So ... about The Woman
Jan. 4th, 2012 12:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jimmyhkim21Been a Baker Street Irregular since forever, so I had to tune into the latest Sherlockian adventure. It was all a good romp until the latest episode...
Sexualizing Irene Adler? Not a problem.
Trying to sexualize Sherlock? Hilarious.
Watching Watson try to deal with all this? Priceless.
And yet Moffat and company completely missed the mark on The Woman, which is pretty damn sad.
Irene Adler is probably one of the most beloved figures in Sherlockian literature not only because she outsmarted Holmes, but she did so with such decisive actions.
The opera singer/adventuress was described by the King of Bohemia as possessing "soul of steel" and "the mind of the most resolute of men".
And he should know: he boffed her for few years before throwing her over for a princess. This does not put him in a good light. And it gets even dimmer when they read Adler's letter in which she explains she will be keeping the photograph of her and the future King for insurance, and a weapon in case the King gets stupid.
We know he already got stupid: he hired thugs to throw her house, her baggage, and then her - twice, to recover the incriminating letters and photograph. That would scare off any person but not Adler. She got pissed. And smart so now the King is forced to hire Sherlock Holmes which he should've done from the get-go. Not the wisest of men, and a bit of a brute, too.
And thus Holmes enters the scene. To him this is a case which could result in a handsome pay and an interesting way to pass the time: lots to gain for Sherlock. For Adler, it meant she had everything to lose: her peace of mind and her new husband. Even though Norton was a lawyer and probably a good one, what could he do against a King? or Holmes for that matter? Adler was smart enough to see that her husband couldn't handle either men so she rolled up her sleeves and went to work.
And this is why I did not like Moffat's incarnation. His Irene Adler did everything for gain. But Doyle's did it to protect and to her it was no game, no power play. She did it because she loved and was smart. Smart enough to see how formidable her enemies were and also smart enough to see how honorable one of them was. So she told the truth to Holmes.
She was going to keep the photograph to protect herself and her husband, because she knew the King only too well. He'd probably tire of his new bride soon enough and would seek comfort elsewhere. And where better than with Adler whom he still admired and considered to be queenly if not in blood then in personality? Also, his infatuation of her had not dwindled and he could have easily forced her to return to his bed by threatening to make her a widow or actually turn her into one.
Sherlock Holmes, after reading the letter, realized he'd been bested by a woman, and a woman with the best of intentions. Something he couldn't claim. And even though he had received a very handsome advance initially, he didn't ask for any more and instead took Adler's photograph as final payment (the gold snuff box was in Case of Identity).
So, Holmes accepted the fact that he was trumped by a woman, in the battlefield of both wit and morals. Which is why Irene Adler will always be The Woman though she be of dubious and questionable memory.
Sexualizing Irene Adler? Not a problem.
Trying to sexualize Sherlock? Hilarious.
Watching Watson try to deal with all this? Priceless.
And yet Moffat and company completely missed the mark on The Woman, which is pretty damn sad.
Irene Adler is probably one of the most beloved figures in Sherlockian literature not only because she outsmarted Holmes, but she did so with such decisive actions.
The opera singer/adventuress was described by the King of Bohemia as possessing "soul of steel" and "the mind of the most resolute of men".
And he should know: he boffed her for few years before throwing her over for a princess. This does not put him in a good light. And it gets even dimmer when they read Adler's letter in which she explains she will be keeping the photograph of her and the future King for insurance, and a weapon in case the King gets stupid.
We know he already got stupid: he hired thugs to throw her house, her baggage, and then her - twice, to recover the incriminating letters and photograph. That would scare off any person but not Adler. She got pissed. And smart so now the King is forced to hire Sherlock Holmes which he should've done from the get-go. Not the wisest of men, and a bit of a brute, too.
And thus Holmes enters the scene. To him this is a case which could result in a handsome pay and an interesting way to pass the time: lots to gain for Sherlock. For Adler, it meant she had everything to lose: her peace of mind and her new husband. Even though Norton was a lawyer and probably a good one, what could he do against a King? or Holmes for that matter? Adler was smart enough to see that her husband couldn't handle either men so she rolled up her sleeves and went to work.
And this is why I did not like Moffat's incarnation. His Irene Adler did everything for gain. But Doyle's did it to protect and to her it was no game, no power play. She did it because she loved and was smart. Smart enough to see how formidable her enemies were and also smart enough to see how honorable one of them was. So she told the truth to Holmes.
She was going to keep the photograph to protect herself and her husband, because she knew the King only too well. He'd probably tire of his new bride soon enough and would seek comfort elsewhere. And where better than with Adler whom he still admired and considered to be queenly if not in blood then in personality? Also, his infatuation of her had not dwindled and he could have easily forced her to return to his bed by threatening to make her a widow or actually turn her into one.
Sherlock Holmes, after reading the letter, realized he'd been bested by a woman, and a woman with the best of intentions. Something he couldn't claim. And even though he had received a very handsome advance initially, he didn't ask for any more and instead took Adler's photograph as final payment (the gold snuff box was in Case of Identity).
So, Holmes accepted the fact that he was trumped by a woman, in the battlefield of both wit and morals. Which is why Irene Adler will always be The Woman though she be of dubious and questionable memory.
