Enola Holmes · 2020 — Chapter 4 of 12 · 4'17" · B2
Sherlock and Mycroft Argue Over Enola, Explained: the game is afoot
There is no crime to solve here, only a family argument about what to do with Enola. Mycroft wants a firm hand and a school; Sherlock answers that "She is remarkable and always has been," and asks his brother not to abandon her. The real question is whether they have any right to judge her at all.
What happens
Mycroft and Sherlock Holmes discuss what should be done with their younger sister Enola. Mycroft wants to place her under a firm hand and send her away. Sherlock refuses to treat her as a problem: he calls her remarkable and asks Mycroft not to abandon her again.
Listen for
the game is afoota firm handthere s no tellingrun rings around someone
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Now
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Phrase of the scene
the game is afoot
the hunt or the action has begun
伊诺拉破解了母亲留花里的暗号，决定动身去找人，用这句话宣布自己的调查正式开始。
The race begins at dawn, and the game is afoot.
Also in this scene
- a firm hand
strict discipline or control
- there s no telling
it is impossible to predict
- run rings around someone
to outwit or outperform someone with ease
Everything marked in this scene
29 notes across 76 lines
liaison
causative with bare infinitive
relative clause with fronted preposition
strict discipline or control
tag question
the hunt or the action has begun
liaison
it is impossible to predict
liaison
to outwit or outperform someone with ease
Enola Holmes.Sherlock and Mycroft Argue Over Enola, explained
What's really going on
The scene looks like a family argument about what to do with Enola, but it is really about who gets to decide a girl's future. Mycroft speaks in the language of discipline and wants "a firm hand" to correct her, as if she were a problem to be fixed. Sherlock answers with praise and memory: he has watched her run circles around the people who underestimate her, and he refuses the idea that she needs remaking. When he says "She runs rings around me just as easily as you once did but", he is complimenting his sister and needling his brother at the same time. The brothers can plan as much as they like, but there is always the chance she is already ahead of them: "there s no telling where they d search". The mood is the story's own: a quarrel that keeps turning into a claim about authority and identity, with the answer hidden in a line that sounds like a mystery — "The game is afoot".
Theme
Family conflictSherlock and Mycroft clash over how to treat their sister and who has the right to decide her life.
IdentityEnola's future is claimed as her own, not something her brothers can settle for her.
What you'll learn
- 'know you ve entirely' carries more than its dictionary gloss.
- 'know you ve entirely' changes the pressure of the reply.
- The surrounding lines set the social temperature.
Listen for
- Isn t it — liaison
- game is afoot — liaison
- thrown off course — liaison
Our future is up to usThe story's motto: Enola's life is hers to decide, not her brothers' to arrange.
You are judging something for which you took no responsibilityThe accusation that her brothers now condemn a sister they never helped to raise or protect.
She is remarkable and always has beenSherlock's defence of Enola: he praises her outright instead of treating her as a problem to fix.
I m asking that you don t abandon her againSherlock's plea to Mycroft, reminding him the family already left Enola to fend for herself once.
Questions about this scene
Why does Mycroft want to send Enola away?
He thinks she has been raised wild and needs discipline. He wants a firm hand and a proper school to turn her into a conventional young lady.
Why does Sherlock defend Enola?
He admires her and refuses to treat her as a problem. He calls her remarkable and asks Mycroft not to abandon her again.
Why does Sherlock ask Mycroft not to abandon her again?
It implies the family already left Enola alone once, after their mother's disappearance. Sherlock wants his brother to take responsibility this time instead of handing her off.
What does the brothers' argument really decide?
Nothing practical — it is about authority. Mycroft claims the right to run Enola's life, while Sherlock argues that her future belongs to her.
Enola Holmes · 12 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 5prepare the groundEnola Bluffs Her Way Into Basilwether
Chapter 1one's own companyEnola Confronts Her Brothers
Chapter 2unpickEnola Decodes Her Mother's Message
Chapter 3leave someone strandedEnola Hides on the Train
Watching · Chapter 4the game is afootSherlock and Mycroft Argue Over Enola
Chapter 5prepare the groundEnola Bluffs Her Way Into Basilwether
Chapter 6for better or worseA Talk of Power Over Tea
Chapter 7lead someone astrayEnola Meets the Dowager
Chapter 8do funny things to someoneTewkesbury Finds Enola's Hideout
Chapter 9fend for oneselfEnola at Miss Harrison's School
Chapter 10pick my brainsSherlock Visits Enola
Chapter 11see right through someoneEnola Sneaks into the Finishing School
Chapter 12right a wrongEnola and Tewkesbury Flee the SchoolChapter 4 of 12 · about 27 min to go