Kaeleigh Beebe ENGL.Q 160: Tradition and Innovation Dr.

Mitchell 3/19/14

Sherlock Holmes: 1891 and 2012

BBCs Sherlock has swept the world since its premiere in 2010 and has spawned a massive fan following, which has filled the web with fan fiction, fan art, and (ridiculous) conspiracy theories. The show is a contemporary adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyles detective stories about Sherlock Holmes, Dr. John Watson, and the mysteries they solve together. Doyle first published a Sherlock Holmes story in 1887 and went on to write four novels and fifty-six short stories. As with most adaptations, the first thing people look for are what changes from the original text and the implications of those changes. Obviously, with a contemporary adaptation, the older story is brought into the modern times through changes that can severely affect the original text. The changes made by writer Steven Moffat in A Scandal in Belgravia definitely altered the original short story, A Scandal in Bohemia, but these changes successfully brought the text into modern times and created interesting new dynamics. The first big change from the original short story by Doyle to the TV episode is obvious at first glance: the title. The original short story was called A Scandal in Bohemia because the client that needed Sherlocks services was a hereditary Bohemian king having a problem with an ex-lover. Today, Bohemia is no longer an independent political entity; it is currently the Czech Republic. In the TV episode, Sherlocks client is an anonymous member of the British Royal

Family. Initially, many of the fans thought that Belgravia in the title was a mention of Belgrade, Serbia, which is an area involved in global terrorism/counterterrorism but this is incorrect. Belgravia is a neighborhood in London that Irene Adler lives in in the episode and is located in the City of Westminster and the Royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Changing the title from Bohemia to Belgravia is significant because of that neighborhoods proximity to the Buckingham Palace. The scandal that has the Royal Family so concerned is happening, practically, right under their noses. The Belgravia neighborhood in London is also one of the richest in the world and has many diplomatic and celebrity residents. Irene Alders name does not change from the short story to the TV episode but her occupation certainly does. In Doyles work, Alder is an American singer that was a past lover of Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein, the heredity king of Bohemia and someone who, dressed initially in a disguise, hires Sherlock Holmes to help him with a difficult and delicate situation. At the time that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote this short story, singers were the scandalous people of the day and were often involved with the wealthy and powerful. Steven Moffats TV episode that aired in 2012 had Adlers occupation change from singer to dominatrix. Mycroft Holmes, Sherlocks brother, calls Irene Adler the dominatrix that brought a nation to its knees (Sherlock) and this is exactly what she does. One could associate the British nation has being the submissive in the dominatrix/submissive relationship, meaning that Adler as the dominatrix would have the upper hand and would be in control. This change in her occupation from a singer to someone as in control as a dominatrix furthers her power play (Sherlock) against the British nation. A lot of the more noticeable changes in Moffats TV episode focus on Irene Adler because she is so important to the Sherlock Holmes story. She is described in both the short story

and TV episode as being the woman (pg 11); she is the one that outsmarted the great Sherlock Holmes. In Doyles story, Adler has a picture of her and the King of Bohemia, as well as letters, and she plans to use these to stop the Kings engagement to a Scandavian princess. The King was made aware that she was using the photograph and letters as blackmail to stop his wedding and had failed at all attempts to retrieve the items, therefore bringing in Sherlock Holmes to help. Irenes intentions to use the photo as blackmail is something that her character doesnt do in the TV episode. Her intentions in Moffats episode, from the beginning, are not to use the considerable amount of compromising photographs (featuring a female member of the Royal Family and Irene Adler) to extort either money or favor (Sherlock). She even says that the pictures are safe with her, not for blackmail, just for insurance (Sherlock). This move is considered a power play with the most powerful family in Britain (Sherlock), something that Sherlock finds very interesting. In A Sandal in Bohemia, the Irene Adler problem focuses specifically on the photograph and the letters being used against the King and his impending marriage but Moffats episode puts Irene at the center of another scandal, one that concerns the US and UK government as well as terrorist cells. On Irenes cell phone in the TV episode, she has a lot more than compromising pictures; she has information and secrets. One of those secrets was a coded email from MOD official, who was client of hers. The code contained seat allocations on an airplane for a flight from London to Baltimore, but this flight was filled with dead passengers and was going to blow up midflight as a part of a terrorist plot. This terrorist plot also involves Sherlocks brother Mycroft Holmes and James Moriarty, who is Sherlocks greatest foe. This connection between Mycroft, James, and Irene is something that doesnt exist in the short story; in A Scandal in Bohemia there is no mention of Mycroft or James or a connection between

