How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Story.Paragraph) or (Story.Section.Paragraph) if applicable.
Quote #1
"My mother and I were left without relations in the world except for one uncle, Ralph Smith who went to Africa twenty-five years ago, and we have never had a word from him since." (Solitary Cyclist.13)
This idea of someone heading off to the Empire and disappearing is actually a pretty common trope in English literature. In terms of storytelling, the Empire provided all sorts handy tropes: exotic locales, a convenient place to ship off unwanted characters, a site of mystery, etc. In terms of reality, lots of families had relatives living far off in the Empire in this era, so the long-absent Ralph Smith isn't that unusual.
Quote #2
"Lie number one," said the old man; "I never saw either of these until two months ago, and I have never been in Africa in my life, so you can put that in your pipe and smoke it, Mr. Busybody Holmes!"
[...]
"Well, well, two of you came over. His reverence is our own homemade article." (Solitary Cyclist.135-137)
This is one of the funnier exchanges in these story, thanks to the crotchety Mr. Williamson. Holmes also raises an interesting idea here: that criminals "coming over" versus "homemade" criminals. A person's foreign status definitely plays a role in criminal debates here.
Quote #3
It represented an alert, sharp-featured simian man, with thick eyebrows and a very peculiar projection of the lower part of the face, like the muzzle of a baboon. (Six Napoleons.47)
Watson's diction, or word choice here alludes to eugenic ideas, or race theory that often associated foreigners with monkeys and apes in derogatory ways.
Quote #4
"What we pay rates and taxes for I don't know, when any ruffian can come in and break one's goods. [...] Disgraceful, sir! A Nihilist plot - that's what I make it. No one but an anarchist would go about breaking statues. Red republicans - that's what I call 'em." (Six Napoleons.61)
This rant by Morse Hudson could appear on today's news cycle. He gripes about taxes and "the man," and he blames his troubles on dangerous "foreign" elements, as we see with his reference to anarchists and "red republicans" or socialists, who were active in lots of European countries (like Russia) in this period.
Quote #5
"He knifed another Italian in the street, and then came to the works with the police on his heels, and he was taken here. Beppo was his name - his second name I never knew. Serve me right for engaging a man with such a face. But he was a good workman - one of the best." (Six Napoleons.85)
We get some insight into the sort of violence that occurred in London's poorer sections, which were populated with lots of immigrants. There was always a fear that this crime would start spilling out into the more "respectable" parts of town.
Quote #6
In an instant, without the least sound to warn us of his coming, the garden gate swung open, and a lithe, dark figure, as swift and active as an ape, rushed up the garden path. (Six Napoleons.114)
Again, Watson uses eugenic ideas to describe Beppo, this time comparing him to an ape.
Quote #7
"The second floor is inhabited by Daulat Ras, the Indian. He is a quiet, inscrutable fellow, as most of those Indians are." (Three Students.82)
This throwaway line is a good example of making someone an "other." In literary and psychological theory, the "other" is a person or group who is seen as totally opposite of the self or the main group and is depicted negatively. The professor here dismisses Daulat as inscrutable, or mysterious, like "most Indians" are, implying that Indian people are not only hard to understand, but also aren't really worth understanding.
Quote #8
"As to you, sir, I trust that a bright future awaits you in Rhodesia. For once you have fallen low. Let us see, in the future, how high you can rise." (Three Students.212)
We see the idea of going off to the empire to find fortune and success in a number of these stories; it seems that there was more anxiety regarding people coming to England from foreign places than people leaving England for foreign places.
Quote #9
"If you were to search all of England," said he, "I don't suppose you could find a household more self-contained or freer from outside influence." (Pince-Nez.21)
This statement is given at the start of the "Golden Pince-Nez" case and proves very thematically important since the house in question became the sight of a sort of foreign invasion through the character of Anna. Given all the secrets and foreign characters in the case, this statement becomes quite ironic.
Quote #10
"My husband came to England with his ill-gotten gains and has lived in quiet ever since, knowing well that if the Brotherhood knew where he was not a week would pass before justice would be done." (Pince-Nez.161)
Anna gives a good description of how "foreign" vendettas and problems could make their way into England here. We see the same sort of ideas in the "Six Napoleons" case with all the references to the Mafia.
Quote #11
"I was brought up in the freer, less conventional atmosphere of South Australia, and this English life, with its proprieties and its primness, is not congenial to me." (Abbey Grange.27)
The idea of the Empire being a freer and less stuffy place is a running theme throughout these stories, though it's stated most clearly by Mary Frasier in the "Abbey Grange" case. She also raises some interesting gender issues here by implying that women have more freedom in Australia than in England.
Quote #12
"Mme. Fournaye, who is of Creole origin, is of an extremely excitable nature, and has suffered in the past from attacks of jealousy which have amounted to frenzy." (Second Stain.127)
The crazy French character is sort of a standard in English literature (check out the detailed plot summary of the "Second Stain" for more on this). It's interesting that this newspaper article felt the need to point out this woman's "Creole" heritage before explaining her actions. In this case, a person's foreign/racial status is the main reason behind their criminal actions.