“we have much to hope” [NAVA]
Why did Sherlock Holmes have clients? Because invariably, people found themselves in unfortunate circumstances and they needed help. Oftentimes, the sentiment was “I come to you as a last resource,” as Lady Hilda Trelawney Hope explained.
How appropriate was her surname? By the end of the story, Holmes located the document, saving the career of the cabinet secretary and restoring hope in his wife.
Most cases begin with a severe sense of hopelessness or pessimism, Clients arrive, convinced that there is only one man in all of England who can help, as they dolefully present their woeful problems. And yet, the Sherlock Holmes stories are filled with hope and optimism.
In "The Bruce-Partington Plans," for example, there is more at stake than the missing plans of a submarine. Violet Westbury, fiancée of the dead suspect Arthur Cadogan West, implore Sherlock Holmes,
“Oh, Mr. Holmes, if you could only, only save his honour! It was so much to him.”
And in clearing up the mystery, Holmes provides comfort for those involved, as he does in so many other cases.
Finding the treasure (although losing it in the Thames) in The Sign of Four, he brings closure for Mary Morstan and a marital prospect for Dr. Watson. Holmes is able to vanquish the family curse in The Hound of the Baskervilles, leaving the young baronet to make a life for himself.
Here are just a handful of examples of optimism: Henry Baker's hat and goose are restored and James Ryder is given a second chance [BLUE]; a terrible secret is exposed and a young family reconnected [YELL]; the shame and fear of a son's illness are wiped away with an alternative diagnosis [BLAN]; a problem child is exiled and there is a chance to repair a failed marriage [PRIO]; we could even make the case that an inherited medical practice following a murder means rosier times ahead for the physician [RESI].
Was Sherlock Holmes a pessimist or an optimist? Some might call him a realist. But, capitalizing on the misfortunes of others, maybe he was more of an opportunist. An opportunist who provided promising paths forward for his clients.
The very first episode of Trifles looked at how common the hopeful was in the Canon:
Meanwhile, let's see what the imaginative minds at Baker Street Elementary think about pessimism versus optimism...
Baker Street Elementary follows the original adventures of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, as they and their friends work through the issues of elementary school in Victorian London. An archive of all previous episodes can be viewed at www.bakerstreetelementary.org.
0 comments:
Post a Comment