Character Sketch on the Book Sherlock Holmes the Hound of the Baskervilles

Watson

Dr. Watson in The Hound of the Baskervilles

Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles one of the most famous Sherlock Holmes stories, continuously being depicted in film and television. But the original story, as written by Doyle, is a wonderful and extremely riveting tale of death, superstition, murder and mystery. Dark, foggy moors, filled with dangers both natural and supernatural are what face Sherlock Holmes and faithful companion, Dr. Watson. Since the tale is told from the point-of-view of Dr. Watson, he is a fine character to base an analysis on. Dr. Watson is, or course, a medical doctor and a veteran of the British Wars in Afghanistan, but he while he is an extremely logical and brave man, he is not very clever. These three traits: logic, bravery, and thickness mix together in Watson to make him an interesting, yet likeable character.

In the late 1800's, when this tale was written, logic, science, and technology were becoming the means to mark a man as "modern;" and Dr. Watson was a man of science and logic. The fact that he was a practicing doctor in the 1800's, educated and committed to the use of science as the means of understanding, is a clear demonstration of this trait. When he scoffs at the idea of a supernatural hound roaming the moors and fulfilling some demonic curse, he also exhibits his ability to see the world through the eyes of logic. And finally, the fact that at the beginning of the story he is using Holmes' own techniques of logic and observation to discover the owner of the cane's identity is yet another example of his exhibiting logic and scientific observation in the real world.

Another trait that Watson exhibits time and time again is bravery, there is nothing cowardly about the good doctor. Again the fact that he was a decorated war veteran who has demonstrated his courage supports this notion. And while he is certainly the second man in the Holmes-Watson equation, he is not intimidated or hesitant to accompany Sir Henry Baskerville to Dartmoor alone, without Sherlock Holmes. He is willing to guard Sir Henry, despite the dangers, as demonstrated when he wrote in his diary: "I am conscious myself of a weight at my heart and a feeling on impending danger- ever present danger…" (Doyle, 727). In the end he even faces down the hound without flinching. The brave and courageous Watson faces this danger without hesitation.

Finally Dr. Watson, while being an educated man of science and logic, lacks the cleverness that is associated with his friend and colleague Sherlock Holmes; he is considered to be "thick," or simply not very clever. This does not mean that he is stupid, he is a medical doctor. But the things he knows, and how his mind works are limited by the limitations of science and logic. He cannot make the leaps of logic by which Holmes often connects two seemingly unconnected facts together to help solve the mystery. His inability to correctly decipher the identity of the cane's owner, wrongly thinking it was owned by an elderly hunter, exemplifies his inability to grasp the complexities that Holmes does. And after discovering the lights on the moor which appeared in the middle of the night, he was unable to discover the identity of the person until he stumbled upon the housekeeper's brother quite by accident. He is also fooled by the villain, Stapleton, whom Watson believes is doing research in the area. Ultimately it is Sherlock Holmes who demonstrates the thickness of his friend, Watson, by hiding out on the moor. Holmes tricks Watson into believing that he is in London, on another case, while Holmes was observing and investigating in Dartmoor the entire time.