Canon Discussion: The Stock-broker's Clerk

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

This week we’re looking at The Stock-broker’s Clerk. I have typed up a few thoughts to get the discussion going.

"I do my neighbour's when he goes. He is always ready to work off the debt." "Your neighbour is a doctor," said he, nodding at the brass plate.

Holmes doesn’t notice the neighbour’s brass plate going into Watson’s property, and then two minutes after Watson has said his neighbour will mind his practice, Holmes has apparently forgotten the neighbour is a doctor. All this is perhaps evidence that Holmes doesn’t observe everything automatically and involuntarily – he chooses what to pay attention to. If something is classed as unimportant, he just doesn’t bother taking it in. He knows that Watson has to have some way of escaping his practice for the day, but the specifics don’t matter. So Holmes simply stops listening. However, Watson’s health is important to Holmes – hence the deduction involving the slippers. (Or perhaps it’s just showing off to Watson that’s important…)

The New Annotated points out that it seems strange that Watson already has a routine set up with his neighbour for standing in for each other. “He is always ready…” It’s unlikely Watson has taken many days off in just three months. Is he perhaps exaggerating the situation? Keen to have an adventure and worried that Holmes won’t let him come, if the detective suspects he’s putting Watson’s livelihood at risk.

"Ah! Then you got hold of the best of the two." It’s always puzzled me a little, this bit. Surely with two practices side-by-side the only difference can be the doctors running them. And we know that Mr Farquhar had been losing patients. It may have been the better practice in the past – hence the worn down steps – but can there be anything innate in the practice that gives it an advantage, despite the doctor?

I’ve been having a look at the previous 60s for STOC. This story makes the excellent point that there must have been a third person involved (an inside man at Mawson’s), or how else could “Pinner” have found out about Pycroft and his new position at Mawson & Williams's? And this story makes the rather sweet suggestion that Pycroft’s moustache may have prompted Holmes to think of Watson and decide to fetch him on the way. After all, there doesn’t seem to be any compelling reason for Holmes to take Watson with him. Admittedly, Watson’s medical skills are eventually needed but Holmes isn’t anticipating an attempted suicide. He doesn’t anticipate it even seconds before the attempted suicide occurs.

"Well," said he, "the fact is that I have heard some really extraordinary stories about your financial ability. You remember Parker, who used to be Coxon's manager? He can never say enough about it." Is it possible that Pinner has spoken to Parker, and this is how the plot suggested itself? Mawson’s have perhaps contacted Parker to ask him about Pycroft’s character and abilities, so he knows where the young man is going to be working, and in some way he’s innocently given this information to Pinner. It is unlikely I suppose, as Pycroft is approached so soon after getting the letter confirming his appointment. Someone on the inside at Mawson’s does seem more probable.

…with a touch of the Sheeny about his nose. Not very comfortable with this particular description. Though I suppose Pycroft (and ACD) aren’t truly being anti-Semitic.

"And you can come up to-morrow evening, at seven, and let me know how you are getting on. The New Annotated makes the point that Holmes is wasting time by travelling to Birmingham immediately, first thing in the morning. He can’t do anything there until the evening – it might have been more sensible to have begun his enquiries at Mawson’s.

I wonder what becomes of poor Pycroft. I can’t see Mawson’s taking him on after all this. He has done nothing wrong of course, but he was indirectly part of the plot that led to one of their employees being murdered. If he had formally tended his resignation, or simply refused the too good to be true offer, the plot would have fallen apart.

Next Sunday, 19th Jan, we’re delving into Holmes’ past with The "Gloria Scott". Hope to see you then.

Comments

[tweedisgood.livejournal.com]

About doctor's practices: ACD's own early experience trying to set up in practice as a new GP showed him that the *historic reputation* of an existing practice was very important - and that that of an established one tended to be strong whatever the actual quality of the treatment. Personal connections meant a lot more than skill, unsurprising given that there was little effective in practice that Victorian doctors could do for their patients for many illnesses beyond diagnosis and palliatives.
People therefore tended to attend the same practice for years, and only gradually moved to an alternative.

Compare Percy Trevelyan - no money, no swish office, no established connections, and all the skill in the world wasn't enough to bring in patients.

And I am afraid both Pycroft and ACD *were* very much being anti-Semitic, in that underhand, sneery way that is still too common in Britain - largely out of jealousy towards rich and successful members of the Jewish community.

These stories were written in the 19th century. Overt racism was acceptable then in a way it isn't now (but even so, you still see it), and overt racism is scattered all over them. ACD was racist. We can't avoid it, indeed it would have been astonishing if he wasn't. OTOH he exhibited some self-awareness that this was the case, and tried to strive for fairness in his personal dealings.

