Comparing Irene Adler to the Women of Elizabeth Gaskell's "The Grey Woman""

An illustration of Irene Adler, the fictional female antagonist in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "A Scandal in Bohemia," as depicted by Charles Dana Gibson

This illustration marks one of ten created by illustrator Sidney Paget for the original publication of "A Scandal in Bohemia" in 1891

The accompanying image depicts a young women known solely as *the* woman by the protagonist of the series in which she is the sole female antagonist; this moniker is bestowed upon Ms. Irene Adler by Detective Sherlock Holmes in the first Holmes short story, "A Scandal in Bohemia." This distinction in Holme's future references to Ms. Adler and her works during this story, in which time she managed to best Mr. Holmes and the King of Bohemia before fleeing London with her new husband, is bestowed upon the former actress and opera singer as a symbol of high respect and reverence. In addition to these distinctions, Adler is depicted in Conan Doyle's work as an openly sexual and independtly wealthy woman; both of these facts of Adler's identity mark her apart from women of her time. It is implied by Holmes' right-hand man, Watson, that this title is given out of awe for Adler's intellect and own skills in deception and disguise, and further is meant to distinguish Adler amongst her sex as the sole woman to ever get the better of Holmes. The moment in which this distinction for Adler's intellect becomea clear in "A Scandal in Bohemia" is depicted above by Sidney Paget, in which Adler follows Holmes whilst disguised as a young man. While this moniker is intended as an honor - which, to some degree, it is, considering the circumstance surrounding its formulation and the respect intended with its usage - there remains to be argued that such a high insistence on recognizing Adler's intelligence may stem from the inherent misogyny of both the male characters and the society in which this story is set. The moniker indicates, through its emphasis on the word the, that a woman's ability to trick a man of noted intellect is unique with respect to other members of sex, and would therefore require some kind of distinction positioning her as above other women. This positioning of Adler as "greater" or "more recognized" than other women for her intelligence can therefore be read as indicating the low expectations for women's intelligence across the board when this story was published in 1891. (The establishment of this counterargument is by no means meant to downplay the significance of the character of Irene Adler, but rather to establish the troubling nature of such assumptions about the singularity of an intelligent and resourceful woman in the eyes of her male peers.) 

Given the unique respect and distinction Adler holds in the eyes of Holmes and his contemporaries, it is only fitting that an illustration of Adler depicting the character as she is meant to appear in the text mark similar singularity and significance. The preceding image, created by American illustrator Charles Dana Gibson, provides precisely that. This ink on paper depiction of Adler was created in the image of Gibson' own renowned creation, "The Gibson Girl." This title refers to a series of illustrations of women created by Gibson, which were meant to dismantle ideas of traditional femininity by portraying beautiful women in positions of strength and assuredness, particularly over men. The juxtaposition in these images of traditional beauty (noted by a curvaceous female figure, well-kept hair, and simple makeup following trends at the time) against dominance in a man's society can be interpreted as meaning to highlight the absorb nature of expecting submission from women as a direct result of their sex. The ease and poise of female dominance in this images is not in spite of traditional female beauty, as some other depictions of women during this time period rely on (see below for a discussion on Elizabeth Gaskell's The Grey Woman). Rather, these illustrations attribute power to women in their expected beautified state, as what some may see as a declaration that women do not need to alter their appearances to be perceived as "worthy" of positions of influence in society. 

This reading of the Gibson Girl images, one of which this image of Irene Alder may be considered, is given additional credence when one considers its source. It has been noted in Christopher Redmond's Sherlock Holmes Handbook that the influence for Conan Doyle's depictions of Irene Adler stem from Lillie Langtry, an American actress and open mistress to Edward, Prince of Wales. The notoriety of Langtry during this time period was prevalent due to her frequent appearances in periodicals as a figure of note, meaning that her image would have been well circulated and easily identifiable in the latter portion of the 19th century. Langtry was noted during her time for her open sexuality and beauty, and can be interpreted as having wielded influence over the Prince of Wales during their relationship. The connections drawn between Langtry and Adler are clear in this way, and are further solidified by Gibson usage of Langtry's image in drafting Adler's beauty in this illustration. What should be taken into critical account in this matter, however, is the recognition of both Gibson and Langtry's American heritage. This heritage is noted by Conan Doyle as being shared with Adler, who was (according to the story) born in New Jersey. What may be interesting to consider in this sense is the possible influence that an American heritage for Adler, the muse upon which she is based, and the man illustrating her appearance. Women in Victorian Britain, through the series of Married Women's Property Acts, were gradually provided with the basis to gain the right to vote at an early point in history than American women. This would technically grant British women more legal freedoms than American women. However, the establishment of a British heroine from an American's perspective raises questions of the influence of the two societies working together to influence depictions of Adler; this must especially be taken into consideration when the heroine in question breaks women's norms as Adler does through her sexual activity, wealth, and cunning. It has been implied through the influence of Langtry and Gibson that the basis for Adler's beauty is American, but what about the rest of her persona? Is Conan Doyle trying to imply that American women are more intelligent, or more sexual, or more dominant, than British women? And are these possible implications intended to be positive attributes of Adler's persona, or do they count against her in the eyes of her male contemporaries? The adoption of the image of Irene Adler as a sort of proto-feminist for 19th and 20th century women would indicate a preference towards these qualities of Irene's, and further indicate the lasting impact the above images have had on the perception of women in relation to their larger society. 

