Arthur Conan-Doyles Sherlock Holmes and the Modern-Day Interpretations - Research Paper Example

Arthur Conan-Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and the Modern-Day Interpretations Introduction Perhaps no character in literary history is more beloved thanSherlock Holmes. Known for his powers of deduction, Holmes is able to solve crimes with precision by using these immense powers. Holmes is also considerably charismatic. The modern day adaptations of Holmes captures these deductive powers and charisma, while putting their own interpretations and spin on the main characters. In the American version of Holmes, called Elementary, Holmes is a recovering drug addict, and Watson his sober companion. They both live in New York City in this version, in the modern day. In the BBC version, called simply Sherlock, the characters are more traditional, in that they are both men, but, they, too, are in the modern day – modern day London. These adaptations are different from one another, and are different from the novel, in various ways, from the quality of characters themselves to the way that each handle the homoerotic subtext of the two men. This essay will explore these differences. Sexual Tension Sexual tension is treated differently in the BBC adaptation, when compared to the American version, and both of these are treated differently from the printed novel. In the printed novel, there is not an indication that the two men had any kind of romantic feelings for one another. According to Black (2012), the fanfiction surrounding the story of Watson and Holmes is one in which the fans do imagine that there is a romantic relationship between the two men, and, although the novels and short stories themselves never allude to such a connection, the fans who create this scenario are not far wrong. Black (2012) indicates that, because Doyle was writing during the time of a Victorian mores – which means that such themes as homosexuality or bisexuality could not be explored in writing, or else the writing could never be published – there could not be a romantic connection between Holmes and Watson. This does not mean, however, that it does not exist. There can be an argument made that Holmes and Watson had feelings for one another, even in the novels and short stories. For instance, Watson was consumed with Holmes on many levels. On one level, Watson is willing to follow Holmes wherever Holmes goes. This is in spite of the fact that Watson is not employed by Holmes, in that he is not paid for the assistant work that he does. At least, that is the case in the first novel, A Study in Scarlet. Then there is the inescapable fact that Watson is fascinated with Holmes. Within a very short amount of time, Watson was able to discern Holmes likes and dislikes, the things that interest Holmes and the things that do not. He made a list of these, in fact- such as the fact that Holmes has zero interest in astronomy, philosophy, literature, politics and botany, yet has a keen interest in chemistry and sensational literature (this is literature that regards horrors that have been perpetrated during their time). Watson studies Holmes, in fact. While there is nothing sexual between the two men, there is some indication that, at the very least, Watson has a kind of “man crush” on his mentor. The BBC and the American versions handle the issue of sexual tension more confidently, addressing it directly. In the American version, since Watson is a woman, and, on American television, whenever there is a man and a woman who solve crimes together, the two end up getting romantic eventually, there is every indication that this would be the case in Holmes and Watson as well. However, this has not been openly addressed as yet. There has been subtle hints, however, that this dynamic may very well take place. For instance, in Season 1, Episode 9, called “You Do It To Yourself,” the episode ends with Holmes and Watson sitting in a room, waiting for Watson’s ex boyfriend to appear for drug rehabilitation. Watson is there waiting for him, and Holmes is there to accompany her, ostensibly because he wants to get a look at the guy, but, it is also clear to the audience, that Holmes is there for Watson because he cares for her in his way. Moreover, the two live together – Watson was Holmes’ sober companion, and still is, so she has to live there, while she sublets her apartment. Watson, of course, has her own room, but the dynamic between them, as they are living together, implies that the romance between the two will soon bloom. The BBC handles the issue much more direct and much more tongue in cheek. For instance, when Watson comes to live with Holmes in Holmes’ apartment, the landlady tells Watson that there is an extra bedroom, but only if he needs it. Watson protests this, saying that of course he will be needing an extra bedroom, and the landlady says something to effect that she doesn’t judge. Later on, while the two men are grabbing a bite to eat, Watson slyly tries to ascertain Holmes’ interest in women, and, when Holmes indicates that he doesn’t have any women in his life, Watson goes on to ask him if there are any men in his life. Holmes answers this, too, in the negative, then politely tells Watson that, if Watson is hitting on him, he isn’t interested. This was a moment that was played for great comic effect, and, essentially, addresses the elephant in the room in the relationship between the two