Whenever someone thinks of Sherlock Holmes, a kind of cliché comes to mind. He is a consummate example of the great detective, more than an icon, he is a model for all detectives in literature. In his trademark deer stalker hat, hooded smock, and his own pipe, Holmes presents sophisticated elocution and a highly intelligent, if often inarticulate, sidekick. This is a formula that has been successfully emulated time and time again from Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot to Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe. These characters are highly intriguing and well-crafted in their own right, but there is something else to Holmes, so delightfully characterized by the great Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This character is raw, elemental and, to put it better, strange.
The Sherlock Holmes stories, whose plots are equally unusual but ingenious, are reported in the first person by his esteemed associate, Dr. John Watson. It can be assumed that Watson is the person who is most familiar with Holmes. However, he provides little information about his personality. In fact, Watson is able to predict much of Holmes’s behavior and can even guess at his morning routine or mood, but this ability stems more from the time they’ve spent together and what Watson’s personal guideline should be to expect. nothing short of abnormal responses. of the revered detective. Despite knowing how the man will react to situations, Watson continually feigns bewilderment at what exactly is driving him. One thing is clear, both to Watson and to all readers, Sherlock Holmes is definitely motivated. When presented with a mystery, Holmes unleashes a beast that will not stop until everything is resolved to his satisfaction.
It is in the resolution of a case that we begin to see the peculiarities of Sherlock Holmes and are given an insight into his constitution. Holmes becomes so obsessed with deciphering a mystery that he almost becomes vulnerable. Although his mind must remain a systematized thinking machine, his external world generally becomes disorganized. Notes and experiments will be scattered throughout his room, his tobacco will be stored in a Persian slipper because it was convenient at the time. He’ll forget to eat, maybe even on purpose, when he gets caught up in an investigation.
Further hints of his personality are highlighted by the lengths he is willing to go to further investigation. Sherlock Holmes has been known to twist the truth, break the law, lie to the police, hide evidence, and even steal or break into the house if necessary. These may not be unusual features in private investigator stories. What is unusual is the obvious indifference and disregard for the authority with which he chooses to act. This is not to say that he has a problem with authority. Another attribute of Holmes is his intense patriotism. No, his complex relationships with the many detectives at Scotland Yard and law enforcement officers in general are just another aspect of his bohemianism. Other oddities include the compulsive use of drops of his own blood for chemical research or getting engaged simply to get information on a case.
His relationship with women is as mysterious as the way he leads the rest of his life. Although he finds women’s motives ambiguous and seems to only enjoy them because of the riddles they bring to him, he finds himself drawn to the sultry contralto, Irene Adler. Her feelings for her are never fully defined, but there is an attraction that we can assume runs deeper than Holmes lets on. No doubt she stimulates him and the only time she was able to outwit him.
We never fully understand Sherlock Holmes, but he remains one of the most intriguing characters in literature, fresh and liberating. His eccentricities and erratic behavior continue to force me to try to figure out what exactly is the force that drives him. I forgot to mention? Holmes occasionally uses addictive drugs, including morphine and cocaine, to help him overcome the monotony of existence when he is not energized by a mystery that needs to be solved. Now that’s charisma, as strange and unsettling as the calm in the eye of a hurricane.
