"The Doctors of Hoyland" by Dr. Arthur Conan Doyle
I first read this story about twenty years ago, as one of many in a large anthology of non-Holmes stories by ACD, long before I had acknowledged my own anti-patriarchal leanings, and it struck me exceedingly - both for the overt challenge to this conventional 'wisdom' regarding gender roles by such a prominent Victorian author, and the fact that I
( Read more... )
It *is* a neat little tale, isn't it? I love the little exchange between them at their first meeting; this line is a treasure:
"Of course, if it makes women masculine that WOULD be a considerable deterioration."
And though you have to feel sorry for Dr. Ripley in the end when he gets his heart honestly broken - almost the best part of the story is that *it's not her fault!*
There is no hint of blaming her; she wasn't toying with his affections to amuse herself whilst waiting for the opening in Paris, or getting him to fall in love with her so she can laugh in his face as revenge for his remarks about "masculine ladies", or just practicing her 'womanly wiles' as the attitude of the day would have it.
It's easy to imagine a story written along the same lines, except that the man doctor is proven right in the end - the woman doctor is proud, vain, stuck-up, and has lost all the proper feminine qualities, and is a heartless jilt to boot - don't put your daughter in the operating theatre, Mrs. Worthington!
Reply
Leave a comment