Sherlock Holmes: Quotations

Test yourself

Key Quotations Sherlock about Holmes

Here are three key quotations about Holmes from Chapters 1 and 2:

Holmes' arrogance

‘That is why I have chosen my own particular profession, - or rather created it, for I am the only one in the world’ (Chapter 1).
- Right from the start, Holmes is shown to be almost arrogant in his self-confidence.
- In this quote, he suggests that he is unique in his investigative abilities, so much so that he has ‘created’ the whole detection profession.

View on emotions

‘The emotional qualities are antagonistic to clear reasoning’ (Chapter 2).
- Holmes feels that there is no place for emotional involvement in cases – he thinks that emotions stop people behaving in a reasonable way.
- As such, he is not interested in forming emotional connections with people. Although he shows himself to be good at social skills, he does not want to develop close relationships with people, as he does not want his judgement to be clouded.

Separation from people

‘A client is to me a mere unit,—a factor in a problem’ (Chapter 2).
- Continuing with the idea of Holmes having a logical, scientific brain, in this quote he separates himself from people in general.
- He does not see his clients as actual people, so he is not particularly concerned about their emotional state.
- Like a machine, he views his clients as a piece of a puzzle and no more. He enjoys solving the puzzle – he doesn’t need to know how the puzzle feels

Key Quotations about Sherlock Holmes

Here are two key quotations from Chapters 5 and 6 about Holmes:

Contrast: Holmes and Watson

'On the contrary...it clears every instant' (Chapter 5).
- Whilst Watson feels that the murder and the evidence make the case murkier and murkier, Holmes disagrees.
- This is an excellent example of the contrast between Holmes and Watson – Holmes is much more intelligent and can draw accurate conclusions using additional evidence.
- Instead of growing confused by the added information, Holmes uses it to strengthen the conclusions he is forming before he reveals them to anyone else.

Speaking in another language

'Wir sind gewohnt das die Menschen verhoehnen was sie nicht verstehen’ (Chapter 6).
- Twice in the novella, Holmes speaks in another language. Here, he states: 'We are used to that people mock what they do not understand.'
- Both non-English utterances are said near Inspector Jones.

Analysis of language use

Holmes could be separating himself even further from the incompetent police force by demonstrating his intelligence here.
He knows that Jones will mock him, but he does not really care – he is confident in his own intelligence and his own abilities, and is unfazed by Jones’ patronising, nasty attitude

1Context

1.1Victorian England & British Empire

1.1.1Author Background

1.1.2Victorian Crime & Police

1.1.3Historical Context

1.1.4Victorian London

1.1.5Women

1.1.6The British Empire

1.1.7End of Topic Test - Author & Victorian Police

1.1.8End of Topic Test - Victorian London & Empire

2Plot Summary

2.1Chapter Summaries

2.1.1Chapter 1

2.1.2Chapter 2

2.1.3Chapter 3

2.1.4Chapter 4

2.1.5Chapter 5

2.1.6Chapter 6

2.1.7Chapter 7

2.1.8Chapter 8

2.1.9Chapter 9

2.1.10Chapter 10

2.1.11Chapter 11

2.1.12Chapter 12

2.1.13Chapter 12: Jonathan Small's Stories

2.1.14End of Topic Test - Chapters 1-6

2.1.15End of Topic Test - Chapters 7-12

3Characters

3.1Key Characters

3.1.1Sherlock Holmes

3.1.2Sherlock Holmes: Quotations

3.1.3Dr John Watson

3.1.4Mary Morstan

3.1.5End of Topic Test - Key Characters

3.1.6Exam-Style Questions - Mary & Dr Watson

3.2Other Characters

3.2.1Thaddeus Sholto

3.2.2Jonathan Small

3.2.3End of Topic Test - Thaddeus and Jonathan Small

3.3Grade 9 - Key Characters

3.3.1Grade 9 - Key Characters

3.3.2Extract Analysis - Tonga

4Key Themes

4.1Key Themes

4.1.1Corruption

4.1.2Criminals & Victims

4.1.3Victorian Fear

4.1.4British Empire & Imperialism

4.1.5Duality

4.1.6End of Topic Test - Key Themes

5Writing Techniques

5.1Writing Techniques

5.1.1Narrative Voice

5.1.2Dialogue

5.1.3Structure

5.1.4Structure & Characters

5.1.5Pathetic Fallacy

5.1.6End of Topic Test - Writing Techniques

Jump to other topics