Source Material
This is the first paragraph in the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Adventure I. Scandal in Bohemia
To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name. In his eyes she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex. It was not that he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler. All emotions, and that one in particularly, were abhorrent to his cold, precise, but admirably balanced mind. He was, I take it, the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen; but, as a lover, he would have placed himself in a false position. He never spoke of the softer passions, save with a gibe and a sneer. They were admirable things for the observer.
First of all, like almost all of Sherlock Holmes, the POV is Dr. John H. Watson—the narrator.
1. Kernel Sentences
Next, I'll list the kernel sentences.She is the women.
I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name.
She eclipses her sex.
It wasn't that he felt love for Irene Adler.
All emotions were abhorrent to his mind.
He was the perfect reasoning and observing machine.
He would have placed himself in a false position.
He never spoke of the softer passion.
They were admirable things.
2. Word Dive
Then, I'll pick out certain words that I would like to look up and explore.eclipse
\E*clipse"\, n. [F. ['e]clipse, L. eclipsis, fr. Gr. ?,
prop., a forsaking, failing, fr. ? to leave out, forsake; ?
out + ? to leave. See {Ex-}, and {Loan}.]
PIE - leikw; To leave.
Def. To obscure, darken, or extinguish the beauty, luster,
honor, etc., of; to sully; to cloud; to throw into the
shade by surpassing.eclipse, n.: obscuration, darkness. [outshine].
eclipse, V. t: obscure, darken.
predominate
\Pre*dom"i*nate\, v. i. [imp. & p. p.
{Predominated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Predominating}.] [Pref. pre-
+ dominate: cf. F. pr['e]dominer.]
PIE - dem, House, household.
To be superior in number, strength, influence, or authority;
to have controlling power or influence; to prevail; to rule;
to have the mastery; as, love predominated in her heart.
\Pre*dom"i*nate\, v. t.
To rule over; to overpower. [R.]
predominate, v. i.: control, pre-
predomination: control.
sex
\Sex\, n. [L. sexus: cf. F. sexe.]{The sex}, the female sex; women, in general.
sex, n. sexuality (rare), persuasion (jocular), gender (jocular).
seldom
\Sel"dom\, a.
Rare; infrequent. [Archaic.]
seldom: inf recently.
akin
\A*kin"\, a. [Pref. a- (for of) + kin.]
1. Of the same kin; related by blood; -- used of persons; as,
the two families are near akin.
2. Allied by nature; partaking of the same properties; of the
same kind.
``A joy akin to rapture.'' --Cowper.
particularly
\Par*tic"u*lar*ly\, adv.
1. In a particular manner; expressly; with a specific
reference or interest; in particular; distinctly.
2. In an especial manner; in a high degree; as, a
particularly fortunate man; a particularly bad failure.
particular, a. 1. special, especial (equiv. of "special," but archaic in this sense), specific; spec, restricted; see definite. Antonyms: see miscellaneous, general.
\Ab*hor"rent\, a. [L. abhorens, -rentis, p. pr. of
abhorrere.]
1. Abhorring; detesting; having or showing abhorrence;
loathing; hence, strongly opposed to; as, abhorrent
thoughts.
The persons most abhorrent from blood and treason.
--Burke.
The arts of pleasure in despotic courts I spurn
abhorrent. --Clover.
2. Contrary or repugnant; discordant; inconsistent; --
followed by to.
``Injudicious profanation, so abhorrent to
our stricter principles.'' --Gibbon.
3. Detestable.
``Pride, abhorrent as it is.'' --I. Taylor.
admirably
\Ad"mi*ra*ble\, a. [L. admirabilis: cf. F. admirable.]
1. Fitted to excite wonder; wonderful; marvelous. [Obs.]
gibe
\Gibe\, n.
An expression of sarcastic scorn; a sarcastic jest; a scoff;
a taunt; a sneer.
\Sneer\, n.
1. The act of sneering.
2. A smile, grin, or contortion of the face, indicative of
contempt; an indirect expression or insinuation of
contempt.
''Who can refute a sneer?'' --Raley.
sneer: smile, laugh, jeer, snicker: laugh.
sneering: smiling, contemptuous.
Rewriting in my own way to interpret meaning
To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman. I have rarely heard him mention her under any other name. In his eyes she diminishes and rules over other women. It wasn't that he felt any emotion similar to love for Irene Adler. All emotions, and that one in particular, were strongly opposed to his cold, precise, but wonderfully balanced mind. He was, I take it, the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen; but, as a lover, he would have placed himself in a situation where he might act against his own principles or interests. He never spoke of romance, save with a sarcastic scorn, taunt, jest, and a sneer. Love interests were admirable things for the observer.Sentence Imitation
To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman.To Frodo Baggins he is always the wizard.
To Harry Potter he is always the wizard.
To Harry Potter she is always the wizard.
To Robin Hood she is always the woman.
To Victor Frankenstein he is always the monster.
I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name.
I have seldom seen him look at her in any other way.
I have rarely seen him touch her in any other manner.
I have often heard her speak about him when she is in unpredictable moods—anger, jealousy, and even hatred.
In his eyes she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex.
Under her watchful care, he eclipses and dominates all other men.
In her opinion in terms of writing ability, she is beyond and far superior to any other literature student.
It was not that he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler.
It wasn't that she felt emotion akin to disgust for Billy Bob.
It was not like he thought anything bad about Creed.
All emotions, and that one in particularly, were abhorrent to his cold, precise, but admirably balanced mind.
All opinions, and especially the ones coming from her, were unbelievable to his skeptical mind.
He was, I take it, the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen; but, as a lover, he would have placed himself in a situation where he might act against his own principles or interests.
She was, in my view, the most beautiful woman that the world has ever seen; but, if he were her boyfriend, he would have placed him in a compromising love triangle situation.
He never spoke of romance, save with a sarcastic scorn, taunt, jest, and a sneer.
She had never worked a job with him, save safely and distantly.
They were admirable things for the observer.
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Analysis of Writing Exercises
This was a fun exercise which I'm taking away a few new writing tools and ideas inspired from one of the great 19th and 20th century writers, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.“We balance probabilities and choose the most likely. It is the scientific use of the imagination.” — Sherlock Holmes
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