In the 1887 edition of Beeton’s Christmas Annual, John H. Watson, M.D., and late of the Army Medical Department, introduced the public to the work of his friend, Sherlock Holmes. Little did he, or anyone else, for that matter, imagine how popular his story would become with the reading public. In keeping with the tradition of Holmesian scholarship, this paper assumes that both Holmes and Watson were indeed real people, living through the Victorian and Edwardian eras, and that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle served only to help Watson with the publication of his many manuscripts. Working with his amanuensis, Conan Doyle, Watson gave to the world a detailed and loving portrait of “the best and the wisest man” that he had known. In a series of 56 short stories and 4 novellas, often referred to as “the Canon,” both Holmes and Watson are revealed to us fully: Watson allows us to see their personalities; virtues and vices, likes and dislikes. In the process, these two men leave the printed page and become our friends. We enjoy reading about the details of their daily lives at 221B Baker Street, as well as learning about their friends, from the often bumbling detectives of Scotland Yard to their housekeeper, Mrs. Martha Hudson. We enjoy reading about the evolving relationship between Holmes and Watson, and watching how each one subtly affects the other. Many reviewers have commented how Watson’s writing so vividly brings to mind visions of late Victorian London before and after the turn of the 20th Century. When we read about Holmes, we are carried back to the gas-lit and fog enshrouded streets of London, before the arrival of the automobile. We enjoy Watson’s portraits of the snug coziness of their flat as a snowstorm or rainstorm rages outside their windows. It is not only Holmes and Watson who are revealed to us, but an era.
As noted, it was December, 1887 when A. Conan Doyle finally saw publication of his friend Dr. Watson’s novella, “A Study in Scarlet.” Watson supplied Doyle with many manuscripts, and in February, 1890 “The Sign of Four” appeared in Lippincott’s Magazine. Carefully reviewing and editing Dr. Watson’s writings, Conan Doyle began to publish a series of stories about Holmes, beginning in April 1891 with “A Scandal in Bohemia.” This was followed by “The Red-headed League” and “A Case of Identity.” Many more followed. The popularity of Holmes grew tremendously through the efforts of Watson and his literary agent, Conan Doyle. In 1892, the first twelve of the stories relating the cases of Sherlock Holmes as narrated by Dr. Watson appeared in a collection called “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” (Adventures). This was followed by a second collection of Holmes stories, “The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes” (Memoirs), published in 1893. The last story of the Memoirs is titled “The Final Problem” and tells how Holmes fell to his death at the falls of Reichenbach, near the Alpine village of Meiringen, Switzerland. Engaged in furious, mortal, hand-to-hand combat with his arch-nemesis, Dr. James Moriarty, both men apparently fell to their deaths in the sharp, jagged rocks at the base of the falls, locked in each other’s arms.
By now Holmes had reached a world-wide audience, and the death of Holmes took the reading public by surprise, and shocked and saddened them. Kyle Freeman, in his introduction to Volume 1 of The Complete Sherlock Holmes (2003), tells us that “Bank clerks and shopkeepers wore black armbands in mourning for the late consulting detective, and storms of letters poured into the Strand and to Conan Doyle himself, urging the resurrection of Sherlock Holmes.” To no avail.
Perhaps it was Conan Doyle’s preoccupation with other work, such as the publication of his own “The White Company” in 1891, “Round the Red Lamp” (1894), “The Stark Munro Letters” (1895), or “The Exploits of Brigadier Gerard” in 1896, or perhaps Watson was too saddened by the loss of his friend in 1891 to provide any more reminisces, but Holmes disappeared from print between 1893 and 1901.
In 1901 Watson was sufficiently recovered to give Conan Doyle another story about Holmes, this time a novella entitled “The Hound of the Baskervilles.” Supposedly set in 1889, it brings to life the story of a fearsome hell-hound that has haunted the Baskerville family for generations. When the Strand announced that it had received a new Holmes story and advertised its publication, world-wide attention was focused on the first installment of the tale. Appearing in August, 1901, 30,000 extra copies of the magazine were sold. Freeman reports that “People lined up for blocks around the printer’s buildings on Southampton Street in order to get their copy of the magazine before it was shipped to their local newsstand or bookstore.”
