Helen Stoner :: English Literature Helen Stoner Essays

Helen Stoner Helen Stoner is instantly stereotyped by readers as a judicious and unpretentious lady of high society England. Conan Doyle pulls the strings of the Victorian males desires and creates a 'damsel in distress', who comes to a man for aid that she does not have the resources to conclude herself. He portrays her as a woman who is wronged and in great danger therefore adding to the suspense of the story. Analysing the assortment of clothes that she is wearing the reader can conclude that she is of sufficient 'breeding' and discreet. 'A woman dressed in black, and heavily veiled' tells us that she is unaccustomed to travelling around the conurbation solitary. She is dressed in black as not to attract attention. It was uncommon for women of a high-class family to travel around the metropolis alone, she may think this shameful, which is interesting considering that it contrasts to modern day westernised civilisation where it could be interpreted as independent. Manners were of paramount importance in Victorian society, and Helen Stoner is represented as a woman who is capable of being able to display the correct 'society manners'. Victorians were very pedantic about how a woman was allowed to greet any males in her presence. The fact that she is 'heavily veiled' specifies that she does not wish for Dr Watson or Mr Holmes to direct any attention to her looks but instead to her story. This suggests to the reader that no improper conduct was to be entertained. Helen Stoner also clearly has a methodical mind. She has natural intelligence yet is prohibited to show any real deduction that may question a mans views. This is why she visits Mr Holmes. She has no power over her stepfather, her views, as a woman would be thought totally irrational by other males, so she seeks professional (male) help in the form of Sherlock Holmes. It is comprehensible to me that she has been pushed beyond her mental limitations as a human being long ago, 'She raised her veil as she spoke, and we could clearly see that she was indeed in a pitiable state of agitation, her face all drawn and grey, with restless, frightened eyes, like those of some hunted animal. Her features and figure was those of a woman of thirty, but her hair was shot with premature grey, and her expression was weary and haggard' yet she has put up with what she has been reduced to simply because it was seen as improper for a woman to question what a man was doing or for a woman to draw attention to her home life.