Canon Discussion: The Engineer's Thumb
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sherlock60This week we’re having a look at The Engineer’s Thumb. As always, I’ve typed up a few thoughts to get the discussion underway.
…Colonel Warburton's madness. Any thoughts on the poor Colonel?
It was in the summer of '89, not long after my marriage… I continually visited [Holmes] and occasionally even persuaded him to forgo his Bohemian habits so far as to come and visit us. Like a lot of men, Watson appears to have some difficulty pinning down when he got married. In SCAN, he refers to visiting Holmes in March 1888, which he tells us was after his marriage. Though admittedly he tells us in SIGN that he didn’t meet Miss Morstan until September 1888. And it’s odd that in this story he states he’s continually visiting Holmes but in SCAN he says: I had seen little of Holmes lately. My marriage had drifted us away from each other.
I do like having this glimpse into Watson’s home life. (It’s unfortunate circumstances for Hatherley, I agree.) I suppose it would become boring if we lingered too long, but it is interesting to see what Watson’s life is like away from Holmes. (Even though once again poor Mrs. Watson hardly gets a look in.)
“Why should I slink away without having carried out my commission, and without the payment which was my due? This woman might, for all I knew, be a monomaniac.” To be honest, I do rather sympathise with Hatherley. He knows this situation is all wrong—his gut is telling him he’s in danger, even before the woman warns him. But he’s a young man, which makes him bold. And he’s desperate for the money. I can understand him wanting everything to be all right and overriding his own common sense.
“Then it flashed through my mind that the pain of my death would depend very much upon the position in which I met it.” The horror of this part—Hatherley considering his own death—has really stuck in my mind from the first time I read this story many years ago. The calm way he relates his thoughts on his potential choices…
“If she were ill-used, then at any risks I was determined to go back to her assistance.” I wonder what Elise’s situation is. She wants to save Hatherley and is afraid of being caught by Stark but that doesn’t necessarily means that she doesn’t want to stay with him. But perhaps she feels she has no choice.
He placed his finger in the centre of the circle. "This is where we shall find them." I love this part. It’s such neat bit of deduction from Holmes. And the set-up feels rather like a fairy tale: each man choosing to go in a different direction before Holmes comes up with the solution. I feel a bit sorry for the plains-clothes man though—only there to make up numbers and he doesn’t even get a name.
And Holmes's fears came to be realised, for from that day to this no word has ever been heard either of the beautiful woman, the sinister German, or the morose Englishman. The ending is teetering on being unsatisfying. The criminals get away—with their fake coins too. And what happens to Victor Hatherley? Does his business ever take off? It’s not as though he’s a physical labourer but surely losing a thumb would still handicap him somewhat.
Next Sunday, 24th August, we’ll be having a look at The Noble Bachelor. Hope you can join us then.
…Colonel Warburton's madness. Any thoughts on the poor Colonel?
It was in the summer of '89, not long after my marriage… I continually visited [Holmes] and occasionally even persuaded him to forgo his Bohemian habits so far as to come and visit us. Like a lot of men, Watson appears to have some difficulty pinning down when he got married. In SCAN, he refers to visiting Holmes in March 1888, which he tells us was after his marriage. Though admittedly he tells us in SIGN that he didn’t meet Miss Morstan until September 1888. And it’s odd that in this story he states he’s continually visiting Holmes but in SCAN he says: I had seen little of Holmes lately. My marriage had drifted us away from each other.
I do like having this glimpse into Watson’s home life. (It’s unfortunate circumstances for Hatherley, I agree.) I suppose it would become boring if we lingered too long, but it is interesting to see what Watson’s life is like away from Holmes. (Even though once again poor Mrs. Watson hardly gets a look in.)
“Why should I slink away without having carried out my commission, and without the payment which was my due? This woman might, for all I knew, be a monomaniac.” To be honest, I do rather sympathise with Hatherley. He knows this situation is all wrong—his gut is telling him he’s in danger, even before the woman warns him. But he’s a young man, which makes him bold. And he’s desperate for the money. I can understand him wanting everything to be all right and overriding his own common sense.
“Then it flashed through my mind that the pain of my death would depend very much upon the position in which I met it.” The horror of this part—Hatherley considering his own death—has really stuck in my mind from the first time I read this story many years ago. The calm way he relates his thoughts on his potential choices…
“If she were ill-used, then at any risks I was determined to go back to her assistance.” I wonder what Elise’s situation is. She wants to save Hatherley and is afraid of being caught by Stark but that doesn’t necessarily means that she doesn’t want to stay with him. But perhaps she feels she has no choice.
He placed his finger in the centre of the circle. "This is where we shall find them." I love this part. It’s such neat bit of deduction from Holmes. And the set-up feels rather like a fairy tale: each man choosing to go in a different direction before Holmes comes up with the solution. I feel a bit sorry for the plains-clothes man though—only there to make up numbers and he doesn’t even get a name.
And Holmes's fears came to be realised, for from that day to this no word has ever been heard either of the beautiful woman, the sinister German, or the morose Englishman. The ending is teetering on being unsatisfying. The criminals get away—with their fake coins too. And what happens to Victor Hatherley? Does his business ever take off? It’s not as though he’s a physical labourer but surely losing a thumb would still handicap him somewhat.
Next Sunday, 24th August, we’ll be having a look at The Noble Bachelor. Hope you can join us then.
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