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victorian221bOur last readalong closed on The Final Problem in 1891 with Watson grieving "...the best and wisest man whom I have ever known".
Now we pick up the thread in The Adventure of the Empty House, in the spring of 1894.
We open on poor Watson who has been mourning the loss of his dearest friend for close to three years when the murder of Honourable Ronald Adair occurs. The beginning has Watson's flair for the dramatic with him declaring how, now that nearly ten years have passed that he can reveal the full remarkable events. It is also intriguing that Holmes is the one who barred Watson from sharing any cases until now, (though useful for Doyle!). I will say that while the case itself is fascinating I find The Empty House painful to read from the perspective of Watson and Holmes' friendship.
I think the canon read through /re-read emphasises how both men valued their friendship and each other’s company. Indeed, Holmes is anything but cold towards Watson, constantly inviting him on cases & seeking Watson's company on walks.
Watson's affections are made quite clear in The Final Problem:
It is with a heavy heart that I take up my pen to write these last words….which my friend Mr Sherlock Holmes…
It was my intention to have stopped there, and to have said nothing of that event which has created a void in my life which the lapse of two years has done little to fill.
And now we have Watson hinting at his emotions upon Holmes' return in EMPTY:
"Even now, after this long interval, I find myself thrilling as I think of it, and feeling once more that sudden flood of joy, amazement, and incredulity which utterly submerged my mind."
It is obvious how much Watson loved Holmes and grieved his passing and welcomed his return. Indeed, skipping forward to their reunion supports this fact. Watson being fooled by Holmes' disguise is understandable in my opinion since he has every reason to believe Holmes is dead.
That he faints upon the reveal is also rather normal! The exchange that initially follows shows Holmes' concern for shocking Watson while Watson is overwhelmed that his dear friend has returned apparently miraculously from those dreadful Falls.
Yet, how Holmes survived and then kept silent is my main issue with Holmes' return. I fully think that The Empty House suffers from Doyle's initial rushed attempt to kill off Holmes in FINAL. It led to the creation of Moriarty (who was such an apparently dangerous and insidious villain, but had never been mentioned previously) to, when forced by demand to breathe life into Holmes, Doyle was faced by the dilemma of what has Holmes been doing in those two years Watson refers to in FINA?
To suggest Watson knew lessens Watson’s suffering & grief as portrayed in both tales. Yet Watson being deliberately kept in the dark by Holmes is cruel and does not fit with what we have seen of Sherlock Holmes. If Holmes meant to protect Watson by not sharing he was alive, why involve Watson at all in any of his cases? Also, presumably, Watson might well be watched and in danger anyway, so shouldn't he know to at least protect himself and his wife?
Watson fortunately forgives Holmes which is great, but it just leaves a sour taste to an otherwise remarkable return and thrilling case.
Essentially, Doyle was in a quandary when hauling Mr Sherlock Holmes out of that dreadful rushing water, but I still feel he could have handled it better.
Anyway! Back to the case.
Case
"Holmes' cold, thin fingers closed around my wrist…" :-)
May I just say that Holmes decrying Watson's taste in literature and the dramatic when he lives to be dramatic and surprise Watson is rather hypocritical? Ha. Watson, upon seeing Holmes' shadow in their old rooms, whilst the man is with him is equally amusing and a great twist to the tale.
Holmes' comments upon Watson's surprise that the figure has moved is very much in-character: "Am I such a farcical bungler, Watson, that I should erect an obvious dummy, and expect that some of the sharpest men in Europe would be deceived by it? We have been in this room two hours, and Mrs Hudson has made some changes in that figure..."
Mrs Hudson is a treasure and deserves much praise for handling both Holmes' return and the subsequent demands for moving his statue so calmly! Really, without her assistance Holmes certainly would have been unable to move freely, especially considering how clever & lethal he labels Moran.
I am bemused at how well Lestrade also takes Holmes’ return. Indeed, and Mrs Hudson. Clearly everyone in this case is made of stern stuff (and / or the author’s discretion of dismissing any hurt feelings at being deceived over Mr Holmes’ apparent death and then sudden revival).
