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sherlock60This week we’re having a look at the second half of The Sign of Four. As always, I’ve typed up a few thoughts to get the discussion started.
Chapter 7
After the angelic fashion of women… I have a theory that Watson has several sisters. He says in STUD that he has no relatives in England, and in SIGN he mentions his older brother. But he never explicitly says that his brother is his only sibling. He seems to get on so well with women that I think he must have grown up with sisters. (But then again, would any brother who has sisters, think of women as “angelic”?)
Yet there were two thoughts which sealed the words of affection upon my lips. I so admire Watson’s nobility in his feelings towards Miss Morstan. He always puts her first.
Chapter 8
“That wire was to my dirty little lieutenant, Wiggins…” I wonder where Holmes sends the telegram to? Watson describes the children as “street Arabs”, which does rather imply they’re homeless.
‘They are a fierce, morose, and intractable people, though capable of forming most devoted friendships when their confidence has once been gained.' (Hands up everyone who on reading that part thought: “Just like the British.”) The novel is of course of its time but the racism is rather discomforting.
Chapter 9
"Women are never to be entirely trusted — not the best of them." We have discussed Holmes’ attitude to women before. Here he is being straightforwardly misogynistic, and in DYIN Watson does talk about Holmes disliking and distrusting women. But. I don’t think there are any occasions when Holmes is unpleasant to a woman to her face—on the contrary, he often seems sympathetic towards women. I personally don’t believe he dislikes women. I think it’s simply the case that he had no sisters, was educated in a male environment, and as he doesn’t want to have romantic relationships with women, he hasn’t spent a lot of time around them as an adult either.
…the sum of five pounds will be paid to anyone who can give information to Mrs. Smith, at Smith's Wharf, or at 221B, Baker Street… it might be read by the fugitives without their seeing in it more than the natural anxiety of a wife for her missing husband. I do wonder about this advert in the Standard. Wouldn’t the fact that the Baker Street address was listed there have put Small and Tonga on their guard? It had been reported in the same paper earlier (in chap. 8) that Holmes and Watson had discovered Bartholomew Sholto’s body. Wouldn’t it look suspicious that “coincidentally” Holmes was apparently now helping Mrs. Smith to find her missing husband?
He was an aged man, clad in seafaring garb, with an old pea-jacket buttoned up to his throat. Oh, for heaven’s sake. Watson saw Holmes wearing these clothes for his disguise before Holmes left. The detective has now popped on his wig and whiskers and is doing his old man act, but surely Watson would recognise the clothes and the penny would drop fairly quickly?
“Watson, you have never yet recognized my merits as a housekeeper." [Insert joke about “malodorous” experiments and case notes taking over the sitting room here.]
Chapter 11
"Because I love you, Mary, as truly as ever a man loved a woman….” Whoever had lost a treasure, I knew that night that I had gained one. This is such a powerful scene. I was saying to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
thesmallhobbit how I can ship Holmes and Watson with the best of them, but you can’t deny the depth of feeling Watson has for Mary. Incidentally, it saddens me that Mary just drops out of the picture after this novel, becoming the shadowy “Mrs. Watson”. She’s so well drawn in SIGN but in the short stories she becomes more like Watson’s mother, waving him off to have ripping adventures with Holmes.
Chapter 12
'What have three black fellows to do with our agreement?' 'Black or blue,' said I, 'they are in with me, and we all go together.' "He was staunch and true, was little Tonga. No man ever had a more faithful mate. There’s a fair bit of Victorian racism in this story, so it’s heartening to see Small standing by his associates in this way—even if they aren’t particularly nice men.
“I think she is one of the most charming young ladies I ever met and might have been most useful in such work as we have been doing.” This is rather intriguing. If Watson hadn’t married her, would these have become the adventures of Holmes, Watson and Miss Morstan? Holmes doesn’t suggest in other cases (I think) that their clients might be useful in their future work.
“I get a wife out of it…” I wonder what Watson’s wedding was like. It would be very small and quiet I assume. I have always imagined Holmes declined to attend (for whatever reason) but Watson wasn’t offended by that.
Next Sunday, 13th July, we’re back to the short stories and we’ll be having a look at A Scandal in Bohemia. Hope you can join us then.
Chapter 7
After the angelic fashion of women… I have a theory that Watson has several sisters. He says in STUD that he has no relatives in England, and in SIGN he mentions his older brother. But he never explicitly says that his brother is his only sibling. He seems to get on so well with women that I think he must have grown up with sisters. (But then again, would any brother who has sisters, think of women as “angelic”?)
Yet there were two thoughts which sealed the words of affection upon my lips. I so admire Watson’s nobility in his feelings towards Miss Morstan. He always puts her first.
