 A Scandal in Bohemia
A masked man calls on Holmes, asking for help with a delicate matter.
Holmes immediately identifies him as the KING OF BOHEMIA. He tells Holmes
that he has had an affair with IRENE ADLER, an opera singer and “well-known
adventuress”(*). She has his letters and a photograph of the two of
them together. The King is about to get married to a princess of Scandanavia,
and the King needs to get the photo back to avoid a scandal. Holmes tricks
his way into her house and gets Watson to throw a smoke-bomb into the
room. At the call of “Fire!”, Adler tries to remove the photo,
allowing Holmes to see where she hides it. However, she realises that
she has been tricked, and follows him disguised as a man. She sends Holmes
a letter saying she is to be married, and gives him the photograph.
Irene Adler’s integrity and intelligence made her the only woman
Holmes ever really admired. He always talks of her as “THE Woman”.
(*) A rather derogatory term for a woman who seeks wealth
and position by unscrupulous means, especially by entrapping rich men. |
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