“A woman is a foreign land, of which, though she settles there young, a man will never fully understand. . .” Patmore- “The Foreign Land” “The Adventures of the Speckled Gang” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is much more than just another chapter of the beloved detective Sherlock Holmes who uses his astonishing deductive reasoning to solve a case. It is also a way of examining the accepted practice of degrading women and the xenophobic attitudes prevalent in Victorian England. The importance of this examination is its relevance to understanding the attitudes and practices not only accepted but expected during the Victorian era. The text shows that women have been disrespected and dehumanized like their foreign counterparts throughout history. “The implications of Conan Doyle's construction of foreign and female subjects are not to be underestimated. . . the narrative communicates a “type” that tells the reader how to see the stranger [and the woman]” (Favor). There are too many parallels between the perceptions of the two to ignore and so our investigation is ongoing. Just like the “wandering gypsies” camped “on the few acres of bramble-covered land,” Helen Stoner is hidden from refined English society. (752) She arrived at Baker Street "dressed in black and heavily veiled", implying that strict Victorian social protocol forced her to hide her true identity and seek help from Sherlock Holmes in a cloak of darkness. (750) Holmes himself emphasizes the seeming impropriety and therefore desperation of his arrival as he tells Dr. Watson, “Now, when the young women wander about the metropolis at this hour of the morning, and knock at the sleepy people… in the midst a la carte... The position in the text and any further communication about his reactions seem unnecessary to Watson (Hall)Both foreigners and women were marginalized, dehumanized and considered inferior to their male English counterparts it was not enough to guarantee her anything approaching equal treatment. The violent treatment by the stepfather echoes the attitudes and treatment of the gypsies themselves. The girlfriend's refusal to take her concerns and feelings seriously highlights the insensitivity addressed not only towards the gypsies but towards anything considered un-English throughout the story foreigner and woman live hidden lives, obscured and controlled by the implicit and implicit domination of the English male, including the much loved character, Sherlock Holmes...