The 鈥淕ypsies鈥� as displaced others in Doyle鈥檚 Sherlock Holmes stories

Abstract

The Romany people feature prominently in nineteenth-century British literature as a prototypical displaced 鈥渙ther鈥� symbolic of moral, social, and racial standards antithetical to the national ideal. We read examples of this trope in Austen鈥檚 Emma, Charlotte Bronte鈥檚 Jayne Eyre, Matthew Arnold鈥檚 鈥楾he Scholar Gypsy鈥� and Stoker鈥檚 'Dracula' among many other works. Doyle鈥檚 treatment of 鈥淕ypsies鈥� in his Sherlock Holmes stories such as 鈥楾he Speckled Band鈥�, 鈥楽ilver Blaze鈥�, 鈥楾he Priory School鈥� and 鈥楾he Hound of The Baskervilles鈥� opens a subversive space resisting a stereotypical representation which may be expected from an author whose cultural conservatism is well documented, and whose Holmes stories are often seen as reinforcing sentiment sympathetic to the Imperial and British national ideal. Many of Doyle鈥檚 Holmes stories feature either foreigners or English characters returning from abroad culturally subverted, who threaten to disrupt the harmonious space of British society. The country becomes a safer place when these 鈥渢ypes鈥� are categorised according to Holmes鈥� methodology in relation to the ideal hierarchy, which has the white Anglo-Saxon male at its summit. The 鈥淕ypsies鈥� maintain anonymity as a quasi-autonomous, mobile and discrete culture within British national boundaries yet in these stories they are never responsible for crime, while suspicion is often the cause of their displacement as they are forced to avoid local disturbance. The narrative, therefore, seeks to inform the reader that the Roma do not threaten domestic space in spite of their non-conformist behaviour.