Canon Discussion: The Red-headed League

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

This week we’re having a look at The Red-headed League. As usual, I’ve typed up a few thoughts to get the discussion started.

I had called upon my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, one day in the autumn of last year… As Wikipedia points out, Watson gets quite confused with his dates in this story. We start in autumn and then go to summer: “It is The Morning Chronicle, of April 27, 1890. Just two months ago.” And then back we go to autumn: ”I went to my work as usual at ten o'clock… ‘The Red-Headed League is Dissolved. Oct. 9, 1890.’” Any ideas as to how to explain the discrepancy?

Our visitor bore every mark of being an average commonplace British tradesman, obese, pompous, and slow. Oh, dear – has the Watson household been having some trouble with tradesmen? That’s a damning portrait. Watson is perhaps being a little pompous himself. I do like the fact that ACD allows us to have some sympathy with Jabez Wilson. He’s been a fool but hardly a greedy fool—just trying to keep his head above water really.

Sherlock Holmes and I surveyed this curt announcement and the rueful face behind it, until the comical side of the affair so completely overtopped every other consideration that we both burst out into a roar of laughter. This is such an endearing moment (though demonstrating rather bad manners, it has to be said…). As I said in last week’s discussion, Holmes doesn’t seem to have mastered that “cold mask” yet. It’s rather a poignant thought that as he gets older he learns to keep his emotions hidden more.

“…it was a manufactory of artificial knee-caps…” Some time ago I was disappointed to find out that the reference is to knee protectors for horses. This website has a photograph.

“Has a white splash of acid upon his forehead.” Any thoughts as to how “Vincent Spaulding” got the acid mark on his forehead? An attack from an enemy?

“I have nothing to do to-day. My practice is never very absorbing.” I wonder where Mrs. Watson is, and what she’s doing. “You want to go home, no doubt, Doctor,” he remarked, as we emerged. “Yes, it would be as well.” Watson doesn’t seem champing at the bit to go home. And he doesn’t foresee any problem about leaving again to go on a night-time adventure. I wonder if Mrs. Watson is away, visiting friends. Holmes never asks after her, which suggests he knows Watson hasn’t seen her recently.

“Great Scott! Jump, Archie, jump, and I'll swing for it!” This one line does allow me to have some sympathy with Clay. Makes him a three-dimensional person, rather than simply a baddie. It’s rather noble in a sense, wanting a friend to escape, even when it’s too late for yourself.

“Had there been women in the house, I should have suspected a mere vulgar intrigue. That, however, was out of the question.” Does this perhaps demonstrate that Holmes has a rather innocent worldview in some areas? It’s not “out of the question” that a 14 year old girl living away from her family would attract male attention, even to the point of a man taking a job to be in the same household as her. That isn’t what happened here but it surely isn’t something that could be immediately discarded.

“‘L'homme c'est rien—l'œuvre c'est tout,’ as Gustave Flaubert wrote to Georges Sand.” Holmes does seem to be demonstrating an interest in literature here, despite Watson’s list in STUD…

Next Sunday, 29th June, we’ll be looking at chapters 1-6 of The Sign of Four. Hope you can join us for that!

Comments

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

I suspect a fourteen year old girl would have been easy enough to contact if Spaulding had been so inclined, without having to go to all the trouble of taking a badly paid job. Or equally, it wouldn't have taken him long before he chose to leave again. I imagine what Holmes was considering was if Wilson had had a wife or daughter.

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

That's an excellent point - it makes a lot of sense. If the woman was part of Wilson's family, she wouldn't easily be able to meet Clay outside of the home. I didn't think of that ^^"

the cold mask

[undonne.livejournal.com]

I think REDH was the first Holmes story I ever read, many years ago. I think it was a fortunate choice because the story lets you see both sides of Holmes (however deeply the other side is usually buried) both in the laughter and in Watson's description of Holmes listening to music.

