Sexism in Sherlock Holmes

Sexism can be identified as being prejudice towards someone or for stereotyping or discriminating them, on the basis of gender. However, Sherlock Holmes is not sexist within the book, dramatization and modernized episode. In the novel, “A Scandal in Bohemia” by Conan Doyle, the protagonist Sherlock Holmes is not portrayed to be a sexist character. To begin with, Sherlock insists on having Doctor John Watson remain alongside with him. Just before the King of Bohemia enters for his consultation with Sherlock Holmes regarding his case, Watson offers to leave but Sherlock responds by saying, “[n]ot a bit, Doctor.
Stay where you are. I am lost without my Boswell… it would be a pity to miss it. ” (5). Sherlock invites Doctor Watson to stay in the room before the King of Bohemia comes in. This shows that Sherlock cares for having his friend and colleague in the room when he is working. Sherlock is not discriminating against the male sex because Doctor Watson is a male figure and Sherlock wants him to stay so that way he can record any details and understand all that is going on and afterwards help him with their case. Furthermore, Sherlock Holmes addresses Irene Adler in a respectful manner.
After the great scandal that threatened the Kingdom of Bohemia is resolved, Doctor Watson says Sherlock, “[w]hen he speaks of Irene Adler, or when he refers to her photograph, it is always under the honorable title of the woman. ” (13). Whenever Sherlock is speaking of Irene Adler he uses the term ‘the woman’, which is not used as a demeaning term. Instead it is a title that Sherlock’s uses to show his respect for Irene. Since Sherlock has respect for Irene it illustrates that he is not sexist against women.

Therefore, Sherlock Holmes is not sexist because he insists of having Doctor Watson remain alongside with him and addresses Irene in a respectful manner. Within the dramatization “A Scandal in Bohemia” directed by Paul Annett, again Sherlock Holmes is also not depicted as a sexist character. Firstly, Sherlock Holmes is attracted to someone of the opposite sex. When Sherlock Holmes said “Irene Adler had a face that any man would die for”, he preferred to take her photograph to a rich ring from the King of Bohemia’s finger.
Sherlock clearly finds Irene Adler to be beautiful and would much rather keep her picture then the King’s ring. Sherlock is very attracted to Irene since she outwitted him. He thinks highly of Irene as opposed to being sexist against her. Moreover, Sherlock supports the marriage between a male and a female. When Irene and Norton are about to get married, they need a witness for their marriage to be legalized. Therefore Sherlock who is in disguise witnesses the marriage between the two. The fact that Sherlock is there to witness their marriage shows that he indeed supports the wedding between the two.
He is not displaying any sexism towards either males or females in this example, because he is not discriminating against them or favoring one gender over the other. For these reasons, Sherlock is not sexist in the dramatization because he is attracted to someone of the opposite sex and he supports a marriage between both a male and female. Lastly the modernized episode from the television show “Sherlock” is based upon on “The Scandal in Belgravia”. Here Sherlock Holmes is not represented to be a sexist character.
Firstly, Sherlock Holmes puts his own life in danger to protect a woman. When the American CIA’s harmed Mrs. Hudson, Sherlock became angry and killed all of them. This shows that Sherlock cares for Mrs. Hudson. Although the CIA’s were well equipped with guns that could easily harm them all, Sherlock was determined to save Mrs. Hudson. Since Sherlock put his own life at risk to protect Mrs. Hudson’s, it shows that he is not sexist against women, especially when he saved the life of one. In addition, Sherlock Holmes saves the life of another female.
At the end of the episode when the Karachi terrorist group were about to chop off Irene’s head, Sherlock rescues her. Sherlock helps Irene escape when she was on the brink of death. If Sherlock was sexist, then he would have let Irene die. However, he cannot let anyone be cruel to her which demonstrates that he is not sexist against females. Therefore, Sherlock Holmes is not sexist in the modernized episode because he saves the lives of two women. All in all, I believe that Sherlock Holmes is not represented as a sexist character in the book, dramatization and
If only one dramatization between the two that we watched in class were to survive, I would choose the dramatization of the episode “A Scandal in Belgravia” from the television series “Sherlock”. I would choose this version because it is a modern version based on the book. As time has pass, it is difficult for people to follow along and understand the English language that has been spoken in the past. Thus it will be easier for the future generation to understand this version because the language is English from the twenty first century, as opposed to the other dramatization which was made in twentieth century.
Also, this dramatization expands on the storyline. There are a lot more scenes added such as the hiker dying with the boomerang in the beginning or Irene Adler almost being killed at the end. These scenes make the episode more action packed and intriguing to watch. Also, this dramatization introduces more advanced technology such as the camera phone, internet blogs, modern firearms and a science laboratory that holds advanced equipment. Not only that but more characters are introduced such as Sherlock’s Holmes brother, Moycroft, the CIA group and Moriarty, who all make the episode very entertaining!
In addition, it has more appealing genres then just mystery, there is action, romance, and comedy. Furthermore, the entire cast for the television series has wonderful acting skills. Its two stars, Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays Sherlock Holmes, and Martin Freeman, who plays Doctor Watson, they have such amazing chemistry. They make the episode livelier and humorous to watch. Therefore, I believe that the modernized dramatization should survive because it is easier to follow along through the vocabulary, it expands on the plot and has an amazing selection of wonderful actors and actresses.