Sherlock Holmes: 1887-1927

Sherlock Holmes is a widely beloved and famous fictional character. In the Victorian era detective stories served as escapism. Doyle has written Holmes stories in a way where they comfort readers and could lead them to believe that all crimes can be solved if you have the right person working on the case. He is extremely smart, observant, and obsessive. What appears to be in most Sherlock Holmes stories is Holmes’s attention to detail and observation. In “A Scandal in Bohemia” Doyle displays Holmes’s level of awareness when he asks Dr. Watson about the number of steps:

“You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear. For example, you have frequently seen the steps which lead up from the hall to this room.”

“Frequently.”

“How often?”

“Well, some hundreds of times.”

“Then how many are there?”

“How many! I don’t know.”

“Quite so! 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.” (Doyle 62)

It is clear by Watson's exclamation about not knowing how many stairs there are means he has never bothered to pay attention to something he had no reason to notice. Readers’ reactions were probably similar to Watson’s. Another example of Holmes’s observations skills is simply stated by Holmes when he is speaking to Mary Sutherland in “A Case of Identity”. Mary Sutherland is very surprised when Holmes talks about her shortsightedness and typewriting: “It is my business to know things. Perhaps I have trained myself to see what others overlook. If not, why should you come to consult me?” (Doyle 249) Sherlock Holmes’s ability to notice things that others would not notice is what makes him such a great detective and interesting character. After Mary Sutherland leaves, Dr. Watson says that Holmes saw things that were invisible to Watson, however Holmes says that everything he needed to see was there: “Not invisible, but unnoticed, Watson. You did not know where to look, and so you missed all that was important.” (Doyle 254)

Holmes asks Dr. Watson what he observed about Mary Sutherland and Dr. Watson describes what she looks like and what she was wearing perfectly. Holmes is very impressed, however he tells Dr. Watson that he has missed everything important. Holmes then goes into detail about how he can tell that Miss Sutherland left in a hurry because her boots were not buttoned all the way; he can also tell that she hastily wrote a letter before leaving to see him because she had an accidental ink stain on her glove; and she had creases in her sleeve where her arms would be resting when she was using a typewriter. Sherlock Holmes brings a whole new level of wits, intelligence, and observation to readers. Maybe the fun of Conan Doyle’s stories isn’t just discovering the crime, but also learning how one can think like Sherlock Holmes.

Sherlock Holmes asking Dr. Watson a question he already knows the answer to seems to also play a part in displaying Holmes’s intelligence. Holmes also does this in “A Scandal in Bohemia” when he asks Dr. Watson about a letter engraved in something:

“What do you make of that?” asked Holmes.

“The name of the maker, no doubt; or his monogram, rather.”

“Not at all. The G with the small t stands for “Gesellschaft,” with is the German for “It is a customary contraction like our “Co.” (Doyle 63)

Sherlock Holmes is such a complex and fleshed out character, which adds to the level of enjoyment for the reader. Because who wants to read about an underdeveloped, one-dimensional character?

Sherlock Holmes as a character has everything that Victorian people and modern people want to read about or watch on their TVs. Sherlock Holmes is a lovable, sharp-witted main character, and he is very rarely wrong. However, he is also a very flawed character because he can be very condescending, obsessive, and dispassionate. As stated before, Sherlock is very self-aware. He knows people hire him because of his superb detective skills and because he can see things that many people would look pass or not notice. “A Scandal in Bohemia” displays how even though Holmes has all the qualities of an amazing detective he is not going to be able to catch and outsmart every person he encounters. In this story he is able to do his job and just when Holmes is going to complete his mission he is outsmarted by Irene Adler.

As stated, before Sherlock Holmes has flaws and one of those flaws is addiction. He is not a wholesome and perfect protagonist. Holmes does not want to be an investigator solely for the purpose of helping people who have been wronged and catching criminals. He is a detective because gets a rush from chasing and bringing down criminals. I was surprised to discover that Holmes had an addiction to cocaine and morphine, and even though he knew that the effects of it could led to his death it did not stop him from using them. Holmes would go into periods of depression when he was not solving cases or doing anything to stimulate his mind to the fullest of his abilities. He would then turn to cocaine because that was his way to feel the rush of solving cases. It was surprising to me that Holmes typically never goes looking for a case, even if things are slow, because people will typically come to him asking for his help. Even though Sherlock Holmes was an addict it did not permanently damage him physically or mentally.

Holmes is also known to be very cold, unaffectionate, and selfish. I think what makes him so interesting to read about is how calmly he seems to handle any situation. He is very calculated and knows exactly what to do to solve a case, and how to manipulate people in order to get what he wants. Even though Holmes is the protagonist or hero figure in his stories he can be seen as a morally gray character. While he helps people, he seems to also do it for his own benefit: “The game is afoot.” This quote explains how Holmes thinks of solving crimes as a game. He does not solve crimes out of duty for his clients. He does it because he loves the challenge and thrill of cracking a case. In “The Sign of Four”, Sherlock confirms that he has a need to solve cases because it was what he was built for: “a racing engine, tearing itself to pieces because it is not connected up with the work for which it was built." As stated earlier, Holmes main purpose for solving cases is because he needs to do it for himself. Holmes is "a man of science who is able to find sufficient stimulation for his great intellect and thirst for logic only in solving crimes that have baffled the professional detectives." (Reed) The previous quote explains that Holmes needs to solve cases to be intellectually stimulated and he yearns to crack complicated mysteries through logic. This can also trace back to how he is an obsessive person because once he has fixated on a case he cannot stop thinking about it until he has solved it.

Holmes also does not usually go about getting the information the morally correct way. In “Adventures of Charles Augustus Milverton”, "Holmes engages in regular flirting with one of Milverton’s housemaids, culminating in him proposing to her and being ‘engaged’” (Hossian). Holmes manipulated and deceived this woman into believing that they would eventually get married, when he actually only wanted to use her to get information so that he can solve the case. I think this makes sense for Holmes as a character because since he sees solving crimes as a game he could think of this housemaid as a way for him to be one step closer to winning the game. And even if he does solve a case, he could end up not giving the person who asked him for help closure. He does this in “A Case of Identity” with Mary Sutherland. He uncovers that the soon to be husband of Miss Sutherland is Mary’s step-father, and he and Mary’s mother orchestrated the entire thing so she would be heart broken and would not want to marry. Dr. Watson asked Holmes if he would tell Mary that her parents deceived her, but Holmes says: “There is danger for him who taketh the tiger cub, and danger also for whoso snatches a delusion from a woman.” (Doyle 259) This statement about a woman being compared to a baby tiger is frankly condescending, but it also displays how Holmes is unaffectionate to those who want his help and how he solves mysteries for himself more than anyone. However, Holmes’s ability to so clearly show these flaws whether he realizes it or not is what makes him so appealing to readers because he is not a typical noble protagonist.

Sherlock Holmes is still prevalent today because Conan Doyle’s stories can be seen as a “hero” story. Holmes is the main protagonist, he has his sidekick Dr. Watson, and the villain of Holmes’s story is Professor James Moriarty because he kills Holmes in “The Final Problem”. This typical formula for stories has been around for centuries, and I think the real reason why readers in the Victorian Era and readers in the twenty-first century still love Sherlock Holmes so much is because he is a complex and layered protagonist. Readers want to figure out what he is thinking or try to keep up with Holmes. People want to be shocked and excited, and overall, just have a fun reading experience. I think many people tend to gravitate toward morally gray characters like Sherlock Holmes because no one a clearly good or evil in real life.