Sherlock Holmes and the case of toxic masculinity: what is behind the detective’s appeal?

https://theconversation.com ^ | December 16, 2020 7.06am EST | Beth Daley

[Sacajaweau]

Thanks...I’ll do a little googling.

[mewzilla]

There have also been a number of mysteries written from Adler’s point of view, IIRC.

[Joe 6-pack]

"Doyle was above all about the pulp-fiction thrills, as is obvious from his other work."

I remember a discussion with a literature prof back in my college days. He posited that Holmes started out as something of superhero, with virtually extra-human qualities of logic, knowledge and intelligence. The original Holmes stories were met with overwhelming popularity and Doyle was exceptionally well paid for them, though they were indeed, tailored for mass consumption. Doyle wanted to escape Holmes, who was becoming bigger than Doyle himself, and be recognized as a more serious writer, and indeed there is correspondence wherein Doyle expresses his interest in killing off Holmes (and indeed, Holmes plunge from Reichenbach Falls was originally intended to be the end of Holmes).

Doyle responded to public outcry and pressure from publishers in two primary ways:

1. He demanded exorbitant fees, thinking publishers would grow cold. The publishers responded by gladly paying them.

2. He made Holmes an increasingly dark and unlikeable persona thinking the public would become less receptive. To the contrary, the public embraced Holmes' turn from a superhero to more of an antihero.

Although Doyle was quite prolific outside of his Holmes stories, he was never able to put the genie back in the bottle.

Coincidentally, I think Jeremy Brett found himself in a similar relationship with Holmes as an actor, and once he had assumed the role, was consumed by it, and never able to fully turn away from it.

[stylecouncilor]

I stopped reading at the Trump reference. What a moron.

[jmacusa]

Irene Adler, as Watson noted the one person who's wit bested Holmes and whom he always referred to as ‘’the woman’’.

[dangus]

Everyone hates a know-it-all, except when the know-it-all is reliably correct. Hubris is toxic, confidence is not. Watson’s excuse of Sherlock (”borderline asperger’s”) is unforgiveable. The whole point is that Sherlock KNOWS social convention; he merely finds observing it useless.

[Does so]

He’s so dominant and/or superior to everyone around him.

Sherlock never met ME...

[lizma2]

I really liked the new version of Sherlock. They were written by Steve Moffat.

I loved his Dr. Who stuff too.

Fantastic writer.

[lizma2]

In that series the only scene I ever saw that hinted of sexually is one where Watson goes to Holmes’ apartment one morning and soon after some women comes out of Sherlock’s bedroom wearing on of his shirts.

Didn’t strike me as very gay. (But at the time I was a bit surprised!)