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Michaela Wilson
Professor Haas
Writing 37
25 November 2014
Male vs. Female Watson
According to the literary scholar, Dove, in his chapter, The Different Story, the
detective genre has four set elements, which are transitory, without long-range goals or
purposes; it is fundamentally an intellectual undertaking; it is recreational, intended primarily to
relax; and it is a disciplined, delimited literary form (2). Sir Arthur Conan Doyle quickly
became the leader in the detective genre revolution with the creation of his character, Sherlock
Holmes. Holmes was not like any detective because of his high level of genius and
eccentricities. With equal importance, Conan Doyle created the narrator, Watson, who tracked
all of Holmess and his adventures and investigations. In the detective genre, a convention is
that the main characters are usually male including the right-hand man of the detective. Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle implemented this idea with Watson as Holmess sidekick who is also new
to the detective craft. While the BBC television series, Sherlock, produced by Scottish man,
Steven Moffat, stays true to this male sidekick, the American television series, Elementary,
produced by British man, Robert Doherty, fills Watsons role with a female. This change was
made in Elementary to fit within the 21st century because in todays society males and females
are on a more equal basis. Sherlock and Elementary are both modern day television series that

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follow the everyday lives of Holmes and Watson. Each episode is about a case they are trying to
solve. Sherlock is based in London, whereas Elementary takes place in New York City.
Since Watson is a male role in Sherlock, the viewers are able to see more of that male
friendship with the many quarrels that were seen in the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle. According to The Great Game episode review titled Sherlock: The
Great Game Review, written by Chris Tilly, Watson is a credible combination of honesty,
loyalty, and strength, which is the perfect foil for the mad genius of Holmes. Watson is the
perfect mold for Holmes as a male character because he can relate to him on a higher level than
if Watson was a female. This friendship is seen in the episode, The Great Game, in Sherlock
when Watson and Holmes are having an argument about what Watson says in his blog about
Holmes. Then, they go into arguing about Holmes not knowing simple things like how the Earth
rotates around the sun. During this scene, jump cut is used to show the heated argument between
Holmes and Watson. The sound of Sherlock flipping through the pages of his magazine is an
example of foley and this is used to show the discontent Holmes has towards Watsons blog.
Holmes is looking through the magazine to preoccupy himself from the conversation he is
having with Watson. Throughout this scene, low-key lighting is displayed to reflect the tension
in the room between Holmes and Watson. This scene further displays the friendship between
Holmes and Watson because with every friendship comes this camaraderie where there are
arguments, but they are quickly forgotten and the friendship is back to normal. Compared to the
Holmes-Watson relationship from Conan Doyles stories, the modernized take on their
relationship is a lot closer. Throughout Sherlock you see how protective Watson is of Holmes
like in A Study in Pink where Watson rushes to go save Holmes from the killer and even ends

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up shooting the killer. In the Conan Doyle stories, the reader never gets to see this
protectiveness of Watson. With Watson being a male in Sherlock, it reflects how Doyle created
the relationship between Watson and Holmes to be. They were meant to have a friendship where
they would bicker, but they would both flourish in their detective skills because they have
another person to bounce ideas off of. With Watson being female in Elementary, it creates a
different dynamic between Watson and Holmes.
In addition, during the Victorian Era, men over-powered women. Women did not have
the same freedoms as the men, but as years went on, the gender roles started to equalize. Now in
todays society, women have the same rights as men. 2Through the Sherlock Holmes inspired
television series, Elementary, the character, Watson, was changed from a male to a female.
According to the article, Its Elementary, Sherlock: How the CBS procedural surpassed the
BBC drama, written by Zack Handlen, creating a female Watson wasnt just a gimmick, but
rather the central part of a commitment to finding a new take on the Holmesian mythology. A
female Watson is meant to demonstrate the gender equality of the 21st century. Another reason
for the creation of a female Watson was to receive more female viewers. With one of the lead
roles being played by a woman, other females find the show more relatable to them, so they are
more likely to watch it. 2Since Watson is played by a female in Elementary, the character
embraces Watsons humanity and morals more than that of a male because women are more
nurturing than men. An example of how Watson is more nurturing as a female is shown in a
scene from the episode, Pilot. In this scene, Holmes and Watson go to interview a woman who
can help them solve the case. At first there is an extreme close up of a picture of the victim
Holmes shows the woman and then there is an extreme close up of the woman being

