Thank you for this lovely write-up of the story! I especially love Watson in this one, I think it's one of his best. The dynamic that most fascinates me is the back-and-forth conversation where Holmes, not wanting to risk getting Watson into serious trouble, pretends that Watson is useless and that he would be of no help were he to come along. He sounds callous and dismissive, and he intends to, but we understand that it's an act he's putting on for the sake of protecting Watson. And then we get to see Watson refuse to believe that he has nothing to offer and instead stand up for himself, calmly but firmly emphasizing his own self-respect, his reputation as a gentleman, and his right to decide what risks are worth running for a good cause.
“You are not coming.”
“Then you are not going,” said I. “I give you my word of honour—and I never broke it in my life—that I will take a cab straight to the police-station and give you away, unless you let me share this adventure with you.”
“You can’t help me.”
“How do you know that? You can’t tell what may happen. Anyway, my resolution is taken. Other people besides you have self-respect, and even reputations.”
I love that! There's a sense of equality in their relationship there that can sometimes get lost in other stories because Watson so often and so trustingly defers to Holmes. And that's not a bad thing -- it's an admirable aspect of his loyalty, and he also has a clear-eyed understanding of the fact that Holmes is a genius and he is not -- but it makes for a very satisfying change of pace when Watson believes in himself enough to turn aside Holmes's efforts to protect and/or sideline him. And I appreciate that he's choosing to do this not only to help protect Holmes, but also because he genuinely thinks it's right and needs to be done for the sake of their unfortunate client.
It reminds me of a similar argument that the two of them have in "The Dying Detective," when Holmes pretends that he is virulently contagious and that Watson will endanger his own life if he comes near him, and Watson immediately replies: that consideration wouldn't affect me even in the case of a stranger, let alone in the case of a dear friend. So then Holmes has to adopt a more extreme ploy and disparage Watson's abilities, pretending that he thinks poorly of Watson's skill as a doctor, because he knows he can't let him actually examine him or else he'd detect the ruse. When Holmes belittles Watson's competence, Watson's response is to say 1) this only proves that you are not yourself and you need urgent care, 2) if you don't want my services then I will be happy to go and get you the best doctor in London, I know who the most eminent expert on this is and he's in town right now so there's no point trying to stop me, and furthermore 3) you can be my master everywhere else, but I will be your master in the sickroom.
I feel like cheering him on in moments like that! And I think it's clear that in his heart, Holmes feels like cheering for him in those moments, too. His response to Watson's insistence in this story is amused, affectionate, and I think rather proud.
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“You are not coming.”
“Then you are not going,” said I. “I give you my word of honour—and I never broke it in my life—that I will take a cab straight to the police-station and give you away, unless you let me share this adventure with you.”
“You can’t help me.”
“How do you know that? You can’t tell what may happen. Anyway, my resolution is taken. Other people besides you have self-respect, and even reputations.”
I love that! There's a sense of equality in their relationship there that can sometimes get lost in other stories because Watson so often and so trustingly defers to Holmes. And that's not a bad thing -- it's an admirable aspect of his loyalty, and he also has a clear-eyed understanding of the fact that Holmes is a genius and he is not -- but it makes for a very satisfying change of pace when Watson believes in himself enough to turn aside Holmes's efforts to protect and/or sideline him. And I appreciate that he's choosing to do this not only to help protect Holmes, but also because he genuinely thinks it's right and needs to be done for the sake of their unfortunate client.
It reminds me of a similar argument that the two of them have in "The Dying Detective," when Holmes pretends that he is virulently contagious and that Watson will endanger his own life if he comes near him, and Watson immediately replies: that consideration wouldn't affect me even in the case of a stranger, let alone in the case of a dear friend. So then Holmes has to adopt a more extreme ploy and disparage Watson's abilities, pretending that he thinks poorly of Watson's skill as a doctor, because he knows he can't let him actually examine him or else he'd detect the ruse. When Holmes belittles Watson's competence, Watson's response is to say 1) this only proves that you are not yourself and you need urgent care, 2) if you don't want my services then I will be happy to go and get you the best doctor in London, I know who the most eminent expert on this is and he's in town right now so there's no point trying to stop me, and furthermore 3) you can be my master everywhere else, but I will be your master in the sickroom.
I feel like cheering him on in moments like that! And I think it's clear that in his heart, Holmes feels like cheering for him in those moments, too. His response to Watson's insistence in this story is amused, affectionate, and I think rather proud.