Scholarly Introduction

Holmes meets Watson

    
       Arthur Conan Doyle’s A Study in Scarlet introduces one of the most well known literary characters of all time, the enigmatic detective Sherlock Holmes. A Study in Scarlet is Doyle’s first Holmes detective novel and this story launched the writer and the entire Victorian readership into four full length Holmes novels by Doyle, as well as an abundance of short stories and other related publications (Edwards). Surprisingly, Doyle initially struggled to find a publisher for his work, and Doyle received a mere 25 pounds for the rights to his work, and thus Sherlock Holmes became immortalized when he was first published in the Beeton Christmas Annual of 1887 (Edwards).
        Doyle had previously been working within a medical profession before emerging fully as a successful writer and his past experiences certainly informed his character and the development of his novel. Colin Loader identifies that “the irony presented in Holmes’ claims and shortcomings stems from the controversy over specialization in the medical profession” (148). Holmes unique set of skills and his attempt to be highly specialized in his skill as a detective admittedly creates gaps in his knowledge of other fields and thus Holmes unique character can fit strongly within the frame of Doyle’s representation of specialized labor and the consequences of this practice. Doyle abandoned medicine for writing, and thus the traces between his two fields have remained very “emotionally charged” for him, and thus his profession certainly informs his characters, most notably Watson the doctor and the abnormal detective Holmes (Krasner 20). And yet whatever social commentary Doyle may have intended in his novel, the true success and popularity of his work launched a greater social trend towards the detective novel, which became extremely popular throughout the Victorian period.
        The power and popularity of the detective novel stemmed from its ability to expose and sensationalize the dark potential which can exist within the private and ordinary domestic lives of regular people. Lydia Fillingham writes on Doyle’s work and explains that “the detective novel…opens the private realm suddenly to narration, an indiscreet narration that would not exist but for the crime” (670).  A Study in Scarlet is perfectly representative of the heavily sensationalized and dramatic crime mysteries which were so popular in this time period, and the primary reason these works were so effective, as Fillingham explains, is that these detective novels draw readers into an otherwise private and unseen world where the ordinary melds with the sensational through these mysterious crimes.

       Sherlock Holmes comes to embody and represent so many of the qualities and characteristics associated with the adventure novel and many of the sensationalized writings which were both contemporaries to A Study in Scarlet as well as those who were inspired by the success of Doyle’s style and content. Jasmin Yung Hall argues that “the sensational elements of the Holmes stories are in fact crucial to their appeal” (Hall qtd. in Haynsworth 460). Doyle’s writing was certainly influenced and inspired by many of the sensational writings which were popular at the time of A Study in Scarlet’s publication. Leslie Haynsworth cites sensational works such as Wilkie Collins’ The Moonstone, which apparently share many plot and stylistic features with Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes mysteries (Haynsworth 460). Yet while A Study in Scarlet and other Holmes novels were certainly born out of the sensationalized writings of Victorian Britain, the stylized process of detection has become synonymous with the character of Sherlock Holmes and this unique character continues to be an emblem for all detective writers.



Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author and creator of the Sherlock Holmes adventures



Important Quotes Explained

“I consider that a man’s brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things, so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it. Now the skillful workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain-attic. He will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work, but of these he has a large assortment, and all in the most perfect order. It is a mistake to think that that little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent. Depend upon it - there comes a time when for every addition of knowledge you forget something that you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones."

A Study in Scarlet- a graphic novel (2010)


       This passage comes from an interesting conversation in which Dr. Watson is becoming increasingly aware of the many quirks and oddities associated with his unusual new friend. After Holmes admits to Dr Watson that he knew nothing about Carlyle’s Copernican Theory and the composition of the universe, a knowledge which Watson perceived to be a universal understanding for all, Homes amusingly explains that even after knowing he would certainly “forget it” (Doyle 9). This is what launches us into this rather unique and telling passage related to Holmes crafting of his skill and his ability to be highly specialized in the knowledge of certain relevant topics, all while remaining completely ignorant of basic understandings of things which do not pertain to these specific interests.
        The passage presents a unique idea that the human mind is an open canvas which does not absorb any and all information, but a person must take an active role in choosing how he develops his mind. Holmes presents a unique perception of the human understanding, in which the person must craft and select what he allows within his own understanding, and ultimately he should only select information which pertain to his or her profession and which “may help him in doing his work.”
         Doyle very purposefully includes this passage before Dr Watson and the reader are aware what Holmes’ profession is, thus creating another mystery surrounding the detective, but also allowing Holmes’s discourse to stand as a more universal treatise on the human mind rather than a specific technique within his field of detection. The passage fits into this larger argument of specialization, and ultimately presents the benefits as well as the potential limitations which result from this form of brain-building. This passage identifies man’s ability to craft his own mind and develop skills through this process which will enable him to succeed in any given field he seeks to develop. Yet the problem identified in this passage is that the human mind is limited and thus specialization allows for genius in certain fields, and yet also requires gaps in knowledge or the complete ignorance of “basic understandings.” Holmes as the troubled genius detective represents this conflict perfectly.

