Sherlock Holmes Unveiled: A Study of The Character Behind the Detective Symbol

Abstract

Fin-de-siècle English fiction is marked by a widespread sense that the essence of the national spirit and the nation itself was in decline, driven by the radical changes of the era. These changes included the rise of social class movements, strides toward equality and women’s rights, the emergence of what were considered “deviant” sexualities, and the decline of the Empire. Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories embody these anxieties, which are reflected in the character of the detective. Therefore, this dissertation argues that, contrary to popular belief, Sherlock Holmes is not a character ahead of his time but rather a by-product of it. To support this, a selection of original Sherlock Holmes narratives will be analyzed, along with two screen adaptations, namely Billy Wilder’s The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes and BBC Sherlock, bridging the gap between written and film mediums to highlight the multidimensional complexity of the famous detective.