A Scandal in Bohemia
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victorian221bHere are some notes I jotted down while re-reading SCAN:
1) “One night—it was on the twentieth of March, 1888”
Watson dates the beginning of the case as March 20, 1888, by which time he is already married and back in practice. This is the first discrepancy regarding Watson’s marriage since in SIGN he meets Mary Morstan in September of 1888 (“It was a September evening, and not yet seven o'clock”, “He disappeared upon the 3d of December, 1878,—nearly ten years ago.”)
2) “alternating from week to week between cocaine and ambition, the drowsiness of the drug, and the fierce energy of his own keen nature”
The second canon reference to Holmes’s drug use and possible bipolar condition
3) “of his summons to Odessa in the case of the Trepoff murder”
Dmitri Feodorovich Trepov (transliterated at the time as Trepoff) (15 December 1850 – 15 September 1906) was Head of Moscow police. Perhaps ACD read of him in newspapers and remembered the name.
4) “To me, who knew his every mood and habit, his attitude and manner told their own story”
While Watson presents Holmes’s ability to read him as something miraculous, he actually does the same to Holmes.
5) "he waved me to an armchair, threw across his case of cigars, and indicated a spirit case and a gasogene in the corner."
The gasogene is a Victorian era device used to create carbonated water, sparkling wines, lemonades and "other saccharine drinks." They provided an at-home solution for creating seltzer and no self-respecting Victorian gentleman's cabinet would be complete without one. The wicker sleeve around the gasogene not only served as ornamentation but also as a safety precaution. It was not uncommon for gasogenes to burst under pressure and the wicker sleeve helped to prevent glass fragments from being scattered about! (empireadvance.ca)
6) "It came by the last post," said he. "Read it aloud."
The very first canon short story establishes the arrangement at 221b Baker Street: Watson reads aloud correspondence, newspapers, etc. Also, in this story Holmes utters such memorable phrases as "I am lost without my Boswell" and "It is both or none."
7) “You are right,” he cried; “I am the King. Why should I attempt to conceal it?”
There are various speculations as to who could be hidden under the guise of the King of Bohemia. The last king of Bohemia, Mathias died in 1611. So the King of Bohemia is either pure fiction or based on another royal subject. Could it be His Royal Highness Albert Edward - Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII of Great Britain), who had an affair with Lily Langtry, an actress? Or could it be Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich Romanov of Russia? Or maybe even Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, whose assassination became a formal cause of WWI in 1914? (victorianvisualculture.blog, shoso.ninja-web.net)
8) "Kindly look her up in my index, Doctor"
In the time before Google it must have been a tremendous effort to keep indexes and update them. In the opening scenes of FIVE and BRUCE Holmes does precisely that, by the way.
9) "Accustomed as I was to my friend's amazing powers in the use of disguises, I had to look three times before I was certain that it was indeed he."
Here it is established that Watson can actually recognise Holmes in his disguises. What if it was so on other occasions too? Except, perhaps, EMPT, when Watson wasn't expecting to see Holmes.
10) "Well, really!" he cried, and then he choked and laughed again until he was obliged to lie back, limp and helpless, in the chair.
So much for the cold, unemotional reasoner which Watson tries to paint in the beginning of the story. Not only is Watson an unreliable narrator, he is also very clever, teaching his audience to pay attention not to his statements, but rather to the things he shows and describes. Re: the recent news about the Conan Doyle Estate suing Netflix for giving Holmes too many feelings.
11) “It was twenty-five minutes to twelve, and of course it was clear enough what was in the wind... “‘Come, man, come, only three minutes, or it won't be legal.”
There is a post in this comm about it. An abridged version:
1) “One night—it was on the twentieth of March, 1888”
Watson dates the beginning of the case as March 20, 1888, by which time he is already married and back in practice. This is the first discrepancy regarding Watson’s marriage since in SIGN he meets Mary Morstan in September of 1888 (“It was a September evening, and not yet seven o'clock”, “He disappeared upon the 3d of December, 1878,—nearly ten years ago.”)
2) “alternating from week to week between cocaine and ambition, the drowsiness of the drug, and the fierce energy of his own keen nature”
The second canon reference to Holmes’s drug use and possible bipolar condition
3) “of his summons to Odessa in the case of the Trepoff murder”
Dmitri Feodorovich Trepov (transliterated at the time as Trepoff) (15 December 1850 – 15 September 1906) was Head of Moscow police. Perhaps ACD read of him in newspapers and remembered the name.
4) “To me, who knew his every mood and habit, his attitude and manner told their own story”
While Watson presents Holmes’s ability to read him as something miraculous, he actually does the same to Holmes.
5) "he waved me to an armchair, threw across his case of cigars, and indicated a spirit case and a gasogene in the corner."
The gasogene is a Victorian era device used to create carbonated water, sparkling wines, lemonades and "other saccharine drinks." They provided an at-home solution for creating seltzer and no self-respecting Victorian gentleman's cabinet would be complete without one. The wicker sleeve around the gasogene not only served as ornamentation but also as a safety precaution. It was not uncommon for gasogenes to burst under pressure and the wicker sleeve helped to prevent glass fragments from being scattered about! (empireadvance.ca)
6) "It came by the last post," said he. "Read it aloud."