A Study in Scarlet- a graphic novel (2010) Watson's list of Holmes unique set of skills

"By a man's finger-nails, by his coat-sleeve, by his boots, by his trouser knees, by the callosities of his forefinger and thumb, by his expression, by his shirt cuffs -- by each of these things a man's calling is plainly revealed. That all united should fail to enlighten the competent inquirer in any case is almost inconceivable."


       This passage comes from Sherlock Holmes’s larger discourse on deduction on the unique process to

which he ascribes all of his success as a detective. Holmes argues that through the power of deduction, or otherwise the process of taking a large hypothesis and working down to more specific details in order to prove this larger idea. This passage is very significant as it serves to reveal the flaw in Holmes’s own reasoning and identifies that the method in which Holmes is actually applying in his detective work is not deduction but induction; the process of taking these small details or clues like the finger-nails or the trousers and bringing all of these small pieces into a larger claim. This is exactly the process which Holmes is describing here and it is this same method of detection which he applies throughout the case of A Study in Scarlet in order to ultimately discover the culprit, Jefferson Hope.

      An important ideal associated with detective fiction of this era is that the detection narrative reveals the power for ordinary objects and everyday things to be telling clues into a mystery or crime. This passage identifies the troubling truth that everything is observed and can thus be used to draw out or expose abnormal behavior. As D.A. Miller reveals, the troubling reality of detective fiction is “the fearful prospect of an absolute surveillance, under which everything would be known, incriminated, and policed” (35). While Holmes in this passage is merely discussing the ability to determine one’s character and profession from external elements, the implications presented in this passage represent Miller’s argument perfectly. The detective like Holmes is able to observe and take in all the ordinary and observable pieces of scene, and thus draw any conclusion based on these evidences. Holmes even goes so far to say that by this process a competent detective could not possibly fail in this process of observable detection. Thus Doyle presents here that anything and everything from your finger-nails to the expression on your face is being noticed and observed and every truth can be observed from these small observations.

Miller, D.A. The Novel and the Police. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1989. Print

A Study in Scarlet was the first fiction story which features the magnifying glass as a tool used in detection







Works Cited (Additional References to Consult)

André, Didierjean, and Gobet Fernand. "Sherlock Holmes: An Experts View of Expertise." British Journal of Psychology 99.1 (2008): 109-25. Web. 16 Apr. 2012.

This article explores the Sherlock Holmes’ role as an expert in his field of detection and the methods which make him such an uncontested success in his role of detective. The article focuses a lot on contemporary processes associated with experts and compares them with Sherlock Holmes’ position as an expert, even as a fictional character, and the article also presents some potential problems which can occur or which have not been adequately researched related to this level of expertise.

Edwards, Owen Dudley. “Doyle, Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan (1859–1930).” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Ed. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. Oxford: OUP, 2004. Web. 13 Apr. 2012

This article is a resource into the personal history of Holmes’s creator, Arthur Conan Doyle. It gives a personal history of Doyle’s life and development as a writer, but focuses mostly on his success with the Sherlock Holmes series and the connection between the Sherlock Holmes stories and Doyle’s own personal history.

Fillingham, Lydia Alix. "The Colorless Skein of Life: Threats to the Private Sphere in Conan Doyle’s A Study in Scarlet." ELH 56.3 (1989): 667-88.Web. 13 Apr. 2012.

This article describes the process of detection which Holmes uses in investigating the crime scene and compares Holmes’s method to the other police. Fillingham’s ultimate observation is on Holmes ability to expand the crime scene to originally unseen or unrecognized elements is what allows for the detective to use clues and detection to expose all elements to a person’s life and character, thus drawing detection into the previously private sphere of a person’s life.

Haynsworth, Leslie. "Sensational Adventures: Sherlock Holmes and His Generic Past." English Literature in Transition (1880-1920) 44.4 (2001): 459-85. Web. 15 Apr. 2012.

