A Case of Identity by Arthur Doyle - Essay Example

A Case of Identify “The Adventure of a Case of Identity” was set in 1888. The story begins with Holmes and Dr. Watson sitting in Holmes house talking about the question whether invented fictions stories are wilder and more unusual than the real life occurrences (Doyle 227). Watson agrees that this is the case since the fiction stories have always demonstrated unusual characters and events. This is something that Holmes disagrees with. To prove his point, Watson points out a story in the newspaper on a police e repost about a certain case. Unluckily for him, this was a case that Holmes had a hand in and could attest to the fact that the details were more peculiar and usual than the events in fiction stories. At the center of the story is Miss Mary Sutherland who is described as a woman with substantial income. The earnings majorly come from an interest fund which had been set up for her. Miss Sutherland gets engaged to a very quiet Londoner who later disappears. This is where the power of Sherlock Holmes’s detective is tested with the case later turning out to be what can be said to be an elementary case (Doyle 67). Miss Sutherland’s fiancé, Hosmer Angel is a very peculiar character. He is quiet and a very secretive man. No one knows any details about his life. Even Miss Sutherland herself is only aware that Hosmer works in an office in Leadenhall Street. She has no specific details on the kind of work he does or the people he works with. All the letters that he sends to his fiancée are typewritten including the signature. Hosmer advises Miss Sutherland to reply his letters only through the local post office. Miss Sutherland’s courtship and meetings with her fiancé are very clandestine. They only plan to be meeting when the stepfather is in France as he was against the relationship (Doyle 230). At times, Miss Sutherland would goes to ball against the wishes of her father with the hope of meeting Hosmer. Despite the secrecy of the man, he manages to convince her fiancé to marry him. It is at this point that the story reaches the climax when Mr. Hosmer abandons Miss Sutherland at the altar on their day of wedding. Hosmer steps into a carriage to go to the church where the ceremony was to take place. However, he is nowhere to be seen when the carriage reaches the church. This amazes everyone who had seen him step into the carriage. Sutherland is very much disappointed, worried and heartbroken since she did not expect someone who had proposed to her to act the way Angel did. After the disappearance, Miss Sutherland decided to get the services of Holmes. She tells the detective everything about her missing fiancé. In making his quick decision, he takes into account the description on Hosmer Angel and the fact that he only visited his fiancé while Mary’s step father James Wandibank was not around. James is described as a very youngish yet disapproving father. The fact that most of the letters sent by Hosmer were typewritten including the signature proves that the only person who could have benefited from the events was Wandibank. Holmes makes enquiries from Mr. Wandibank’s place of work to find out if he had any hand in the issues that were arising (Doyle 229). The detective arrives to the conclusion that Hosmers Angel disappeared from the wedding by running away from one side of the hansom cab. However, from the evidence that he gathered he was able to identify the culprit as Wandibank. Holmes threatens to thrash James for his evil jokes which were meant to make him benefit from Miss Sutherland small fortunes unscrupulously. What he did was actionable in a court of law. It could result in the arrest and prosecution of those involved who were identified as Sutherlands step mother and father (Doyle 234). After unravelling the mystery and identifying the culprits, the detective decides to hide the findings from his client since she would have been very shocked to find out that her parents were involved. He argues that there is usually a big danger when one snatches a way a delusion from a lady. As such it was prudent to keep the finding secret. Holmes ends up being accused of not fulfilling his duties even after receiving a pay from the client. In a quick rejoinder, the detective advices Sutherland to forget about her fiancé. Sutherland does not accept this advice and vows that she will remain faithful to her fiancé until he reappears. “A case of Identity” has effectively used a simple formula of mystery to tell a story and capture the mind of the reader. The mystery instills thrill and fear at the same time as a solution is being sought in the case. To effectively do this, the author begins the narration with a discourse that is later solved by the person who introduced it. Throughout story there are some fundamental thoughts that come into play (Doyle 237). The first one is the question as to whether Wandibank and Sutherland households could have still headed to conflict and rough waters even without the fortunes that the latter inherited. The other question that the reader may ask is how Mary was easily fooled by hers stepfather and why Holmes did not reveal the identity of the strange fiancé. The writer manages to answer these questions. On the case as to whether the two households were headed for trouble even without the inheritance, Doyle, portrays Wandibank as a greedy man (225). Even the choice of his name itself points out at someone who is obsessed with material wealth and could therefore do anything to get it. His actions, therefore, prove that he was a felon in the making thus showing he was the cause of the trouble. The question as to why Mary was easily deceived can be answered by considering her reaction when Holmes advices her to forget about Mr. Angel. She says the proposal is unrealistic and opts to wait for the reemergence of her fiancé. This points out that she was susceptible to deceit due to her obsession with finding a loved one. The fact that she was only living with her step parents and not her real parents also proved that she was at risk of being tricked as she looked for love and companion. The decision by Holmes not to reveal the findings to Mary depicts him as a cold reasoning machine. He comes out as an epitome of calculated logic (Comeford and Burnett 77). Despite being taken as a normal human detective, he comes out as someone who calculates his moves and in most instances having the precision of a computer (OBrien 51). The only reason that makes him different from a computer is his imagination that helps him in solving the twin cases of identity. Despite being written several years back, “Case of Identity” still remain relevant in today’s world. It shows how mystery, imagination and intellectual tone can be used in a fiction story to make it appear as if it is a real occurrence (Pascal 67). The intellectual tone of Sherlock Holmes in the story heavily contributes to this. As one reads the story, he gets amused by the different perspectives and subplots like the false identity and deceit which are common occurrences in today’s world. This allows the reader to compare the eccentricities associated with fiction work and the reality. Works Cited Comeford, Amijo and Burnett, Tamy. The Literary Angel: Essays on Influences and Traditions Reflected in the Joss Weldon Series. Jefferson: McFarland 2013.Print. Doyle, Arthur.  “A Case of Identity.” 1891. The Complete Sherlock Holmes Volume 1. Ed. George Stade. New York:  Barnes and Noble Classics, 2003. 225-238. Print Doyle, Arthur. Delphi Works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Melbourne: Delphi Classics, 2013.Print. OBrien, James. The Scientific Sherlock Holmes: Cracking the Case with Science and Forensics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013. Print. Pascal, Janet. Arthur Conan Doyle: Beyond Baker Street. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.Print. Read More