Canon Discussion Post: The Golden Pince-Nez

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

Welcome back, everyone! Let's have some canon Sherlock Holmes discussion, shall we? What did you all think of The Golden Pince-Nez? As always, I've written up a few of my own random thoughts and questions, which are behind the jump. Add your own in the comments!

Discussion about the Granada adaptation of The Golden Pince-Nez is available in this week's Granada discussion post.


- We're six months out from Empty House now, and Holmes and Watson are back together, busy at "our work". Watson has "three massive manuscript volumes" filled with just the exploits of 1894. And keep in mind, Holmes was technically dead until April of that year. So they've had lots of cases packed into a quick eight months. It makes sense -- many mysteries must have been left unsolved in the last three years, and who wouldn't want to consult with the legendary Sherlock Holmes now that he's back and consulting? The tales we're missing out on in favor of GOLD sound enticing. Several are alluringly creepy: the red leech, the ancient British barrow, the Boulevard assassin. I want to read all of those.

- Seldom has the partnership between Holmes and Watson been as emphasized in their word choice, even if Watson has little to actually do in this story. After a long time apart, they are clearly very happy to be working together again in their mutual endeavor. Watson talks of "our work" and "our career". Holmes uses the plural as well. When Inspector Hopkins shows up at Baker Street, Holmes determines that "he wants us." That assessment is not exactly accurate, because Hopkins only asks for Holmes when he arrives. But it is true just the same, because Holmes and Watson at this point in their lives do not come separately. When the case is solved, it is "our solution", regardless of how much Watson actually contributed to it. They work together. Watson may not be able to read the meaning of the clues of the case but he can read Sherlock Holmes, and that is a rare gift indeed.

- Professor Coram is repulsive. He lives in an airless room, gradually turning yellow from nicotine deposits. His lungs are as black and hard as his heart. The professor says he orders 1000 cigarettes every two weeks. That comes out to one cigarette every twenty minutes of every single day - and that's if he never sleeps.

- Why did Anna marry a man three decades her senior? Youthful stupidity? She then meets Alexis, a good gentle man, but she's already married to a monster. There is a rich back story here to explore. It's fascinating too that she hired a private detective. What would have happened if Anna had gone to Sherlock Holmes first instead? Would he have taken her case? What then? It's possible Anna didn't choose Holmes because he was still dead at the time when she need help.

- What came of Alexis? Do you think he was freed from his imprisonment? Whatever happened to Professor Coram? Did the Brotherhood get him? Did his ill health finally take him? Would Holmes and Watson have kept track of these developments?

- "I fear that you are far from well." - Did Anna's death really happen the way it is described here? That seems impossible. Why didn't they try to help her when it was immediately obvious she was quite ill? Did Doctor Watson do anything as he watched a woman gradually die of poison? And if Holmes thought she was about to poison herself at the very end, what did he think was wrong with her the entire time she was telling her story?

Comment away and join us next week for The Three Students!

Comments

[tripleransom.livejournal.com]

I do like the Canon story better than the Granada adaptation of it. This is what Oscar Wilde called "praising with faint damns", because I dont' have much else good to say about the story. Except, it does have Stanley Hopkins, which is a plus.

Professor Coram's cigarette habit does sound pretty awful, but to put it in perspective, 1000 cigarettes every fortnight translates to about 3 1/2 packs a day. It's a lot, granted, but I well remember when my father had a 3 pack-a-day habit, so it was not absurdly over the top. It seems like a lot to present day sensibilities, but before, say 1970 or so, it wasn't too unusual. I think Jeremy Brett had a similar size habit himself.

Interesting that Granada changed Alexis from Anna's lover to her brother. Were the sensibilities of 1990 really that much moreso than 1894?

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

Fantastic use of a Wilde quote - I'm keeping that one for use myself!

Yeah, I guess the cigarette count isn't that drastic. I've just been around non-smokers so long I've forgotten how common chain smoking is (or was).

As for Alexis' identity change, that is an interesting point I noticed as well. I think it detracts from the impact of the story to make him her brother. That natural loyalty of family is less compelling in a way than her devotion to a man she loves other than her hideous husband. I guess it allowed Granada to move quickly over the point and not have to deal with the complex emotions indicated by Anna having a lover she went to such lengths to protect. Makes me think of how much better they could have done with the Granada version of this story. *sigh*

[tripleransom.livejournal.com]

Heh.

Years ago, when I was in College, I used to have a Wilde quote handy for just about any occasion. You can get a reputation as a heck of a wit if you're not too scrupulous about crediting your sources. ;)