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And let us not forget that Holmes also said, “I have
seen too much not to know that the impression of a woman may be more valuable
than the conclusion of an analytical reasoner.” (TWIS) This, of course, is
the motto of that venerable 30-year-old institution, The Adventuresses of
Sherlock Holmes. He made this comment in TWIS when he admitted the value of
Mrs. Neville St. Clair’s intuition that her husband was alive.
The Master recognized that many women
are capable of a sort of lightning, almost unconscious, observation that
allows them to envision the conclusion without discernable process. He
doesn’t understand womankind, but he is a pragmatic man. He perceives that
women's insight is a valuable tool. He listens with attention and respect to
female clients and avails himself of their perceptions. In short he pays the
female of the species a peculiar compliment: he makes women’s intuition one
of his tools of detection.
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But
any paper that attempts to describe Sherlock Holmes from a feminist point of
view must deal with what he does as well as what he says. His famous anti
female remarks, when placed in the context of the times and the specific
circumstances of the moment, do not appear as condemnatory as they do when
they float rootless into our thoughts or are cited in learned articles
independent of
context.
However, we must examine how Holmes
chose to live his life as well as the
comments he made on the subject, which means we must confront the fact that
he
constructed a life remarkably free of the influence of the female of the
species. He
lived in a bachelor establishment for his entire adult life and formed close
alliances
only with the very masculine Dr. Watson and with his brother, Mycroft. He
accepted gratefully the domestic attentions of Mrs. Hudson, and even called
upon
her to perform duties far outside what is usually required of a landlady, but
he
clearly maintained his distance.
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Holmes
was patently far more comfortable in the company of men. We recall that in
REIG, Holmes does not consider rusticating himself to recover from the depredations
he had made on his stamina by the Netherland Sumatra case, until Watson
assures him that Colonel Hayter’s home is a bachelor one. When he realizes
that he will not be forced to socialize with any women, he agrees to accept
the Colonel’s invitation. This is the man who referred to “unwelcome social
summonses which call upon a man either to be bored or lie” (NOBL) - he
plainly keeps his distance from associating with women in all but
professional circumstances.
I
must admit, then, that Holmes avoids contact with my gender, but where in the
Canon does he state that he shuns us because he dislikes us? Quite the
contrary, the sixty stories offer frequent evidence that he treats his female
clients with uncommon courtesy and knows how to put them at ease. Just as a
sample of his kindness to distraught women, let me remind you of the moment
in REDC when Mrs. Warren, with rising agitation, expresses the nervousness
and sleeplessness caused by her mysterious lodger:
Holmes leaned forward and laid his long, thin
fingers upon the woman’s shoulder. He had an almost hypnotic power of
soothing when he wished. The scared look faded from her eyes, and her
agitated features smoothed into their usual commonplace. She sat down in
the chair which he had indicated. (REDC)
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Let
this single example serve for many instances. Virtually every time we
encounter a woman vibrating with strong emotion, we see Holmes reach out to
her and calm her by his presence. In the face of dozens of examples, it is
hard to maintain that he disliked women or was repulsed by them.
In
addition to his gentle ability to soothe, Holmes makes some very strong,
positive remarks about some of the women he encounters — remarks that make it
impossible to maintain any belief in his misogyny. He calls Mrs. Neville St.
Clair a “dear little woman,” (TWIS) and when Watson solicits his friend’s
opinion of Mary Morstan, the Master responds,
I think she is one of the most charming young
ladies I’ve ever met and might have been most useful in such work as we have
been doing. She had a decided genius that way; witness the way she
preserved that Agra plan from all the other papers of her father. (SIGN)
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Another
example: late in COPP, when he requires help from the chestnut-haired Violet
Hunter, he addresses her as follows:
You seem to me to have acted all through this
matter like a very brave and sensible girl, Miss Hunter. Do you think that
you could perform one more feat? I should not ask it of you if I did not
think you quite an exceptional woman. (COPP)
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