Rashida Khanom Pre 1914 Prose: Coursework
The Significance of Chapter twelve (to the novel as a whole) in ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel, ‘The Hound of the Baskerville,’ falls within the genre of detective fiction. It concentrates on the murder of Sir Charles and specifically in Chapter twelve mysteries are solved leading to the explanation of Sir Charles’s death. At the beginning of the novel there is a suspicious story about a supernatural hound. With the request from Dr. Mortimer it is Holmes’ and Dr. Watson’s job to investigate the recent mysterious death of Sir Charles Baskerville. This is the main focus of the novel.
As Holmes is the central character, we find that he is almost entirely absent from the central section of the novel where most of the significant action takes place. During this time Watson is at our attention but Holmes inevitably emerges back into the novel with a sense of energy and excitement. As this is the beginning of Chapter twelve a major significance is shown; alongside his return, the mystery is solved. When Watson discovers Holmes living in a hut on the moor pursuing his own lines of enquiry, Sherlock reveals to Watson who the murderer is. This is where he returns back to the novel. At this instance the plot changes from Whom? to How? and Why?
In this critical chapter, earlier mysteries are cleared up revealing liaison/relationships about characters and their true personalities. We find out Seldon’s relationship to the Barrymore’s, and how they nurtured the escaped convict. As Sir Henry handed over his wardrobe to the Barrymore’s as an apology, it was then passed on to Seldon, in order to help him in his escape. It was clear that the clothes were the reasons for his death and these garments carried Sir Henry’s scent. It is inferable that the hound had smelled an article of Sir Henry – in this case the missing boot that was abstracted from the Northumberland Hotel. Empathetically from this part of the novel we can deduce that someone may have plotted the murdering against the Baskervilles, because he/she wants to inherit something from Sir Charles. Therefore he is getting the hound to smell the boot to kill off the Baskervilles. We are also told from Holmes’ research that Miss Stapleton is actually Stapleton’s wife not sister, and this is why he permitted Sir Henry to fall in love with her. We are also notified of the deceit that he put Laura Lyons through.
