Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Adventure of the Speckled Band"

Back in September last year, I read Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Adventure of the Speckled Band," and Sherlock Holmes' comment that "Violence does, in truth, recoil upon the violent, and the schemer falls into the pit which he digs for another" caught my attention.  It seemed to have Biblical precedent, and a few months later, I ran across a very similar passage in Psalm 7 in the NKJV:  "15 He made a pit and dug it out, and has fallen into the ditch which he made.  16 His trouble shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down on his own crown."  The pit imagery is the same as that in Holmes' comment, but "His trouble shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down on his own crown" has a more literal analogue in the story, even more than Holmes' "Violence does, in truth, recoil upon the violent."

Near the end, Holmes deduces that Dr. Grimesby Roylott has been letting a snake into his step-daughter's room in an effort to kill her and prevent her upcoming marriage, which would have a devastating financial effect on him.  When Holmes attacks the snake with a cane, it retreats to Roylott's room and kills him instead.  Holmes and Watson enter his room to find that "Round his brow he had a peculiar yellow band, with brownish speckles, which seemed to be bound tightly round his head."  Roylott's "violent dealing" has literally "return[ed] upon his own head" in the form of the snake.

While there's definitely a similarity between the Psalm and the end of Holmes' adventure, I don't know whether this is just a coincidence or whether Conan Doyle created this situation in such a way that Holmes can draw this Biblical parallel.*

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*A couple of Holmes' comments that I stumbled upon indicate that he does believe in God, which in turn suggests a familiarity with the Bible:  at the end of "The Boscombe Valley Mystery," he says, "God help us!  ...  Why does fate play such tricks with poor helpless worms?  I never hear of such a case as this that I do not think of Baxter's words and say, 'There, but for the grace of God, goes Sherlock Holmes'" and in "The Adventure of the Empty House," he says, "Halfway down I slipped, but by the blessing of God I landed, torn and bleeding, upon the path."  

Arthur Conan Doyle's "A Scandal in Bohemia"

On 1 January, I started re-reading (for the first time) The Original Illustrated Sherlock Holmes, which contains facsimiles of thirty-seven Holmes stories and The Hound of the Baskervilles as they originally appeared in The Strand magazine.  As I was reading the second part of "A Scandal in Bohemia," I discovered that Watson is not a very reliable narrator.

As Irene Adler's carriage arrives at Briony Lodge, Watson describes how "a fierce quarrel broke out [between loafers trying to earn a bit of money by opening the door for her], which was increased by the two guardsmen, who took sides with one of the loungers, and by the scissors grinder, who was equally hot upon the other side... Holmes dashed into the crowed to protect the lady; but, just as he reached her, he gave a cry and dropped to the ground, with the blood running freely down his face."

After the rest of Holmes' plan had been carried out and he has located the photograph that the King of Bohemia had hired him to retrieve, he returns to Watson and explains some of the particulars of his plan:

"The matter was perfectly simple.  You, of course, saw that everyone in the street was an accomplice.  They were all engaged for the evening."

"I guessed as much."

"Then, when the row broke out, I had a little moist red paint in the palm of my hand.  I rushed forward, fell down, clapped my hand to my face, and became a piteous spectacle.  It is an old trick."

"That also I could fathom."

In his description above, Watson writes that "the blood [was] running freely down his face," yet here he claims that he knew all along that it was merely red paint.  Either he's lying to Holmes and trying to save face (apparently not willing to admit that he, a medical doctor, mistook red paint for blood), or he purposely misled his readers earlier in an effort to sensationalize his account.

Sherlock Holmes and the Murders in the Rue Morgue

Last night, I read Edgar Allan Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" for the first time.  I remember reading somewhere that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle used "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" as an inspiration for the Sherlock Holmes stories, but now that I've read it, I can actually see how many similarities there are.  This is a brief account of a few of them.

1. "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is not narrated by Dupin in the same way that most of the Sherlock Holmes stories are not narrated by Holmes.  For both, this narrative distance allows the reader to feel more suspense and be more surprised when the solution to the mystery is revealed.
2. Early in "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," Dupin traces the narrator's thoughts.  Holmes does the same thing to Watson at the beginning of "The Adventure of the Cardboard Box."  He even references Poe's work - "'You remember,' said he, 'that some little time ago when I read you the passage in one of Poe's sketches in which a close reasoner follows the unspoken thoughts of his companion, you were inclined to treat the matter as a mere tour-de-force of the author.'"
3. A direct quote from a newspaper article lasts for about six pages in "The Murders in the Rue Morgue."  The inclusion of primary sources frequently occurs in the Sherlock Holmes stories too.
4. The mystery in "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" revolves around two murders in a locked room, which is a situation that also occurs in a few Sherlock Holmes stories.
5. Like Dupin, Holmes has a relationship with the police that is not exactly official but that does provide more access than a regular citizen would have.
6. At the very end, Dupin places an advertisement in the newspaper, which is a tactic that Sherlock Holmes also uses rather frequently.

