Sherlock Holmes - I am lost without my Boswell. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Katie Gough 4ng

English Essay

Sherlock Holmes- I am lost without my Boswell.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh in 1859, and had a good education. He received a tax demand a year after he married which prompted him to try to earn some extra money. At first he tried to get short stories published in the cheaper magazines of the time, but with no success. His big break came when Lippincott’s Magazine, in the USA, offered Doyle an advance to write another Holmes and Watson story. His success continued, and he was knighted in 1902. He continued writing until he died in 1930.

The three Sir Arthur Conan Doyle detective stories I have studied are: ‘The Speckled Band’, ‘Scandal in Bohemia’, and ‘The Copper Beaches’. I am going to talk about the relationship between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Holmes is the hero of the stories; he is a very clever detective who is exceptionally particular to detail. His powers of detection are breathtaking and he loves an intellectual challenge. He is usually calm and controlled, his behaviour is often eccentric and, emotionally he comes across as cold, detached and aloof. His romantic life is never referred to yet his admiration for Watson is clearly genuine. Despite his faults, he is also honorable and very brave. Watson is the narrator of the stories. He tells the story but is not as clever as Holmes, and he often fails to understand the significance of certain events and often misses what Holmes can see as a clue to the mystery. He is faithful companion to Holmes. Uncomplicated and trustworthy, Watson is portrayed as being slow and dimwitted, when compared to Holmes, a perfect ally to Holmes’ acute intellect.

The Speckled Band, is, in my opinion, the best out of these three stories. It is the most exciting and I think Holmes enjoys the case because of the intellectual challenge. It involves the Roylott family who lived at Stoke Moran. Helen Stoner consults Holmes when her sister dies in suspicious circumstances. At the beginning of this story, Miss. Stoner comes to see Holmes about the case, and accepts the Watson is Holmes’ sidekick, ‘This is my intimate friend and associate, Dr. Watson, before whom you can speak as freely as before myself.’ This also happens in The Copper Beaches. When Miss. Hunter writes a letter to Holmes stating that ‘I am very anxious to consult you’. From the start of this particular story you can see that Watson is hard working, and has a willingness to help Holmes in any way possible. He has an obvious admiration of Holmes, but having said that Holmes also shows a similar admiration for Watson. Holmes is very observant,

‘The left arm of your jacket is spattered with mud in no less than seven places. There is no vehicle save a dog-cart which throws up mud in that way,

and then only when you sit on the left-hand side of the driver.’ Watson does not have this kind of observational quality, and Holmes can often criticise him for it.

Holmes is also very observant when he sees and observes how many stairs there are in ‘The Copper Beaches’, and also when Miss. Stoner shows them the room which her sister died in ...

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‘The left arm of your jacket is spattered with mud in no less than seven places. There is no vehicle save a dog-cart which throws up mud in that way,

and then only when you sit on the left-hand side of the driver.’ Watson does not have this kind of observational quality, and Holmes can often criticise him for it.

Holmes is also very observant when he sees and observes how many stairs there are in ‘The Copper Beaches’, and also when Miss. Stoner shows them the room which her sister died in ‘The Speckled Band’.

When Miss. Stoner is relaying the details to Holmes he asks, ‘Pray be precise as to details.’ When she has finished telling them her story, Holmes makes the decision to go and visit the house. He asks Watson, ‘You are not averse to this trip, Watson?’ although he does ask him, he would expect the answer to be yes, which indeed it is. This is showing the employer- employee relationship between them both. Holmes asks for Watson opinion of the case so far, and he seems totally mystified, while Holmes already has answers from the information he has been given.

When Holmes is faced with danger when Watson is with him, he stays calm and has courage and bravery, which he shows when he protects himself and Watson. This shows the father-son relationship between the pair. Holmes takes the lead. This also happens when there is a fight in ‘The Scandal in Bohemia’ and with the dog in, ‘The Speckled Band’. He also tells Miss. Stoner what to do when she is faced with the similar danger. This shows that they both have faith and trust in Holmes. When Holmes and Watson visit Stoke Moran, Holmes is much more observant, he picks up on the tiniest of detail, which most people would think of as insignificant. When they are going to Stoke Moran for the second time Holmes says to Watson, ‘your presence might be invaluable.’ They talk about the case and Holmes says, ‘I fancy that I may have deduced a little more than you. I imagine that you saw all that I did.’ When they do go back to the house, Holmes wants Watson to be there with him, but when there is the slightest hint of danger, Holmes tells Watson to get out his pistol. When removing the snake from Dr. Roylotts head, Holmes is the one to do it and he puts himself in danger rather than Watson. At the end of the story Holmes explains to Watson how he came to the conclusion, and Watson has every admiration for him. Throughout it he shows concern for the client, and tells them what to do, which they obey because of their trust for him.

In the ‘Scandal in Bohemia’, it is slightly different. It is different from ‘The Speckled Band’ and ‘The Copper Beaches’ because it had a large financial reward. Holmes does not seem to worry about money, and carries on working purely for the love of the job. Also in this story he mixes romantic relationships with a working relationship. He is involved with a female friend who he refers to as ‘The Women’. He does not feel emotion towards many women.

‘ 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.’ His life revolves around his job and he does not want to commit to the hassle of women. He sees them as a distraction to his work, which he loves so much.

