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Flashcards
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes — Flashcards (A Scandal in Bohemia)
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| Who is "the Woman" to Sherlock Holmes? | Irene Adler — the only woman Holmes ever admired for her intellect; he did not love her romantically but respected her as an equal in cunning. |
| Why does Holmes avoid emotions like love? | He believes emotions are "grit in a sensitive instrument" that would disturb his cold, precise, logical mind, which he relies on for reasoning. |
| Who narrates "A Scandal in Bohemia"? | Dr. John Watson, Holmes's friend and former roommate, who is now married and back in medical practice. |
| Where do Holmes and Watson's famous partnership take place? | 221B Baker Street, London, where Holmes lodges and receives clients. |
| What habit does Holmes have when not working on a case? | He uses cocaine, alternating between drug-induced drowsiness and bursts of fierce energy and ambition. |
| What is Holmes's famous distinction between "seeing" and "observing"? | Seeing is merely noticing something exists; observing is analyzing details carefully enough to draw conclusions—like knowing there are exactly seventeen steps to his room. |
| How does Holmes deduce Watson has been out in bad weather? | He notices parallel scrape marks on the inside of Watson's shoe, showing mud was carelessly scraped off by a servant. |
| How does Holmes know Watson is back in medical practice? | He smells iodoform, sees a nitrate of silver stain on Watson's finger, and notices a bulge in his hat where a stethoscope is hidden. |
| What nickname does Holmes give Watson for chronicling his cases? | "My Boswell," referencing James Boswell, who famously documented the life of Samuel Johnson. |
| What mysterious note arrives at the start of the story? | An unsigned note on expensive paper announcing a masked visitor will arrive at a quarter to eight to discuss an important matter. |
| How does Holmes deduce the note's origin? | He examines the watermark (letters "Eg," "P," "Gt") and identifies it as Bohemian paper, then notes the awkward German sentence structure, concluding the writer is German. |
| What is Holmes's rule about theorizing? | "It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has data," since forcing facts to fit theories leads to poor reasoning. |
| Who arrives at Baker Street wearing a mask? | An enormous, richly dressed man (implied to be a person of high rank, likely royal) who conceals his identity with a black vizard mask. |
| What clues suggest the masked visitor is wealthy? | His extravagant clothing (astrakhan trim, silk-lined cloak, a beryl brooch) and the expensive horse-drawn brougham he arrives in. |
| List two other cases mentioned that Holmes solved before this story. | The Trepoff murder in Odessa and the tragedy of the Atkinson brothers in Trincomalee. |
| What personal life change has occurred for Watson before this story begins? | Watson has gotten married and returned to civil medical practice, causing him to see less of Holmes. |
| How many stories are included in "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes"? | Twelve stories, including "A Scandal in Bohemia," "The Red-Headed League," and "The Adventure of the Speckled Band." |
| What does Holmes's calm, focused pacing signal to Watson when he first sees him again? | That Holmes is deeply absorbed in solving a new mystery, a sign Watson recognizes from knowing his habits well. |
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