5.1.1

Narrative Voice

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Narrative Voice: Watson

The novella is written from Watson’s point of view – he is the narrator, and so the story is told in his voice.

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Bond with Watson

  • Because Watson is our narrator, we develop a type of bond with him and trust him – he is honest about his own shortcomings and reports criticism from Holmes as well (Holmes criticises that Watson spoils his writing, as he ‘attempted to tinge it with romanticism’).
  • As we develop a bond with Watson, we start to care about what happens to him in the story.
    • For example, we worry about him being lost and being put in danger – we also become invested in his relationship with Mary Morstan.
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More human than Holmes

  • Watson comes across as a more human character than Holmes, and so the reader can relate to him. This adds to the trusting relationship between reader and narrator.
  • Watson is not as self-assured or self-confident as Holmes (‘What was I, an army surgeon with a weak leg and a weaker banking-account…?’)
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Makes story interesting

  • At the start of the novella, Holmes criticises Watson for being too romantic and sentimental in his writing – Holmes believes that when Watson is writing about his escapades, his writing should be purely scientific and logical.
    • But it is because of Watson’s sociable, personal, descriptive tones that the reader is interested in the story – if it was written as a scientific report, Watson would lose that personal relationship with the reader which hooks us in.
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Emotional responses

  • We get emotional reactions from Watson, where we would not from Holmes.
    • Watson tells the reader that Mary is beautiful, graceful and lovely.
    • Watson tells the reader that Thaddeus is a bit of a strange character.
    • Watson tells the reader that Jonathan Small is terrifying and evil.

Narrative Voice: Watson

It is important to remember that the story is written from Watson’s viewpoint, and so many things remain a mystery to the reader.

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Revelation of events

  • The novella itself is structured to only reveal key information to the reader as it becomes necessary – as it is revealed to Watson. This keeps us hooked into the story.
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Holmes' mind

  • Similarly, we are only able to access Watson’s viewpoint – the inner-working of Sherlock Holmes’ mind remains a mystery to the reader, especially as Holmes only reveals information when he wants to.
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Holmes' brain

  • Although Holmes explains his conclusions to Watson, the reader still cannot be entirely sure how his brain works and how he deduces these things from the evidence – he keeps some details to himself until he is ready to disclose them (‘I hope before very long to be able to introduce you to the pair of them’).
  • The reader becomes more and more impressed with Holmes, as Watson appears to throughout the story.

Jump to other topics

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

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End of Topic Test - Key Themes

Dialogue