The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910 discussion
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The Adventures of the Final Problem and the Empty House
The Complete Sherlock Holmes
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Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Final Problem
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The Adventure of the Final Problem (The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes)
Discussion Questions
1) How does Conan Doyle characterize Professor Moriarty, and what makes him such a formidable adversary for Holmes?
2) What is Holmes' plan to finally confront Moriarty, and why does he insist on going to Switzerland?
3) How does Watson's perspective on Holmes change throughout the story, and what is his role in the narrative?
4) What themes about good versus evil, justice, and the nature of a detective's work are explored in "The Final Problem"?
5) How does this story contribute to the overall development of Sherlock Holmes as a character?
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However one also sees the desire of ACD to kill of his golden goose, apparently as he was feeling trapped in this literary genre when he wanted to write other things. One hears of this more these days with actors feeling trapped or "typecast" in a certain role or type after becoming famous.
Are there other genres besides mysteries where one can have such long-lived characters and story lines? In mystery, Agatha Christie is the most famous, but there are certainly other writers who have detectives with long careers-Ian Rankin/Rebus comes to mind. Is there anything similar outside of mysteries?
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Not a book series, and maybe not what you have in mind, but Godzilla kept coming back throughout several continuities of movies, and Universal and Hammer both kept bringing Frankenstein's Creature, the Wolfman, and Dracula back from "the dead" for more movies!
As far as book series go, I guess there's only so much a character can go through in their lives. With mystery, the main character is investigating something that's usually not centered on them, so there can be many "episodes." Whereas in romance, most people don't want to read 20 books about the same character falling in love with 20 people.
But I just remembered some books I read as a preteen: The Baby Sitters Club and Sweet Valley High, which had several books with the same main characters dealing with teen stuff. But then they had to keep repeating things (e.g., there were at least three Halloween-centered books in the BSC series, and the main characters were in the 8th grade for all of them).
Although Edgar Rice Burroughs didn’t live to write more than about two dozen Tarzan stories, the character was already excessively long lived. He had a son old enough to serve in the First World War (see Tarzan the Terrible), and himself participated very actively in the Second (see Tarzan and the “Foreign Legion”). Burroughs saw there was a problem, and twice accounted for the character’s extended youthfulness, once in Tarzan and the Leopard Men and again in “Foreign Legion.” (Which title doesn’t refer to the French FL, but to a group of American airmen of diverse ethnic origins.)There was no such problem with Burroughs’ first successful character, John Carter of Mars, as it was established in the first story that he was so old that he didn’t remember his childhood or early life by the time he fought in the American Civil War.
Unfortunately, as I have the illustrated Sherlock Holmes this episode was somewhat spoilt for me because on the second page there was an illustration that was entitled the death of Sherlock Holmes! Talk about spoilers! I knew the ending when I was only 10% into the story. Never mind, I still enjoyed it but when he died at the end (or supposedly), I naturally knew that he would resurface at some stage because my volume has further episodes. As an aside, I wonder if it would be a good idea to have a vote at the end of the reading when we can vote for our favourite episode?
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Yikes-that would be annoying!
I'm now debating a trip to visit the Rechenbach falls in the future-not sure my enthusiasm will extend to dressing up though!
I'm kind of neutral on this story. When I was a kid and all wrapped up in the Sherlock Holmes mythology I was deeply into it of course. As an adult it strikes me as a bit silly and maddeningly vague. Why can't Moriarty be arrested early? I know it's because the net isn't closed yet, but it's quite annoying to me that this is never explained. The story is dynamic when Moriarty is chasing Holmes and Watson on the train, but less so later, as we never really see him, and his one reported confrontation with Holmes is very much like a boo-hiss villain of pantomime. The scenes at the falls are lovely in terms of description though, and I suppose seeing the confrontation/fall would make it pretty difficult to resurrect Holmes later!
The pantomime comparison is apt.Moriarty comes very close to being the type of villain Dorothy Sayers warned about in her Aristotlean analysis of the good detective story: “villainous in all directions at once,” “like the bad baron in an Adelphi melodrama.” So far as we can tell, Moriarty fails her list of his “typical” evil deeds only by not being adulterous, which offers no scope for a Napoleon of Crime.
(By the way, Moriarty shows up in T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, just as The Musgrave Ritual shows up in Murder in the Cathedral. And as Wagner turns up in The Waste Land.)
Ian wrote: "The pantomime comparison is apt.Moriarty comes very close to being the type of villain Dorothy Sayers warned about in her Aristotlean analysis of the good detective story: “villainous in all dire..."
Great quote from Sayers. He definitely is villainous in all directions at once. All told, I think I prefer Colonel Moran.
My Holmes notes have included mentions of all the T.S. Eliot appearances. I just love it, particularly Moriarty as McCavity. :-)
I’ve been to that area of Switzerland a number of times but never to the falls. The Alpine scenery and fantastic climate is enough for me. The walks are tremendous and, in my view, the area only lacks the presence of abundant wildlife to rival the Rockies.This must be one of the most famous if not the best story regarding Sherlock Holme’s sleuthing. Very little is said about how Holmes managed to trap Moriarty and all his gang. So much was left to the imagination up at the falls, which is great for those who have a vivid imagination. Did Conan Doyle plan for the fact that no bodies were found, so that he could resurrect one or both of them in the future or was that just a device to keep the story brief?
