Discussion Post: A Case of Identity

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

Hello again, all! How did you find A Case of Identity? As always, here are a few thoughts and questions to get things rolling. Please add your own and discuss away!

- Quite a comedown from the terrific Hound of the Baskervilles to this. Can't say this was one of my favorites, personally. Between the extremely obvious case (oh, look, stepfather's conveniently in France again! Time to get married!), the absurdly dense client, and the deplorable Victorian gender politics, IDEN frustrates me. What did you all think?

- We have to address the ending of this case and Holmes' reasoning for doing what he chooses to do. Despite him telling James Windibank that "there never was a man who deserved punishment more", Holmes still allows him (and the girl's mother!) to continue taking advantage of Mary Sutherland. The easiest way for the stepfather to be punished is to tell the truth to the daughter. The law might not be able to touch Windibank, but armed with knowledge, Mary could, by leaving his house and taking her money with her. Yet Holmes keeps what he knows to himself, damning this woman to years of continued exploitation and hopeless pining for a man who never even existed. Even if Mary is "vacuous" and "vulgar" (as Watson says), doesn't she deserve better, both as a client and as a human being?

- Let's end on a high note: Don't you just love the romantic (in all senses of the word) notion of Holmes and Watson soaring over London, hand-in-hand, exploring the curiosities and wonder of the city and the humanity of her residents? It's voyeuristic, to be sure, but both of them are keen and incisive observers of mankind already. It is simply taking that concept one leap forward -- and out the window.

Comments

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

I think it's very sad that they leave Mary Sutherland to her fate. It may be that Holmes has stopped Windibank from trying anything else on with his step-daughter, but as far as she is concerned the case hasn't been solved. I suppose she doesn't want to know the truth, or otherwise she might have come to see Holmes again.

[tweedisgood.livejournal.com]

One can just dream she came to her senses and took charge of her own life, without any men to "enlighten" her. That's what I'm going to do, anyway.

[wytchcroft.livejournal.com]

yes... not really top drawer, in fact it's one of those cases(like the noble bachelor, or the beryl coronet) that rather gives the lie to the idea that the Holmes stories got weaker as time went on. I think there was a little sand in every box the good Dr opened.

and i agree with the others here about poor Mary.

On the other hand though - it is, frankly weird - and morally - well, just the whole thing weirdness and family deception - does turn out to be something of a motif in the Holmes canon.

[wild-huntress.livejournal.com]

This one bothers me too - and it's a bit hard to reconcile Holmes' total repulsion and anger with Windibank with the way he doesn't even tell Mary the truth. The only way I can semi-reconcile the two is that Holmes is behaving like a 'gentleman' of the time - ready to antagonize another man on a woman's behalf, yet patronizing enough to think he has to protect this naive, delicate, rather silly little lady from being told a a truth that's just too 'squicky' to know. However, as has been pointed out, how did it not cross Holmes's - or Watson's - mind that Mary's finding out and leaving with her inheritance would be the most convenient way to spite Windibank? I almost can't believe that they don't even, you know, send Mary a rather vague little letter or something assuring her that the case has been solved, and that her boyfriend was really a crook/scoundrel so she's better off without him and should find someone new asap - even a half truth would be better than nothing (still operating on the assumption that the reasoning is "this is just too squicky to explain in full")! Ugh.