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sherlock60[This is a slightly revised repost from Round 4.]
This week we’re having a look at The Yellow Face.
"Nothing has more individuality, save perhaps watches and bootlaces.” Well, we see a watch being examined in SIGN, but any thoughts on the individuality of bootlaces?
He was well but quietly dressed in a dark-grey suit, and carried a brown wideawake in his hand. You can see a description and an illustration of a wideawake hat here.
"My dear Mr. Grant Munro—" began Holmes. Damn you ACD and your frustratingly ambiguous compound names! (*breathes into paper bag*) Is “Grant” a first name or part of his surname? And if Grant is his first name, why does his wife call him “Jack”? And why is he writing his name inside his hat anyway? Were wideawakes that popular in Victorian England?
“We have not had a difference, not one, in thought or word or deed.” Hmm… In three years? This seems so unlikely. The happiest of couples have disagreements. Is Mrs. Munro trying to be on her best behaviour, as it were?
“She went out to America when she was young…” I wonder what the circumstances were. Did she go with her parents? Did they reject her when she married her first husband, and remain in America when she came back to England? Mrs. Munro only says “I cut myself off from my race in order to wed him” but it’s possible that could include family members.
“This sickened her of America, and she came back to live with a maiden aunt at Pinner…” I can understand Mrs. Munro wanting to go back to her native country. But why didn’t she wait until her daughter was well enough to travel? Though perhaps her grief for her husband was so all-consuming, she temporarily didn’t feel able to care for her daughter—either emotionally or physically. So she passed the care onto someone she trusted. Or maybe after experiencing the death of her husband she was terrified her daughter might still relapse and die, and she dealt with the fear by running away.
“When we married, my wife made over all her property to me…” What an odd thing for Mrs. Munro to do. She didn’t have to do it, and her husband didn’t want her to do it. And she has a daughter to support. (Unless she sorted out the financial situation for her daughter before she left America—it’s just that didn’t include enough money for travelling to England.) Was it guilt? Was she trying to prove to herself how much she was committed to her new marriage, even though she was lying to her husband?
"Yes. There's blackmail in it, or I am much mistaken." And Holmes is much mistaken. Why does he so quickly jump to the wrong conclusion? He’s going against his own methods by coming up with a theory before having all the data.
There was a portrait within of a man strikingly handsome and intelligent-looking, but bearing unmistakable signs upon his features of his African descent. It was our misfortune that our only child took after his people rather than mine... But dark or fair, she is my own dear little girlie, and her mother's pet. This is a bit of an uncomfortable read for the modern reader. Watson seems to be implying that John Hebron was handsome and intelligent despite his ancestry. And Mrs. Munro seems to be implying she loves her daughter despite the colour of her skin. But perhaps by “our misfortune” she means that she is aware how much more difficult life is going to be for Lucy—looking white would open more doors for her. We have to remember how brave Mrs. Munro was in choosing to marry her first husband in the social situation at the time—she would want things to be easier for her daughter.
Holmes, with a laugh, passed his hand behind the child's ear, a mask peeled off from her countenance, and there was a little coal-black negress, with all her white teeth flashing in amusement at our amazed faces. It has to be said that Lucy is an astoundingly easygoing and well-adjusted child. Her father died and she was seriously ill. Then she was separated from her mother. (How old is Lucy? She apparently still remembers and loves her mother three and a half years later.) And then she was taken away from her home to a faraway country, where she was kept inside and made to wear a mask and gloves. But she’s still cheerful and outgoing.
He lifted the little child, kissed her, and then, still carrying her, he held his other hand out to his wife and turned towards the door. It’s such a moving reaction from Munro. He has just had the shock of being presented with a stepdaughter he thought was dead—I think it would have been perfectly understandable if he’d asked for a few days to come to terms with things, leaving Lucy in the cottage. But he embraces his responsibilities immediately, and with such affection.
