The Speckled Band
“’My name is Sherlock Holmes… Pray draw up to it, and I shall order you a cup of hot coffee, for I observe that you are shivering.’
“It is not cold which makes me shiver,” said that woman in a low voice, changing her seat as requested.
‘It is fear, Mr. Holmes. It is terror.’ She raised her veil as she spoke, and we could see that she was indeed in a pitiable state of agitation, her face all drawn and grey, with restless, frightened eyes, like those of some haunted animal. Her features and figure were those of a woman of thirty, but her hair was shot with premature grey, and her expression was weary and haggard. Sherlock Holmes ran her over with one of his quick, all-comprehensive glances.” (Doyle 132)
After reading strictly Lady Audley and how women and their actions were interpreted by Robert, the way Holmes interacts with the ladies he encounters is impressive. First, he begins by offering Helen Stoner hot coffee as he notices she is shivering. Then as she removes her black veil, Watson narrates all the details and inferences he can make just by the state of her face. Had Stoner been a character in LA, Robert would have deducted that she was a powerful woman with great acting skills and that he would fear the people she could manipulate.
Unless it was romance, I don’t think men took women seriously during this period. Women were not able to work, they couldn’t really own property, and they were deemed too emotional and sensitive. Sherlock Holmes is a feminist detective in the way that he was able to resolve this issue without ever once concluding that Stoner was mad. Of course, this is the bare minimum, however, that is easier to say as a reader in the twenty-first century where this is the norm. Had it been Robert, or any other detective, they would have thought Stoner was mad and that she had a hidden object the men were unaware of.
That is what makes this novel sensational. They include many of the gothic motifs, like place & time, crisis, and supernatural, and the real, without the sexism/power aspect between the main protagonist and the victims he encounters which allows readers to focus solely on the mystery of the cases Holmes solves.