VoF part 1 ch 5 - part 2 ch 3
In this chunk of reading we learned that the murder itself was all staged, and that Mr. Douglas was actually never killed. In fact, he is alive and still happily married to his wife. Honestly, I expected this mystery story to have a lot of plot twists, but I had no idea that the novel would change its course this much. The author took what the reader assumed were cold-hard facts and totally changed the direction of the book. I thought the biggest concern throughout all of this was who killed Douglas, not whether or not he was still alive.
I think it's really interesting that Doyle took so long setting the scene for a crime that didn't even exist the way he laid it out. I wonder if he always knew he was going to add this plot twist or if it just kind of came to him last minute. Doyle really took time defining the relationship between Mrs. Douglas and Barker, so I am curious to see if that will have any relevance later on. Once Douglas was found to be alive, rumors of the affair seemed to be dismissed, so it will be interesting to see if that subplot ever occurs again.
Throughout part one, we see Holmes still treating Watson as if he is beneath him, keeping the same student-teacher relationship that we discussed in class. In chapter six, Watson recalls his interaction with Holmes, "'There is an appalling directness about your questions, Watson,' Holmes said, shaking his pipe at me" (223). The way Sherlock is so quick to criticize Watson highlights his rude behavior, but there is some hidden affection in it all. Sherlock definitely appears to be training him to take over in the future; they work side-by-side, but have a mentor-apprentice type of relationship.
The novel is divided into two parts, and the second part begins to explain a completely new story, which Watson promises will tie into the earlier one. I genuinely find the second story interesting and I can definitely already start to see how the two plots will merge, especially with the emphasis on the branding mark. Overall, I feel like Doyle is a very strong and creative writer and I expect several more plot twists before the novel is over.
I think it's really interesting that Doyle took so long setting the scene for a crime that didn't even exist the way he laid it out. I wonder if he always knew he was going to add this plot twist or if it just kind of came to him last minute. Doyle really took time defining the relationship between Mrs. Douglas and Barker, so I am curious to see if that will have any relevance later on. Once Douglas was found to be alive, rumors of the affair seemed to be dismissed, so it will be interesting to see if that subplot ever occurs again.
Throughout part one, we see Holmes still treating Watson as if he is beneath him, keeping the same student-teacher relationship that we discussed in class. In chapter six, Watson recalls his interaction with Holmes, "'There is an appalling directness about your questions, Watson,' Holmes said, shaking his pipe at me" (223). The way Sherlock is so quick to criticize Watson highlights his rude behavior, but there is some hidden affection in it all. Sherlock definitely appears to be training him to take over in the future; they work side-by-side, but have a mentor-apprentice type of relationship.
The novel is divided into two parts, and the second part begins to explain a completely new story, which Watson promises will tie into the earlier one. I genuinely find the second story interesting and I can definitely already start to see how the two plots will merge, especially with the emphasis on the branding mark. Overall, I feel like Doyle is a very strong and creative writer and I expect several more plot twists before the novel is over.
I really like how your analysis extends the character relations we saw earlier in the novel to what we have just read. I am also very intrigued with your remark on the irony of setting up such an elaborate crime scene only for it to be rendered meaningless. I am pretty confident that Doyle had planned that plot twist from the beginning, because otherwise he would have no basis for writing the entire Part II of the novel since it would really not connect well if Douglas was dead (how, for instance, would Watson know the story if the only real connection to the society, Douglas, was dead). I agree that the second part of the novel is interesting even though it is not a mystery novel. I actually looked it up, and Doyle published a fair amount of narrative work outside of his Sherlock Holmes bestseller. I am now really interested in reading some of Doyle's work that isn't Sherlock Holmes, if it's as engaging as Part II.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting how you mentioned the relationship between Mrs. Douglas and Mr. Barker. I personally thought it was simply a plot device, used to distract the reader from what the truth was. By the end of part one, I assumed that their closeness was founded on their care for Mr. Douglas and desire for him to be safe. However, the beginning of the story led the reader to believe that there was an affair, and I agree that it would be interesting if that subject was brought up again because it was not acknowledged. I also agree that although Holmes is condescending and critical, he shows fondness towards Watson, and I focused on that aspect of their relationship in the previous reading. Like you said, however, there is a mentor-apprentice type relationship that I noticed more in this reading. When Holmes and the two detectives went off to do research, Watson stayed back, and it seemed that he is not regarded as a detective. He even starts chapter 6 with "the three detectives had many matters of detail into which to enquire" (219) instead of "the three other detectives," which shows how he views his role in this mentor-apprentice relationship as well.
ReplyDeleteI like how you noted that you can already see how the two stories are going to merge together. McMurdo and Douglas share similar qualities such as the Revolvers they carry and their personalities, so McMurdo is likely the past life of Douglas. McMurdo is somewhat different from the other Scowrers, so I can see how he would end up running from them. He stops Baldwin from killing the Old man, so he clearly has a conscience. I'm excited to read how these plots merge together.
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