them and Irene. It was important to make this change from the original text to make Irene connected to the larger plot involving James Moriarty that ends up running for almost the entire series. Making her also have secrets involving a terrorist plot on her cell phone is another way to bring this story into the modern day. Because Irene Adler is described affectionately as the woman (11), some fans start the argument that Irene and Sherlock feel some kind of love or lust for each other. Those two words are never used to describe the great Sherlock Holmes, but there is an interesting scene in the TV series in which Irene exposes her true feelings for Sherlock after saying that that she was just playing the game (Sherlock). In Doyles work, Irene and Sherlock both speak of each other with a certain affection, but there is never any mention of an actual love or lust between the two. On the TV show, Sherlock finally figures out the passcode to her cell phone and it is a part of his name. He knows that she wasnt playing a game and that she actually had feelings for him because he took her pulse and saw her pupils dilate at the sight of him. After realizing the part of his name was her passcode, he says one of the most quoted lines in the whole TV series: Ive always assumed that love is a dangerous disadvantage. Thank you for the final proof (Sherlock). Sherlock does end up saving her life in the end of the TV episode, but it is obvious from this encounter that Irene Adler truly loved Sherlock Holmes. The last big Irene Alder change is her fate at the end of the short story versus the end of the TV episode. In Doyles work, Irene Alder happily marries and leaves London, seemingly quickly after blackmailing the King so that he couldnt get married. She seems hell bent on destroying his marriage but then goes and has a marriage of her own to an English lawyer and then leaves with him. She writes a letter to Sherlock explaining everything at the end of the story, saying As to the photograph, your client may rest in peace. I love and am loved by a

better man than he (pg 9). This fate is much different than the one she has in the TV episode. Because of her connection to the terrorist plot, she is almost beheaded by a terrorist cell in Karachi, Pakistan. Mycroft tells John that she was beheaded in Pakistan because that is probably what he believes but what actually happens is much different. Mycroft wants John to tell Sherlock that Irene Adler entered witness protection in America and is alive and well, even though she was killed. John tells Sherlock this and he seems to accept it, but revealed in a flashback, Sherlock saved Irene in Pakistan by posing as the executioner. This stark difference from her being happily married and moving away is so different from what happened in the TV episode but because of her connection to the terrorist plot, this ending for her makes more sense then her running off into the sunset, with a husband to have their happily ever after. After analyzing the text and TV episode thoroughly, I noticed one line in particular that was spoken by Irene Adler in both the short story and the TV episode but in two totally different contexts. The line Goodnight, Mister Sherlock Holmes (pg 9) is spoken to Sherlock in both texts, but in Doyles work, she says this to him on the street outside his flat while dressed in a disguise. This comes after he was just in her flat also dressed in a disguise. Irene also said that she rather imprudently (pg 9) wished him a good night. Then, I heard that same line in the TV episode except the context was much different. Irene says this line to him after she just sedated Sherlock and whipped him to get her cell phone back. As he is laying on the floor, she stands over him with her whip saying this is how I want you to remember me: the woman who beat you. Goodnight, Mister Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock). The significance of this same line being spoken by her in disguise in the short story and defrocked in the TV episode makes a line that was written by Doyle in 1891 have a totally different meaning because of the lack of disguises in the 2012 episode.

It is stated almost everywhere that the Sherlock series is a loose adaptation of the stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but they do a very good job of making the text and situations modern and entertaining. This kind of adaptation breathes new life into works that were published over a hundred years ago. The success of this TV series is unprecedented, as everyone is dedicating pages of fan fiction and fan art to a show that only has nine episodes, with new episodes most likely not airing until two years from now. Steven Moffat wrote this episode and wrote the character of Irene Adler as such a multi-dimensional role that Lara Pulver knew she had get it. Irene had dimensions in the short story, but in changing her occupation to a dominatrix with many dimensions, it brings her character to a place it wasnt before. This episode is such a good example of an adaptation from a short story to a TV show and it is something that is evident in every episode of Sherlock; it is true that half of the fun is finding the differences and realizing what those differences do to the original text.

Works Cited Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur. The Advneutures of Sherlock Holmes. George Newnes, 1892.

"A Scandal in Belgravia." Sherlock. Moffat, Steven. BBC. Jan. 2012. Netflix.