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

Thank you so, so much for taking the time to leave such a thorough comment. (I know very little about Victorian times, as is probably apparent.) Your explanation has helped me a lot.

I suppose I don't like to think of ACD being anti-Semitic - I've got some Jewish ancestry myself. (Though I don't think of myself as Jewish, it's doubtful Jewish people would think of me as Jewish, and there isn't a rabbi in the world who would accept me as a Jew ^^) I'm reading Arthur Conan Doyle: a life in letters, and I have to admit I was rather shocked by his attitude to a black man and especially to a black woman. But then he meets Henry Highland Garnett, and does acknowledge his intelligence, wisdom and learning.

[tweedisgood.livejournal.com]

That's a great book, nothing like the words of the man himself, not intended for publication and really just to justify himself to The Mam. However much we might like to see out heroes as like ourselves, when you think about it, it's not that likely, and especially so at a hundred-plus year's distance.

We are "hard-wired" to notice difference and prefer the familiar, it's up to our conscious brain and social consensus to *decide* to embrace diversity rather than shun it. I see Doyle as, to the extent he could given all kinds of social pressures against it, sometimes trying to do that. He can be horribly classist and sexist as well, but as I say above, it would be very odd if he weren't.

I'm afraid I have little patience with the sort of prim 'keep my pure hands clean' attitude I have seen once or twice amongst those coming to the canon for the first time (usually from BBC Sherlock, which is hardly one to emulate in many respects in those areas) "oh, thank you for telling me it's racist, shudder, I won't read it now". Please learn some history, chummy, would be my response.

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

I've read Mastermind: How To Think Like Sherlock Holmes by Maria Konnikova, which mentions a test used to measure unconscious bias. Those people who were more aware they had a bias (I think it was doctors she mentioned specifically), went on to treat people more fairly than those who stated they had no bias. As you say, it's not your instincts that are important, it's how you actually behave with people.

I'm a mature woman - I have no illusions about having biases myself. I'm not a perfect person - nobody is. Throughout history I think human beings remain the same. We're not getting better; we're not getting worse. We're always shaped by external circumstances and the society we live in. I may be uncomfortable with some of ACD's attitudes but I would never be put off reading his work and admiring him.

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

Just adding my thanks for your informative amd interesting comment. I admit I always thought it was more Hall Pycroft than Holmes and Doyle, which shows my biases.

[tweedisgood.livejournal.com]

Thanks. It's sometimes hard to face the faults in people and things we love.

[vaysh]

I joined the community a couple of days ago (following a Snowflake Challenge rec by nathaniel_hp) and wanted to say 'Hi'. What a pleasure to have stumble into this comm. I've always meant to read the short stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, and what a perfect opportunity to do it on a weekly basis, in the company of others, and with the added thrill to be reading and writing drabbles about the stories. So thank you for creating this community and keeping it alive.

As for STOC: I was wondering, too, why Holmes chose this case of all cases to bring Watson back in.

English is not my mother tongue, and while I guessed at the meaning of Sheeny I didn't know for sure. I found this blog post on the etymology of the racial slur quite fascinating.

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

*waves* Delighted that you have joined the community and that you have started to write drabbles for it. You are very welcome.

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

We're so pleased to have you! I was being pessimistic last week - saying we wouldn't get any more members. I'm so happy to have been proved wrong ^^ I haven't been here long either (since August). Thank you for joining in and helping to keep the comm going.

I think the use of "Sheeny" in Britain may have died out (though there have probably been many slurs replacing it, unfortunately). That is a very interesting blog post - I do find etymology fascinating myself.

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

The whole timing of the episode seems off - Holmes basically chats with Watson, before telling him that the client is waiting in the cab; and then they hurtle off to Birmingham, on a journey which takes no longer then than it does now, before spending hours doing something until they can meet Pycroft's employer. Either that or Watson has the same effect on trains that I have and Holmes was expecting major delays.

As for standing in for his neighbour: maybe the neighbour has had to get Watson to cover for him on a number of occasions in the past three months, which would leave him glad to reciprocate.

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

I didn't think about that - Holmes calmly chats to Watson, only telling him at the end of the conversation that the client is waiting. It's as though poor Pycroft suddenly springs into existence when the plot needs him ^^ (And you must only use your superpower of train delays for good :P)

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

Thank you for this post.

I'm afraid I agree with you about Hall Pycroft. In such a tight job market, I don't know what he'd do with even a mild black mark against him. I thought Mawson's would feel quite vindictive, and that would be another murder the brothers were guilty of: but we can hope tripleransom's 60 ( http://sherlock60.livejournal.com/230606.html ) is truer.

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

I do feel pessimistic about Pycroft's chances but I hope he did get the happy ending tripleransom gave him. He seems a positive chap though - I'm sure he'd survive one way or another.