A Study in Scarlet

“‘It is not easy to express the inexpressible,’ he answered with a laugh. ‘Holmes is a little too scientific for my tastes—it approaches to cold-bloodedness. I could imagine his giving a friend a little pinch of the latest vegetable alkaloid, not out of malevolence, you understand, but simply out of a spirit of inquiry in order to have an accurate idea of the effects […] He appears to have a passion for definite and exact knowledge.’”

Holmes is portrayed as the embodiment of science, reason, and logic. However, this comes at a cost, and he is often antisocial, self-absorbed, and inconsiderate of those around him. Nonetheless, Stamford’s warning to Watson turns out to be unfounded, and Watson finds Holmes more fascinating than off-putting.

“His eyes fairly glittered as he spoke, and he put his hand over his heart and bowed as if to some applauding crowd conjured up by his imagination.”

The image of a self-satisfied Holmes bowing to an imaginary audience quickly establishes his arrogance. Moreover, despite the fact that he spends most of the novel pretending that he doesn’t care what other people think about him, in reality, he is desperate for recognition and validation from others.

“Sometimes he spent his day at the chemical laboratory, sometimes in the dissecting-rooms, and occasionally in long walks, which appeared to take him into the lowest portions of the City.”

The implication here is that Holmes is visiting the poorest—and by extension, most crime-ridden—areas to solve cases or just familiarize himself with these parts of the city. The connection between the lower classes and crime is a common trope of Victorian literature, at times reinforcing the stereotype and at times exploding it.