As Emily remarked regarding, ‘The Naval Treaty!’ I think this story would have benefitted by being of greater length to provide a fitting finale for the famous detective.
Having read all the stories in the ‘Adventures’ and ‘Memoirs’ I have a recurring thought. Dr. Watson and his wife don’t seem to spend much time together. Have we had more than a couple of sentences from Mrs. Watson throughout all these stories? We know very little about her. Does she like to be away from him as much as he seems to prefer sleuthing with Sherlock?
I am waiting for Watson to say, just once, to Sherlock, “Sorry, old man, but I promised to take my wife to see Wilde’s latest play tonight. You can borrow my trusty revolver if you wish.”
I’m getting worried that Mrs. Watson might finally accept one of those persistent offers of a trip to the theatre from Captain Percival down at the Ex Colonial Officers Benevolent Society Mission.
Or maybe we'll get "The Mystery of Who Killed Sherlock Holmes," and it will turn out to be.... Mrs. Watson!
The Adventure of the Final Problem (The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes)
Availability The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/834
Background Information
"The Final Problem" is a short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring his detective character Sherlock Holmes. It was first published in The Strand Magazine in the United Kingdom, and McClure's in the United States, under the title "The Adventure of the Final Problem" in December 1893. It appears in book form as part of the collection The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
The story, set in 1891, introduces the criminal mastermind Professor Moriarty. It was intended to be the final Holmes story, ending with the character's death, but Conan Doyle was later persuaded to revive Holmes for additional stories and novels.
Conan Doyle later ranked "The Final Problem" fourth on his personal list of the twelve best Holmes stories.
Publication History
The story was published in the UK in The Strand Magazine in December 1893, and in the US in McClure's in the same month. It was also published in the US edition of The Strand Magazine in January 1894. It was published with nine illustrations by Sidney Paget in the Strand, and with eleven illustrations by Harry C. Edwards in McClure's. It was included in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, which was published in December 1893 in the UK and February 1894 in the US.
A Short Review
It is difficult to understand why Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would kill off the “golden goose” that was Sherlock Holmes. The stories about Holmes were in great demand from the general public, and the detective had made Conan Doyle the best-paid author of his day.
This success, though, had also led to financial freedom for Conan Doyle, and so the British author could focus on the literary works that truly interested him. Conan Doyle had fallen out of love with Holmes and was now far more interested in his historical works and other novels. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle penned almost twenty other novels, including The Refugees (1892), Rodney Stone (1896,) and The Tragedy of the Korosko (1898).
Even in writing the “final problem” for Holmes, Conan Doyle did manage to increase the reputation of both Holmes and Watson; Holmes showed a willingness to sacrifice himself for the greater good, and Watson willingly stood alongside his friend in the most dangerous of times.
"The Adventure of the Final Problem" has proven to be a central feature of most adaptations of the Sherlock Holmes stories.
Famously, it was the final episode of the first series of "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" with Jeremy Brett, aired by Granada TV in September 1985. This would be the final episode to feature David Burke as Watson, with Burke replaced by Edward Hardwicke for subsequent episodes.
In more recent years, the episode “The Reichenbach Fall” was the final episode of the second series of Sherlock, with much speculation about how Benedict Cumberbatch survived his fall from the roof of St Bart’s.
Reaction
In an article published by the BBC, Jennifer Keishin Armstrong noted that "The public reaction to the death was unlike anything previously seen for fictional events." The Strand Magazine "barely survived" the resulting rush of subscription cancellations. There were some stories that "young men throughout London wore black mourning crêpes on their hats or around their arms for the month of Holmes’ death" although these may have been exaggerations propounded by Doyle's son. Armstrong continues, "Readers typically accepted what went on in their favourite books, then moved on. Now they were beginning to take their popular culture personally, and to expect their favourite works to conform to certain expectations."
Pressure from fans eventually persuaded Doyle to bring Holmes back, writing The Hound of the Baskervilles (set before "The Final Problem") and reviving him in "The Adventure of the Empty House". There were enough holes in eyewitness accounts to allow Doyle to plausibly resurrect Holmes; only the few free surviving members of Moriarty's organization and Holmes' brother Mycroft (who appears briefly in this story) know that Sherlock Holmes is still alive, having won the struggle at the Reichenbach Falls and sent Moriarty to his doom—though nearly meeting his own at the hands of one of Moriarty's henchmen.
Influence and legacy
Inhabitants of Meiringen are still grateful to Doyle and his creation Holmes for ensuring the enduring worldwide fame of their falls and considerably promoting tourism to the town.
A museum dedicated to Holmes is housed in the basement of the English Church, located in what has now been named Conan Doyle Plac
At the funicular station near the falls, there is a memorial plate to "the most famous detective in the world".
The actual ledge from which Moriarty fell is on the other side of the falls. It is accessible by climbing the path to the top of the falls, crossing the bridge, and following the trail down the hill. The ledge is marked by a plaque written in English, German, and French. The English inscription reads "At this fearful place, Sherlock Holmes vanquished Professor Moriarty, on 4 May 1891." It is also marked by a large white star so as to be visible from the viewing platform.
Fans who call themselves "pilgrims" travel to Meiringen dressed as characters, both major and minor, from the Holmes stories. There, they take part in a reenactment of the events of "The Final Problem" organized by the Sherlock Holmes Society of London.