I admire Sherlock Holmes’ index of criminals and their crimes -ah the days before computer indexing! Also, equally admirable is how Watson doesn’t hesitate to opine that he finds Holmes’ reason for Moran going bad “...rather fanciful”.
A story of how Colonel Moran made India too hot to hold him wouldn’t go amiss I must say. I wonder if any of Watson’s old comrades would know of the particulars?
The Adventure of the Empty House ends therefore with the two old friends once more in Baker Street together and “...Mr Sherlock Holmes is free to devote his life to examining those interesting little problems which the complex life of London so plentifully presents”.
A lovely ending for a tale I otherwise have mixed feelings towards. What is everyone else's opinion?
Now we pick up the thread in The Adventure of the Empty House, in the spring of 1894.
We open on poor Watson who has been mourning the loss of his dearest friend for close to three years when the murder of Honourable Ronald Adair occurs. The beginning has Watson's flair for the dramatic with him declaring how, now that nearly ten years have passed that he can reveal the full remarkable events. It is also intriguing that Holmes is the one who barred Watson from sharing any cases until now, (though useful for Doyle!). I will say that while the case itself is fascinating I find The Empty House painful to read from the perspective of Watson and Holmes' friendship.
I think the canon read through /re-read emphasises how both men valued their friendship and each other’s company. Indeed, Holmes is anything but cold towards Watson, constantly inviting him on cases & seeking Watson's company on walks.
Watson's affections are made quite clear in The Final Problem:
It is with a heavy heart that I take up my pen to write these last words….which my friend Mr Sherlock Holmes…
It was my intention to have stopped there, and to have said nothing of that event which has created a void in my life which the lapse of two years has done little to fill.
And now we have Watson hinting at his emotions upon Holmes' return in EMPTY:
"Even now, after this long interval, I find myself thrilling as I think of it, and feeling once more that sudden flood of joy, amazement, and incredulity which utterly submerged my mind."
It is obvious how much Watson loved Holmes and grieved his passing and welcomed his return. Indeed, skipping forward to their reunion supports this fact. Watson being fooled by Holmes' disguise is understandable in my opinion since he has every reason to believe Holmes is dead.
That he faints upon the reveal is also rather normal! The exchange that initially follows shows Holmes' concern for shocking Watson while Watson is overwhelmed that his dear friend has returned apparently miraculously from those dreadful Falls.
Yet, how Holmes survived and then kept silent is my main issue with Holmes' return. I fully think that The Empty House suffers from Doyle's initial rushed attempt to kill off Holmes in FINAL. It led to the creation of Moriarty (who was such an apparently dangerous and insidious villain, but had never been mentioned previously) to, when forced by demand to breathe life into Holmes, Doyle was faced by the dilemma of what has Holmes been doing in those two years Watson refers to in FINA?
To suggest Watson knew lessens Watson’s suffering & grief as portrayed in both tales. Yet Watson being deliberately kept in the dark by Holmes is cruel and does not fit with what we have seen of Sherlock Holmes. If Holmes meant to protect Watson by not sharing he was alive, why involve Watson at all in any of his cases? Also, presumably, Watson might well be watched and in danger anyway, so shouldn't he know to at least protect himself and his wife?
Watson fortunately forgives Holmes which is great, but it just leaves a sour taste to an otherwise remarkable return and thrilling case.
Essentially, Doyle was in a quandary when hauling Mr Sherlock Holmes out of that dreadful rushing water, but I still feel he could have handled it better.
Anyway! Back to the case.
Case
"Holmes' cold, thin fingers closed around my wrist…" :-)
May I just say that Holmes decrying Watson's taste in literature and the dramatic when he lives to be dramatic and surprise Watson is rather hypocritical? Ha. Watson, upon seeing Holmes' shadow in their old rooms, whilst the man is with him is equally amusing and a great twist to the tale.
Holmes' comments upon Watson's surprise that the figure has moved is very much in-character: "Am I such a farcical bungler, Watson, that I should erect an obvious dummy, and expect that some of the sharpest men in Europe would be deceived by it? We have been in this room two hours, and Mrs Hudson has made some changes in that figure..."
Mrs Hudson is a treasure and deserves much praise for handling both Holmes' return and the subsequent demands for moving his statue so calmly! Really, without her assistance Holmes certainly would have been unable to move freely, especially considering how clever & lethal he labels Moran.
I am bemused at how well Lestrade also takes Holmes’ return. Indeed, and Mrs Hudson. Clearly everyone in this case is made of stern stuff (and / or the author’s discretion of dismissing any hurt feelings at being deceived over Mr Holmes’ apparent death and then sudden revival).
I admire Sherlock Holmes’ index of criminals and their crimes -ah the days before computer indexing! Also, equally admirable is how Watson doesn’t hesitate to opine that he finds Holmes’ reason for Moran going bad “...rather fanciful”.
A story of how Colonel Moran made India too hot to hold him wouldn’t go amiss I must say. I wonder if any of Watson’s old comrades would know of the particulars?
The Adventure of the Empty House ends therefore with the two old friends once more in Baker Street together and “...Mr Sherlock Holmes is free to devote his life to examining those interesting little problems which the complex life of London so plentifully presents”.
A lovely ending for a tale I otherwise have mixed feelings towards. What is everyone else's opinion?
no subject
Date: 2021-06-07 01:33 am (UTC)The story does have that big paragraph where Holmes rapidly lists a bunch of reasons: I was only in touch with Mycroft and that only for money; you're not a good enough liar to write a convincing account of my death if you didn't believe it yourself; you care for me too much to be able to repress it to the depths I needed, so you'd tip the bad guys off without meaning to.
Now, I do think all of these reasons can be taken one at a time and given focus and life so that they carry a lot of emotional weight, and do emotional work (to vicariously apologize, to reinforce his regard for Watson and his knowledge of Watson's regard for him, etc.). But the story doesn't really do it itself, since we don't get Watson's emotions or reactions to them in that particular section. The various adaptations are forced to grapple with them, of course, because Watson is in the scene with Holmes, and can't disappear into the role of unseen writer the way he does in the story. So for instance in Granada, we have Watson's subdued-hurt reaction when Holmes says he was in touch with Mycroft, and then Holmes hurriedly adding that he only did that because he had to, for money, trying to comfort Watson in some way.
I do appreciate that adaptations--at least, the ones I've seen/heard--don't take as seemingly-casual a tone with the next chunk of information, about Holmes's travels... like, in the line "I travelled for two years in Tibet, therefore, and amused myself by visiting Lhassa and spending some days with the head Llama", the "amused myself" tone just strikes me as too potentially mean, and if not, then careless and tone-deaf.
I did like what the Bert Coules radio series on the BBC did with Holmes's years in Tibet, in the sense that later episodes show us that Holmes took those travels and philosophies seriously, with a few rather moving glimpses. Much more satisfying than him amusing himself like a dilettante traveler.
This story does have a lot of great lines in it, full of characterization. Like, as you say, Holmes is an undeniable drama queen, and it's soooo drama-queen-Holmes for him to surprise Watson with the silhouette of the dummy, and then use words describing another drama queen, Shakespeare's Cleopatra, when he says proudly, "I trust that age doth not wither nor custom stale my infinite variety". I mean, LOL. He's so preening-proud of his plan and achievements, and he really feeds on Watson's generous marvelling over them.
Also, lines like "When you like and where you like" from Watson, too--very emblematic of his character. ♥
no subject
Date: 2021-06-07 07:54 pm (UTC)Now, I do think all of these reasons can be taken one at a time and given focus and life so that they carry a lot of emotional weight, and do emotional work (to vicariously apologize, to reinforce his regard for Watson and his knowledge of Watson's regard for him, etc.). But the story doesn't really do it itself, since we don't get Watson's emotions or reactions to them in that particular section.
