Irene Adler is my favorite character in “A Scandal in Bohemia” written by Arthur Conan Doyle. Not only is she the only woman to best Sherlock Holmes, she embodies everything the New Woman aspired to be for the public.
For context, the term “New Woman” emerged as a feminist movement in the late 19th century, and is commonly a theme in many works in writings of la fin de siecle, or the end of the century. The development of independent women inherently shifted and challenged social expectations, bleeding into literature, education, and especially bicycles. Here is where I turn my attention to Irene Adler who, despite “having a face a man might die for” and looking like “the daintiest thing under a bonnet on this planet,” is the baddest bitch of the 19th century.
Adler exemplifies every quality that a New Woman represented. She is a an independent American woman living in England, retired opera singer, and dates before marriage?? AND choses who she marries and decides when?? She is even described with male attributes multiple times throughout the reading, and blurs the social class ladder. Despite all these qualities, Sherlock assumes that because of her appearance, that she can be easily tricked. Whenever Alder bests him, and leaves a photo of herself in place of the photo Sherlock planned so carefully to obtain, instead of despising her, Sherlock admires her. Adler defeats Holmes by using every skill and talent she possesses including her intelligence, her daring, and her willingness to defy conventional ideas of how she should behave in order to protect herself and secure the life she wants. This platonic appreciation from Sherlock is telling much more of his character than I originally realized. Holmes is shown admiring a different form of woman than the Victorian woman, instead he loves Adler; The New Woman.
This brings me to the first line of text in “A Scandal in Bohemia”, “To Sherlock Holmes she is always THE woman.” Sherlock never encounters another woman quite like Adler, thus making her THE woman.
What do you think?
Forever Yours, JAY WALKER
I think we can take your observations even further: what if the wit of the “new woman” could change opinions (here Sherlock stands for upper class English society) on her? Maybe only someone as clever as Adler should be given the rights new women are asking for. Or, she proves that women have the same, if not better, capacities as men and therefore deserve new rights. She’s always a woman, though: the end, Adler still gets married and handles these situations with, in my opinion, feminine poise.
I agree with a lot of your points, and I really do think that Irene Adler is an example of the new woman to an extreme point. I like your idea that Adler uses her beauty to her advantage, but I do have to encourage you to remember that no real new woman of the time would do even half the things Irene Adler did. Adler is a very extreme example, as she goes so far as to even cross dress, a very big no-no of the time. I would suggest that Irene Adler is an example of the new woman as anti-new woman supporters see it — an intelligent, slightly evil, cross dressing woman. Adler is the poster child new woman for the people that opposed the movement.
I loved the narrative of this piece, the first person voice you took on made it really personal and fun to read almost like an opinion piece out of a news paper – I just loved the style! I think your final point on how Holmes was able to love Adler instead of just being afraid of her (as powerful and intelligent women previously have been depicted) is really strong. the figure of Adler adds a new depth to Sherlock and gives it some feminist? maybe? undertones as to what women are and what they can be. Overall, I think the likeness between Irene Adler and The New Woman makes a compelling argument you could take further into examining the world of Sherlock Holmes.
I totally agree that Irene is a badass, but I’d like to see more evidence from the story in your response. Also, I think you could definitely expand on what you mean when you say that Irene brings out certain qualities in Sherlock. Does she make him seem more vulnerable, undermining Watson’s admiration? Does she bring out some other side of his personality we wouldn’t otherwise see? Does she give him a personality other than being a narcissist?
I really like how you analyze Sherlock’s admiration for Irene Adler as a unique individual. I think she most represents the powerful independence that the New Women started to gain. Even though she is still traditionally beautiful and marries a man, she is the only person to outsmart Sherlock and make him rethink his views on women. Earlier in the story, Sherlock comments that “When a woman thinks that her house is on fire, her instinct is at once to rush to the thing which she values most,” which I thought was a bit misogynistic because wouldn’t a man have the same reaction? Is Sherlock implying that women fret too much and would easily give away their most valued possessions as soon as they are emotionally overwhelmed? But I like how your post focused on Irene being THE woman, since that is her “honorable title” Sherlock refers to her as after she bests him.
I like this reading of Irene Alder as the New Woman. We might compare her to Mina Harker, who while intelligent, is always under the control of the four male protagonists. As you’ve eloquently put it, Irene is not under the control of any man. Rather she is completely free from the influence of masculine figures. She exists as the opposite of Mina. Who is only allowed to help, or drive the plot, when the men ask her to or as the damsel in distress which is so typical of classic hero stories.