6.2.2

Chapter 2 - Quotations

Test yourself

Key Quotations from Chapter 2

Here are two key quotations from Chapter 2:

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Holmes' lack of distraction

  • ‘State your case’ (Sherlock Holmes).
    • Even though Mary is becoming upset, Holmes does not allow emotions of any sort to distract him. As the title of the chapter suggests, Holmes is there to take a factual statement, not engage in emotional acts or reassure Mary.
    • His use of the imperative ‘state’ shows that he is in control – Mary has given him the control, as she trusts in him to do what is necessary to solve the case for her.
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Holmes' attitude towards Mary

  • ‘Is she? I did not observe’ (Sherlock Holmes).
    • A Victorian audience may find Holmes intriguing – he provides a contrast to a lot of fictional heroes (and Dr Watson), who typically fall in love with the leading ladies.
    • Instead, he is completely and solely focused on solving the case he has been given. He shows that he will not be distracted from his first love: solving problems and brain work.

Key Quotation from Dr Watson (Chapter 2)

‘You really are an automaton – a calculating machine… There is something positively inhuman in you at times’. There are multiple ways of looking at this quotation.

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Watson's exasperation

  • We could argue that Watson is exasperated at Holmes’ lack of humanity because he barely views Mary as female, and doesn’t really seem to care about personal relationships with people.
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Holmes' advanced brain

  • Watson could be pointing out (either positively or negatively) that Holmes’ brain works on another level – if we consider the time the novella was written, during the rise of the Industrial revolution, calculators were huge, complex machines which performed technical, scientific tasks.
  • In this sense, Holmes is seen as ahead of his time, as he is able to perform complex tasks within his brain and produce accurate results.
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Holmes' one-track mind

  • Watson could be commenting on how Holmes seems to have one purpose in life; to solve problems.
  • In this sense, Watson is noting how Holmes is completely focused on his purpose and does not let anything else distract him from achieving that purpose.
  • Machines of that era were generally created to complete one task, and to do it well – Holmes embodies an intelligent, scientific machine.

Jump to other topics

1Context

2Plot Summary

3Characters

4Key Themes

5Writing Techniques

6Recap: Main Quotes

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