DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND DIVORCE IN SHERLOCK HOLMES STORIES

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has been criticized for opposing to women's suffrage in the early twentieth century and endorsing gender stereotypes in his works. However, his views on women's rights were contradictory due to his campaign to reform British divorce laws which were unequal for men and women. Along with obvious references to Victorian legal system and social hierarchy, he displays family, marriage, and gender stereotypes as significant subjects in some of his Sherlock Holmes stories. He draws attention to the social and legal status of women in marriages, and the severity of laws about domestic violence and divorce. This paper aims to propose a different approach to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's views on these laws and women's rights. With its focus on the issues of divorce and violence against women in some Sherlock Holmes stories, it discusses how Doyle mirrors his defence on reform of divorce laws and women's rights, especially in marriages.