Hunter Elzy
Hodges
English 113
October 2017
Literature Research Paper
Throughout history, gender roles of both men and women have changed in many ways, they are almost constantly evolving and changing. Over the years, starting with the original Sherlock Holmes books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle set in the 19th century all the way through the most recent version of Sherlock Holmes stories such as the BBC show Sherlock that is set in present day all show a good representation of how the gender roles of both men and women were during the time and how they played a role in each of the characters in each version of the stories.
Starting in the 18th century, the idea that men and women have natural distinct characteristics from each other was universal. The distinction between men and women came from Christian ideology, classical thought, and science. Men were viewed as the stronger, smarter, determined and more aggressive of the two sexes. While women were viewed as emotional, compassionate,
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In The Sign of the Four, the female character is miss Mary Morstan who is introduced as the classic woman of the late 19th century. Miss Morstan is a pale, quiet, blonde that is dressed in nice clothes. At first, she is timid as shown by the fact that her father disappeared years ago, and she is just now coming forward with the case but as the book goes on, you can see the change in her personality and the role she plays. Not only does she take initiative by bringing the case to Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson but she then decides that she is going to be involved in solving the case which was very unlikely for a woman to do in the Victorian era because women were still viewed as more fragile and not as smart as men. This is a good demonstration on how as time goes on women have become more comfortable and confident in what they’re