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interviewed. This is to show how similar the two ladies are to portray that the killer has a type.
Low angle camera work is used throughout this scene as the conversation between the three
characters is progressing. With this angle on the characters it keeps the viewers as a spectator in
this event rather than having the audience feel like they are part of the scene. It keeps the
viewers focus on Holmes, Watson, and the woman being interviewed. As the interview turns
into a heated conversation between Holmes and the woman, 2Watson intervenes because Holmes
is making the woman feel uncomfortable. Jump cut is used to bounce back and forth from
character to character to show the dialogue. 2With a fast pace jump cut, it lets the audience know
that there is tension in the room. 2Finally, Watson has had enough and tells Holmes to stop. The
camera shows the point of view of Watson to allow the viewer to see Holmess look of
amazement on his face. 2This scene exemplifies that with Watson being a female, she is more
connected to other people, and so she cares more about how they are being affected by the way
Holmes acts and treats them. As stated by the literary scholar, Leroy Panek, in his chapter,
Beginnings, female readers, too, latched onto the detective story during the Victorian Era,
but not to the level that males did. With Watson being played by a female, they embraced this
concept of women being attached to the detective genre, so they wanted to relate it more to both
genders.
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As a result, these scenes are relatable because they show how having different genders

playing the same role creates their own twist to the character. The Watson from Sherlock has a
stronger friendship with Holmes, so they joke with each other more and get in little tiffs because
that is what friends typically do. The male Watson is more closely related to the Watson from
Doyles stories than the female Watson is, but with the modernized text he also has differences

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like how protective he is of Holmes and you see his morals, but they arent as prominent as they
are in Doyles stories. He gives Holmes more freedom, so Holmes can do what is necessary to
solve a case. In Sherlock, the viewer is now able to see how Holmes and Watson interact rather
than just reading it from the stories and with these interactions the audience begins to notice that
Holmes and Watson are together a lot more and they share more personal information with each
other like Watsons family history. In Elementary, the Watson role is more nurturing because it
is played by a female, so she is more alert on how Holmes handles situations. She wants Holmes
to be more aware of how he affects other people, whereas Watson from Sherlock is aware of the
affect, but he lets Holmes do what he needs to do. Since this Watson is a female, she has
stronger morals. She stands up to Holmes when she believes something he is doing is not right.
The Watson from Elementary embraces the morality of the Watson from Doyles stories and
pushes it to the next level, which was only possible through making the character female.
Watson also portrays the process of women becoming equal to men. In the beginning, she just
followed Holmes through his investigations, but she quickly started to work with Holmes in the
investigations. Ultimately, she progressed so far into crime solving that she started solving her
own cases with very little help from Holmes. Women of the 21st century are able to look up to
Watson in Elementary because she stands for everything that a typical woman represents and
supports, and this, again, would not have been possible if the creators of Elementary kept Watson
as a male.
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In conclusion, Watson being a male in Sir Arthur Conan Doyles famous Sherlock

Holmes stories is a major convention. With the modern day texts of Sherlock and Elementary,
they both changed this convention whether it was how manly Watson is or if it was Watson

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being changed into a completely different gender; female. In Sherlock, since the role of Watson
is filled with a male the audience is able to see that strong friendship between two guys. In
Elementary, a female Watson creates a more caring character that draws in other women.

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Works Cited
Dove, George. The Different Story. The Reader and the Detective Story. PDF File.
Handlen, Zack. Its Elementary, Sherlock: How the CBS procedural surpassed the BBC drama.
AV Club. n.p., 20 January 2014. Web. 23 November 2014.
Panek, Leroy. Beginnings. An Introduction to the Detective Story. Bowling Green, OH:
Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1987. PDF File.
"Pilot." Elementary. CBS. 27 September 2012. Television.
The Great Game. Sherlock. BBC. 8 August 2010. Television.
Tilly, Chris. Sherlock: The Great Game Review. IGN. n.p., 9 August 2010. Web. 25
November 2014.