JOURNAL ARTICLE

'Magnificent Intellect': Character, Intelligence, and Genius in Sherlock Holmes.

  • Published In: Victoriographies, 2023, v. 13, n. 2. P. 210 1 of 3

  • Database: Humanities Source Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Michalowicz, Naomi 3 of 3

Abstract

Since his first appearances in print, Sherlock Holmes has served as literature's resident genius. But what does 'genius' mean in a world that increasingly conceptualises intelligence as a quantifiable and measurable phenomenon? This essay considers the characterisation of Holmes's intelligence in the context of a revolution in the way human intelligence is understood – a revolution instigated by Francis Galton's 1869Hereditary Genius and emblematised by the invention of the IQ test in 1905. This historical context situates Holmes's character at the crux of a shift in the conception of intelligence, as encapsulating a moment of cultural wavering between 'genius' as a mysterious quality or gift, and 'genius' as a higher-than-average number on a scale. Ultimately, this essay suggests that these competing models of the characterisation of intelligence in the Holmes stories illuminate a fundamental clash between the novelistic ideal of portraying incommensurable individuality on the one hand, and the de-individualising trend of the IQ model of intelligence on the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Additional Information

  • Source:Victoriographies. 2023/07, Vol. 13, Issue 2, p210
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:History
  • Publication Date:2023
  • ISSN:20442416
  • DOI:10.3366/vic.2023.0493
  • Accession Number:164139960
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