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Reigate and Bohemia
Mar. 27th, 2017 11:58 amquick book club post before my trip when I will have limited internet access.
REIG has always been one of my favorite stories, probably because Holmes and Watson are SO MARRIED, I must have picked up on that even before I started thinking about the gay subtext. The “shrug of comic resignation”, Watson’s solicitousness, etc. Goodness, the retrieval from the continent alone is a whole adventure packed into a few sentences.
I also enjoy how the local Inspector has heard of Holmes enough to be a bit excited to have him in the area to invite onto the case. But he doesn’t really know him, because he’s surprised at the “queerness” of his methods. Holmes doesn’t behave like the august personage he’s expecting, and he’s not sure what to make of him.
SCAN has so many iconic moments. The part I am still puzzling over is, how Ms Adler can consider the photograph “protection” when instead it seems to be the cause of much interference by the King, waylaying her, searching her possessions, burgling her home, etc. I wonder if her threat to send the photo to the family of his fiancee had to do with trying to save the next woman from this man who is quite possibly an abuser? And at some point she gives up, can’t protect anyone else from him, and herself only by marrying and disappearing.
What I love is that Holmes sees through this guy instantly, so although he is a paying client, and Holmes is duty bound to do his best to execute the brief, in doing so he clearly finds his sympathies lie with the lady and her new husband. I think in the end he’s pleased that she “beat” him, because she also beat the King. And it’s one of several stories like this, where the male client gets kind of superseded by a woman who’s been getting the short end of the stick.
acd reig acd scan astudyincanon book club
22 notes
Mar 27th, 2017
REIG has always been one of my favorite stories, probably because Holmes and Watson are SO MARRIED, I must have picked up on that even before I started thinking about the gay subtext. The “shrug of comic resignation”, Watson’s solicitousness, etc. Goodness, the retrieval from the continent alone is a whole adventure packed into a few sentences.
I also enjoy how the local Inspector has heard of Holmes enough to be a bit excited to have him in the area to invite onto the case. But he doesn’t really know him, because he’s surprised at the “queerness” of his methods. Holmes doesn’t behave like the august personage he’s expecting, and he’s not sure what to make of him.
SCAN has so many iconic moments. The part I am still puzzling over is, how Ms Adler can consider the photograph “protection” when instead it seems to be the cause of much interference by the King, waylaying her, searching her possessions, burgling her home, etc. I wonder if her threat to send the photo to the family of his fiancee had to do with trying to save the next woman from this man who is quite possibly an abuser? And at some point she gives up, can’t protect anyone else from him, and herself only by marrying and disappearing.
What I love is that Holmes sees through this guy instantly, so although he is a paying client, and Holmes is duty bound to do his best to execute the brief, in doing so he clearly finds his sympathies lie with the lady and her new husband. I think in the end he’s pleased that she “beat” him, because she also beat the King. And it’s one of several stories like this, where the male client gets kind of superseded by a woman who’s been getting the short end of the stick.
acd reig acd scan astudyincanon book club
22 notes
Mar 27th, 2017
