A Scandal in
Bohemia
A Freudian Approach to
Sherlock Holmes
Summary
• “A Scandal in Bohemia,” by Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle introduces Irene Adler into the Sherlock
Holmes universe.
• The King of Bohemia has come to Holmes to
help retrieve a compromising photograph of
himself and Irene Adler, an “adventuress” who
might use the photograph as blackmail.
• Holmes attempts to steal the photo, but he is
outsmarted by Adler. She then flees the
country, promising not to release the photo.
What does it mean?
• “"A Scandal in Bohemia" is the first and only
story where Holmes is defeated by anyone.”
(Krumm 196)
• Irene Adler is Sherlock Holmes’ equal, in a
short story which takes places in Victorian
England, where women had few roles outside
that of housewife. She is much more than a
villainess, she leaves an impression on
Holmes which no man that came before has
done.
Why Freud?
• Sigmund Freud’s, “The Dream-Work,” when
used as literary theory, aides in the
interpretation of, “A Scandal in Bohemia”
because of it’s focus on representations of the
abstract and metonymic associations. It does
what a theory like New Criticism cannot do for
a Sherlock Holmes story, which depends so
much on ideas presented through other
Holmes stories. Focusing on the text itself
does not delve deep enough into its meaning.
Importance
• “What appears in dreams, we might suppose,
is not what is important in the dream-thoughts
but what occurs in them several times over.”
(Freud 504)
• Wordle: the largest words are actually the
least important. What’s smallest, or hidden, is
the most important.
• Sherlock Holmes is not the lead character
here, Irene Adler is, though her name is hardly
used.
Importance cont.
• Condensation: things are condensed
• Displacement: things that matter are displaced
• Overdetermination: things can be red-herrings
• Sherlock Holmes himself is a red-herring, as
the story truly focuses on the character of
Irene Adler. She hardly appears in the story,
but she is characterized through Holmes’
wonder over her. She is condensed, and what
she represents is displaced to Holmes.
Adler and Holmes
• With her femininity and quicker wit, Adler
represents what Holmes is missing in this
story. They are two parts of a whole - Adler is
the female Holmes. She is his equal rather
than a villain.
• “You do not know her, but she has a soul of steel. She has
the face of the most beautiful of women, and the mind of
the most resolute of men.”
• “Although Holmes defeated, he reacts like a true
Victorian gentleman, for despite a marked sting to his
ego, he cannot hide his deep admiration for this
exceptional woman.” (Krumm 203)
Abstract Representations
• “Abstract expressions offer the same kind of
difficulties to representation in dreams as a
political leadings article.” (Freud 508)
• Freud is saying that it’s impossible to dream of
something abstract. Visible aspects are
therefore representations of the abstract.
• Irene Adler is a representation of what
Sherlock Holmes lacks.
Holmes as an Abstract
Representation
• Holmes himself is a representation of the
“eccentric Bohemian,” but so is Irene Adler.
The narrator, Watson, describes Holmes as a
precise thinking machine, but he does so with
very passionate words, showing that Holmes
does in fact have the capabilities of emotion,
which he later shows for Adler, which causes
him to lose the case.
Examples
• “He was still, as ever, deeply attracted by the study
of crime”
• “...excellent for drawing the veil from men’s motives
and actions.”
Metonymy
• Metonymy is very important in Freud’s DreamWork. Because of the way our language is set
up, even concrete meanings have varying
associations, and it comes across in our
dreams as well as in our literary works.
• Irene Adler is a Victorian woman, commonly
associated with conservative values and the
sphere of domesticity.
Metonymy
• However, she’s a well-known, “adventuress”
and is well-traveled. Her associations to the
Victorian woman separate her further from
Sherlock Holmes when in fact, she can be
held as his equal, if not his superior, thanks to
her victory over him in, “A Scandal in
Bohemia.”
• However, her marriage to the British lawyer
Norton makes an interesting point.
It
Ends
with
a
Wedding
• “The wedding is quite a clever feature, as it
elevates Adler's status in society, it also
demotes her as a woman, proving the
nineteenth-century view that a woman cannot
be successful without a man. This marriage
illustrates the ultimate defeat of Women.”
(Krumm 203)
• I disagree, I think this solidifies her as Holmes’
equal. Holmes is frequently pulled away from
his adventures due to his cocaine addiction.
Not to say that marriage is like a drug
addiction, but in this case it serves the same
purpose. It’s what keeps our adventurer at
Conclusion
• “What is clearly the essence of the dreamthoughts need not to be represented in the
dream at all. The dream is, as it were,
differently centered from the dream thoughts.”
(Freud 503)
• Our story is not what is simply placed in front
of us. This Sherlock Holmes case shows that
a woman can be an equal to a man in
Victorian England - it’s much more than a
detective’s case.