Canon Doyle’s version of characterization is entwined with social issues, especially with regards to relationships. The time and the context of Doyle’s stories gives a critical, yet contrasting relationship developed between male and female partners. Thus, the concept of sexually comes in, and Doyle is keen to express this concept through his stories involving Sherlock Holmes and his acquaintances. However, this concept would hold a different social paradigm in the modern society, as Sherlock’s nature would be interpreted otherwise. Asexuality is defined in Sherlock’s stories as lack of taste, mood, or interest in women and men. In addition, the contextual interpretation and implication of the novel to the modern society will be done in accordance with the interactions that Sherlock develops with John Watson, and Mrs. Irene Adler. The thesis of this essay is to justify a course why the notion of asexuality to a homosocial relationship would affect the nature in which modern stories are told, while drawing direct reference to Doyle’s to Sherlock Holmes.
The first attribute that would significantly influence the modern stories on asexuality grounds relates to the manner in which the modern society is construed on social affairs. Unlike the Victorian era that Sherlock represented, the modern society is marred with inter and transgender relationships with the issues like homosexuality and lesbianism being widely accepted in the society. The implication of the modern notions would construe the social precept of asexuality as widely illustrated in Canon Doyle’s stories on the social afflictions to Sherlock (Ue, and Jonathan 143). This mystery would go purely in these two contrasting generations, and the current televisions cast of Sherlock would brand him as a mastermind behind lesbianism, or transgender relationships. The modern perception of love has been shifted to become entirely emotional, while the Victorian society held reservation towards blatant love. In fact, this society had disregard for intimacy on grounds that it would shorten the victim’s lifespans. However, the illustrations about the three stories of Canon Doyle would reveal something different from an obvious thought that Sherlock could have been involved in homosexuality with John Watson.
The first story that signifies Sherlock’s asexual relationships with his acquaintances refers to story “the Sex and the Single Sleuth.” Doyle successfully portrayed Sherlock as asexual or a misogynist, who never extorts women for sexual favors. This story is set on a conversation context between the three main antagonists, and form the excerpt we can see the directions in which Sherlock takes to extort intellectual knowledge from Adler and Watson. Indeed, Holmes complements an icon status and Doyle Canon is keen to express the massive transformation that Sherlock has undergone as a result of his closer contacts with Watson and Adler. According to Graham, and Garlen (32), the transformation experienced by Sherlock was reminiscence in his high level of interaction with the digital technology, especially the Baggage machine that he would use to do computations. This point clearly expresses the nature of interaction between Sherlock and Watson, which had nothing to do with sexuality; it was a pure sense of asexual relationships.
In addition, the numerous encounters that Sherlock had with women like Irene did not yield any sexual suspicion. In fact, the Sherlock was only interested in the mental and intellectual relationships with either male or female partners, and had greater disregard for sex and sexuality. Canon Doyle generated suspicion that Sherlock might have been a gay, though this notion was as later refuted as a mere fallacy. In fact, the asexuality state exhibited by Sherlock might have been shrouded by the modern mindset that confuses intellectual acuity with the sexual desirability (Graham, and Garlen 33). This is indeed a major contrast that would taint the modern day’s televisions programs and filming about the character of Sherlock. While there is substantial evidence to link Holmes to a pure asexual life and interaction with Watson, the modern TV programs would tilt it and reveal it otherwise as sexual advances have crossed borders with homosexuality and lesbianism being witnessed and accepted in equal proportion.
“A Scandal in Bohemia” is yet another story that Canon Doyle expresses the asexuality nature attributed to Sherlock. This is a story based on wit and creativity to shortchange another character. In this story, we can draw a lot of sexual explication to the characters’ interactions. However, this story based on pure wit and determination to achieve a viable objective. Indeed, the incidences that transpire in this story would be valid evidence to disapprove the modern sentimental views that Sherlock’s asexual trait could have been marred with silent sexual discourse. Sherlock had depended on Watson for intellectual ability, and this attributes to the fact that they collectively hatched a story to disguise, and dispossess Adler her photographs that had sexual pictures of Adler with the Bohemia’s king, who was just a few miles to his matrimony. Doyle depicts Sherlock as a wit player, who acts on the King’s authority to dispossess Adler this sensitive photograph. In fact, the next day Sherlock puts the disguise of a groom and trails on Idler to the Church of St. Monica (Jennifer 1).