men. Veerhes (2011) notes that the BBC does allow the homerotic subtext to enter into the proceedings. Meanwhile, while Veerhes (2011) notes this subtext, it is also obvious that Holmes is not interested in Watson, because he, Holmes, is “married to his work” (p. 53). This is what Conan Doyle intended for Holmes. What Holmes Knows There is an oddity in the first Holmes book, called A Study in Scarlet, and that is that Holmes has very little knowledge about the world. He doesn’t even know that the earth revolves around the sun, a fact which astounds Watson to no end. Holmes states that he doesn’t keep knowledge in his head, because it might interfere with his deductive powers, stating that “a man’s brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge that might be useful to him gets crowded out…so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands on it” (Doyle, 1930, p. 21). In other words, Holmes considers most knowledge about the world to be useless, and only the power of deduction is what is important to him. To this end, Watson makes a list of what Holmes knows about, and what he doesn’t – Holmes has zero knowledge regarding literature, philosophy, astronomy, politics and botany. Holmes has some practical knowledge regarding geology, but this knowledge is limited. His knowledge of chemistry is “profound,” as his knowledge of sensational literature. His knowledge of anatomy is “accurate, but unsystematic,” and Holmes also has a “good practical knowledge of British law” (Doyle, 1930, pp. 21-22). Therefore, Doyle intended Holmes to be a man of very limited knowledge, yet a profound intellect. That Holmes does not know something as rudimentary as the fact that sun revolves around the moon is astounding. What is equally as astounding is how this particular Holmes trait is ignored in both the BBC version of the tale and the American version, equally. In both of these versions, Holmes not only has the power of deduction that is shown in the novels and short stories, but also the character of Holmes has a vast array of obscure knowledge. For instance, in the American version, in the episode titled “Déjà vu All Over Again” (2013), Holmes is in a high rise building and is able to name the exact kind of glass that is used, stating that it is bulletproof. Meanwhile, Watson is merely admiring the spectacular view of the city. In another episode, titled “The Deductionist,” Holmes sees a word, “Shedir” written in blood, and immediately knows that the word means a constellation of stars, and, later, is able to actually make a small model of these stars to find out what the killer is trying to tell him. He also spouts out such little known facts as that a pig’s orgasm lasts for thirty minutes, and that people in Bangladesh can meditate themselves to a standstill. In a later episode, called “You Do It To Yourself” (2012), Holmes is able to deduce clues from Maj Jong tiles, and had knowledge that the number 13 was lucky in Chinese. He also was working on a paper regarding the effects of tides on criminal activity in New York. However, although Holmes in the American version is shown to have encyclopediac knowledge regarding everything, there was one blind spot – he did not know who Columbo is. This is the one way that that American version alludes to the fact that Holmes does not have vast knowledge regarding everything – it is clear that this Holmes has knowledge about everything except contemporary popular culture. In the BBC version, Holmes is seen as much the same. There are fewer examples of this Holmes spouting off obscure knowledge, although there is at least one example that stands out. In the episode entitled “The Blind Banker,” which was Season 1, Episode, 2, the two men attend Chinese performance art. In one part of the performance art, there is a man who is chained to a post, and there is a large bag that is dropping from the ceiling. If the bag reaches a certain point, an arrow shoots across the room. If the warrior is still chained to the post, then the warrior will be killed by the arrow. Holmes sees what is about to happen and immediately knows the story – he tells Watson, and Watson’s date, that this is a Chinese act and knows that the warrior has to escape the bonds. He is therefore knowledgeable about this particular Chinese tradition. Holmes’ Character Holmes’ character is vastly different in the BBC adaptation and the American adaptation from the printed version of Holmes. In the printed version of Holmes, Holmes is portrayed as an affable enough fellow, even if he has bouts of depression, where he doesn’t talk very much. He does have the immense power of deduction that is shown in the adaptations, but he isn’t arrogant about it. He doesn’t brag about himself, he doesn’t put other people down, and he doesn’t condescend. He does like to show off, however, but this is the only indication that he is a bit of a blowhard. Holmes doesn’t have any friends, but that doesn’t seem to be because he offends everybody – rather, he strikes the reader as more of an absent-minded professor type of guy. Extremely intelligent, yet socially disorganized, and a little on the messy side. That said, the adaptations of the BBC and the American versions portray Holmes very much differently. Boehm-Schnitker (2013) notes that critics state that the BBC version, along with Guy Ritchie’s cinema versions, portray Holmes as a sociopath, especially the BBC version. In the BBC version, Holmes