Chapter 8
“That wire was to my dirty little lieutenant, Wiggins…” I wonder where Holmes sends the telegram to? Watson describes the children as “street Arabs”, which does rather imply they’re homeless.
‘They are a fierce, morose, and intractable people, though capable of forming most devoted friendships when their confidence has once been gained.' (Hands up everyone who on reading that part thought: “Just like the British.”) The novel is of course of its time but the racism is rather discomforting.
Chapter 9
"Women are never to be entirely trusted — not the best of them." We have discussed Holmes’ attitude to women before. Here he is being straightforwardly misogynistic, and in DYIN Watson does talk about Holmes disliking and distrusting women. But. I don’t think there are any occasions when Holmes is unpleasant to a woman to her face—on the contrary, he often seems sympathetic towards women. I personally don’t believe he dislikes women. I think it’s simply the case that he had no sisters, was educated in a male environment, and as he doesn’t want to have romantic relationships with women, he hasn’t spent a lot of time around them as an adult either.
…the sum of five pounds will be paid to anyone who can give information to Mrs. Smith, at Smith's Wharf, or at 221B, Baker Street… it might be read by the fugitives without their seeing in it more than the natural anxiety of a wife for her missing husband. I do wonder about this advert in the Standard. Wouldn’t the fact that the Baker Street address was listed there have put Small and Tonga on their guard? It had been reported in the same paper earlier (in chap. 8) that Holmes and Watson had discovered Bartholomew Sholto’s body. Wouldn’t it look suspicious that “coincidentally” Holmes was apparently now helping Mrs. Smith to find her missing husband?
He was an aged man, clad in seafaring garb, with an old pea-jacket buttoned up to his throat. Oh, for heaven’s sake. Watson saw Holmes wearing these clothes for his disguise before Holmes left. The detective has now popped on his wig and whiskers and is doing his old man act, but surely Watson would recognise the clothes and the penny would drop fairly quickly?
“Watson, you have never yet recognized my merits as a housekeeper." [Insert joke about “malodorous” experiments and case notes taking over the sitting room here.]
Chapter 11
"Because I love you, Mary, as truly as ever a man loved a woman….” Whoever had lost a treasure, I knew that night that I had gained one. This is such a powerful scene. I was saying to
thesmallhobbit how I can ship Holmes and Watson with the best of them, but you can’t deny the depth of feeling Watson has for Mary. Incidentally, it saddens me that Mary just drops out of the picture after this novel, becoming the shadowy “Mrs. Watson”. She’s so well drawn in SIGN but in the short stories she becomes more like Watson’s mother, waving him off to have ripping adventures with Holmes.Chapter 12
'What have three black fellows to do with our agreement?' 'Black or blue,' said I, 'they are in with me, and we all go together.' "He was staunch and true, was little Tonga. No man ever had a more faithful mate. There’s a fair bit of Victorian racism in this story, so it’s heartening to see Small standing by his associates in this way—even if they aren’t particularly nice men.
“I think she is one of the most charming young ladies I ever met and might have been most useful in such work as we have been doing.” This is rather intriguing. If Watson hadn’t married her, would these have become the adventures of Holmes, Watson and Miss Morstan? Holmes doesn’t suggest in other cases (I think) that their clients might be useful in their future work.
“I get a wife out of it…” I wonder what Watson’s wedding was like. It would be very small and quiet I assume. I have always imagined Holmes declined to attend (for whatever reason) but Watson wasn’t offended by that.
Next Sunday, 13th July, we’re back to the short stories and we’ll be having a look at A Scandal in Bohemia. Hope you can join us then.
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no subject
Date: 2014-07-06 11:25 am (UTC)I always assume that there's a convenient post office where telegrams to Wiggins are sent and that the message goes out to him that one has arrived.
no subject
Date: 2014-07-06 01:11 pm (UTC)And that's a good thought about the telegram waiting for Wiggins at the Post Office.
no subject
Date: 2014-07-06 11:17 pm (UTC)re wedding: I think it would have been too unfriendly for Holmes not to attend, however sorry he was to lose Watson's companionship.
Myself, I don't see the Watson wedding as very small. Mrs Forrester would see to that, and do most of the work. All Baker Street would have to do would be to provide the groom, best man and best ocelot.
no subject
Date: 2014-07-07 02:09 pm (UTC)I see Holmes not attending, not because he was upset about Watson moving out but simply because he didn't want to take part in a social gathering. I'm sure he would have wished the couple well and I think Watson would have understood.
And that's a very nice thought that Mrs. Forrester may have arranged the wedding. She did seem very fond of Mary. I'm not sure though that it could ever have been a big wedding. Neither bride nor groom seems to have any relatives or many friends in the UK.