Completely agree! Indeed, Holmes lists his reasons for not informing Watson and each on their own carry an emotional weight that, if Watson wasn't reduced to a passive listener in the text, would be (if not satisfying) at least an outlet for some of the inevitable mixed bag of feelings that Holmes' ploy would bring for most people. I am glad that some adaptions have been forced to focus on Watson's reactions, because as you say, Watson couldn't just become lost. Granada definitely did this reasonably well and I am fond of how the Rathbone series handles this as well with Watson being hurt.
I do appreciate that adaptations--at least, the ones I've seen/heard--don't take as seemingly-casual a tone with the next chunk of information, about Holmes's travels... like, in the line "I travelled for two years in Tibet, therefore, and amused myself by visiting Lhassa and spending some days with the head Llama", the "amused myself" tone just strikes me as too potentially mean, and if not, then careless and tone-deaf.
I think that is partly the fault of the language of the time, but it does feel overly dismissive and I'm grateful to know that other adaptations have not handled this so causally. The Bert Coules approach sounds much more satisfying (and dare I say, more like Holmes the inquisitive would act).
It's splendid to know I'm not alone with how much a drama queen Holmes is in the text! I just had to shake my head and laugh at those scenes because they were super, and really, Watson ought to use such events to remind Holmes who is a drama queen when he is accused of flowery or dramatic prose ;)
Also, lines like "When you like and where you like" from Watson, too--very emblematic of his character. ♥
<3 Watson's character captured in one incredible sentence.
no subject
Date: 2021-06-12 06:34 pm (UTC)Adair's murder. After re-reading this time, I noticed a weird thing. Adair is killed through an open window, and the window is opened because the fire which the servant made smoked. Did Moran follow Adair, relying on a chance someone would conveniently open a window for him? Or was the servant in Moran's pay?
Holmes's three-year wanderings. Holmes's story--or rather how Watson presents it--has so many inconsistencies that I don't believe most of it. The first bell that rings is that he reads Watson's account of his death 'some months later' whereas in FINA Watson states that two years passed. Was it even possible for him to have this pleasure trip around the world while Moran clearly knew he was alive? If Moran could get to him in Switzerland while helping Moriarty why couldn't the Colonel do so after Moriarty's death? What was even the point of playing dead if Moran KNEW Holmes was alive??? Also, Moran trying to kill Holmes with a rock? Did he forget his rifle at the hotel or something? Another fun fact: baritsu (bartitsu) is an anachronism in this narrative, since Holmes clailms to have used it in 1891 whereas this martial art was developed in 1898-1902.
This is, of course, Doyle's typical cavalier attitude to Holmes stories, but if looked at from the in-universe pov, I like to think that Watson had to cover up much as usual, so he slapped together an improbable cover story. Perhaps he knew Holmes was alive all this time they were apart. This is definitely my headcanon.
no subject
Date: 2021-06-13 03:02 pm (UTC)Ooo, I hadn't noticed -thank you for bringing up that weird detail. Indeed, if the fire hadn't been built up what would Moran have done? He couldn't afford to wait so did he bribe the servant? Or would he have risked killing Adair on the street? Or would Moran be too cautious for that?
I agree with you, Holmes' account of both his decision to hide he lived from Watson and his travels are inconsistent with Watson's record in FINA. Moran not successfully killing Holmes at the Falls is puzzling ~ clearly he was present as back up so why not bring his gun? I can only assume that Holmes faked his death to the public even with Moran knowing in an attempt to sink into oblivion from Moran so he could choose when he reappeared and not Moran.
Travelling the world with Moran trying to catch you whilst leaving your friend vulnerable in London are baffling and doesn't seem probable.
This is, of course, Doyle's typical cavalier attitude to Holmes stories...
Definitely the crux of the problem! Like you though I prefer a headcanon that Watson knew - not instantly, maybe once Holmes initially lost Moran - and he then wove a tale where he drew upon the grief he endured in the time he thought Holmes had perished.
EMPT feels like a frustrating tale with a good premise, but requiring tweaking for some satisfaction if you're like us!