The description of this Omeka item on paper milling contains valuable analysis on the combination of the male and female forms in Gaskell's "The Grey Woman"

In contrast with the dominance and outright feminity displayed by Irene Adler, Elizabeth Gaskell's depictions of the two female protagonists in her short story "The Grey Woman" - Anna and Amante - are more nuanced and more aligned with traditional expectations of subservient women for their time. Anna is depicted as a victim of her abusive marriage, wherein she is subordinate to her husband and unable to safely leave him through legal means due to women's positionality as property of their spouse's at the time. A solution to this dilemma is provided by her friend Amante, who assists Anna in smuggling herself out of her husband's home. The two run away together, with Amante posing as Anna's husband for protection. 

The contrast between Irene Adler and Amante in their respective manners of establishing dominance over men is worthy of particular note. Irene accomplishes this feat through qualities intrinsic to her persona, and manages to express these qualities without comprising her feminity, traditional beauty, or physical sense of self. Amante, in opposition to this, relies upon a drastic altering to her physical form in the "The Grey  Woman," wherein she adopts the physical appearance of a man in order to better pose as Anna's husband during their joint travels. In this way, and as is established by the description of the preceding Omeka item, Amante "transforms and holds the position of both man and woman" (Rights reserved to creator of this Omeka item). Whereas Irene's power is derived in conjunction witht the traiditonal feminity of her physical being, and she is depicted as powerful because of this, Amante must rely on feigning as a male form in order to establish positionality with respect to power in society. The freedom of wealth and travel afforded to Amante following her physical transform - wherein she "cut her own hair to the shortness of a man’s, made me clip her black eyebrows as close as though they had been shaved" (Gaskell), in addition to altering her face shape by placing pieces of cut cork in her cheeks - are the direct result of her male disguise. A woman would traditionally not be afford the same leisures of free travel and ownership of property; this marks the conditionality for which Amate must physically adopt a male persona, while also highlighting how unique it is for Adler to possess wealth and liberty to travel. 

The comparison of these two images of women serves to cast the role of Amante in "The Grey Woman" into a new context. Firstly, one may critique Gaskell's reliance on the altering of her female protagonist's form into a male appearance in order to endow her with rights, liberties, and freedoms. Such a surrender to the male dominance of society at the time as is depicted by a literal giving-up of the female form can arguably be read as a feminist text. The homosociality of the two women (bordering on homoeroticism) standing in solidarity with one another against an oppressive marriage system marks a strong stance against societally-imposed misogyny. In addition to this, Amante's bravery in choosing to adopt the male form - knowing the risk should she be discovered - and subverting women's place as property of men in doing so is noteworthy and revolutionary.

The actions of Amante take on new light, however, when compared with the manner in which Adler is notably unchanged in her portrayal of self when escaping from the investigation of Holmes. Her bold and outright maintanence of feminine beauty and form whilst retaining property and itellectual dominance over the attempts of men to undermine her is noteworthy for the very reason that she does not resort to a prolonged adoption of the male form in order to disguise her true self. Whereas Amante adopts a male persona for a prolonged period in order to develop power and a social positioning, Adler temporarily disguises herself as a man not to the effect of accepting a male's position, but rather to hide her own established self from those who know her to be singular. A reading of Adler's disguise here could then include the argument that Adler's notariary as a woman with a traditionally female form was so great that it could only be disguised/diminshed with the adoption of a male disguise. This is in sharp contrast to the necessity of Amante to adopt a male's appearance in order to additionally take on the social standing and recognition of a male member of society. While both of these readings of prominent images of female power in Victorian works serve to subvert male expectations for women, a comparison between raises questions regarding the nature of the female v. the male form in relation to social influence, and may further serve to create an argument against the "purity" of Gaskell's depiction of a woman rising to the social standing of a man in Victorian Britain.