is somebody who takes great pleasure in what he does, and, in the first episode, called “A Study in Pink,” a woman warns Watson away from Holmes, telling Watson that Holmes is a psychopath because he takes such great joy out of crime scenes, even going so far as to tell Watson that she would not be surprised if there is a crime scene one day, and that the crime scene would be one that is created by Holmes himself. In other words, this woman envisions Holmes as being somebody who is capable of cold-blooded murder. When Watson tells Holmes about this assessment, Holmes states that he is not a psychopath, but a “high functioning sociopath” (“A Study in Pink,” 2010). Boehm-Schnitker (2013) states that this trait in the BBC Holmes has not gone unnoticed by critics, who state that the pleasure that Holmes gets out of crime scenes is not normal, and that he does not have empathy. While it is clear that the novel version of Sherlock Holmes might be a little clinical, in that he approaches crime scenes with a cold, analytical eye, there is not the same indication that the novel version of Holmes takes great delight in crime and, at any rate, the novel version does not have the same amount of condescension and boorish attitude that the BBC Holmes has. For this Holmes does have an arrogant demeanor and boorish attitude. It is clear that he feels superior to everybody, although there is also some indication that he enjoys flattery. Watson tells Holmes how incredible he is to surmise that Watson was from Afghanistan upon meeting him for the first time, and that he has a brother who drinks. Holmes is surprised that Watson is so magnanimous about this, telling Watson that most of the time people tell him to “piss off” when he starts to analyze them. This is the one human moment for Holmes, though – usually, in the BBC version, Holmes doesn’t really seem to care about Watson at all. He drags Watson all over London, then leaves him at random places without a word. He also has a very pompous tone of voice, and nobody seems to like Holmes. The American version of Holmes is also very different from the books. For that matter, the American version is also considerably different from the BBC version. As noted above, Holmes seems to have a jovial, almost boyish demeanor – when Watson first meets him in the novel A Study in Scarlet, there is an indication that Holmes was getting a boyish delight out of a discovery that he was making - “Ha! Ha! he cried, clapping his hands, and looking as delighted as a child with a new toy. ‘What do you think of that?’” (Doyle, 1930, p. 18). The reader therefore immediately pictures Holmes as the jovial guy that he is. At any rate, there is not any indication in that novel, or the one following it, The Sign of Four, that there is any undercurrent of rage in Holmes’ demeanor. Nor does there seem to be any undercurrent of rage in the Holmes of the BBC – arrogance, sociopathy and condescension, but not rage. On the other hand, the American Holmes is seething, and about to boil over with rage. The American Holmes’ rage is palpable in every line given by the actor portraying Holmes, Jonny Lee Miller. For instance, in the opening scenes of “Déjà vu All Over Again,” Holmes is angry with his father, because his father loaned him a “pittance” – “pittance” meaning, in this case, some $1.2 million, therefore the father expects Holmes to help him out with an associate who is looking for his daughter. Upon meeting the associate, Holmes has a nasty attitude with the fellow, refusing to shake the guy’s hand, and telling the guy, to his face, that his work must be vile. Otherwise, he would not be mixed up with Holmes’ father. This is an example of Holmes’ rage, but it seems that, in every episode, it is on display. In the episode titled “The Deductionist,” the target of his rage is a woman from his past that he dated, a Ms. Drummond. It seems that Ms. Drummond was using Holmes, in that she wanted to understand how he had the power of deduction, then profiled Holmes in a book, stating that Holmes was bound to go back to using drugs again. Therefore, Holmes spent most of that episode trying to get revenge upon her. In the other episode viewed, called “You Do It To Yourself,” there is not as much of an open indication that Holmes has rage, yet rage is still dripping from every utterance out of Holmes’ mouth. He is condescending, rude and a recovering drug addict, but the rage that is within his being has permutations beyond the usual condescending jerk that is portrayed in other adaptations. Therefore, this character, like the BBC character, is clearly different from the Doyle character that was created. There is another, slightly different, angle in the American Holmes – he does seem to have had, at least at one time, a sex life. This is shown by his revelation that Ms. Drummond was his prior lover. This is different from the novels, in that Holmes never had a romantic interest. It also differs from the BBC adaptation, in which Holmes explicitly states that he doesn’t have romantic ties because he is married to his work. Watson’s Demeanor Watson is slightly different in all three versions as well. In the written version, Conan Doyle portrays Watson as somebody who is more of an observer than anything, and there isn’t very much character development for Watson in the first novel, A Study in Scarlet. That said, there isn’t anything that is necessarily offensive about the