Watson on the other hand has got married, and has not seen Holmes recently. This shows that Watson, unlike Holmes, has let his love get in the way of his friends and work.

‘I had seen little of Holmes lately. My marriage had drifted us away from each other, my own complete happiness, and the home-centered interests which rise up around the man who first finds himself master of his own establishment, were sufficient to absorb all my attention.’

As in The Speckled Band he’s has amazing observational skills, which Watson could only dream of, he has a perfectly balanced mind and possess superb reasoning skills. ‘You have not observed. And yet you have seen. That is just my point. Now, I know that there are seventeen steps, because I have both seen and observed.’ He is questioning Watson’s intelligence.

When in the company of clients, Holmes addresses Watson very formally, showing respect for him. Holmes also values Watson’s opinion. He urges Watson to stay, this shows that he believes that the partnership is necessary for this case, and that he works better when he has Watson’s views to consider as well as his own. When he is talking to the King he is very confident, and maybe even a little too confident,

‘Your Majesty had not spoken before I was aware that I was addressing Wilhem Gottsreich von Ormsrein, Grand Duke of Cassel-Falastein, and hereditary King of Bohemia.’ The King has traveled a long way to speak to Holmes. This obviously means that Holmes has a great reputation as a detective. Notice that Holmes has the reputation, not Holmes and Watson even though Watson will help in most of the cases when some action needs to take place. Holmes is very much in control when seeing a client, and Watson is the assistant.

As the story continues, Watson is bought more into the picture. When Holmes needs help, he relies on him even if it might be slightly dangerous. ‘Then I am your man.’ Holmes will give Watson every detail to make sure he carries out his instructions perfectly. ‘Then you may entirely rely on me.’ When trying to recover the picture, Holmes takes the main role, but he could not complete the task without Watson’s help. Holmes and Watson work well as a team- they both rely on each other to be in the right place at the right time. They value each other’s roles. Holmes plan works at the time, but later on we discover

that Irene Adler, the women, has outwitted him. But, he remains confident when talking to the client and Watson.

When Irene Adler writes a letter to Sherlock Holmes, with the picture enclosed she address it, ‘MY DEAR SHERLOCK HOLMES’. This suggests that Irene is very thankful and appreciative for all that Holmes has done for her; it also shows her fondness towards him. This case shows Watson being involved when action needs to take place.

In the Copper Beaches, like in The Speckled Band there is no financial reward or recognition. He solves these cases simply because he enjoys it. He is a consummate professional, and has no financial worries. Holmes is very grateful for the work that Watson is doing for him, even though he might not show it very often. He criticizes Watson for not making accurate records, and unusually Watson stands up for himself. This puts strain on the relationship and you can see the master-servant relationship coming through. Holmes is saying that Watson is trying to make the cases sound more interesting than they are and Watson replies, ‘It seems to me that I have done you full justice in the matter,’ I remarked with some coldness. The coldness shows that he does not agree with Holmes and doesn’t like being told when he is wrong.

In this case the client comes to see Holmes when she thinks no one else can help her. When he conducts the interview with the client, he keeps asking her for more information, ‘Data! Data! Data!’ He will normally involve Watson at later stages of the investigations. He is the decision-maker in the partnership. Holmes is in command and Watson obeys him.

When they travel together and talk about the case, Holmes usually takes the upper hand in the conversation. Holmes will look and find the bad in people, where as Watson will find the good.

‘You look at these scattered houses, and you are impressed by their beauty. I look at them, and the only thought which comes to me is a feeling of their isolation and of the impunity with which crime may be committed there.’ They have different outlooks on life. Holmes looks beneath the surface, Watson sees, but does not observe. Watson has a more optimistic view of life.

Further on in the story there are yet more examples of how Holmes thrives on information and how and details no matter how small and seemingly insignificant are important to him, ‘I am glad of all details, whether they seem to you to be relevant or not.’ Watson is required for action, not thinking. Miss. Hunter like Holmes is also very observant. She uses similar tactics to Holmes,

like using the mirror to see what is behind her standing in the road. Holmes has an assiduous eye for detail; he is very particular and precise.

Both Holmes and Watson are brave and courageous and do not seem to be phased by danger. There is a wild dog at the house, which Miss. Hunter seems to be worried about, but Holmes and Watson do not appear to worry about it. When she describes herself, she describes herself like Holmes, very observant. He gives respect to the clients, and will give them instructions, which he expects to be carried out. This also shows faith in the clients. He also treats Watson in this way, expecting things to be done! When he talks to clients he says ‘we’ but means ‘I’. Even though Holmes relies on Watson, he also shows concern for him. This shows the parent-child relationship between them. When confronted with danger, Holmes takes the lead, and protects Watson, he also shows concern for Miss. Hunter.

When the case has been solved and Holmes is reflecting on it to Watson, you almost get the impression that Holmes cares more for the challenge of the case then the people on them. This shows that works comes over everything, it is more important than relationships.

The quotation ‘I am lost without my Boswell’ basically means ‘I am lost without my narrator’. Holmes is saying that he would be lost without Watson. He appreciates the work he does for him whether he shows it or not. But in turn, Watson also appreciates Holmes, for the intellectual genius that he is.