Canon Discussion: The Norwood Builder
Aug. 16th, 2015 08:02 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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sherlock60This week we’re having a look at The Norwood Builder. I’ve typed up a few thoughts and questions to get the discussion going—please leave your own ideas in the comments!
"London has become a singularly uninteresting city since the death of the late lamented Professor Moriarty." Isn’t this a rather thoughtless thing for Holmes to be saying in front of the friend who thought—for three years—he’d died fighting Moriarty? And hasn’t Holmes undergone something of a sea change in his personality? In FINA he says: “I tell you, Watson, in all seriousness, that if I could beat that man, if I could free society of him, I should feel that my own career had reached its summit, and I should be prepared to turn to some more placid line in life. ...I could continue to live in the quiet fashion which is most congenial to me, and to concentrate my attention upon my chemical researches.” Yet here he says: "The community is certainly the gainer, and no one the loser, save the poor out-of-work specialist, whose occupation has gone.” Holmes seems to have gone from someone who nobly strives against villains for the sake of his community, to someone who enjoys having villains around for the intellectual challenge.
...I, at his request, had sold my practice and returned to share the old quarters in Baker Street. There’s surely a bigger story behind this simple statement. Watson is giving up his former marital home and his business at Holmes’ request. Any thoughts?
...an incident which only explained itself some years later when I found that Verner was a distant relation of Holmes's… Any thoughts on how Watson eventually found out that Verner was related to Holmes? And how he felt about Holmes supplying the money? The fact that Holmes keeps the information to himself, suggests that he thought Watson might be uncomfortable with the situation. Perhaps he simply didn’t want Watson to feel beholden to him.
...the case of the papers of Ex-President Murillo, and also the shocking affair of the Dutch steamship Friesland… Any thoughts on these cases? The former may be a reference to a case that Watson does eventually write up, though the details are a little different.
...he bound me in the most stringent terms to say no further word of himself, his methods, or his successes—a prohibition which, as I have explained, has only now been removed. It is a bit odd that Holmes doesn’t allow Watson to write about him for nine years. And how does John Hector McFarlane know that Holmes is alive and taking cases when the wider public doesn’t? And also why does Holmes eventually remove the prohibition and allow Watson to start publishing again?
“His name was familiar to me, for many years ago my parents were acquainted with him…” I wonder in what circumstances Oldacre’s name came up. McFarlane’s parents have mentioned Oldacre enough for their son to be familiar with the name, yet they have managed to give him no idea of the man’s character and their dislike of him.
He was a strange little, ferret-like man…” I can’t help but notice that Watson and McFarlane both bear the name and initial John H., and both have a tendency to compare people with ferrets…
...she produced a photograph of a woman, shamefully defaced and mutilated with a knife. I wonder why Mrs. McFarlane kept this disturbing momento.
"He was able to fix up his own little hiding-place without any confederate…” Was it a brilliant idea to hide in the house, or was it a really daft idea? Was it best to lie low until the fuss died down, or would it have been better for Oldacre to have run away the night he was “murdered”?
Next Sunday, 23rd August, we’ll be having a look at The Dancing Men. Hope you can join us then.
PS Yesterday on LJ there was a general attack of spam posting by bots. The bots were joining our comm in order to post and so![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
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"London has become a singularly uninteresting city since the death of the late lamented Professor Moriarty." Isn’t this a rather thoughtless thing for Holmes to be saying in front of the friend who thought—for three years—he’d died fighting Moriarty? And hasn’t Holmes undergone something of a sea change in his personality? In FINA he says: “I tell you, Watson, in all seriousness, that if I could beat that man, if I could free society of him, I should feel that my own career had reached its summit, and I should be prepared to turn to some more placid line in life. ...I could continue to live in the quiet fashion which is most congenial to me, and to concentrate my attention upon my chemical researches.” Yet here he says: "The community is certainly the gainer, and no one the loser, save the poor out-of-work specialist, whose occupation has gone.” Holmes seems to have gone from someone who nobly strives against villains for the sake of his community, to someone who enjoys having villains around for the intellectual challenge.
...I, at his request, had sold my practice and returned to share the old quarters in Baker Street. There’s surely a bigger story behind this simple statement. Watson is giving up his former marital home and his business at Holmes’ request. Any thoughts?
...an incident which only explained itself some years later when I found that Verner was a distant relation of Holmes's… Any thoughts on how Watson eventually found out that Verner was related to Holmes? And how he felt about Holmes supplying the money? The fact that Holmes keeps the information to himself, suggests that he thought Watson might be uncomfortable with the situation. Perhaps he simply didn’t want Watson to feel beholden to him.
...the case of the papers of Ex-President Murillo, and also the shocking affair of the Dutch steamship Friesland… Any thoughts on these cases? The former may be a reference to a case that Watson does eventually write up, though the details are a little different.
...he bound me in the most stringent terms to say no further word of himself, his methods, or his successes—a prohibition which, as I have explained, has only now been removed. It is a bit odd that Holmes doesn’t allow Watson to write about him for nine years. And how does John Hector McFarlane know that Holmes is alive and taking cases when the wider public doesn’t? And also why does Holmes eventually remove the prohibition and allow Watson to start publishing again?
“His name was familiar to me, for many years ago my parents were acquainted with him…” I wonder in what circumstances Oldacre’s name came up. McFarlane’s parents have mentioned Oldacre enough for their son to be familiar with the name, yet they have managed to give him no idea of the man’s character and their dislike of him.
He was a strange little, ferret-like man…” I can’t help but notice that Watson and McFarlane both bear the name and initial John H., and both have a tendency to compare people with ferrets…
...she produced a photograph of a woman, shamefully defaced and mutilated with a knife. I wonder why Mrs. McFarlane kept this disturbing momento.
"He was able to fix up his own little hiding-place without any confederate…” Was it a brilliant idea to hide in the house, or was it a really daft idea? Was it best to lie low until the fuss died down, or would it have been better for Oldacre to have run away the night he was “murdered”?
Next Sunday, 23rd August, we’ll be having a look at The Dancing Men. Hope you can join us then.
PS Yesterday on LJ there was a general attack of spam posting by bots. The bots were joining our comm in order to post and so
sherlock60 has switched from open membership to moderated membership to avoid getting spammed in that way again. Please rest assured though that any requests to join will be processed as quickly as possible—usually within 24 hours. 
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Date: 2015-08-16 04:20 pm (UTC)And, perhaps inevitably, I have had thoughts about the: Dutch steamship Friesland (http://watsons-woes.livejournal.com/1261972.html)
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Date: 2015-08-16 06:50 pm (UTC)Yes, I remember that story. They were very good thoughts indeed ^_^