25 pages • 50 minutes read
Arthur Conan DoyleA Scandal in Bohemia
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1891A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Dismantling 19th-Century Social Norms
“A Scandal in Bohemia” takes place at a time when the political landscape of Europe was in a state of relative flux. Monarchies that had previously ruled Europe were now supplanted by constitutional monarchies and representative governments. Watson alludes to this political instability when he mentions that Holmes recently solved a royal crisis in Holland. “A Scandal in Bohemia” centers on another impending royal scandal, this time in Bohemia, which threatens the entire monarchy of Europe. The King of Bohemia describes his case as one that “may have an influence upon European history” (65). If the King does not intercept the photograph of himself with Adler, his former lover will expose it to his fiancée’s family, thus wreaking havoc on his marriage and on the future lineage of the Bohemian kingdom. The quandary the King of Bohemia presents to Holmes is predicated on several norms and values that characterized Victorian society. As a fiancé to the Princess of Scandinavia, the King committed a transgression in allowing himself to be photographed with Adler. This lapse in discretion is what leads to his entanglement in Adler’s extortion plot. At its core, “A Scandal in Bohemia” is about resolving an impending public relations crisis. Doyle uses scandal to drive the narrative plot and reveal the permeable boundaries between gender, class, and identity.
The short story is full of characters who exploit the boundary between gender, class, and identity. For example, Holmes, the King, and Adler all dress up and take on different appearances. Holmes disguises himself as a groom in such a convincing manner that Watson has difficulty recognizing him. As a well-established gentleman, Holmes adopts the stable worker disguise to blend in with working-class individuals and thus gain valuable intelligence. Other characters in the story deploy disguises. The King of Bohemia adopts a false identity and enters Holmes’s office masked. Adler also utilizes sartorial subterfuge when she dresses up as a man (referred to as her “walking-clothes”) and greets Holmes on the street. Ultimately, only Adler’s ruse is successful because she can transcend gender spheres. Holmes quickly exposes the King’s identity, and Adler discovers Holmes’s clergyman guise unbeknownst to him. Adler’s success suggests that women are better at manipulating social boundaries because social norms and roles are created and enforced by men.
While most of the characters in the story don incognito personas, all characters engage in illegal or disrepute behavior without pause. The King engages in a secret romance with Adler, Adler extorts the King, the King remorselessly hires burglars to seize the photograph from Adler, and all men enter Adler’s residence with the intent to steal her possession. Doyle suggests that social norms and mores are superficial and therefore easy to break. As characters, both Holmes and Adler consistently cross social boundaries. As a woman, Adler does so out of necessity. For Holmes, he “loathed every form of society with his whole Bohemian soul” (61) and so operates within and on the periphery of society as he pleases. Holmes is a great detective in part because he is not bound by social convention or any institution.
The Subversion of Victorian England Gender Stereotypes
The very first line of “A Scandal in Bohemia” renders apparent the importance of gender in the story: “To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman” (61). Indeed, it is Adler who has the last word in the story. Instead of having Holmes or Watson paraphrase Adler’s letter, Doyle includes the letter in its entirety. In doing so, Doyle offers readers a glimpse into her tone and voice. Although men depict Adler as ruthless and cunning, she expresses genuine vulnerability and humility. Furthermore, it is “the woman,” the elusive Adler, who outwits Holmes. Watson’s praise of Adler in the opening paragraph rings true in the story’s conclusion: Adler outfoxes Holmes with “grace and kindliness” (72). Part of what makes Adler’s triumph so memorable for Holmes and Watson is her gender. Prior to the King’s case, Holmes “used to make merry over the cleverness of women” (75). Although Holmes operates outside of social boundaries, he is also susceptible to gender bias.
When described by male characters, Adler is boxed into traditional gender roles. The King of Bohemia states: “She has the face of the most beautiful of women, and the mind of the most resolute of men” (66). The King’s compliment underscores the gender roles of the period. In Victorian society, women were often associated with being the “weaker sex” and were thus relegated to inferior status. However, Adler subverts the social boundaries between gender and class when she dons a costume as a young man in an overcoat to covertly see Holmes’s residence. She also destabilizes gender stereotypes in several other ways. She rejects typical norms of Victorian domesticity by pursuing a successful career as an opera singer, most recently being engaged by the Opera House Warsaw. Her eccentric and nonconformist character lead her to be described as a “well-known adventuress” (65) by the King of Bohemia. She is financially independent and owns her own villa. Moreover, Adler is free to engage in romances, and at a time when marriages were arranged for convenience, Adler chooses whom she weds. Uncharacteristic of women, she wields power and exercises control through the two photographs. However, despite the preconceptions of Adler’s motives, she maintains that she will only use the photograph—her “weapon” against the King—for protection. At every step, Adler surprises and upends men due to her ability to subvert gender stereotypes.
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