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Literary Devices
Definition of Allusion
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals, historical events, or philosophical ideas... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to... read full definition
Part 1, Chapter 2: The Science of Deduction
Explanation and Analysis—Poe and Gaboriau:
In Part 1, Chapter 2, Doyle makes an allusion to two other earlier authors of detective fiction: Edgar Allan Poe and Émile Gaboriau. Poe published three detective stories featuring an amateur detective (like Sherlock Holmes) named C. Auguste Dupin in the 1840s, about 40 years prior to the publication of A Study in Scarlet in 1887.
Watson first asks Holmes if he is familiar with Poe’s detective fiction upon learning that his new friend is, like Dupin, an amateur detective:
"It is simple enough as you explain it," I said, smiling. "You remind me of Edgar Allan Poe's Dupin. I had no idea that such individuals did exist outside of stories.”
Sherlock Holmes rose and lit his pipe. "No doubt you think you are complimenting me in comparing me to Dupin," he observed. "Now, in my opinion, Dupin was a very inferior fellow. That trick of his of breaking in on his friends' thoughts with an apropos remark was really very showy and superficial. He had some analytical genius, no doubt; but he was by no means such a phenomenon as Poe seemed to imagine."
This allusion appears to be Doyle’s way of giving a nod to Poe for inspiring him to write the Sherlock Holmes stories. Doyle greatly admired Poe’s detective stories, and A Study in Scarlet was clearly inspired by the first Dupin story, “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.” The structure of the two stories are nearly identical: both are told from the first-person point of view not of the detective, but rather of a companion who they have recently started living with. For several weeks, this companion is unaware of their friend’s occupation as a detective. In both stories, the detectives use their careful observation of clues like a person’s appearance, dress, body language, and facial expressions to make deductions about them.
In Chapter 2, after asking Holmes about Dupin, Watson brings up Émile Gaboriau and the detective-hero of his novels, Monsieur Lecoq:
“Have you read any of Gaboriau’s works?” I asked. “Does Lecoq come up to your idea of a detective?”
Sherlock Holmes sniffed sardonically. “Lecoq was a miserable bungler,” he said, in an angry voice; “he had only one thing to recommend him, and that was his energy. That book made me positively ill.”
Gaboriau wrote his novels featuring Monsieur Lecoq, a young policeman and master of disguise, in the 1860s and 1870s, decades before A Study in Scarlet was published. Doyle was once quoted saying that the "best detective in fiction is Edgar Allan Poe’s Monsieur Dupin; then Monsieur Le Cocq, Gaboriau’s hero." He also said that he admired “the neat dovetailing of [Gaboriau’s] plots.” Doyle does indeed appear to have been inspired by the plot structure of Gaboriau’s novels when writing A Study in Scarlet. Gaboriau’s Monsieur Lecoq novels tended to follow a structure of two parts, the first consisting of a police investigation and the second flashing back in time to detail the events leading up to the murder being investigated. Doyle did something very similar in A Study in Scarlet by having Part 1 of the novel focus on Holmes’s investigation of Drebber and Stangerson’s murders and having Part 2 flash back 30 years to detail the events that drove the murderer, Jefferson Hope, to seek revenge on the two men.
Related Themes:
Part 2, Chapter 1: On the Great Alkali Plain
Explanation and Analysis—Brigham Young:
In Part 2, Chapter 1, Doyle makes an allusion to Brigham Young, a real man in history who was the second president of the Mormon church from 1847-1877 and founder of Salt Lake City. In 1847, ]Brigham Young led a group of Mormon pioneers west from Illinois to Utah to escape religious persecution. Once in Utah, they founded Salt Lake City. Over the next 20 years, about 70,000 Mormons made the migration west.
This historical event is depicted in Part 2, Chapter 1 of A Study in Scarlet. John and Lucy Ferrier, stranded in the wilderness and close to death, encounter the first group of pioneers headed west. They meet Brigham Young, who is painted in a somewhat villainous light. Young tells them that his people will only rescue them from death and take them into their community on the condition that they convert to Mormonism and follow the tenets of their faith. In essence, he forces them to convert, since the only other option for them is to starve to death in the desert:
“If we take you with us,” [Young] said, in solemn words, “it can only be as believers in our own creed. We shall have no wolves in our fold. Better far that your bones should bleach in this wilderness than that you should prove to be that little speck of decay which in time corrupts the whole fruit. Will you come with us on these terms?
