Sherlock Holmes – The Bohemian Transcendentalist

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 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 more to Holmes, so delightfully characterized by the great Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This character is raw, elemental, and to put it best, weird.

The Sherlock Holmes stories, whose plots are equally unusual but ingenious, are told in the first person by his esteemed associate, Dr. John Watson. Watson can be assumed to be 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’ behavior and can even guess his morning routine or mood, but this ability stems more from the time they’ve spent together and what Watson’s personal guideline to expect should be. nothing less than abnormal responses. of the revered detective. Despite knowing how the man will react to situations, Watson continually feigns bewilderment over what exactly is driving him. One thing is clear, both for Watson and for 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 a perceptual clue to his constitution. Holmes becomes so obsessed with solving a mystery that he almost makes himself vulnerable. Although his mind must remain a systemized thinking machine, his external world generally becomes disorganized. Notes and experiments will be scattered all over his room, his tobacco will be kept in a Persian slipper because it was convenient at the time. He will forget to feed, maybe even on purpose, when he gets caught up in an investigation.

Further clues to 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 rob or break into the house if necessary. These may not be unusual features in private investigator stories. What is unusual is the blatant indifference and contempt for the authority with which he chooses to act. This does not mean that he has a problem with authority. Another attribute of Holmes is his intense patriotism. No, his complex relationships with Scotland Yard’s numerous detectives and law enforcement officers in general are just another aspect of his bohemia. Other oddities include compulsively using drops of his own blood for chemical research or engaging in marriage simply to gain 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 puzzles they bring 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 understood Sherlock Holmes, but he remains one of the most intriguing characters in literature, who is both fresh and liberating. His eccentricities and erratic behavior continue to force me to try to figure out what exactly is the driving force behind him. I forgot to mention? Holmes occasionally uses addictive drugs, including morphine and cocaine, to help him get through the monotony of existence when he’s 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.