Saturday Sherlock
Mar. 12th, 2011 04:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
neadodsTHE RED-HEADED LEAGUE
aka: The first of the Stupid Plots. Because it only works if the victim is deliberately dumb and venial - even Wilson admits that the whole scheme sounded fantastical and he only undertook it for the money.
So the real interest here, at least for me, lies in whatever characterization can be ferreted out, and there isn't a lot there either beyond the standard "Watson is my buddy who embellishes my exploits" comments.
We do have the first reference to a "Three Pipe Problem" which, unlike BBC's Sherlock, was a measure of thinking time, not the amount of nicotine he was trying to shove into his blood system at once. We also have hints that Watson is maybe not a particularly popular (or good) doctor - he's free to follow Sherlock because "My practice is never very absorbing."
As a side note, I'm amused at how modern the area Holmes describes sounds, right down to a vegetarian restaurant. There's more, but it's under the general points below, so I'll move on to:
A CASE OF IDENTITY
aka: the second of the stupid plots
I get the impression that this is one of the cases for which Holmes gets his reputation for misogyny, especially as he seems to resolve it by resolving to *not* tell his client the truth. It's a fair cop; she should have the solution even if she won't believe it, but even while I type that I realize that all the truth would do would break Mary Sutherland's heart three ways - that her lover doesn't exist, that her stepfather would be that cruel, and that her own mother would be that complicit.
On the other hand, to her face he is all charm - real charm; he doesn't turn around and particularly insult her when she isn't present (unlike Watson, who tends to use words like "vacuous" to describe her). Furthermore, he not only tells Windibank that his actions are "cruel, selfish and heartless," he offers to cane him for his sins.
I just cannot see these as the actions of someone who hates and despises women, I just can't. Not even with the snide comment about snatching illusions from women thrown in. That said, the only really interesting bit is at the beginning, where Watson makes a reasonable assumption about a newspaper headline and Holmes lets him in on the much sillier truth.
THE BOSCOMBE VALLEY MYSTERY
At last! An actual mystery that doesn't involve someone being profoundly, pointlessly stupid! And actual deductions that aren't painfully obvious! Huzzah!
Work seems to have picked up for Watson; he needs someone to cover instead of just blowing off his patients. On the other hand Holmes is true to form, managing to both compliment and be a git to Watson simultaneously, asking for his company, calling him reliable and trustworthy... and giving him barely half an hour's notice to be on the move.
Players of The Great Game presumably make much of someone who was mistaken for a student in the first book now describing himself as a middle-aged man. One of them a middle-aged married man who will suddenly describe "one of the most lovely young women that I have ever seen in my life. Watson, you dog!
On the other hand, Watson gets to actually use his medical experience for something, which is a lovely change. Also, we start to see Holmes at his most Holmesian - rushing after clues, barking at people, snarking at Lestrade.
Also - to refer back to the modern feel of Red-Headed and to pick up a conversation from a different blog - Holmes wouldn't be that startled by modern technology considering that he wired express for a map. He'd just be thrilled that you could get the map instantly.
Doyle does love his rhetorical flourishes, doesn't he? First it was the breathless description of a chase down the Thames in Sign of Four, and now:
"The culprit is---"
"'Mr. John Turner!' cried the hotel waiter
I'm starting to notice that just like Terry Pratchett returns over and over to certain types of characters to make his plots move (look at how often the hero is some form of rationalist and the villain a psychotic homicidal maniac), Doyle is developing specific tropes. Complete lack of continuity is the most famous one (I love![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mustangsally78's "Artie, you're not fussed with details" line), closely followed by the tantalizing hints of cases never described by Watson.
But look at how often these show up as well:
THE EXOTIC FOREIGN SETTING (at least by London standards):
- the American West
- deepest, darkest India
- Australian mining country
All of these places have the capacity for untold riches as well - either in the mines or in fabulous treasure lying around for people to steal.
THE PHYSICALLY VIOLENT AND/OR EMOTIONALLY CONTROLLING MALE VILLAIN:
- The Mormons in Study in Scarlet used first love and then violence to control Lucy and her father
- Murder and betrayal in several ways make the plot of Sign of the 4 move
- The King of Bohemia is not outright violent, but he's certainly doing his best to betray Irene, who claims that he Done Her Wrong in an unspecified manner
- The plotline of Case of Identity revolves around emotional blackmail and manipulation
GANGS OR CULTS
- I'm counting the Mormons in Study in Scarlet as a cult; Doyle certainly did
- The Sign of the Four
- Black Jack of Ballarat and the criminals he rode with (Boscome Valley)
COMPLETE RECLUSES:
- The Sholtos in Sign of Four
- McCarthy in Boscome Valley
SNOBBY ARISTOCRATS
- The King of Bohemia
- John Clay (Red-Headed) demanding to be treated with deference even while he's led off in cuffs
What I'm not finding? A lot of evidence of Holmes' vaunted misogyny. So far he's been chivalrous in person to women, gives as much credence to their problems as to any man's, and outright complimented both Mary's (Sign of 4) and Irene's (Scandal in Bohemia) intelligence. He's said he doesn't trust women as a gender, true... but precisely how much trust does he give to men, either? On the other hand, for someone who supposedly loathes women, he's going to be willing more than once to be physically violent to anyone who mistreats them.
On the other hand, Holmes is being continually metaphorical and flippant, following up last book's line about flamingo-feather clouds with references to "off to violin land where all is sweetness and delicacy and harmony (Red-Headed League), "If we could fly out of that window hand and hand, hover over this great city [extended metaphor for being a fly on the wall] It would make all fiction with its conventionalities and foreseen conclusions most stale and unprofitable (Case of Identity) and "moonshine is a brighter thing than fog." (Boscombe Valley)
Canon Holmes is not fanon Holmes, and hasn't been for a long while. On the other hand, kinky Sherlock fans may want to pay attention to how often that riding crop gets mentioned - Study in Scarlet, Red-Headed League, and Case of Identity (and counting).
And he's a hell of a casually violent man, our Holmes - having ordered Watson to bring his gun on cases in Sign of the Four, he's escalated to casual comments in Red-Headed League about "Watson, have no compunction about shooting them down." And that's not even counting the righteous beatdown he offers Windibank in Identity.
Next week: The Five Orange Pips, The Man with the Twisted Lip, The Blue Carbuncle
aka: The first of the Stupid Plots. Because it only works if the victim is deliberately dumb and venial - even Wilson admits that the whole scheme sounded fantastical and he only undertook it for the money.
So the real interest here, at least for me, lies in whatever characterization can be ferreted out, and there isn't a lot there either beyond the standard "Watson is my buddy who embellishes my exploits" comments.
We do have the first reference to a "Three Pipe Problem" which, unlike BBC's Sherlock, was a measure of thinking time, not the amount of nicotine he was trying to shove into his blood system at once. We also have hints that Watson is maybe not a particularly popular (or good) doctor - he's free to follow Sherlock because "My practice is never very absorbing."
As a side note, I'm amused at how modern the area Holmes describes sounds, right down to a vegetarian restaurant. There's more, but it's under the general points below, so I'll move on to:
A CASE OF IDENTITY
aka: the second of the stupid plots
I get the impression that this is one of the cases for which Holmes gets his reputation for misogyny, especially as he seems to resolve it by resolving to *not* tell his client the truth. It's a fair cop; she should have the solution even if she won't believe it, but even while I type that I realize that all the truth would do would break Mary Sutherland's heart three ways - that her lover doesn't exist, that her stepfather would be that cruel, and that her own mother would be that complicit.
On the other hand, to her face he is all charm - real charm; he doesn't turn around and particularly insult her when she isn't present (unlike Watson, who tends to use words like "vacuous" to describe her). Furthermore, he not only tells Windibank that his actions are "cruel, selfish and heartless," he offers to cane him for his sins.
I just cannot see these as the actions of someone who hates and despises women, I just can't. Not even with the snide comment about snatching illusions from women thrown in. That said, the only really interesting bit is at the beginning, where Watson makes a reasonable assumption about a newspaper headline and Holmes lets him in on the much sillier truth.
THE BOSCOMBE VALLEY MYSTERY
At last! An actual mystery that doesn't involve someone being profoundly, pointlessly stupid! And actual deductions that aren't painfully obvious! Huzzah!
Work seems to have picked up for Watson; he needs someone to cover instead of just blowing off his patients. On the other hand Holmes is true to form, managing to both compliment and be a git to Watson simultaneously, asking for his company, calling him reliable and trustworthy... and giving him barely half an hour's notice to be on the move.
Players of The Great Game presumably make much of someone who was mistaken for a student in the first book now describing himself as a middle-aged man. One of them a middle-aged married man who will suddenly describe "one of the most lovely young women that I have ever seen in my life. Watson, you dog!
On the other hand, Watson gets to actually use his medical experience for something, which is a lovely change. Also, we start to see Holmes at his most Holmesian - rushing after clues, barking at people, snarking at Lestrade.
Also - to refer back to the modern feel of Red-Headed and to pick up a conversation from a different blog - Holmes wouldn't be that startled by modern technology considering that he wired express for a map. He'd just be thrilled that you could get the map instantly.
Doyle does love his rhetorical flourishes, doesn't he? First it was the breathless description of a chase down the Thames in Sign of Four, and now:
"The culprit is---"
"'Mr. John Turner!' cried the hotel waiter
I'm starting to notice that just like Terry Pratchett returns over and over to certain types of characters to make his plots move (look at how often the hero is some form of rationalist and the villain a psychotic homicidal maniac), Doyle is developing specific tropes. Complete lack of continuity is the most famous one (I love
mustangsally78's "Artie, you're not fussed with details" line), closely followed by the tantalizing hints of cases never described by Watson.But look at how often these show up as well:
THE EXOTIC FOREIGN SETTING (at least by London standards):
- the American West
- deepest, darkest India
- Australian mining country
All of these places have the capacity for untold riches as well - either in the mines or in fabulous treasure lying around for people to steal.
THE PHYSICALLY VIOLENT AND/OR EMOTIONALLY CONTROLLING MALE VILLAIN:
- The Mormons in Study in Scarlet used first love and then violence to control Lucy and her father
- Murder and betrayal in several ways make the plot of Sign of the 4 move
- The King of Bohemia is not outright violent, but he's certainly doing his best to betray Irene, who claims that he Done Her Wrong in an unspecified manner
- The plotline of Case of Identity revolves around emotional blackmail and manipulation
GANGS OR CULTS
- I'm counting the Mormons in Study in Scarlet as a cult; Doyle certainly did
- The Sign of the Four
- Black Jack of Ballarat and the criminals he rode with (Boscome Valley)
COMPLETE RECLUSES:
- The Sholtos in Sign of Four
- McCarthy in Boscome Valley
SNOBBY ARISTOCRATS
- The King of Bohemia
- John Clay (Red-Headed) demanding to be treated with deference even while he's led off in cuffs
What I'm not finding? A lot of evidence of Holmes' vaunted misogyny. So far he's been chivalrous in person to women, gives as much credence to their problems as to any man's, and outright complimented both Mary's (Sign of 4) and Irene's (Scandal in Bohemia) intelligence. He's said he doesn't trust women as a gender, true... but precisely how much trust does he give to men, either? On the other hand, for someone who supposedly loathes women, he's going to be willing more than once to be physically violent to anyone who mistreats them.
On the other hand, Holmes is being continually metaphorical and flippant, following up last book's line about flamingo-feather clouds with references to "off to violin land where all is sweetness and delicacy and harmony (Red-Headed League), "If we could fly out of that window hand and hand, hover over this great city [extended metaphor for being a fly on the wall] It would make all fiction with its conventionalities and foreseen conclusions most stale and unprofitable (Case of Identity) and "moonshine is a brighter thing than fog." (Boscombe Valley)
Canon Holmes is not fanon Holmes, and hasn't been for a long while. On the other hand, kinky Sherlock fans may want to pay attention to how often that riding crop gets mentioned - Study in Scarlet, Red-Headed League, and Case of Identity (and counting).
And he's a hell of a casually violent man, our Holmes - having ordered Watson to bring his gun on cases in Sign of the Four, he's escalated to casual comments in Red-Headed League about "Watson, have no compunction about shooting them down." And that's not even counting the righteous beatdown he offers Windibank in Identity.
Next week: The Five Orange Pips, The Man with the Twisted Lip, The Blue Carbuncle
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-03-17 03:22 am (UTC)its an UPPER class interest (wine, art) and the line between being a collector, who occasionally sold some stock to buy some other stock, and a businessman was very thin....
as long as you didnt actually manage the shop. you had a "man for that"