“Guess I’ll come with you on any terms,” said Ferrier, with such emphasis that the grave Elders could not restrain a smile. The leader alone retained his stern, impressive expression.
Later, in Part 2, Chapter 3, Brigham Young is the one who chastises John Ferrier for not taking multiple wives, as is customary for members of his faith, and for not offering his adopted daughter, Lucy Ferrier, as a wife to a prominent member of their community. John, who knows that Lucy is in love with the non-Mormon Jefferson Hope, had been trying to protect her from a forced marriage to someone she doesn’t love:
“Brother Ferrier,” [Young] said, taking a seat […] “the true believers have been good friends to you. We picked you up when you were starving in the desert […] In return for all this we asked but one condition: that you should embrace the true faith, and conform in every way to its usages […] Where are your wives? […] It is of your daughter that I want to speak to you […] she has grown to be the flower of Utah, and has found favour in the eyes of many who are high in the land.”
Doyle’s fascination and apparent repulsion with Mormonism—and particularly the polygamy (marriage of one man to many wives) practiced by Mormons—reflected the view of many people in the 19th century, particularly English people. The English were fascinated by this distinctly American religion which, to them, appeared very exotic. Doyle’s sensational depiction of Mormonism, complete with forced marriage and murder, reflected a popular image of the religion in the 19th century. It also provoked much criticism for being sensationalized and inaccurate, as well as for portraying Mormons in such a villainous light.
Related Themes:
Part 2, Chapter 3: John Ferrier Talks With the Prophet
Explanation and Analysis—Brigham Young:
In Part 2, Chapter 1, Doyle makes an allusion to Brigham Young, a real man in history who was the second president of the Mormon church from 1847-1877 and founder of Salt Lake City. In 1847, ]Brigham Young led a group of Mormon pioneers west from Illinois to Utah to escape religious persecution. Once in Utah, they founded Salt Lake City. Over the next 20 years, about 70,000 Mormons made the migration west.
This historical event is depicted in Part 2, Chapter 1 of A Study in Scarlet. John and Lucy Ferrier, stranded in the wilderness and close to death, encounter the first group of pioneers headed west. They meet Brigham Young, who is painted in a somewhat villainous light. Young tells them that his people will only rescue them from death and take them into their community on the condition that they convert to Mormonism and follow the tenets of their faith. In essence, he forces them to convert, since the only other option for them is to starve to death in the desert:
“If we take you with us,” [Young] said, in solemn words, “it can only be as believers in our own creed. We shall have no wolves in our fold. Better far that your bones should bleach in this wilderness than that you should prove to be that little speck of decay which in time corrupts the whole fruit. Will you come with us on these terms?
“Guess I’ll come with you on any terms,” said Ferrier, with such emphasis that the grave Elders could not restrain a smile. The leader alone retained his stern, impressive expression.
Later, in Part 2, Chapter 3, Brigham Young is the one who chastises John Ferrier for not taking multiple wives, as is customary for members of his faith, and for not offering his adopted daughter, Lucy Ferrier, as a wife to a prominent member of their community. John, who knows that Lucy is in love with the non-Mormon Jefferson Hope, had been trying to protect her from a forced marriage to someone she doesn’t love:
“Brother Ferrier,” [Young] said, taking a seat […] “the true believers have been good friends to you. We picked you up when you were starving in the desert […] In return for all this we asked but one condition: that you should embrace the true faith, and conform in every way to its usages […] Where are your wives? […] It is of your daughter that I want to speak to you […] she has grown to be the flower of Utah, and has found favour in the eyes of many who are high in the land.”
Doyle’s fascination and apparent repulsion with Mormonism—and particularly the polygamy (marriage of one man to many wives) practiced by Mormons—reflected the view of many people in the 19th century, particularly English people. The English were fascinated by this distinctly American religion which, to them, appeared very exotic. Doyle’s sensational depiction of Mormonism, complete with forced marriage and murder, reflected a popular image of the religion in the 19th century. It also provoked much criticism for being sensationalized and inaccurate, as well as for portraying Mormons in such a villainous light.
Related Themes:
