In the latest episode of the hit series, Sherlock, The Abominable Bride, the writers indulge the fans by taking the
modern adaptation back to the past.
Later it is revealed that the entire case is actually happening in
Sherlock’s mind during a drug overdose.
Thus the episode jumps back and forth from the 1890s to the present. Besides being a means for entertaining Benedict
Cumberbatch fans who want to see him as a classical Sherlock, the juxtaposition
between the two time periods present an interesting contrast between cultural
ideologies of the two periods.
Specifically, the episode focuses on women’s rights. Addressing the inequality of the past, and
comparing it to the privileges that women enjoy today, it can be argued that
the episode professes that today women are treated as equals to men. However, the truth is that society still has
a long ways to go for there to be complete equality among the sexes.
To a certain extent, the episode’s claim that society has
accepted women as man’s equal is valid.
After all, it is true that women’s rights have come a long way over the
last century. They have been granted suffrage. They have entered the professional work force. In some aspects, they are more respected in
home and society. The episode pinpoints
these milestones by showing what conditions were like in the late 19th
century.
In one instance, Sherlock and Watson begin to set out for
the case when Mary, Watson’s wife, protests, “And am I just to sit here?” Watson replies, “Not at all dear. We will be hungry later.” In another instance, Watson scolds his maid
for being late to serve him breakfast, stating things like, “nobody asked you
to be observant,” and “If it wasn’t my wife’s business to deal with the staff,
I would talk to you myself.” These blips
of dialogue between the sexes serve well to establish the very strict roles of
women in the late eighteen-hundreds. She
was limited to two things – keep house and bear children. Furthermore, the
woman would almost never be permitted to speak for herself. If the husband asked her do something, she
was expected to follow with exactness.
Cut back to the modern day, an exchange between Watson and
Mary certifies that conditions are much better.
“I’m taking Mary home.” Watson states.
“You’re what?” Mary replies. “Mary
is taking me home.” Watson corrects
himself. By juxtaposing old social
expectations for women with the modern, it is easy to assume that women have
finally received justice. However, full
equality is still not existent, and perhaps in some aspects, women are even
less respected.
Another contrast between the modern and the old that the
writers use to illustrate their point is that in 1890 women were not allowed to
operate in any profession. When Sherlock
and Watson visit the morgue, the same female mortician from the present day
episodes, Molly Hooper, is disguised as a man.
Obviously noticing the mortician’s femininity, Watson states, “It is
amazing what one has to do to get ahead in a man’s world.” Are conditions really that much different today? In today’s world are women treated equally as
women, or are they receiving equality because they are acting more like men? It is true that if a woman pursues a business
degree and acquires the position of CEO in some company society may perhaps
give her the respect that she deserves.
If that is truly her desire, which often times it is, than the world has
moved forward. But what about the woman
who wants to be a full time mom? Society
looks down on such a choice in profession.
It is arguable that it receives no more merit than it did in the 19th
century. If society is to give the woman
full equality, it will not force her to act like a man to achieve it, but it
will respect her for her unique differences that make her a powerful contributor
to the world.
Another 19
th century
injustice that this episode relates is marital abuse. It is the motivation for the abominable bride
to commit murder and it is the cause for the Secret Society for Women’s Rights
to unite. But of course, sexual abuse is
still very much prevalent in today’s world.
The writers do not attempt to deny that.
However, they probably do not realize that they are guilty offenders. Abuse used to only happen in private, but now
it is so widespread that it arguably affects every man and woman living in
western society. It happens on the screen,
on the side of the road, in books, and magazines – in almost any digital image
that includes a woman. According to Jean
Kilbourne, writer of
Killing us Softly, “Advertising
[and I would add all media] tells women that what’s most important is how they
look... However, this flawlessness cannot be achieved. It’s a look that’s been created through
airbrushing, cosmetics, and computer retouching” (
https://www.mediaed.org/assets/products/241/studyguide_241.pdf). With so much focus on unattainable beauty, these
images establish a woman as nothing but an object for sexual pleasure. Even some
Sherlock
episodes are guilty of sexually objectifying women. In the episode,
A Scandal in Belgravia, Irene Adler appears to Sherlock in her “battledress”
– fully nude. Throughout the episode she
uses her sexuality to get what she wants.
In another episode
, The Last Vow, Sherlock
seduces Janine so that he can penetrate Magnussen's office, helping him
with his case. If media degrades woman
to be nothing but sex objects, how can it be considered that women have been
granted equality?
For gender equality is to be truly
achieved, the world is going to have to do much more than allow woman the right
to vote and have professional careers.
It is not enough to simply make them equal under the law. The entire perception of women in media needs
to change. Moreover society must stop
trying to create a singular sex, and respect the unique differences between men
and women.
