The Mazarin Stone

[sarahthecoat]

I know I’m a week behind, but I did read this one, and there’s one point that has been stuck in the back of my mind, that I haven’t seen discussed yet. I read this one in my copy of Baring-Gould, along with the marginal notes. The first one as usual is the process of triangulation to arrive at an in-universe date for the story. Right up top, “Watson is not living at Baker St in this case” (setting aside our own thoughts about that for the moment). The third note is to the “mere appendix” line, about Holmes’ lack of appetite. Note 3 is all about contradicting that with the many references to Holmes eating during a case, but the ones cited are all from meals shared with Watson. I think, if it’s so that Watson isn’t living at Baker St, that Holmes is depressed, and there fore not eating, but smoking too much, drinking, and expecting to be murdered (which doesn’t seem to bother him nearly enough for Watson’s taste). Whoever wrote note 3 seems to have ignored the line in the first paragraph about Holmes’ “loneliness and isolation” and “saturnine figure”. Just a few lines down, Holmes is in bed sleeping during daylight hours, which could just be “irregular” and for the case, but could just as easily be another sign of depression. It could even be both. But at the end of the story, when the case has been solved, Holmes immediately asks that “dinner for two” be sent up ASAP. Holmes is quite ready to eat a proper meal if Watson will sit down to it with him.

acd maza maza acd astudyincanon holmes & watson holmes' depression
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Nov 10th, 2018