Haynsworth’s article focuses on the Sherlock Holmes stories as a genre and exposes the many aspects or qualities of Doyle’s work which allow for it to fit within certain literary styles like the adventure narrative or the sensational novel. The author relates the Holmes stories to other Victorian works being written around this time and explains how Doyle’s writing was both influenced by these writings as well as serving to be an influence on further detective stories through the Victorian period and beyond.

Krasner, James. “Arthur Conan Doyle as Doctor and Writer.” Mosaic: A Journal for the Interdisciplinary Study of Literature33. 4 (2000 Dec): 19-34. Web. 15 Apr 2012.

Krasner’s article focuses more on the author of A Study in Scarlet and explores how Doyle’s former profession as a doctor largely influences his career as a writer. The author explores Doyle’s evident interest in medicine and how medicine is frequently referenced and used within Doyle’s writings. The article most focuses on the doctor and patient relationship which Doyle is very familiar with as a doctor and how that unique relationship is reflected in Holmes’s relationship with others as well.

Loader, Colin. "Conan Doyle’s A Study in Scarlet: A Study in Irony." CLIO: A Journal of Literature, History, and the Philosophy ofHistory 19.2 (1990): 147-59. Web.13 Apr. 2012.

Colin Loader’s article focuses entirely on the present irony in Doyle’s A Study in Scarlet and most particularly in the character of Holmes. The author focuses most on the irony of Holmes’s misplaced style of detection as well as the unique dual narrative in the novel, which creates a sort of irony in the contrasting styles of representational storytelling.

Neill, Anna. “The Savage Genius of Sherlock Holmes.” Victorian Literature and Culture 37 (2009): 611–626. Web. 16 Apr. 2012

This article very interestingly examines the circumstances surrounding the first encounter between Dr Watson and Sherlock Holmes and the unique nature of their relationship. The author explores Watson’s character as an emotionally and physically worn out medical officer who seeks refuge in the questionable London underbelly, and yet through his relationship with the troubled Sherlock Holmes, Watson falls into a role of aiding the correction and cleansing of London’s hidden crimes. Neill strongly addresses Holmes’s unique character as both a genius in finding and bringing justice to those living outside of the law, just as he himself lives outside of society through his own vices and abnormalities.

Orel, Harold. "Sherlock Holmes and His Creator: A Case of Mistaken Identity." Colby Quarterly 31.3 (1995): 169-78. Web. 13 Apr. 2012.

Orel’s article focuses entirely on the potential link which exists between Arthur Conan Doyle and the character of his invention Sherlock Holmes. Orel diagrams very specific events in Doyle’s personal history and connects them to events which occurred to Sherlock Holmes, postulating that Holmes may have been Doyle’s projection of himself into his own stories. Orel offers some evidence which could support this theory, but concludes by addressing the number of differences between the author and his character and suggesting there is not enough information to make this kind of a claim.

Tobin, Vera. "Ways of Reading Sherlock Holmes: The Entrenchment of Discourse Blends." Language and Literature: Journal of the Poetics and Linguistics Association 15.1 (2006): 73-90. Web. 15 Apr. 2012.

Tobin’s article explores the possibility of applying different reading strategies to Sherlock Holmes stories and thus gaining a different perspective or gain from reading the novels in different ways. Tobin’s article uses a very elevated language that make it somewhat difficult to follow his argument, but one of the reading perspectives which Tobin describes is a historical reading by taking this fictional work and reading it as if it were non-fiction in order to further appreciate a story steeped in reality and to better understand the societal implications present within the novel.

Wynne, Catherine. "Sherlock Holmes and the Problems of War: Traumatic Detections." English Literature in Transition, 1880-1920 53.1 (2010): 29-53. Web. 15 Apr. 2012.

This was a very interesting article which focuses more on the Doyle the author of the text and how cultural conflicts and current events related to wars happening at the time of Doyle’s writing largely influenced Doyle’s own perceptions of nationalism and cultural sympathies which comes to be reflected in his stories. The author explains that Doyle’s own interest in medicine and war is most reflected in his character of Dr Watson, who is himself a medical officer who had recently served in Afghanistan. The article suggests that Dr Watson is a potential reflection of Doyle’s own character within the novels.

Video: Holmes's Powers of Detection

Holme's "Deductive" Process in seeking out the clues from the crime. Pay attention! Maybe you can solve the mystery. Selected scene from the BBC Sherlock Holmes collection (1968).

BBC's Sherlock, modern remake of the Holmes adventures-Holmes meets Watson

BBC's Sherlock episode "A Study in Pink" based on Doyle's A Study in Scarlet

similarities present in the story:

 -Holmes meets Watson -"Rache" in the crime scene -The double pills -The cabman with an aneurysm