Acd Holmes - Blog Posts
Inspired from a conversation with my friend, something I feel about Sherlock Holmes, is that to read him as unempathetic, monotone and emotionless, is to misread his mask for truth. Holmes's real state only comes out around those he trusts; Watson, of course, being the prime example.
For an instant the veil had lifted upon his keen, intense nature, but for an instant only. When I glanced again his face had resumed that red-Indian composure which had made so many regard him as a machine rather than a man. [CROO]
for a moment I saw something in his eyes which was nearer to tenderness than I had ever seen. The next instant he was his masterful, practical self once more. [BRUC]
We often see Holmes highly expressive and unable to contain himself at the peak of his enjoyment and stimulation of a case, and often this is something he actively suppresses. (God, we're all thinking about that scene in SIXN - or 3GAR, aren't we?)
There was a gleam in his eyes and a suppressed excitement in his manner which convinced me, used as I was to his ways, that his hand was upon a clue. [SILV]
Holmes had taken out his watch, and as minute followed minute without result, an expression of the utmost chagrin and disappointment appeared upon his features. He gnawed his lip, drummed his fingers upon the table, and showed every other symptom of acute impatience. So great was his emotion, that I felt sincerely sorry for him, while the two detectives smiled derisively, by no means displeased at this check which he had met. [STUD]
Holmes is actively masking his excitement very often, and it's through his relationship with Watson and success in his career that he learns to accept and be his openly emotional self more and more as we progress through the Canon. Aside from this, Holmes is highly emotional and compassionate towards his clients, take FIVE, SPEC, or ILLU. I don't think ACD tumblr is really the audience that needs to hear this, but I want people to read this who understand where I'm coming from. I feel that Sherlock Holmes is so often misunderstood as genuinely dispassionate, when this is, in fact, the act, the mask, the antic disposition that he wants those around him to believe.
To believe that Holmes's coldness is in any way a truth doesn't fly with me. For me it's nothing more than defence-mechanism, which, to be fair, is what most intolerable behaviour really is. However, I would disagree with anyone who argues that it is a natural part of Holmes.
Why Sherlock Holmes's Introduction Scene is Important to his Autism Coding
Ive made several sherlock holmes posts now so obviously i now have to talk about autism-
Im not an expert in autism for starters but i did discuss this with many people and it was one of the clearest scenes i remembered when judging Sherlock adaptations. I would dare to say Holmes's introduction is one of the most important scenes to his autism-coding, and that when adaptations fail to realize its importance, it also tends to reflect on how they code Holmes.
We hear about Holmes before we see him. The description of him is more than a bit negative and uncomfortable at this time, with Stamford being overcautious and warning Watson about Holmes's tempers. While i cant read this now without the pop culture knowledge of Holmes, I suppose it was to build up tension as to what sort of strange scientist he would be.
Yet when we meet Holmes, hes doing some chemical work. When he spots Watson and Stamford, he immediately runs over to them and excitedly shows them that hes made a chemical that detects hemoglobin. He only briefly brings up Watson's military career, just the barest hint to intrigue us.
He then starts rambling excitedly and passionately about how his chemicals work. He goes into the effect they have on his job, and criminal justice as a whole. Him infodumping about his passions is a fantastic introduction by the way, but some people skip it or place more focus on extending his deductions of Watsons life. This introduction does a lot to show how overall passionate he is about his work, and that it is what he cares to be speaking on (this is one of the rare times we see him out of case mode).
I think its worth it to note that while the scene is written with hints of Watson being overwhelmed, he seems willing to go along with whatever Holmes is saying. Basically, while he finds Holmes's demeanor odd, he still tries to engage positively and follow what Holmes is saying.
They also exchange things each other should know as roommates, both relatively cheerful and relaxed about it. Watsons behavior is what i consider also important for his characterization, but i am here to talk about Holmes (oh just you wait watson-)
The thing is, this introduction is one of the most humanizing depictions of Holmes. While he is talking about crime, this shows early on he has interests related to it that arent just "deduction." It is also a very active conversation from him! He infodumps incredibly excitedly, projecting more than he seems to normally, interrupting Watson several times, and forgoing social convention.
This can be seen in direct contrast to how Stamford introduces him, showing the humanity and passion behind what he described. It gives us an even broader view of Holmes from the get go.
Holmes's introduction codes him as autistic by showing what he looks like when *excited*
The fact the first thing we get to see of this character is his overwhelming care and passion for his work is not only important to his character, it should be the basis for his autism coding. He is excited! He gets overwhelmed with how he likes his work! He forgets not everyone else knows what he does! He wants to show, share, and explain it to everyone in good humor!
To me, that is something ive experienced with every autistic person ive known, and the details of it are so, so instrumental
Definitely not the last time I’m going to talk about this but the relationship that Holmes has to Watson’s writing is so so interesting to me.
He obviously loves the attention to some extent, (Holmes’ relationship with attention seeking is a whole bag of worms) but in addition to his obvious gripes about the way in which Watson writes (tales rather than lectures etc, etc) he seems to have complex feelings on how much they focus on him.
Post retirement Holmes says he wants to reject notoriety altogether, implying that he only allowed Watson to help him gain it because it would be of professional value to him. While I’m not sure I fully believe him there, I can definitely see how that would be the easiest way for him to rationalize the stories and their popularity. But still, this is the same blushing sensitive to flattery Holmes who is constantly putting on a show for Watson and by extension his readers.
Even if Holmes is embarrassed by it, he enjoys it. Full stop. But he also hates it. And there are definitely a bunch of different reasons why he could dislike the stories, but I think the most obvious reason is that Watson can’t seem to decide weather to idolize or humanize him. Holmes dislikes that Watson doesn’t include many of his failures while at the same time hating when his magic tricks are explained. And maybe thats unfair of him, he can’t have it both ways, but if he can’t then why can Watson?
I also can’t help but think about all the times where Watson describes Holmes as cold, machine like, etc. I’m not sure how Holmes feels about that in canon (if he refers to it at some point let me know) but I know that when people have described me in similar ways it really fucking hurt. At the same time it’s tempting to take pride in it, an insult that becomes a complement if you lock enough parts of yourself away.
IDK like I said I’m not done talking about this just wanted to ramble for a second.
