The Resident Patient
Jan. 29th, 2021 03:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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victorian221bThis time it will be a lengthy post as I'd like to go quote by quote. There are so many remarkable things!
- “I cannot be sure of the exact date, for some of my memoranda upon the matter have been mislaid, but it must have been towards the end of the first year during which Holmes and I shared chambers in Baker Street.”
Is Watson Holmes’s opposite in terms of papers? Holmes had a horror of losing/destroying his papers and thus hoarded them, whereas Watson mislaid his.
- “For three hours we strolled about together, watching the ever-changing kaleidoscope of life as it ebbs and flows through Fleet Street and the Strand. His characteristic talk, with its keen observance of detail and subtle power of inference held me amused and enthralled. It was ten o’clock before we reached Baker Street again.”
So Watson sits cooped up indoors the whole day because he isn’t sure the weather would be good for his health, but as soon as Holmes suggests a walk, Watson agrees, at 7 pm, when it must be colder? Wow.
Compare with this quote from YELL, where they have lived together for a few years:
“For two hours we rambled about together, in silence for the most part, as befits two men who know each other intimately.”
In RESI it’s their first year together and already they ramble about for THREE hours, Watson listening to Holmes spellbound.
- “I was sufficiently conversant with Holmes’s methods to be able to follow his reasoning,”
By the end of their first year together Watson is already “sufficiently conversant with Holmes’s methods”, a keen pupil, isn’t he?
- My favourite Paget illustration is from this story:
- “I followed Holmes into our sanctum.”
Our sanctum. Just think about the choice of words. Not to “our rooms” or “our flat” but “sanctum”, a safe, private place. And that’s just their first year together!
- “A pale, taper-faced man with sandy whiskers rose up from a chair by the fire as we entered. His age may not have been more than three or four and thirty, but his haggard expression and unhealthy hue told of a life which has sapped his strength and robbed him of his youth.”
Here ACD drops a clue he never picks up later on. Why is Dr. Trevelyan haggard? What does this is supposed to imply? Is working for Blessington that hard or emotionally taxing?
- “His manner was nervous and shy, like that of a sensitive gentleman, and the thin white hand which he laid on the mantelpiece as he rose was that of an artist rather than of a surgeon.”
And this looks very much like a queer-coded man.
- “I am a London University man”
The same alma mater as Watson’s
- Catalepsy (from Ancient Greek katálēpsis, κατάληψις, "seizing, grasping") is a nervous condition characterized by muscular rigidity and fixity of posture regardless of external stimuli, as well as decreased sensitivity to pain.
Also according to Wikipedia, it appears that catalepsy is often used as a plot device, by such renowned authors as Shakespeare and Poe, no less.
- How even Blessington found out about Trevelyan? Did he go around asking for brilliant but poor medical graduates?
- “It ended in my moving into the house next Lady-day,”
"In the Western liturgical year, Lady Day is the traditional name in some English-speaking countries of the Feast of the Annunciation, which is celebrated on 25 March, and commemorates the visit of the archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, during which he informed her that she would be the mother of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." - Didn’t know that.
- “I made notes of my patient’s pulse and temperature, tested the rigidity of his muscles, and examined his reflexes.”
And yet Trevelyan, the supposed authority on catalepsy, couldn’t tell that the man was faking it.
- “Sorry to bring you out on such a fool’s errand, Watson”
Time and time again, note the politeness with which Holmes treats Watson
- “By the purest chance Blessington was out on each occasion. It just happened, however, that this hour coincided with Blessington’s constitutional, which seems to show that they were not very well acquainted with his daily routine.”
I beg to differ. Sutton’s former accomplices come TWICE when Sutton is out, and he has a walk always at the same hour. Hence they most probably kept the house under observation and were aware of Sutton’s daily routine. If they wanted to get him while distracting the doctor, surely they would’ve come when he was at home (or attacked him somewhere on the street?). It means they came to observe the insides of the house and probably search Sutton’s room. Why then did they need to bring things to construct a gallows? Surely they saw the hook on the ceiling?
- “Having secured him, it is evident to me that a consultation of some sort was held. Probably it was something in the nature of a judicial proceeding. It must have lasted for some time, for it was then that these cigars were smoked.”
This part astounds me. Some sort of consultation? Didn’t they have enough time for it beforehand? Surely they came to kill Sutton. What is the point of staying long enough to smoke a cigar when there is a danger of being discovered, even if the walls are thick? Maybe they taunted Sutton to make his end more terrible? Still, was it wise given the circumstances?
- A side note: the Granada gag with papers and the mess Holmes makes is hilarious. It’s also fun that one of the criminals was called Moffat.
- “This so-called Blessington is, as I expected, well known at headquarters, and so are his assailants.”
Which headquarters? Has Holmes been to some criminal dive or something?
- I wonder what happened to Sutton’s money. Did his killers run off with it? Or did they leave it to Dr. Trevelyan? I suppose Dr. Trevelyan could support himself from then on, since his practice was already well established by that time. Even if Sutton’s money was stolen, Dr. Trevelyan must have been all right.
- The ending is a bit of a letdown: the killers get away. And ACD uses a deus ex machina similar to another Holmes story, as they are punished by the force of nature rather than by law.
Still, I think it's one of the best canon stories and the Granada adaptation was brilliant!
- “I cannot be sure of the exact date, for some of my memoranda upon the matter have been mislaid, but it must have been towards the end of the first year during which Holmes and I shared chambers in Baker Street.”
Is Watson Holmes’s opposite in terms of papers? Holmes had a horror of losing/destroying his papers and thus hoarded them, whereas Watson mislaid his.
- “For three hours we strolled about together, watching the ever-changing kaleidoscope of life as it ebbs and flows through Fleet Street and the Strand. His characteristic talk, with its keen observance of detail and subtle power of inference held me amused and enthralled. It was ten o’clock before we reached Baker Street again.”
So Watson sits cooped up indoors the whole day because he isn’t sure the weather would be good for his health, but as soon as Holmes suggests a walk, Watson agrees, at 7 pm, when it must be colder? Wow.
Compare with this quote from YELL, where they have lived together for a few years:
“For two hours we rambled about together, in silence for the most part, as befits two men who know each other intimately.”
In RESI it’s their first year together and already they ramble about for THREE hours, Watson listening to Holmes spellbound.
- “I was sufficiently conversant with Holmes’s methods to be able to follow his reasoning,”
By the end of their first year together Watson is already “sufficiently conversant with Holmes’s methods”, a keen pupil, isn’t he?
- My favourite Paget illustration is from this story:
- “I followed Holmes into our sanctum.”
Our sanctum. Just think about the choice of words. Not to “our rooms” or “our flat” but “sanctum”, a safe, private place. And that’s just their first year together!
- “A pale, taper-faced man with sandy whiskers rose up from a chair by the fire as we entered. His age may not have been more than three or four and thirty, but his haggard expression and unhealthy hue told of a life which has sapped his strength and robbed him of his youth.”
Here ACD drops a clue he never picks up later on. Why is Dr. Trevelyan haggard? What does this is supposed to imply? Is working for Blessington that hard or emotionally taxing?
- “His manner was nervous and shy, like that of a sensitive gentleman, and the thin white hand which he laid on the mantelpiece as he rose was that of an artist rather than of a surgeon.”
And this looks very much like a queer-coded man.
- “I am a London University man”
The same alma mater as Watson’s
- Catalepsy (from Ancient Greek katálēpsis, κατάληψις, "seizing, grasping") is a nervous condition characterized by muscular rigidity and fixity of posture regardless of external stimuli, as well as decreased sensitivity to pain.
Also according to Wikipedia, it appears that catalepsy is often used as a plot device, by such renowned authors as Shakespeare and Poe, no less.
- How even Blessington found out about Trevelyan? Did he go around asking for brilliant but poor medical graduates?
- “It ended in my moving into the house next Lady-day,”
"In the Western liturgical year, Lady Day is the traditional name in some English-speaking countries of the Feast of the Annunciation, which is celebrated on 25 March, and commemorates the visit of the archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, during which he informed her that she would be the mother of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." - Didn’t know that.
- “I made notes of my patient’s pulse and temperature, tested the rigidity of his muscles, and examined his reflexes.”
And yet Trevelyan, the supposed authority on catalepsy, couldn’t tell that the man was faking it.
- “Sorry to bring you out on such a fool’s errand, Watson”
Time and time again, note the politeness with which Holmes treats Watson
- “By the purest chance Blessington was out on each occasion. It just happened, however, that this hour coincided with Blessington’s constitutional, which seems to show that they were not very well acquainted with his daily routine.”
I beg to differ. Sutton’s former accomplices come TWICE when Sutton is out, and he has a walk always at the same hour. Hence they most probably kept the house under observation and were aware of Sutton’s daily routine. If they wanted to get him while distracting the doctor, surely they would’ve come when he was at home (or attacked him somewhere on the street?). It means they came to observe the insides of the house and probably search Sutton’s room. Why then did they need to bring things to construct a gallows? Surely they saw the hook on the ceiling?
- “Having secured him, it is evident to me that a consultation of some sort was held. Probably it was something in the nature of a judicial proceeding. It must have lasted for some time, for it was then that these cigars were smoked.”
This part astounds me. Some sort of consultation? Didn’t they have enough time for it beforehand? Surely they came to kill Sutton. What is the point of staying long enough to smoke a cigar when there is a danger of being discovered, even if the walls are thick? Maybe they taunted Sutton to make his end more terrible? Still, was it wise given the circumstances?
- A side note: the Granada gag with papers and the mess Holmes makes is hilarious. It’s also fun that one of the criminals was called Moffat.
- “This so-called Blessington is, as I expected, well known at headquarters, and so are his assailants.”
Which headquarters? Has Holmes been to some criminal dive or something?
- I wonder what happened to Sutton’s money. Did his killers run off with it? Or did they leave it to Dr. Trevelyan? I suppose Dr. Trevelyan could support himself from then on, since his practice was already well established by that time. Even if Sutton’s money was stolen, Dr. Trevelyan must have been all right.
- The ending is a bit of a letdown: the killers get away. And ACD uses a deus ex machina similar to another Holmes story, as they are punished by the force of nature rather than by law.
Still, I think it's one of the best canon stories and the Granada adaptation was brilliant!
no subject
Date: 2021-01-29 02:37 pm (UTC)I always read the consultation as being a judicial proceeding, so essentially they gave Blessington a mock trial.
I think there's a rule which says 'never go on a ship with a criminal who's trying to escape Sherlock Holmes, because you are sure to sink'.
no subject
Date: 2021-01-29 03:24 pm (UTC)I still wonder whether it was wise do a mock trial. A quick, clean job would be safer. They were at risk of being discovered.
Seriously, what is it with Sherlock and sinking ships? He must have some special power over them. Sorry for the people who happened to be aboard together with those criminals, though.
no subject
Date: 2021-01-30 04:03 pm (UTC)Watson is a Bohemian, so he can afford being a bit disorganised :) He must be a good doctor if he managed to maintain a practice while running off with Holmes whenever Holmes asked.
Yes, Watson keeping up with obscure medical papers really shows how good he is as a doctor. And I should watch Ustinov's films some time.
Blessington's trial is indeed macabre. His former accomplices rather desperate fellows. They were ready to risk only to get him.
It would be interesting to have some sort of an afterword about Trevelyan's life, but Watson rarely provides it.
no subject
Date: 2021-01-31 03:25 pm (UTC)