#card acd

[materialofonebeing]

“We had a pleasant little meal together, during which Holmes would talk about nothing but violins, narrating with great exultation how he had purchased his own Stradivarius […]. This led him to Paganini, and we sat for an hour over a bottle of claret while he told me anecdote after anecdote of that extraordinary man,” Watson, The Adventure of the Cardboard Box

I have such a soft spot for when Holmes can’t stop talking.  More.  Watson had heard the Stradivarius story at least three times, no doubt.

[tremendousdetectivetheorist]

Domesticity and reading Watson’s mind in CARD

The part of CARD which I was going to comment on was already touched on by @jeremyholmes with the intimate and domestic stuff. Since I’m such a fan of domestic Holmes and Watson, I’d like to go on a bit more, starting with this part: W: “Do you mean to say that you read my train of thoughts from my features?” H: “Your features and especially your eyes...”

My jaw may have dropped a little. So Holmes observes his Watson as closely as Watson observes his Holmes? I feel like I’m reading one of W’s very intimate descriptions of his companion at work--you know the descriptions I mean, with the long, thin fingers and lust for the chase and such. I’m surprised, but I’m also not surprised that the most observant man would observe his partner. Makes me wonder if Holmes writes his own accounts all about Watson...and is saving them for rainy day. *sigh*

And that is right before Holmes continues to describe Watson’s behavior and reads his thoughts back to him for a page’s worth of text. I get that perhaps Holmes finds amusement in reading his Watson (and maybe that’s another discussion), but this is the first time I’ve actually seen it spelled out in dialogue. And here’s what Watson had to say after that: “Absolutely!” said I. “And now that you have explained it, I confess that I am as amazed as before.”

Same here, Watson. I’m amazed that two intimate companions could casually read one another’s thoughts in a domestic scene to set up a crime story.

(This could be due to my being a loner, but it’s an activity that’s hard for me to imagine doing with another person. If someone watched me and tried to read my thoughts and share what they think I was thinking, I’d probably laugh at their attempt.)

I kinda wonder what ACD was up to when writing this scene? Was it a poke at Poe’s writing, which had been alluded to in the setup? Was it becoming hip and trendy to talk about thoughts aloud? Is there something wrong with me that I don’t do that irl?

[astudyincanon]

For the week of November 6th - November 12th, we will be tackling

The Adventure of the Cardboard Box (#CARD ACD)

We’re back at it again this week with “The Adventure of the Cardboard Box.” It’s a bit over 9.000 words and was first published in The Strand in 1892. This story was originally omitted from the British edition of The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (which covers stories published in 1892 and 1893), and though it was included in the first American edition, it was removed from later editions due to its subject matter. Eventually it was added back into its appropriate place in British editions of Memoirs, while most American editions now include it as part of the His Last Bow collection instead.

Feel free to read at your own pace throughout the week. We will be tracking the tags for the story and posting what we find as the week goes on.

[materialofonebeing]

From Homosexuality of Men and Women, M. Hirschfeld, 1914

[materialofonebeing]

Conan Doyle wrote about infidelity in Cardboard Box while in love with Jean Leckie.

Conan Doyle justified involvement with Leckie by believing they were special snowflakes.  It is possible he wrote a story partly about betrayal and hurt in marriage without connecting any such mess with himself.  Mrs. Touie Doyle wasn’t the murdering kind.

Klinger noted no one knows why The Adventure of the Cardboard Box was missing in the first Memoirs collection, and its inclusion in the second appears to have been a mistake the publisher corrected with another printing.  Maybe the story in The Strand occasioned someone in Conan Doyle’s circle to make waves again, leading to later suppression of the story for Leckie’s sake.

[watsonmelon]

[travelingwithoutthedoctor]

Wife, what wife? While in stoc and nava Holmes needs to get Watson out of his house in card they are clearly living together. I do think card in misplaced horribly in this timeline.