Love in the Canon by Elaine Litzenich

Love in the Canon by Elaine Litzenich

When Rob first proposed I write something up for October's blog, I thought "Nah." Then I thought "Maybe." Followed by "Okay." 

I had just finished The Scottish Ploy by Quinn Fawcett, a Mycroft Holmes novel. Several modes of horse-drawn transportation, new to me, were mentioned so this seemed to be a topic to be researched. Not too interesting. Then I missed a Zoom from the Torists International of Chicago. The speaker's topic was "Villainesses of the Canon." I couldn't think of any woman who could be truly be termed a villainess, so I was sorry to miss this meeting. 

After this, The Bimetallic Question held its meeting and discussed BERY and, by Jove, along came Mary Holder. Poor Mary. She showed remarkably poor judgement, but could she be termed a villainess? One of the members of The Bimetallic Question had been Deputy of Corrections in Canada. He said that the majority of inmates in women's prisons were incarcerated because of their relationships with men. So you can see where this is leading. How perilous was it to fall in love in the Canon?

Having just read and discussed MISS in our group, poor Mrs. G. Staunton was dying throughout the story, finally succumbing to consumption at the end. The poor woman didn't even rate a first name. 

Not long past in GOLD, we have Anna the righteous militant betrayed by her husband and sent to Siberia. And, of course, also dead but by her own hand. 

Maria Pinto Gibson in THOR also takes her own life when her husband's love fades and she is replaced by lovely Grace Dunbar. If Miss Dunbar decides to become the next Mrs. Gibson, her chances of keeping the Gold King's affection seem to be 50-50. 

Mrs. X in CHAS loses her husband ("he broke his gallant heart and died") and becomes a murderess although acquitted by Holmes. 

Julia Roylott also had the bad luck of falling in love in SPEC and, although she is murdered offstage, her sister comes close to the same fate.

Of course, falling in love in the Canon doesn't always lead to death, murder or suicide. Sometimes, it's just bad judgement as in Mary's case in BERY. 

Our story for November in Parallel Case ABBE involves another Mary nee Fraser. This Mary arrives from Australia and is swept off her feet by Sir Eustace Brackenstall. She is simply a wonderful person (much like the dead Mrs. Staunton) who can't tell her wooer is a confirmed drunk. After she marries him, Sir Eustace shows his true colors and she's stuck. The Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857 only allow a woman to sue for divorce if her husband's infidelity also involves rape, sodomy, incest, bestiality, physical cruelty or 2 years desertion. (From Klinger's Annotated) One may believe she wasn't 'really' in love with Sir Eustace but since she's such a good person, we must assume she just didn't marry him for his money. (Yes, there's an eye-roll there.) 

Perhaps the worst case of bad judgement is covered in IDEN in which Mary Sutherland (such a lot of Marys) searches for her lost fiancé who is in actuality her treacherous stepfather.

My conclusion: falling in love in the Canon often leads to dire consequences including death (Rather like side effects in those drug commercials). Granted, a few brave souls seem to live happily ever after such as Irene Adler & Godfrey Norton in SCAN. However, that is the first story. For a romantic, as I envision Watson to be, it must have pained him to relate all these failed love stories. Perhaps, with the death of his Mary, he himself felt that love was perilous indeed.