Possibly the only person who was even more surprised by the return of Holmes than his wide audience was Dr. Watson himself. Upon discovering that the elderly bookseller in his Kensington study was actually none other than the great detective, Watson “fainted for the first and last time” in his life. Starting with “The Adventure of the Empty House” in October, 1903 (and Watson’s surprised reaction to Holmes’ reappearance), a steady stream of Holmes stories ensued. In 1905, a collection of the latest twelve stories was published as “The Return of Sherlock Holmes” (Return). The last Holmes novel, “The Valley of Fear,” was published in 1915. Another collection of eight stories was published in 1917 as “His Last Bow” (Last Bow). The final set of tales featuring Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson was published in 1927, as “The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes” (Case Book).
By the time of the publication of “The Hound of the Baskervilles” in 1901, Holmes was readily recognized all over the world. Well over 100 years after his introduction to the public, Holmes is still the subject of new movies, television presentations, and plays. Since Edwardian times, he has been a source of inspiration for new stories by current authors based upon the numerous cases that Dr. Watson mentions in his own writings, but never wrote up as examples of Holmes’ work. Other authors have parodied Holmes, and he also appears in many pastiches. To this day, a person can be called a “Sherlock” and everyone will know what is meant by it.
On National Public Radio’s (USA) “Morning Edition” of 11 January 2010, there was a report about a suicide bombing in Anbar Province of Iraq. One of the Arab eyewitnesses told the NPR reporter that a high official of the Provincial Government had to show up at the scene like a “Sherlock Holmes” in order to demonstrate the government’s interest in investigating the attack. The New York Times dedicated a ¾ page review of the latest Holmes film on 4 January 2010, entitling the article “An Amorphous Sleuth for Any Era.”
Born on 3 January 1892 in Bloemfontein, South Africa, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien remained there, along with his younger brother Hilary, until 1896. His father, a bank manager, died while his mother, Mabel, and the two boys were in England on vacation. They then settled near Birmingham.
It is important to note that Mabel was an avid reader, and often read to her two sons, and encouraged them in their own reading efforts. A fuller consideration of Tolkien’s life, his Mother’s influence upon him, and its effect on his writing, was given in the Introduction, however, it is extremely important to note here the overlap between the heyday of the publication of Watson’s stories through the literary efforts of Conan Doyle, and Tolkien’s childhood.
By the time that Tolkien was born, Sherlock Holmes was already established as a major literary character. In an essay excerpted in the Reader’s Digest Association 1986 edition of “The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes,” G.K. Chesterton remarks upon the extent of Holmes’ influence on the public. In the essay entitled “Larger Than Literature: The World’s Most Famous Detective” Chesterton states that “All English People have read the stories about Sherlock Holmes.” Consider the following data:
Tolkien was born the same year that the first collection of Holmes stories, “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes,” was published. The second collection, “The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes” was published one year later, in 1893. Tolkien was ten years old when “The Hound of the Baskervilles” was given to the public in 1902, and his mother was probably well aware of the excitement generated by its publication as by that time Mabel Tolkien had already taken her two sons back to a village near Birmingham. Although his mother died when he was only twelve years old, she no doubt had a lasting impact on Tolkien’s love of words. Not only that, it is the premise of this paper that Tolkien either had some of the Sherlock Holmes stories read to him, or he read them himself, or both, because whatever the reason, Tolkien consciously or sub-consciously modelled the leading Man in the LoTR, Aragorn Elessar, the Elfstone of the line of Valandil, Isildur’s son, after none other than Sherlock Holmes!
Consider the two narratives (A and B) given below:
Holmes sprang from the cab and surveyed the ground, then leaping back into the cab, he rode away for some distance eastward, keeping to one side and taking care not to override the footprints. Then he again left the cab and examined the ground, going backwards and forwards on foot.
“I wish I had waited and explored the ground down here myself,” he said, hurrying off to the spring to examine the footprints. “It is just as I feared,” he said, when he came back. “They have trampled the soft ground, and the marks are spoilt or confused.”
“There is little to discover. The main trail is all confused with the passage of the horsemen as they came back; their outward course must have lain nearer the river. But this eastward trail is fresh and clear. There is no sign there of any feet going the other way.”
“What have you to say, Holmes, to the reading of Lestrade. Can you better it?”
“‘Maybe, I could,’ said Holmes, smiling. ‘There are some other signs near at hand that you have not considered.’”