The very first canon short story establishes the arrangement at 221b Baker Street: Watson reads aloud correspondence, newspapers, etc. Also, in this story Holmes utters such memorable phrases as "I am lost without my Boswell" and "It is both or none."
7) “You are right,” he cried; “I am the King. Why should I attempt to conceal it?”
There are various speculations as to who could be hidden under the guise of the King of Bohemia. The last king of Bohemia, Mathias died in 1611. So the King of Bohemia is either pure fiction or based on another royal subject. Could it be His Royal Highness Albert Edward - Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII of Great Britain), who had an affair with Lily Langtry, an actress? Or could it be Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich Romanov of Russia? Or maybe even Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, whose assassination became a formal cause of WWI in 1914? (victorianvisualculture.blog, shoso.ninja-web.net)
8) "Kindly look her up in my index, Doctor"
In the time before Google it must have been a tremendous effort to keep indexes and update them. In the opening scenes of FIVE and BRUCE Holmes does precisely that, by the way.
9) "Accustomed as I was to my friend's amazing powers in the use of disguises, I had to look three times before I was certain that it was indeed he."
Here it is established that Watson can actually recognise Holmes in his disguises. What if it was so on other occasions too? Except, perhaps, EMPT, when Watson wasn't expecting to see Holmes.
10) "Well, really!" he cried, and then he choked and laughed again until he was obliged to lie back, limp and helpless, in the chair.
So much for the cold, unemotional reasoner which Watson tries to paint in the beginning of the story. Not only is Watson an unreliable narrator, he is also very clever, teaching his audience to pay attention not to his statements, but rather to the things he shows and describes. Re: the recent news about the Conan Doyle Estate suing Netflix for giving Holmes too many feelings.
11) “It was twenty-five minutes to twelve, and of course it was clear enough what was in the wind... “‘Come, man, come, only three minutes, or it won't be legal.”
There is a post in this comm about it. An abridged version:
Prior to 1886 the permitted hours during which marriages might be solemnized were between eight o'clock and twelve o'clock... When the Bill of 1886 [The Marriages Act 1886] was introduced it was originally proposed that the permitted hours should be extended from twelve o'clock to four o'clock in the afternoon. Subsequently, however, when the Bill was passing through Committee, it was considered better that the time during which marriages might take place should be limited more or less to daylight hours, and therefore three o'clock was substituted for four o'clock.
—MARRIAGE (EXTENSION OF HOURS) BILL. (1934) 12) "Some cold beef and a glass of beer"
Holmes is established as a drinker of beer. Another curious detail that he does eat without Watson prompting him to do so which means that Holmes doesn't always starve himself while on a case. Sometimes he just forgets about food. Thankfully, Watson is there to remind him when necessary.
13) "When Mrs. Turner has brought in the tray I will make it clear to you."
If ACD forgot Watson's name, it's no wonder that Mrs. Hudson turned into Mrs. Turner. It turns out the same nearly happened in EMPT (the fragment of the manuscript is taken from this tumblr post):
14) "His broad black hat, his baggy trousers, his white tie, his sympathetic smile, and general look of peering and benevolent curiosity were such as Mr. John Hare alone could have equalled."
John Hare (1844-1921) was an actor and theatre manager. To the right is Sidney Paget's illustration of Holmes in disguise.
15) "I never felt more heartily ashamed of myself in my life than when I saw the beautiful creature against whom I was conspiring, or the grace and kindliness with which she waited upon the injured man. And yet it would be the blackest treachery to Holmes to draw back now from the part which he had intrusted to me."
In other words, Watson was quite taken with Irene, but his loyalty to Holmes was stronger.
16) "The King may do what he will without hindrance from one whom he has cruelly wronged. I keep it only to safeguard myself, and to preserve a weapon which will always secure me from any steps which he might take in the future."
So here we see quite another picture from what the King presented in the beginning. It was not Irene who was a threat to him but vice versa, and it seems that the King hunted down Irene out of fear and malice rather than a direct threat from her. He lied to Holmes and mistreated a lady. No wonder Holmes was disgusted with the King to the point he didn't shake the King's hand in the end.
Another curious point is that Irene describes Holmes as "the celebrated Mr. Sherlock Holmes" which means that Holmes is already famous by that time, having established his practice successfully (perhaps not without the help of Watson's two novels). As it was already mentioned, the real date of the case must have been before 1886. Also, the King asked for absolute secrecy for two years. Watson obviously told the story with the changed names and date, and perhaps his saying that Irene was dead served the same purpose? I certainly have a headcanon that the fabulous adventuress remained alive and well, enjoying the marital bliss with Godfrey Norton because come on, she deserved it, and it was a lousy move from ACD to kill her off.