Re: the cold mask

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

I think the part of the story about going to the concert puzzled me on my very first reading. Because it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the plot at all. But I think now ACD put it in to let us have Watson talking about Holmes' personality a little. Holmes is a complex but ultimately lovable man ^^

[vaysh]

I was very much intrigued by the artificial knee-caps, too, and almost write this week's drabble about them. :) Thank you for the revelation of what knee-caps actually are. I was also wholly intrigued by the Vegetarian Restaurant on Coburg Square. I knew there was a rather broad and active Vegetarian Movement at the end of the 19th century but I didn't realise there existed even vegetarian restaurants. :)

Like undonne I was struck with the sense of easy camaraderie between Watson and Holmes in this story, to the expense of Jabez Wilson to some degree. I have to admit though that my sympathies for Mr Wilson are not very high. :)

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

I think the New Annotated Sherlock Holmes does say that there was a shop nearby to the address that "William Morris" gives that sold prostheses (for humans). So the "artificial knee-caps" might not be knee protectors for horses...

I'm intrigued by the reference to the Vegetarian Restaurant too ^^ (Do Holmes and Watson have their sandwich and coffee there?) I tried to look up this specific restaurant but there appeared to be several vegetarian restaurants in London at this time. Which greatly surprised me. I'm a vegetarian myself - but for someone who was a British teenager in the '80s, this isn't really terribly unusual ^_^

Holmes and Watson do seem to be completely on the same wavelength in this story, don't they? It's rather lovely. And I do have a fair bit of sympathy for Wilson. He's a bit of a fool who's struggling through life rather. I suppose I see myself there - I can be a fool sometimes ^_^

[undonne.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm learning all sorts of interesting things I didn't know. I too was surprised by the idea of the vegetarian restaurant. Like vaysh I knew that there was an active vegetarian movement in both the U.S. and Britain at the time, but this made me curious about its roots. Turns out it was influenced by Swedenborgianism and separatist Protestant sects drawing on people like Jacob Boehme. Turns out there was even a vegetarian church, the Cowherdites, started by a Swedenborgian minister named Cowherd. So there was a church, a magazine, and restaurants. Who knew?

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

I've just been looking up Swedenborgianism, Jacob Boehme and the Cowherdites (what a wonderfully appropriate name ^^). It's fascinating - I didn't know about any of it. I certainly didn't know how (relatively) common vegetarianism was in Victorian times.

Thank you so much for letting me know about vegetarianism's roots, and pointing me in the right direction for further investigations ^^ This is what I love about the comm - not only seeing the stories from a new angle but learning more about the history behind them.

[undonne.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I loved "Cowherdites." When I first saw the name I was picturing a pastoral, cow-herding, dairy-loving group outside Stepney somewhere. Didn't realize it was a guy. :g: Of course the problem with all this is that there is an obvious pastiche just begging to be written, with Holmes and Watson having to investigate shenanigans in a Swedenborgian sect. Perhaps the Rev. Cowherd is trying to attract mystically inclined heiresses...

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

I'd love to see what you do with it ^^ The only thing is that readers would refuse to believe it was based on truth ^_^

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

Of the servant girl. I'm not an expert, but I have the impression that puberty was later in those days, especially in poorer and less well fed children.

I do hope Clay bribed her generously. There was probably an element of intimidation, but adding bribery would have been effective. After all, I suppose Wilson fired her for keeping Clay's secret.

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes - I have no doubt that the girl would be physically a child. But we know that doesn't always stop adults - then or now.

You make a very good point about the girl and Clay bribing her or intimidating her. After all, they go to all that trouble to get Wilson out of the house but the girl would still be there. How much did she know about what was going on?

If she didn't go down to the cellar then she wouldn't know about the actual digging. And I suppose if she's busy working in the house, cooking and cleaning, then she might be entirely unaware that Clay is deserting his post in the shop. It's possible that she had no idea there was any secret to keep.

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

That does seem very possible. I'm sure she could say so, anyway.

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

I suspect she had been brought up with the instructions that if it didn't actually concern her then she should keep out of it.