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"Solitary Cyclist"

     “The Solitary Cyclist” was published in 1903 in the Strand Magazine as a part of The Return of Sherlock Holmes collection. The story centered around a woman named Violet Smith who seeks assistance from Sherlock Holmes. She took a position in the country, one that allows her to ride her bicycle to and from the train station. One day, she noticed that she was followed by an unknown man. When she attempted to confront him, he disappeared. Holmes soon discovered that Violet was followed by her employer, Mr. Carruthers. The story centered around late the Victorian women’s movement and laws regarding marriage and inheritance.  

     In his collection, Doyle wrote about the New Woman and the woman’s rights movement of the period. Though he presented these ideas, often in ways that punish the perpetrators of violence towards women, he took a conservative stance on these issues. His stories often resulted in situations that promoted women to participate in their own spheres. “Conan Doyle’s female characters, on the other hand, are close to conventional middle-class Victorian notions of women as defenceless creatures in need of protection from external threats.” (Kisti-Mitakou 31) In writing his characters in such a way, he promoted a model of femininity that fit the idea of a perfect Victorian Woman. In “The Solitary Cyclist,” Violet Smith was the perfect model for the Victorian New Woman. Despite this, she sought help from men instead of handling her problems by herself. Though she was written as a “New Woman,” Violet was portrayed in a conservative way, her behaviors and appearance defied her image as the Victorian New Woman.

    “The Solitary Cyclist” focused on marriage laws of the 19th century. In 1836, the writer Caroline Norton, famously sued her husband for custody of her children. Her actions allowed the passage of the Custody of Children Act in 1839, which granted mothers partial right to their children. Prior to this act, women had no identity in law, “under the law, married women were classed together with criminals, lunatics, and minors- legally incompetent and irresponsible” (Vicinus 7). Women were to maintain a sperate sphere from the man. This separate sphere required women to stay in the house, their job was to take care of her husband, children, and the house. The idealized role of an upper-class woman was to get married and to raise children. “Victorian England was a man’s world. More specifically, it was a rich, upper-class, man’s world, and even better if you had land, a large house, a title, and a doting wife” (History is Now). Husbands assumed legal possession of all property upon marriage. If a woman’s husband were to die, inheritance would go to the eldest male child or closest male next-of kin (History is Now). In 1870, the Married Women’s Property Act was passed, giving women the right to their own property and earnings, money invested, and property of deceased persons. The Women’s Property Act of 1882 gave married women the same property rights as unmarried women (Vicinus).

     These laws were examined directly in Doyle’s “The Solitary Cyclist.” Carruthers and Woodley both attempted to take advantage of Violet, forcing her into marriage so that they could assume the rights to her father’s inheritance. As Violet revealed to Holmes, “‘“My father is dead, Mr. Holmes… My mother and I were left without a relation in the world except one uncle, Ralph Smith, who went to Africa twenty-five years ago… When father died, we were left very poor…” (Doyle). After the death of her husband, Violet's mother would have been left with no income. Her options would be to remarry or rely on her child for income. Widows needed to sustain themselves and their families so work became necessary. Though the trend of remarrying decreased as the decade went on, remarriage was a form of protection. Before the Married Women Property Acts, women inherited little, because they didn't own what they had. If a woman inherited a business, she may not have been able to keep it for various reasons. She would not be accepted into business community and men would not associate with them. If she was forced to remarry, her new husband would take over business. Widows were cheap labor and would work hard for little pay (Curran). Earning a position in the working world would have been difficult, as these were all seen as male spheres. The separate sphere was heavily regarded as proper, and idealized, this forced women to believe they had to isolate themselves in their homes and was conflicted with these ideas because she needed to incorporate herself in what she believed to be the “man’s sphere” (Curran).

                Doyle’s character Violet Smith was portrayed as a Victorian New Woman. She worked to earn her own income and traveled to her job on her bicycle. Though Violet was characterized as a “New Woman,” an athletic, independent working woman, she surrenders this independence by seeking Holmes’s assistance. As Lisa Surridge suggested, “The Sherlock Holmes stories participate in this reassuring discourse whereby the threat of female independence is countered by a crime narrative in which the woman needs protection” (175). The attention to Violet’s attire is also suggestive of the “New Woman.” Violet was described as having an “ungloved hand.” While this suggests Violet’s income, the lack of gloves is also symbolic to the New Woman. During the time, progressive women took on new fashions. One of these movements stopped the use of gloves. Gloves symbolized restraint, lack of them symbolized a woman who is taking control of her own destiny, throwing off the restraints placed on her by society. In a Strand segment titled "Letters from Artists on Ladies' Dress," one woman states “No lady can be really well and beautifully dressed if what she wears outrages Nature's intentions in the structure of the human frame. Such outrages are: a waist like a stove pipe, shoes that compress the toes into a crumpled mass of deformity, and, it might even be added, gloves that confine the hand till it looks little better than a fin… (Strand Vol. 1 IS. 2)” Violet’s hands are of interest because they are symbolic of her work as a piano instructor. Jobs were also symbolic of the New Woman. Though she is gloveless, Violet was described in more feminine ways than the image of the “New Woman” suggests. When she discussed her husband, Violet was subjective, her thoughts and actions are almost controlled by Cyril’s, her fiancé’s (Kisti-Mitakou). “’Cyril would not wish me to know such a person,” Violet said of Mr. Woodley (Doyle). Instead of describing how she felt about the man, Violet spoke of herself through Cyril’s perspective.

     Despite Violet serving as the image of a New Woman, Doyle took a conservative standpoint in finishing her story, suggesting that women should be happy in marriage (Moon). Violet was restrained in more than one way at the end of the story. When she was forced to marry Woodley, she was gagged. The gag signified Violet’s unwillingness. She was forced into the marriage against her will, “What if her muffled screams, though, reflect Miss Smith’s aversion to any of these parts she is called to play, even that of being reduced to being Cyril’s happy and voiceless wife” (Kisti-Mitakou 35). According to Katerina Kisti-Mitakou, Violet was rescued only to be placed in another forced marriage. The story ended with Violet married to Cyril, fitting Doyle’s image of happy marriage. Despite her “happy ending,” Violet is placed in the city, where she is no longer required to ride her bike, her freedom is taken away (Moon).

     Though Doyle wrote about feminist issues, he took a conservative stance on them. His writings suggested women should be happy in marriage, assuming their rules as domestic servants. Doyle viewed women's issues as a hindrance to society, "[b]ut as a Knight of Britain, Doyle viewed domestic violence and divorce laws as a hindrance to national prosperity" (Moon 186). Though Violet is a model of a "New Woman," this is taken away when she married at the end of the story. She was placed in a "safer, more natural" place in society, within the confines of a large house in the middle of the city. There, she had no need to ride her bicycle anymore, the symbol of the "New Woman" (Kiti-Mitakou). Doyle created many stories that envision women in more modern roles, though placed in a way that fit Doyle’s image of the ideal woman.

dress photo.jpg

An image of typical woman's fashion of the 1890s. Note the gloves shown on her hands.

From: Strand Vol. 1 Iss. 2

gloves.jpg

Right: An add depicting the proper hand health and the use of gloves

From: New Zealand Graphic and Ladies Journal 1899

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