sherlock60 | Canon Discussion Post: The Devil's Foot

Welcome back, everyone! Let's have some canon Sherlock Holmes discussion, shall we? What did you all think of The Devil's Foot? 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 Devil's Foot is available in this week's Granada discussion post.

- The Devil's Foot is my probably my favorite story in canon. The intersection of the real and the fantastical is always an alluring prospect. I love Sherlock Holmes stories that border horror and what could be more horrifying than people losing their minds or their very lives from absolute terror? Plus, it has great character points as well. Holmes, weakened by overwork, makes a terrible mistake, which leads to a touching moment of tenderness with Watson. The doctor himself is outstanding throughout, trying to protect his friend and patient whenever he can, even when Holmes will barely let him.

- "I confess that I never imagined that the effect could be so sudden and so severe." - Holmes' experiment with the powder and the lamp is probably the most foolish and dangerous action we ever see him take in canon. To call it reckless is a tremendous understatement. Holmes knowingly risks his sanity and life along with that of his loyal and pliable friend to prove a point about a known deadly poison that was already quite clear. Holmes has no qualms about experimenting with himself, but even he recognizes this was a step too far. And to endanger Watson in the process was even more egregious and unacceptable, leading to a guilty apology afterwards as they recover on the grass. Why was he surprised by the poison's effects? Every piece of evidence he found said it was both incredibly powerful and fast-acting. Yet his only precautions were to open a window, crack a door, and hope for the best. To call the plan stupid is to be immeasurably kind. Holmes didn't even have the foresight to leave Watson outside to watch and intervene if necessary (as it obviously would have been). What exactly did he think was going to happen when the poison took effect? How could this trial have ever gone well?

- "I thought I knew my Watson." - Why does Watson go along with Holmes' idiot experiment? It's insane on its face. I know, Watson is loyal to Holmes through thick and thin, no matter what. But this is lunacy. Real loyalty would have been to stop him from doing something so reckless and thoughtless. Watson was already trying to take care of Holmes' health and safety with the trip to Cornwall, but to allow him to endanger himself with this experiment renders all of that work irrelevant. What good is Holmes' health if he kills himself? How can Watson protect him if he's dying of poison too? They only reason they survive this idiocy is through Watson's incredible devotion alone. He saw Holmes' face, twisted in fear and agony, and was able to pull enough sanity together to drag them both outside at the last moment.

- We don't learn much about the poison beside its immediate effects. What about lingering effects? Do the Tregennis brothers have any hope of regaining some modicum of sanity in the years to come? What about Holmes and Watson? Do they have residual effects from their brush with death? I can't imagine exposure to a substance so powerful is something you walk away from totally unscathed, especially for someone weakened and ill as Holmes is. Plus, his experience of the drug may well have been extraordinarily bad, as his imagination is powerful beyond normal human capacity. The horrors his mind conjured for him must have been intense.

- Isn't this all really Leon Sterndale's fault when it comes down to it? He should never have brought such a hideous relic back from Africa at all, knowing what it was and what it did. What's the point of having it at all? Nothing good can come from possessing it unless you're planning a murder. Speaking of murder, it was also an incredibly bad idea to tell Mortimer Tregennis, a man known to be hostile and vengeful towards his family (including Sterndale's love), that this poison kills so efficiently and without leaving any traces Western medicine can detect. Sterndale tempted fate, and fate took the lure.

- This story shares several interesting parallels with Abbey Grange, which we just read last week. Another divorce prevented is another death prevented, and Holmes makes another deal to allow the freedom of another man he knows to be a killer.

- A few last random questions: Why does Holmes want this story told now, in 1910, in his retirement? Did something bring it up in his memory? Nightmares, perhaps? What was the "dramatic introduction" Holmes had with Dr. Agar? Several possibilities immediately come to mind: Agar as a client, Holmes as a patient, or maybe Watson as the patient involved. Any other ideas, perhaps in 60 word form?

Comment away, and join us next week for The Dancing Men!