The Adventure of the Speckled Band Group

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dzabalawi
dzabalawi
Student

What is the main theme of "The Adventure of the Speckled Band"?

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Posted by dzabalawi on Sunday June 14, 2009 at 7:40 AM and tagged with literature, themes.

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  1. sakthi
    sakthi Teacher
    College - Freshman

    A young woman named Helen Stoner consults the detective Sherlock Holmes about the suspicious death of her sister, Julia. One night, after conversing with her twin sister about her big day, Julia suddenly reappeared in Helen's room, struggling to breathe, and died soon afterwards. Julia had been engaged to be married and, had she lived, would have received an annual 250 GBP annuity from her late mother's income. Now Helen is engaged to be married. Holmes' investigation of the mother's estate reveals that its value has decreased significantly, and if both daughters had married, Dr. Roylott, Helen's ill-tempered and violent stepfather, would be left with very little, while the marriage of even one would be crippling. Therefore, the main suspicion falls on him.

    Dr. Roylott has required Helen to move into a particular room of his heavily mortgaged ancestral home, Stoke Moran. A number of details about the place are mysterious and disturbing. A low whistling sound is heard late at night, as well as a metallic clank. There is a strange bell cord over the bed, and it does not seem to work any bell. There are also Julia's dying words about a "speckled band." Stoner surmises that Julia might have been murdered by the gypsies, whom Dr. Roylott permits to live on the grounds—they wear speckled handkerchiefs around their necks. A cheetah and a baboon also have the run of the property, for Dr. Roylott keeps exotic pets. Helen feels reluctant to sleep in the room.

    After Helen leaves, Dr. Roylott comes to visit Holmes, having traced his stepdaughter. He demands to know what Helen has said to Holmes, but Holmes refuses to say. Dr. Roylott bends an iron poker into a curve in an attempt to intimidate Holmes, but Holmes is unaffected as he maintains a rather jovial demeanor during the encounter. After Roylott leaves, Holmes straightens the poker out again, thus showing that he is just as strong as the doctor.

    Having arranged for Helen to spend the night somewhere else, Holmes and Watson sneak into her bedroom without Dr. Roylott's knowledge. Holmes says that he has already deduced the solution to the mystery, and that this test of his theory turns out to be successful. They hear the whistle, and Holmes also sees what the bell cord is really for, although Watson does not. Julia's last words about a "speckled band" were in fact describing "a swamp adder, the deadliest snake in India". The venomous snake had been sent to Julia's room by Dr. Roylott to murder her. After the swamp adder bit Julia he called off the snake with the whistling, which made the snake climb up through the bell cord, disappearing from the scene.

    Now the swamp adder is sent again to kill Julia's sister Helen. Holmes attacks the snake, sending it back through an air ventilator connected to the next room. The angry snake bites Dr. Roylott instead, and, within seconds, he is dead. Grimly noting that he is indirectly responsible for Dr. Roylott's death, Holmes remarks that he is unlikely to feel much remorse because of it.

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    Posted by sakthi on Sunday June 14, 2009 at 8:06 AM

  2. pmiranda2857
    pmiranda2857 Teacher
    High School - 10th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    There is a simple theme in this story, good vs evil.  Dr. Grimbsy Roylott represents evil and Sherlock Holmes is a force for good.  If you wanted to characterize it more dramatically, you could say that it is a story about chivalry, where Sherlock Holmes is the white knight rescuing the damsel in distress, Helen Stoner from the evil clutches of the dark lord, Dr. Grimbsy Roylott.

    Holmes emerges as a hero, slays the dragon (Roylott), rescues the girl and solves the mystery.

    Another theme that emerges in this story is one of chaos, which is depicted by the decayed house and Dr. Roylott's behavior, particularly when he threatens Holmes with physical harm if he gets involved with Helen Stoner's case.  As contrasted with the world of Helen Stoner, who is engaged to be married and trying to live a traditional, normal life.

    Roylott is trying to disrupt Helen's life, he wants to kill her so that he can hide his behavior and keep her money for himself.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/adventure-speckled-qn

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    Posted by pmiranda2857 on Sunday June 14, 2009 at 10:12 AM