“Aragorn ran up and down, sometimes losing, sometimes finding the track until the Companions were well within the edge of the wood and under the shadow of a great beech, the largest tree in the neighborhood. He traced his way to the farther side of this and lay down once more upon his face with a little cry of satisfaction. For a long time he remained there, turning over the leaves and sticks...examining not only the ground but even the back of the tree as far as he could reach.”
Sound familiar? Both narratives evoke the tone and tenor of their sources, but with one important exception. The first narrative comes from 3 separate passages taken from the LoTR. With only very slight changes (substituting “Holmes” for “Aragorn,” or “the cab” for Aragorn’s horse), the first paragraph comes from “The Riders of Rohan” (TT-III-2). The second paragraph is taken from “A Knife in the Dark” (FR-I-11) exactly as it appears in the LoTR. The third paragraph is unchanged from “The Riders of Rohan” (TT-III-2) minus the last three words in the LoTR, “back towards Anduin.” The fourth and fifth paragraphs of the first narrative sound so typically Holmesian that a thorough search of Watson’s writings might reveal something very close to it. A close candidate may be found in “The Adventure of the Norwood Builder” (Return). Inspector Lestrade gives his interpretation of the facts to Holmes, then challenges him: “Give me another theory that would fit the facts.” Holmes replies “I could very easily give you a dozen.” In “Darkness” (Chapter 4 of “The Valley of Fear”), Inspector Alec MacDonald of Scotland Yard says “Come, Mr. Holmes, it’s up to you to give us a lead since you say that Mr. White Mason’s theory is unconvincing.” After hearing Inspector Stanley Hopkins’ explanation in “The Adventure of Black Peter” (Return), Watson asks Holmes “What then is the alternative?”
In Narrative I, the opening lines of paragraph 4 are given by Gimli, and (conveniently!) only the name “Lestrade” replaced “Legolas.” In the 5th and final paragraph, “Holmes” replaces “Aragorn.” Those were the only 2 changes needed to make the 4th and 5th paragraphs of Narrative I, taken directly from the pages of the LoTR, sound like an authentic exchange from the Holmes stories.
The second narrative comes from only one Holmes story, “The Boscombe Valley Mystery” (Adventures), one of the earlier tales in the Canon. This passage also required only very minor modifications: “Aragorn” substitutes for “He,” then “He” substitutes for “Holmes.” The dots between “sticks….examining” leave out the phrase “gathering up what seemed to me to be dust into an envelope and examining with his lens.” While there are certainly many strong similarities between Holmes and Aragorn, it seems unlikely that Aragorn (or Gimli or Legolas, for that matter) would be carrying a pocket lens and an envelope along with his other gear on such a trip as they were on!
The two narratives above have been included to show the very close similarity in the style of both Holmes and Aragorn as they go about their business of ‘detecting.’ The remainder of this essay will complete the task of showing the influence of Holmes upon Aragorn. This will be accomplished by comparing features that Holmes and Aragorn share in common and in the process will demonstrate that there are far too many instances of similarity to be merely coincidental.
Rather than focusing on the broad topic of ‘personality,’ this essay will look at more specific points-of-similarity between Holmes and Aragorn, the sum total of which will show their strong resemblance. Similar traits will be clustered together, supported by appropriate quotations, where needed, taken from either Watson or Tolkien. In no special order, this work will look at these areas of similarity, entitled: III. First Impressions, IV. Pipe-smoking, V. Some Physical Attributes, VI. The Eyes Have It!, VII. Disguise and Disappearance, VIII. Knowledge, IX. Character, and X. Wisdom is Wonderful, But to Detect is Divine. Taken together, these aspects of their personas help give us an idea of ‘the whole man,’ and collectively show us the Weltanschauung that Holmes and Aragorn share in common.
