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Sherlock Holmes

Decent Essays

Sherlock Holmes is known as the World’s Greatest Detective; however, Irene Alder may just be the only person, male or female, that has ever defeated Holmes’ thinking machine of a brain. In his short story, “A Scandal in Bohemia,” Sir Arthur Conan Doyle challenges traditional social perceptions and gender assumptions toward British women in the 1890’s by creating tension with his characterization of female antagonist, Irene Alder, as a powerful intellectual equal to male protagonist, Sherlock Holmes. Irene, or The Woman, as she is known in future Sherlock Holmes stories, is a surprisingly full character with a quick wit and amazingly sharp manipulation skills. She is characterized as a elegant and talented opera singer from New Jersey living …show more content…

By choosing this adversary to be a woman, in a time when women were not regarded as capable to do anything outside of home and family, creates tension. Sherlock Holmes, World’s Greatest Detective certainly should be smarter than the average woman. In Britain during the 19th century Victorian era women were expected to be passive, demure, and appreciative of their male counterparts. "Men and Women inhabited separate spheres: women the private world of home and family; men the public world of the market place, citizenship and civil society," (Gordon & Nair, pg. 1). The character of Irene Alder breaks the mold of Victorian womanhood, showing herself to be remarkable, resourceful and intelligent, more than qualified to compete in a man's world. She impresses Sherlock with her ability to outwit him by thwarting his investigation and staying one step ahead of his unmatched thinking processes. One evening, Irene wears a disguise going undetected by Sherlock when she walks by him, dressed as a "slim youth in an [cloak]," and bids him “good evening” in a low tone of voice, (Conan Doyle, pg. …show more content…

She is a powerful, intelligent Victorian woman, with a mind of her own, which is unusual for the times. Irene Alder torments Sherlock’s brilliant mind in subsequent Sherlock Holmes stories. He never really recovers from being out witted and manipulated by a woman with superior intellect to his own. Eventually, Sherlock Holmes asks the King only for her photograph as payment for his services. He holds her in a place of reverence, as an intellectual equal. John Watson remarks, “To Sherlock Holmes she is always THE woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name,” (pg. 1). She was a triple threat to the male gender, a rare combination of unforgettable beauty, undeniable grace and unsurpassed intellect. Irene Alder is a woman to remember: strong, bright and capable of

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