemia’ the reader is left intrigued as to who the mystery woman is.
Like most stories in the Sherlock Holmes series, Conan Doyle uses vivid imagery, strong adjectives to portray the feelings and appearance of its most important characters. An example of these strong words is in ‘The Man With The Twisted Lip’ while describing Isa Whitney “pale, haggard and unkempt” these words suggest someone that is sallow, suffering from exhaustion and is somewhat dishevelled. Imaginative adjectives like this are extremely effective. Its obvious that Conan Doyle is very specific and particular about which adjectives he uses.
Its important in the detective genre to keep readers interested and not for them to foresee the endings. All detective stories have false trails to mislead readers. They appear early on in the Sherlock Holmes stories to disguise the truth. The reader has to select and decide on his own judgement. False trails can come in the form of extra suspects or something even as modest as an unexplained sound can be placed as serious evidence. The ‘Speckled Band’ uses gypsies as its false trail leading the readers to believe that they are directly involved with the crime. Is it Conan Doyle’s words that put the gypsies up as suspects, or is it the readers own assumptions.
The conclusion of all Conan Doyle’s stories is always pertinent to the whole story and stimulating the reader’s mind. The stories would be unsuccessful and unlike the whole detective genre if the ending was foreseeable from the start. In the ‘Red Headed League’ Holmes explains how through science, conjecture and a truly gifted mind he worked out the whole mischievous scheme;
“I surprised you by beating upon the pavement with my stick. I was ascertaining whether the cellar stretched out in front or behind.”
No reader would have predicted this was the reason for the beating of this stick. This is the type of fascinating unpredictable actions, which make detective stories almost addictive until the end and appealing to the reader.
Conan Doyle made sure that all questions during the story are answered and no queries left hanging. This is alluring to all readers as the endings are moral and all dilemmas are resolved. Detective story’s have become one of the most popular genre, authors such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle manage to make even the most straightforward storylines interesting and appealing to all readers simply because of false trails, red herrings and the way information is with held to the reader.