I also noticed a vague connection between the settings of the Sherlock Holmes stories and "The Murders in the Rue Morgue."  In "A Study in Scarlet," Watson describes London as "that great cesspool into which all the loungers and idlers of the Empire are irresistibly drained."  In "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," the narrator explains that he became acquainted with Dupin after they were both searching for the same rare book.  In both cases, the setting is central.  London is the center of the British Empire, and "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" seems to describe Paris as the center of intellectuals.  Later in "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," international shipping becomes an important factor, which illustrates Paris as an important world city, much like London.

Obviously, Doyle did come up with a lot of his own ideas for the Holmes stories and expanded upon the original influence of Poe, but there are a lot of similarities between the two.

Sherlock Holmes as Actor/Author

One of the stories I had to read in my Sherlock Holmes class this past semester was "The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier."  It's unique in that it's one of the few stories written from Holmes' perspective (I believe the only other one from his perspective is "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane").  But between Holmes' perspective and specific traits that the characters had, I got the feeling that Holmes had made up the story.*

At the very beginning, he writes that "for a long time [Watson] has worried me to write an experience of my own" and "'Try it yourself, Holmes!' he has retorted."  He then explains that "Watson has no note of it [this adventure] in his collection."  It's also significant that Watson is not present in the story.

Even from the very beginning of the Holmes canon, Holmes is rather dismissive of Watson's accounts of their adventures (though this aversion does seem to lessen to some degree as the stories progress).  He calls them too romantic and chastises Watson for not focusing on the useful parts - parts that could help other detectives.  As with everything else, Holmes takes a very didactic view of literature; in "A Study in Scarlet," Watson explains that Holmes "would acquire no knowledge which did not bear upon his object.  Therefore all the knowledge which he possessed was such as would be useful to him."  "A Study in Scarlet" also mentions Holmes' prodigious knowledge of sensational fiction.

Holmes' previous statements regarding literature make it hard for me to believe that he wrote the story purely to chronicle his adventure.  There has to be some pragmatic purpose for it.  While "The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier" could be useful to other detectives in the same way that sensationalist fiction is to Holmes, I don't think that that's the primary purpose.

The two soldiers in the story - Dodd and Godfrey - resemble Holmes and Watson so closely that I don't believe it's a mere coincidence.  Godfrey - like Watson - was shot during the war and had to return to England.  Dodd - like Holmes - has an intense loyalty to his friend.  At the beginning of the story, Holmes writes, "It was in January, 1903, just after the conclusion of the Boer War, that I had my visit from Mr. James M. Dodd, a big, fresh, sunburned, upstanding Briton.  The good Watson had at that time deserted me for a wife, the only selfish action which I can recall in our association.  I was alone."  Here, Holmes resembles Dodd (or Dodd resembles Holmes) more specifically:  they are both lacking their friends.  I also find Holmes' remark "I was alone" interesting.  He states that he had a visit from Mr. Dodd but also that he is alone.  If Holmes did make up this story, and Dodd is purely a caricature of him, then he is alone... with himself.

I think Holmes has two purposes in making up this adventure and passing it off as true.  First, it's an-other way that he can practise his acting.  There are multiple instances in the Holmes stories where Holmes uses disguises to fool people into thinking that he's someone he isn't.  I think manufacturing this story is just an-other facet of that.  Instead of using wigs and different clothes, he's using words and playing on emotions.

Second, I think the story functions as a retribution of sorts aimed at Watson.  Holmes disguises his intense friendship for Watson in Dodd's intense friendship for Godfrey - who even goes so far as to confront Godfrey's father in order to find out what happened to Godfrey.  Couched in his adventure story, Holmes is telling Watson how strongly he feels about him and how Watson's marrying Mary Morstan feels like an abandonment.

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*(This is a stupid footnote that explains an obvious point but just to make it clear:) I realise that Holmes is fictional.  What I'm saying is that within the world that Doyle has created - one in which Holmes and Watson have adventures and then Watson chronicles them - Holmes has made up a story to resemble Watson's true accounts.