"As to Miss Violet Hunter, my friend Holmes, rather to my disappointment, manifested no further interest in her when once she had ceased to be the centre of one of his problems, and she is now the head of a private school at Walsall, where I believe that she has met with considerable success" (Pg 317.)
This quote which ended Sir Robert Conan Doyle's collection of Sherlock and Watson's adventures, indeed brings everything to a nice close.
Watson and Sherlock's relationship is a friends with benefits type of relationship (in a non-sexual way, mind you!)where the two of them get along because they are both knowledgeable in different aspects, and they can exchange wit back and forth in a non-insulting way. Watson is the only person Holmes has who he can talk with, and vice versa- Watson's relationship with his wife seems healthy in the Sherlock Holmes novels, but they don't spend time together. In addition to the two of them (Sherlock and Watson) understanding the way the other functions since they lived together as bachelors, Holmes also asked Watson many times to come solve a case with him because of Watson's extensive medical knowledge from being a doctor. The information regarding what type of doctor Watson was, was never revealed to the readers however.
Sherlock also talked about on numerous occasions, how he wanted Watson's company with solving a case. That shows Sherlock did have some desire to be with people. Sherlock did a desire to communicate, and he wasn't happy forever by his lonesome self, simply getting lost in his thoughts over and over again. Watson recognized this as shown by the preceding quote, which is why he was disappointed in Holmes not finding girlfriend potential in Miss Violet Hunter. Holmes showed signs of interest in the woman though, saying that she "spoke in a respectable manner" and "knew how to take care of herself," when Holmes wasn't the type to compliment people if it was an unnecessary compliment. Why was Holmes so reluctant to get into a relationship? Normally male characters that are masochists, are masochists because the male author was a masochist. But Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had a healthy relationship with his wife, his last words before death (according to Wikipedia) being "You are wonderful." which was directed towards his wife.
For those of you who are curious, Holmes did eventually die in one of Conan Doyle's short stories featuring the detective, but he was brought back to life.
Doyle, Sir Aurthur Conan. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. New York: Barnes & Noble, Inc., 1996.
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1 comment:
Interesting Cindy, I have always wondered about what was going on with Watson and Sherlock. He had to be more than a faithful sidekick. I like how you show he has more of a personality.
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