Hey all. Going to jump straight into this. Well, there are a few things about me that you'll be learning by now - I like reading, I like writing, and I'm bisexual. I'm a lover of the mystery genre of books. I love Agatha Christie, I love Mary Higgins Clarke, I loved the Famous Five and Secret Seven as a child. And as a teenager I was introduced to Sherlock Holmes and have ever since, been a fan. (As an aside, I am somewhat - read, very: disappointed in the selection of Robert Downey Jr to play Holmes in the latest representation of the detective hero. Holmes was British, gave more credit to his brain than to violence - period).
Occasionally, it occurs to me to wonder about the sexuality of both the writer and the hero in the books I'm reading.
Sherlock Holmes is a particularly interesting character. Unlike Mary Higgins Clarke's Inspector Westcott, Holmes is never swayed by the wiles and charms of the opposite sex. In fact on only one occasion does he even really acknowledge the fact that one of the other characters is a particularly attractive woman. Holmes appears to be all brain and not a lot of emotion or heart. I would be swaying towards the opinion that Holmes was in fact asexual, were it not for the fact that on many occasions he does not function as well without the companionship of his friend Dr. Watson. From Dr. Watson's point of view, he certainly misses Holmes every time he is absent and does not function so well without him. Although Watson does marry, prior to this time, he lives with Holmes, and again co habits with him after his wife's death.
Holmes's friendship with Watson is his most significant relationship. In several stories, Holmes's fondness for Watson—often hidden beneath his cold, intellectual exterior—is revealed. For instance, in "The Adventure of the Three Garridebs", Watson is wounded in a confrontation with a villain; although the bullet wound proves to be "quite superficial", Watson is moved by Holmes's reaction:
It was worth a wound; it was worth many wounds; 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.
One must remember that these stories took place at the turn of the 19th Century to the 20th. This was a time when Oscar Wilde came out to be homosexual and faced the ridicule and some acceptance that he did. This would not be a time for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to openly disclose his heroes as gay.
Last weekend, I came across a wonderful television representation of Sherlock Holmes. A series filmed by Granada Television starring Jeremy Brett. Jeremy Brett quite simply plays the best Holmes I have ever seen, and the Granada production brings to life the world of Sherlock I had so often imagined in the most exquisite fashion. I was so moved by Brett's production that I went to look him up afterwards. Unfortunately I discovered that he has had an untimely demise, but I also discovered that he is bisexual. He was married to a woman, and subsequently had relationships with men. It was this discovery which made me realise exactly why, in my mind, he was able to get into the mind and the heart of Sherlock Holmes so well.
Whether or not Sherlock was gay or asexual, the sensitivity that Jeremy Brett must have had in his own lifestyle was what enabled him to get into the very soul of the man he was playing.
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