Addiction, Empire, and Narrative in Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Sign of the Four"

Randall, Don

doi:10.2307/1346223

Cited by 10 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Several critics have explored the connection between detection and empire (McBratney 2005;Brantlinger 1988;Harris 2003;Keep 1999;Reitz 2000;Thompson 1993), and although some critics consider later periods of colonialism (e. g., Seshagiri), much attention is given to the last decade of the 19 th century and to the Sherlock Holmes stories. McBratney finds that the discourse of racial type underlies the Sherlock Holmes canon (2005, 151) and has specified how Doyle's novella The Sign of Four harnesses colonial racial taxonomies from India to enact a "deeply conservative" drama of social control over undesirable atavistic tendencies at the heart of the British Empire (McBratney 2005, 163).…”

Section: Detection and Empirementioning

confidence: 99%

Elementary Ratiocination: Anticipating Sherlock Holmes in a Slovene Setting

Gadpaille

2014

ELOPE

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SummaryThe paper reevaluates an obscure, German-language crime novel from the nineteenth century and its better-known English translation: Carl Adolf Streckfuss's Das einsame Haus: nach den Tagebüchern des Herrn Professor Döllnitz: Roman (1888), translated as The Lonely House (1907). Although written in German by an author from Berlin, the novel is set on the territory of Slovenia. The paper situates the novel geographically and historically, while considering its place in the developing genres of crime and later detective fiction. Moreover, the novel's depiction of intraethnic tension in the Slovenian village where the crime occurs will be shown to reflect the ethnic tensions on the frontiers of Austro-Hungarian territory, and to align with later trends in English detective fiction towards the use of ethnic taxonomies in constructing and solving crime. (Samotna hiša, 1907). Čeprav je njegov avtor iz Berlina, se odvija v Sloveniji. Prispevek predstavi geografski in zgodovinski okvir romana in ga žanrsko umesti med nastajajoči kriminalni roman in kasnejšo detektivsko pripoved. Na podlagi zločina, opisanega v romanu, ki se zgodi v slovenski vasi, zaznamovani s spori znotraj iste etnične skupnosti, prikaže medetnične napetosti na robu avstro-ogrskega ozemlja, ki se ujemajo s kasnejšimi trendi v angleški detektivski pripovedi, kjer se zločini načrtujejo in razrešujejo s pomočjo etničnih taksonomij.

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Section: Detection and Empirementioning

confidence: 99%

Elementary Ratiocination: Anticipating Sherlock Holmes in a Slovene Setting

Gadpaille

2014

ELOPE

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“…While Doyle recognizes the exotic and economic appeal of the colonies, he also recognizes that popular imperial fascination is often experienced alongside strong feelings of fear, as colonial uprisings often, "placed British culture outside and beyond its 'proper' sphere of dominion and selfcontrol" [7]. The Indian Mutiny, before its eventual suppression, caused British confidence in the Empire to waver, as Indian natives employed violent tactics against colonial officials [7]. Doyle recognizes the debilitating impact that the Mutiny has on the Empire, and thus makes reference to this important imperial turning point through the character of Small.…”

Section: Imperial Contradictions In Arthur Conan Doyle's the Sign Of mentioning

confidence: 99%

Imperial contradictions in Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Sign of Four

Fraser¹

2012

SURG

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Despite Britain’s rapid territorial expansion and its marked success in establishing international colonies, the early nineteenth century British public held widely divergent views concerning imperialist endeavors. While the colonies retained their element of exoticism and decadence, attracting the British public to the idea of colonial enterprise, native insurrections against British imperial rule inspired fear within the British public. By calling the loyalties of colonial natives into question, and casting doubt upon the overall security of Britain, popular support of territorial expansion began to wane. To understand these contradictory popular responses to British imperialism, this article will undertake an analysis of Arthur Conan Doyle’s popular piece of mystery fiction: The Sign of Four, a literary work written in the context of the Indian Mutiny of 1857. By reflecting contemporary attitudes held in response to British Imperialism, The Sign of Four provides a medium through which popular contradictory responses towards British imperialism can be critically examined.

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“…Most important to my reading is Taylor‐Ide's assertion that Holmes's cocaine use in the novel's conclusion “reaffirms his position as a solitary, celibate, and ascetic outsider who defends society without being a part of it,” a claim for which I wholeheartedly agree (67). Other treatments of the novel to employ postcolonial arguments include Kirby Farrell, “Heroism, Culture, and Dread in The Sign of Four ,” Studies in the Novel 16 (Spring 1984): 32–51; Lawrence Frank, “Dreaming the Medusa: Imperialism, Primitivism, and Sexuality in Arthur Conan Doyle's The Sign of Four,” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 22 (Autumn, 1996): 52–86; and Christopher Keep and Don Randall, “Addiction, Empire, and Narrative in Arthur Conan Doyle's The Sign of Four ,” Novel: A Form on Fiction 32 (Spring 1999): 207–221.…”

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confidence: 99%

Performing the Imperial Abject: The Ethics of Cocaine in Arthur Conan Doyle's The Sign of Four

O'Dell¹

2012

The J of Popular Culture

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Addiction, Empire, and Narrative in Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Sign of the Four"

Cited by 10 publications

References 5 publications

Elementary Ratiocination: Anticipating Sherlock Holmes in a Slovene Setting

Elementary Ratiocination: Anticipating Sherlock Holmes in a Slovene Setting

Imperial contradictions in Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Sign of Four

Performing the Imperial Abject: The Ethics of Cocaine in Arthur Conan Doyle's The Sign of Four

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