So, what about Lucy’s future? She’s been separated from her mother for a long time, and her stepfather is a stranger. How will she adjust to her new circumstances? Her parents will be loving but after all this time, she must to a certain extent consider her nurse her mother. And what about her adulthood? (You may like to take a look at our Black Victorians post.) I like to think though that Lucy’s skin will make her a novelty rather than an outsider, and her middle-class background and the fact her mother and stepfather have white skin will give her some protection against prejudice. Her first father was “strikingly handsome” and a lawyer, so I can imagine Lucy growing up to be beautiful (which, let’s face it, does make a difference in how you’re treated) and intelligent. And she seems so resilient. I can imagine her making a real success of her life, despite any limitations other people try to put on her.
"Watson," said he, "if it should ever strike you that I am getting a little over-confident in my powers, or giving less pains to a case than it deserves, kindly whisper 'Norbury' in my ear, and I shall be infinitely obliged to you." I wonder if Watson ever did…
This week we’re having a look at The Yellow Face.
"Nothing has more individuality, save perhaps watches and bootlaces.” Well, we see a watch being examined in SIGN, but any thoughts on the individuality of bootlaces?
He was well but quietly dressed in a dark-grey suit, and carried a brown wideawake in his hand. You can see a description and an illustration of a wideawake hat here.
"My dear Mr. Grant Munro—" began Holmes. Damn you ACD and your frustratingly ambiguous compound names! (*breathes into paper bag*) Is “Grant” a first name or part of his surname? And if Grant is his first name, why does his wife call him “Jack”? And why is he writing his name inside his hat anyway? Were wideawakes that popular in Victorian England?
“We have not had a difference, not one, in thought or word or deed.” Hmm… In three years? This seems so unlikely. The happiest of couples have disagreements. Is Mrs. Munro trying to be on her best behaviour, as it were?
“She went out to America when she was young…” I wonder what the circumstances were. Did she go with her parents? Did they reject her when she married her first husband, and remain in America when she came back to England? Mrs. Munro only says “I cut myself off from my race in order to wed him” but it’s possible that could include family members.
“This sickened her of America, and she came back to live with a maiden aunt at Pinner…” I can understand Mrs. Munro wanting to go back to her native country. But why didn’t she wait until her daughter was well enough to travel? Though perhaps her grief for her husband was so all-consuming, she temporarily didn’t feel able to care for her daughter—either emotionally or physically. So she passed the care onto someone she trusted. Or maybe after experiencing the death of her husband she was terrified her daughter might still relapse and die, and she dealt with the fear by running away.
“When we married, my wife made over all her property to me…” What an odd thing for Mrs. Munro to do. She didn’t have to do it, and her husband didn’t want her to do it. And she has a daughter to support. (Unless she sorted out the financial situation for her daughter before she left America—it’s just that didn’t include enough money for travelling to England.) Was it guilt? Was she trying to prove to herself how much she was committed to her new marriage, even though she was lying to her husband?
"Yes. There's blackmail in it, or I am much mistaken." And Holmes is much mistaken. Why does he so quickly jump to the wrong conclusion? He’s going against his own methods by coming up with a theory before having all the data.
There was a portrait within of a man strikingly handsome and intelligent-looking, but bearing unmistakable signs upon his features of his African descent. It was our misfortune that our only child took after his people rather than mine... But dark or fair, she is my own dear little girlie, and her mother's pet. This is a bit of an uncomfortable read for the modern reader. Watson seems to be implying that John Hebron was handsome and intelligent despite his ancestry. And Mrs. Munro seems to be implying she loves her daughter despite the colour of her skin. But perhaps by “our misfortune” she means that she is aware how much more difficult life is going to be for Lucy—looking white would open more doors for her. We have to remember how brave Mrs. Munro was in choosing to marry her first husband in the social situation at the time—she would want things to be easier for her daughter.