character. He is always around, tagging along with Holmes, but not really bringing much to the proceedings. In the American version, Holmes takes more of an active role. For instance, in the episode “Déjà vu All Over Again,” Watson takes a case of her own from Holmes. She is assigned to find a missing woman, and she also gets various assignments, like she is to stake out a man to see if he disposes of a trunk that is supposed to have a body of woman in it. She also is shown hot wiring a car, because this would be a part of her job assignment. She contributes verbally to the cases. For instance, she tells Holmes in “Déjà vu,” that she thinks that the man in the case killed his wife, thinking that a woman who is making a “Dear John” video is lying. Holmes is certain that she isn’t lying, and Holmes turns out to be correct – the woman in the video really was leaving her husband, although the husband ended up killing the woman, then producing the video to make it look like she had run off. Still, Watson is able to give her input. Another example is that Watson visits the apartment of a woman who is on kidney dialysis, then, upon seeing junk food and soda pop in the apartment, is able to surmise that the woman isn’t really sick. The Watson in the BBC version is different from the Watson in writing as well, but for different reasons than the American version is different. Watson in the BBC version really doesn’t help out that much with the cases – he goes along, but does not provide much input, in spite of the fact that, with his medical training, it would seem that he would be given a chance to give some valuable insight. That said, the overall demeanor of Watson is different from the American and written versions. This is because, like Holmes himself in the American version, the BBC Watson seems to be angry. He doesn’t seem to be fawning over Holmes, like the written Watson is – rather, he challenges Holmes at every turn, and is usually disgusted by Holmes and the way that he treats people. The American Watson is more sympathetic to Holmes, perhaps because Holmes is a drug addict, and she has a soft heart for addicts, considering that she is a sober companion for recovering addicts, so, even though she gently chides Holmes, she never really gets in his face. The BBC Watson does, however, get in Holmes’ face, and attempts to put him in his place. Drug Abuse The issue of drug abuse is handled differently in all three versions as well. In the novel, it is clear that Holmes abuses drugs. This is made clear in The Sign of Four, which was Conan Doyle’s second novel – Holmes is shown using cocaine and opium, much to the disapproval of Watson. However, one must consider that these drugs might have been legal during Conan Doyle’s day. The issue of drug abuse is more explicit in the American version - Holmes in this version is a recovering addict, which is why Watson is there in the first place. In the BBC version, Holmes does not use drugs at all, although he does use four nicotine patches. Conclusion There are many differences between the modern adaptations and the novel version of Sherlock Holmes. The two adaptations are considerably different from one another as well. It is not just that Watson is a woman in the American version, and that Sherlock and Watson are in modern day London in the BBC version. It is the overall tone and feel of the characters – Sherlock is very different in all three versions, and Watson is as well. Sherlock knows considerably more in the modern adaptations than he does in the novel version. There is an erotic subtext in both the American version and the BBC version, although, in the American version, the erotic subtext is more “acceptable” as the characters are of the opposite sex from one another. Drug abuse is handled differently in all three versions as well. What is clear is that, while all three versions, and all other versions of Sherlock Holmes, are different from one another, they all have a charismatic Holmes at the center, which is why they all are successful in their own right. References Conan-Doyle, Arthur. A Study in Scarlet. In Conan-Doyle, Arthur. The Complete Sherlock Holmes. New York: Doubleday, 1930. Conan-Doyle, Arthur. The Sign of Four. In Conan-Doyle, Arthur. The Complete Sherlock Holmes. New York: Doubleday, 1930. Black, Suzanne. “The Archontic Holmes: Understanding Adaptations of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes Stories in the Context of Jacques Derrida’s ‘Archive,’” Forum: University of Edinburgh Postgraduate Journal of Culture and Arts, 15 (2012): 1-25.Online. “The Blind Banker.” Sherlock. BBC Etertainment. London. 2010. Television. Boehm-Schnitker, Nadine. “The Canon, the Fan, and the Academic: Review of Sabine Vanacker and Catherine Wynne Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle: Multi-Media Afterlives.” Neo-Victorian Studies, 5.2 (2012): 217-227. Online. “The Deductionist.” Elementary. CBS Entertainment. Los Angeles. 3 Feb. 2013. Television. “Déjà vu All Over Again.” Elementary. CBS Entertainment. Los Angeles. 14 March 2013. Television. “A Study in Pink.” Sherlock. BBC Entertainment. 2010. Television. Verhees, Ingrid. “On the Evolution of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson Throughout a Century of Adaptation,” MA Thesis, MA Western Literature and Culture (2011). Online. “You Do It To Yourself.” Elementary. CBS Entertainment. Los Angeles. 16 Dec. 2012. Television. Read More