But Watson dates SCAN as 1888, so clearly Irene and Godfrey wouldn’t have had this problem then? So it means that the events of SCAN actually took place before 1886? Perhaps it was one of Holmes’s earlier cases which became his major breakthrough along with helping the royal family of Holland. After that he received the status of elite, and it ensured the flow of wealthy, upperclass clients.
Holmes is established as a drinker of beer. Another curious detail that he does eat without Watson prompting him to do so which means that Holmes doesn't always starve himself while on a case. Sometimes he just forgets about food. Thankfully, Watson is there to remind him when necessary.
13) "When Mrs. Turner has brought in the tray I will make it clear to you."
If ACD forgot Watson's name, it's no wonder that Mrs. Hudson turned into Mrs. Turner. It turns out the same nearly happened in EMPT (the fragment of the manuscript is taken from this tumblr post):
14) "His broad black hat, his baggy trousers, his white tie, his sympathetic smile, and general look of peering and benevolent curiosity were such as Mr. John Hare alone could have equalled."
John Hare (1844-1921) was an actor and theatre manager. To the right is Sidney Paget's illustration of Holmes in disguise.
15) "I never felt more heartily ashamed of myself in my life than when I saw the beautiful creature against whom I was conspiring, or the grace and kindliness with which she waited upon the injured man. And yet it would be the blackest treachery to Holmes to draw back now from the part which he had intrusted to me."
In other words, Watson was quite taken with Irene, but his loyalty to Holmes was stronger.
16) "The King may do what he will without hindrance from one whom he has cruelly wronged. I keep it only to safeguard myself, and to preserve a weapon which will always secure me from any steps which he might take in the future."
So here we see quite another picture from what the King presented in the beginning. It was not Irene who was a threat to him but vice versa, and it seems that the King hunted down Irene out of fear and malice rather than a direct threat from her. He lied to Holmes and mistreated a lady. No wonder Holmes was disgusted with the King to the point he didn't shake the King's hand in the end.
Another curious point is that Irene describes Holmes as "the celebrated Mr. Sherlock Holmes" which means that Holmes is already famous by that time, having established his practice successfully (perhaps not without the help of Watson's two novels). As it was already mentioned, the real date of the case must have been before 1886. Also, the King asked for absolute secrecy for two years. Watson obviously told the story with the changed names and date, and perhaps his saying that Irene was dead served the same purpose? I certainly have a headcanon that the fabulous adventuress remained alive and well, enjoying the marital bliss with Godfrey Norton because come on, she deserved it, and it was a lousy move from ACD to kill her off.
no subject
Date: 2020-07-03 07:41 pm (UTC)The dating is curious, conflicting internally with Watson's marriage, but also the Church & state laws on when marriage could take place.
Watson the unreliable narrator must certainly take the blame for this, whilst externally it is perhaps a symbol of Doyle not caring enough for consistency - and in the latter re marriage laws perhaps Doyle mixing his dates?
I am reminded as you rightly point in 4) how well Watson can read Holmes, and indeed this off-hand comment of Watson's fits Holmes' own sentiment in a later canon tale, where he notes how much Watson downplays his talents for observation etc.
So far I am also amused that at the beginning Watson comments that emotions, in particular love, for Holmes were "abhorrent to his cold, precise but admirably balanced mind"...then proceeds to contradict that with numerous examples of Holmes' eagerness, passion & anger. :D
no subject
Date: 2020-07-04 04:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-07-05 04:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-07-04 04:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-07-03 09:38 pm (UTC)All of these are lovely... and I do hope the defending party in the lawsuit does a thorough literary take down of the idea.
no subject
Date: 2020-07-04 04:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-07-04 03:04 am (UTC)https://www.amazon.com/Annotated-Sherlock-Holmes-Fifty-Six-Complete/dp/0517502917
no subject
Date: 2020-07-04 04:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-07-05 05:40 pm (UTC)Re: ACD, I wonder. Did he really see Holmes as unemotional but subconsciously contradicted himself by writing a plethora of emotions into Holmes’s personality? Or did he prank everyone by insisting on this cold image while writing a complex character on purpose? One thing for sure, canon loses a lot of its appeal if everything is taken at face value, like ACD’s statements that Holmes was cold and Watson was stupid.
no subject
Date: 2020-07-06 02:18 pm (UTC)Re ACD, I honestly can't put my finger on whether it was intentional or a subconscious act on his part. Taken on face value his comments certainly would lessen the draw & impact of canon. Yet...canon contradicts ACD's comments regularly. Perhaps it would be safe to say that it is a mixture of both?
He intended Holmes to be cold & Wstson by comparison stupid, but when writing shows that this is false and if the reader observes - instead of merely seeing / accepting what is said (just like Holmes) - then it becomes obvious that Holmes is emotional and Watson clever.
Also, thinking about this...ACD'S relationship with Holmes was conflicted at best, perhaps how he perceived & wrote Holmes (cold vs holding affection & emotion) is part related to the mixed messages of canon?
no subject
Date: 2020-07-06 02:56 pm (UTC)