Chapter 1 of “A Study in Scarlet,” the very first of the Sherlock Holmes stories given to the public in 1887 by John H. Watson, M.D., begins with Watson introducing himself. Watson tells us that he received his medical degree in 1878 and immediately proceeded to Netley in order to join the Army. Completing the courses required to become an Army Surgeon, Watson was assigned to the Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers and packed off to India to join his regiment. The unit had already gone through the passes into Afghanistan for the second Afghan war. Joining his unit at Kandahar, Watson was soon attached to the Berkshires where he was wounded “by a Jezail bullet” at the battle of Maiwand. Transported back to Peshawar, Watson had almost recovered from his injury when he was struck with enteric fever that resulted in a long recovery, at times during which his “life was despaired of.” Too weak for further service, Watson was returned to England, where he tells us that he spent the income from his pension more freely than he should have. Considering his financial condition at the Criterion Bar one day, Watson turned around and suddenly saw young Stamford, who had served as his dresser at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in central London. They were not particularly close while Stamford served under him at Bart’s, but Watson, as lonely as he was, and with “neither kith nor kin in England,” greeted Stamford “with enthusiasm.” Lamenting the state of his precarious finances, Watson tells Stamford that he had just decided to seek lodgings that were more affordable.
Fortuitously, Stamford tells Watson that this was the second time in the same day that he encountered someone searching for new “digs.” Upon discovering that this man, by the name of Sherlock Holmes, was looking for someone to share some rooms on Baker Street with him, Watson was overjoyed.
Watson and Stamford hurry off to meet Holmes at the hospital, and Stamford continues to discourse upon some of Holmes’ eccentricities, such as the fact that Holmes “is well up in anatomy, and he is a first-class chemist,” and that he keeps up remarkably irregular hours. On the negative side, Stamford confides to Watson that to him, at least, Holmes seems a little too cold-blooded, willing to test out some new concoction of his on a friend just to see what effect it has (although Stamford points out that “he would take it himself with the same readiness.”). Stamford also feels that Holmes can take his pursuit of knowledge to excess, as, for example, when he saw Holmes beating subjects in the dissecting room to see “how far bruises may be produced after death.” Finally, at the hospital, Watson and Stamford meet Holmes, where they find him hunched over a table, busy with his work.
Upon hearing their approach, Holmes jumps up and enthusiastically shouted “I’ve found it!” to Stamford. Watson is very impressed with Holmes’ strong grip as they shake hands. Holmes is quite proud of his accomplishment − finding a way to determine if an old stain was formed by blood − and with glittering eyes, he “bowed as if to some applauding crowd conjured up by his imagination.” Watson and Stamford both are also impressed with Holmes’ knowledge of crime. Holmes informs Watson “‘I have to be careful,’ he continued, turning to me with a smile, ‘for I dabble with poisons a good deal’.”
Once Stamford tells Holmes that he and Watson are there on business, and that Watson was looking for new lodgings, Holmes told them that he had found a suite of rooms on Baker Street. Holmes needed someone “to go halves” with him, and the idea of sharing rooms with Watson interested Holmes greatly. The very next thing he asked was if Watson minded the “smell of strong tobacco,” to which Watson let Holmes know that “I always smoke ‘ship’s’ myself.” The final thing that Holmes asks Watson is if he minds that he plays the violin. With no further discussion, Holmes and Watson agree to meet at the hospital at noon the following day.
We start learning more about Holmes in the next chapter of “A Study in Scarlet,” excerpts from that and other of the Holmes stories will appear later in this essay. Although over the course of the Canon we learn a lot more about Holmes (and Watson), we never completely understand this man-of-mystery who talks little about himself and his own past. It is not until “The Greek Interpreter” that we even learn that Sherlock Holmes has an older brother, Mycroft. Indeed, Watson, who despite his “long and intimate acquaintance with Mr. Sherlock Holmes, was greatly surprised when Holmes began to talk about his older brother one day.”
Once Frodo Baggins learns the true significance of the Ring left
to him by his cousin, Bilbo Baggins, he realizes, with Gandalf’s
encouragement, that he needs to leave the Shire in order to get
the Ring to Rivendell. At the end of “The Shadow of the Past”
(FR-I-2), Frodo’s first companion, Sam Gamgee, has already been
picked for him by Gandalf, who heard Sam eavesdropping outside
Frodo’s open window. In “Three is Company” (FR-I-3) we learn that
Sam had been part of a larger conspiracy involving some of Frodo’s
younger cousins and friends: Merry Brandybuck, Pippin Took,
Fredegar Bolger, and Folco Boffin. Through Sam’s agency the young
hobbits had been able to learn about the power and danger of the
Ring, and two of them, Merry and Pippin, made up their minds to
travel along with Frodo and Sam to help them.