Holmes, with a laugh, passed his hand behind the child's ear, a mask peeled off from her countenance, and there was a little coal-black negress, with all her white teeth flashing in amusement at our amazed faces. It has to be said that Lucy is an astoundingly easygoing and well-adjusted child. Her father died and she was seriously ill. Then she was separated from her mother. (How old is Lucy? She apparently still remembers and loves her mother three and a half years later.) And then she was taken away from her home to a faraway country, where she was kept inside and made to wear a mask and gloves. But she’s still cheerful and outgoing.
He lifted the little child, kissed her, and then, still carrying her, he held his other hand out to his wife and turned towards the door. It’s such a moving reaction from Munro. He has just had the shock of being presented with a stepdaughter he thought was dead—I think it would have been perfectly understandable if he’d asked for a few days to come to terms with things, leaving Lucy in the cottage. But he embraces his responsibilities immediately, and with such affection.
So, what about Lucy’s future? She’s been separated from her mother for a long time, and her stepfather is a stranger. How will she adjust to her new circumstances? Her parents will be loving but after all this time, she must to a certain extent consider her nurse her mother. And what about her adulthood? (You may like to take a look at our Black Victorians post.) I like to think though that Lucy’s skin will make her a novelty rather than an outsider, and her middle-class background and the fact her mother and stepfather have white skin will give her some protection against prejudice. Her first father was “strikingly handsome” and a lawyer, so I can imagine Lucy growing up to be beautiful (which, let’s face it, does make a difference in how you’re treated) and intelligent. And she seems so resilient. I can imagine her making a real success of her life, despite any limitations other people try to put on her.
"Watson," said he, "if it should ever strike you that I am getting a little over-confident in my powers, or giving less pains to a case than it deserves, kindly whisper 'Norbury' in my ear, and I shall be infinitely obliged to you." I wonder if Watson ever did…
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Date: 2019-02-21 07:13 pm (UTC)About ACD’s compound name, from A Life in Letters: “He had some memory of his grandfather, but not of his paternal grandmother, Marianne Conan, who had died at the end of 1839. Her brother, Michael Conan, a journalist who lived in Paris much of his life, was godfather to Arthur and his older sister Annette, with his surname being added to theirs at the baptismal font to form the compound name Conan Doyle. This name was not held by their parents’ subsequent children.“
Regarding Effie’s signing off all her property to her husband: mb it was a gesture to show the degree of trust she had in him. It’s also a plot device, of course. Otherwise Grant Munro would have more difficulties in getting an inkling about her secret.
Holmes jumping to conclusions: mb that’s why he doesn’t like voicing his theories before he gets evidence supporting them. In this story Holmes became overconfident, mb that’s why he went against his own methods and learned his lesson as a result.
And yes, casual racism, period-typical.
“Kindly whisper Norbury”: in the Bert Coules adaptation he did :D
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Date: 2019-02-22 11:05 pm (UTC)Regarding Effie’s signing off all her property to her husband: mb it was a gesture to show the degree of trust she had in him. I would agree with you it's to show trust in him. But it's still an odd thing to do if you're trying to keep a child hidden from the person you're giving control of your money to, and the child is probably entirely financially dependent on you.
Looking at it again now, I suppose Effie at the beginning of her marriage was planning on completely cutting off contact with her daughter. And handing over all her money to her husband meant she couldn't give in to the temptation of visiting her or bringing her over to England. But eventually she missed her too much and changed her mind.
It’s also a plot device, of course. Otherwise Grant Munro would have more difficulties in getting an inkling about her secret. Yes, most of the discussion points for the stories do come down to either ACD not being bothered about getting things wrong or shoehorning a plot point in. But it's fun as well to play The Game and try and come up with in-universe explanations ^__^
Holmes jumping to conclusions: mb that’s why he doesn’t like voicing his theories before he gets evidence supporting them. In this story Holmes became overconfident, mb that’s why he went against his own methods and learned his lesson as a result. I suppose in YELL, Holmes is still a young(ish) man. It makes sense that he might occasionally get over-confident and forget his own rules.
And yes, casual racism, period-typical At least it's not as bad as 3GAB ^^" We have to accept ACD was a man of his time, I suppose.