Reconstructed Value of Sherlock Holmes in Sally Lockhart Mysteries with Nostalgia

• Main Authors: Yi-Hsuan Lin, 林宜萱
• Other Authors: David Barton
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2018
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/q8fhy4

碩士 === 國立中央大學 === 英美語文學系 === 106 === Under the amusing narration of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes is not only a famous consultant detective in the fiction of the ninetieth century, but also a well-known heroic icon in the twentieth century. In order to deal with strong feelings of nostalgia, many novelists choose Holmes as the prototype to be protagonist of the stories and portray his characteristics into many characters, thus trying to construct the very Victorian London society where he exists. In the process of reconstruction, there are many signifiers of Holmes pervasively used by these novelists. A good example is Philip Pullman and his Sally Lockhart Mysteries. The presented paper aims to investigate how to reconstruct this hero with nostalgic symbols. Therefore, this thesis will begin with the interrelationship between Sherlock Holmes and Sally Lockhart in Frederic Jameson’s “Postmodernism and Consumer Society.” In the second chapter, Holmes’s representative symbols and elements will be discussed along with the novels. Pullman’s use of those signifiers in his books will indicate that the series is generally based on the re-formulation of Doyle’s works. It also shows the signifiers act parallel in essays of other young adults novel. In addition, this thesis also discusses abut the nostalgia for Sherlock Holmes. The presented pages concludes that Jameson’s discussion of Nostalgia will display the nostalgic signifiers work function on a young adult fiction level as well as its significance in society and literature.