{"id":387,"date":"2020-08-11T17:06:07","date_gmt":"2020-08-11T17:06:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nekosmuse.com\/sherlockholmes\/?p=387"},"modified":"2020-08-11T17:08:01","modified_gmt":"2020-08-11T17:08:01","slug":"a-laymans-guide-to-the-holmes-watson-relationship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nekosmuse.com\/sherlockholmes\/a-laymans-guide-to-the-holmes-watson-relationship\/","title":{"rendered":"A Layman’s Guide to the Holmes\/Watson Relationship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Over the past few years, this site has seen a dramatic surge in visitors (and for this I thank you, BBC and Guy Ritchie).\u00a0Many visitors have emailed, wanting more information on Holmes and Watson and their relationship.\u00a0While I still recommend reading\u00a0Canon\u00a0<\/a>and then my series,\u00a0Decoding the Subtext<\/a>, I thought providing a summary of Holmes and Watson\u2019s relationship, as found in Canon, would prove useful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What follows is a more or less chronological (hard to do as not all the stories are dated, or dated correctly) summary of their relationship, along with the key Holmes\/Watson stories all newcomers to the pairing should read. If I\u2019ve missed anything, please feel free to let me know, and I\u2019ll add it to the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Year<\/strong><\/td>Event<\/strong><\/td>Story<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
1881<\/td>Holmes and Watson meet. They are, at this point, in their mid-to-late twenties, Watson some years older than Holmes.Watson, having returned to London from campaigning in Afghanistan (during the second Afghan War), and sporting an injured shoulder and\/or leg (Doyle varies on the location of Watson\u2019s wound) runs into an old acquaintance, Stamford. Watson tells Stamford he is looking for cheap accommodations, so Stamford offers to introduce Watson to Holmes, who is looking for someone to go halves with on a set of rooms (Baker Street).They agree to take the rooms and move in together. Within the span of a few weeks, Watson has become obsessed with his new roommate and begins keeping lists of Holmes\u2019 limits. Holmes preens under the attention. Shortly after Watson\u2019s list-taking begins, Holmes chooses to reveal his profession (consulting detective) and begins dragging Watson out on cases. Holmes, ever the showman, is delighted to have found an audience. By the end of the story, Watson has announced his intention of writing and publishing Holmes\u2019 cases. A great friendship\/love affair is born.<\/td>A Study in Scarlet (STUD)<\/td><\/tr>
1881-1888<\/td>Holmes and Watson live in domestic bliss, continuing to work together on numerous cases. While there is some evidence for a physical relationship, most agree their relationship up until this point was platonic. This, however, is open for interpretation.<\/td><\/td><\/tr>
1888<\/td>Holmes\u2019s cocaine use places a strain on Holmes and Watson\u2019s friendship\/relationship and they argue\/break up. Mary Morstan appears in Baker Street, requesting Holmes\u2019 aid in helping to solve a case. Watson, over the course of 2 days, falls deeply in love with Mary and proposes to her. Or so he would have us\/Holmes\/himself believe. Holmes, horrified by losing Watson, spends the entire case attempting to woo Watson back. He even serenades him on the violin. Sadly, Holmes fails, and turns to cocaine once again to ease the upset of Watson\u2019s leaving.<\/td>The Sign of the Four (SIGN)<\/td><\/tr>
1888-1889<\/td>Watson, still living in Baker Street, but engaged to Mary Morstan, continues to help Holmes with his cases, most notably, The Hound of the Baskervilles (HOUN).<\/td><\/td><\/tr>
1889<\/td>Watson marries Miss Morstan<\/td>implied behind the scenes<\/td><\/tr>
1889<\/td>Holmes is hired by the King of Bohemia to retrieve a photograph and some letters from the woman who is blackmailing him: Irene Adler. Holmes meets Adler twice, both times in disguise. She never sees him as his true self. Adler alludes Holmes, taking the King\u2019s photograph with her, but she leaves a letter stating that she has found the love of a better man (her now husband, Godfrey Norton), and hence won\u2019t bother the king anymore.<\/td>A Scandal in Bohemia (SCAN)<\/td><\/tr>
1889-1891<\/td>Watson continuously abandons Mary Watson (nee Morstan) in favour of sleeping at Baker Street and accompanying Holmes on his cases.<\/td><\/td><\/tr>
1891<\/td>Holmes and Watson\u2019s relationship is now slightly strained, likely due to Mary\u2019s influence. Holmes has come up against his greatest adversary, Professor James Moriarty. Holmes, after months of investigation, has finally found a way to capture Moriarty. The plan requires him to leave London (for his own safety) so he shows up at Watson\u2019s home, requesting his company on a trip to the continent. Watson agrees, ditches Mary, and the pair spend several weeks traipsing about Europe. Moriarty eventually slips through Holmes\u2019s net and Holmes learns he is now bent on revenge. Holmes has become a dangerous companion and attempts to send Watson away. Watson refuses. It is important to note that neither Watson nor the reader meet Moriarty \u2013 we must take Holmes\u2019s word that he exists. In a dramatic conclusion, Holmes, having been separated from Watson in the Swiss Alps, finds himself confronting Moriarty at Reichenbach Falls. Locked in mortal combat, the pair plummet to their deaths. A short time later, Watson, finding only Holmes\u2019 stick, cigarette case and a short note, deduces that Holmes has died and is devastated.<\/td>Final Problem (FINA)<\/td><\/tr>
1891-1893<\/td>Period known as The Hiatus.Watson, over the course of two years, records and publishes twenty-three of Holmes\u2019 cases. He still believes Holmes to be dead. Mary either dies or leaves Watson.<\/td><\/td><\/tr>
1894<\/td>Holmes returns to London and Watson. Watson faints. Then forgives Holmes for faking his death. Holmes offers his condolences on Watson\u2019s loss (of Mary). They immediately fall back into their old life, with Watson selling his practice and moving back into Baker Street. It should be noted that it was in fact Holmes, though a cousin, who purchased Watson\u2019s practice, so eager was he to have Watson back.<\/td>The Empty House\/Norwood Builder<\/td><\/tr>
1894-1902<\/td>Holmes and Watson continue taking cases, working and living together.<\/td><\/td><\/tr>
1902<\/td>I felt a sudden hot sear as if a red-hot iron had been pressed to my thigh. There was a crash as Holmes\u2019s pistol came down on the man\u2019s head. I had a vision of him sprawling upon the floor with blood running down his face while Holmes rummaged him for weapons. Then my friend\u2019s wiry arms were round me, and he was leading me to a chair.<\/em> \u201cYou\u2019re not hurt, Watson? For God\u2019s sake, say that you are not hurt!\u201d<\/em> It was worth a wound \u2014 it was worth many wounds \u2014 to know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask. The clear, hard eyes were dimmed for a moment, and the firm lips were shaking. For the one and only time I caught a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain. All my years of humble but single-minded service culminated in that moment of revelation.<\/em><\/td>The Three Garridebs<\/td><\/tr>
1903<\/td>Holmes retires and moves to Sussex to keep Bees.While it is suggested that Watson remained behind in London, it is entirely probable that this is a blind, meant to distract the reader from the true nature of their relationship.<\/td>The Creeping Man\/The Lion\u2019s Mane<\/td><\/tr>
1903-1927<\/td>Watson writes the remainder of the stories.<\/td><\/td><\/tr>
1914<\/td>Holmes and Watson\u2019s last known case together, on the eve of WWI.<\/td>His Last Bow<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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