Indeed, there are recorded incidences of sexual encounters between Adler and the King, but this had nothing closer to do with Sherlock’s asexuality. In addition, the closer association that Watson shares with Sherlock was aimed at gaining creativity of how to dispossess off the photograph from Adler. While the Victorian society had a complete trust and regard to the Sherlock’s asexuality nature, the modern society would be inclined to believe that Watson had estranged affairs with Sherlock. Indeed, this excerpt illustrates about the existence of pure intellectual correlation between Adler, Sherlock and Watson.
“A scandal in Belgravia” is yet another story that Doyle implores in order to generate the concept of asexuality of in Holmes. This story is based on conspiracy and blackmail by lady Alder. As reiterated before, Sherlock had relied on Adler for her intellectual prowess, and he was determined to use her wit to achieve his personal reasons. However, most of these trails did not succeed, as Holmes ended up losing in almost all scenarios. In this story, Jim Moriarty is determined to slay Sherlock and Watson, plan that would be hutched due to the serious detective information at large in Adler’s hand (Vanacker, and Catherine 110). The controversial photos held by Adler cited serious stakes to the rot in the military, where a man could just be killed without a solid reason. However, Mycroft and a Palace official are determined to retrieve these photos, as they could potentially harm the reputation of the military force. Earlier one Mycroft had called Sherlock on the eve of Christmas in order to discuss the big issues of the photos, and this conversation happens behind the curtain (Kyle 1). Sherlock and Watson engage in an onslaught game to retrieve these photos. The most interesting part that brings asexuality nature of Sherlock was his inability to emotionally react the moment Adler bulged out necked to receive them. He was never bothered by this act, but only stayed focus to his course of action. Nevertheless, Sherlock’s wit and determination to have these photos failed to materialize, and so Adler’s ploy to destruct Holmes by exposing her nudity does not work either.
In conclusion, Doyle Canon’s three stories have been very critical in establishing the asexuality nature of Sherllock. While in most cases, the modern videos would give a different interpretation to Holmes’s interactions with Watson and Adler, the truth remained steadfast in these stories that Sherlock did not have any emotional affair with either the two protagonists. Nevertheless, the modern videos would reveal it otherwise, and give it a sexual connotation. In fact, the modern belief about sexuality is triggered by unsound emotional feelings, and people would rush into conclusions that a true affair exists (Ue, and Jonathan 145). In addition, the modern perception completely disregards asexuality and discerns away the notion of intellectual association between persons of either similar or opposite sexes. These are the modern views that are held about asexuality, but are not conformal with the facts reiterated by Doyle Canon in his three stories.
Works Cited
Graham, Anissa, M. and Garlen Jennfer, C. Sex and the Single Sleuth; Sherlock Holmes for the 21st Century.
Jennifer Petkus. A Scandal in Bohemia uncovered. 2013. http://myparticularfriend.com/?p=4129
Kyle Anderson. A Scandal in Belgravia” Review. 2012. http://nerdist.com/sherlock-a-scandal-in-belgravia-review-with-spoilers/
Ue, Tom, and Jonathan Cranfield. Sherlock Holmes. Bristol: Intellect, 2014. Print. https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=XWGKAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA2&dq=Ue,+Tom,+and+Jonathan+Cranfield.+Sherlock+Holmes.+Bristol:+Intellect,+2014.+Print.&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
Vanacker, Sabine, and Catherine Wynne. Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle: Multi-media Afterlives. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. Print. https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=tcnRk7v7SooC&pg=PR4&dq=Vanacker,+Sabine,+and+Catherine+Wynne.+Sherlock+Holmes+and+Conan+Doyle:+Multi-media+Afterlives.+Houndmills,+Basingstoke,+Hampshire:+Palgrave+Macmillan,+2013.+Print&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Vanacker%2C%20Sabine%2C%20and%20Catherine%20Wynne.%20Sherlock%20Holmes%20and%20Conan%20Doyle%3A%20Multi-media%20Afterlives.%20Houndmills%2C%20Basingstoke%2C%20Hampshire%3A%20Palgrave%20Macmillan%2C%202013.%20Print&f=false