Through a series of interesting adventures, the hobbits start to make their way to Rivendell, home of Elrond Halfelven. First, within the borders of the Shire itself, they encounter Black Riders, servants of the evil Dark Lord, Sauron, in Mordor. After successfully eluding their hunters, the hobbits take, in Frodo’s words, a “disastrous ‘short cut’ through the Old Forest,” where they are almost caught by Old Man Willow until Tom Bombadil luckily shows up to save them. Spending a few days at the home of Tom and Goldberry, the hobbits are soon in trouble again: after leaving Tom’s house, they lose track of time, and, as hobbits will, after eating lunch, they all fall asleep. Awakening late in the afternoon, they attempt to skirt the western edge of the haunted Barrow Downs, but nevertheless are entrapped by an evil Barrow Wight. Imprisoned within the Barrow, Frodo hears the Barrow Wight, another servant of Sauron, preparing to kill them. In a true show of bravery, Frodo stabs at the arm creeping on its fingers towards the biers on which the hobbits lay, and cuts off the hand. Remembering a rhyme Bombadil had taught them to use in case of danger, Frodo chants the rhyme, and soon after the door to the Barrow bursts open, and Tom appears to help the hobbits escape. Without any further adventure, the hobbits make their way north, back to the East-West Road, and then turn East towards the village of Bree. After meeting the proprietor of “The Prancing Pony,” Barliman Butterbur, three of the hobbits, Frodo, Sam, and Pippin, decide to visit the common room after dinner, where Frodo notices “a strange-looking weather-beaten man, sitting in the shadows near the wall.” (FR-I-9).
As Frodo looks at him, he sees that the man was listening closely to the hobbits as Sam and Pippin gaily chatted on about the doings in the Shire. “He had a tall tankard in front of him, and was smoking a long-stemmed pipe curiously carved.” He also has a travel-stained cloak drawn around him, and the hood overshadowed his face, despite the heat in the common room. Frodo inquires of the Innkeeper, Barliman Butterbur, who the man is, and receives a lengthy response: While Butterbur says he doesn’t know a lot about him, Frodo discovers that the stranger is a Ranger who goes around locally by the name of Strider, but whose real name is unknown. Not especially talkative, Strider can nevertheless “tell a rare tale when he has the mind” (FR-I-9).
Before Butterbur can finish his comments, and is called away by someone else anxious for a refill of ale, Frodo sees that the stranger was looking back at him, beckoning Frodo to come and sit by him. “As Frodo drew near he threw back his hood, showing a shaggy head of dark hair flecked with grey, and in a pale stern face a pair of keen grey eyes.” So for the first time, Frodo meets Aragorn, son of Arathorn, known in Bree as “Strider,” and, as we find out later, one of the Rangers, the dwindling remnant of “the race of the Kings from over the Sea.” Heir to the throne of both Arnor and Gondor as a descendant of Isildur, son of Elendil himself, and later Arvedui, Aragorn proves his mettle as leader of the West, and earns his right to the Kingship by thought and deed.
Thanks to information that Tolkien gives us in Appendix A to the LoTR, we do know a lot more about Aragorn’s early life than Holmes’. Aragorn’s father, Arathorn son of Arador, was killed at the relatively young age of 60 while riding against the orcs with the sons of Elrond. “Then Aragorn, being now the heir of Isildur, was taken with his mother to dwell in the house of Elrond; and Elrond took the place of his father and came to love him as a son of his own1. But he was called Estel, that is “Hope” and his true name and lineage were kept secret at the bidding of Elrond; for the Wise then knew that the Enemy was seeking to discover the Heir of Isildur, if any remained on earth.”
Introduced to us by Butterbur as a man-of-mystery, Aragorn is gradually revealed to us in ever greater depth as the story progresses.
In his introduction to Volume I of The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Kyle Freeman (2002) states that like C. Auguste Dupin (the Parisian detective whose exploits were written up by Edgar Allan Poe), Holmes “is a prodigious pipe smoker.” It is very significant that one of the very first things Holmes asks Watson is, “You don’t mind the smell of strong tobacco, I hope?” We already know Watson’s reply. The number of stories in which Holmes appears smoking a pipe is remarkable. In the second work featuring Holmes, “The Sign of Four,” we see him outside Pondicherry Lodge “standing on the doorstep with his hands in his pockets, smoking his pipe.” In two of the very early stories, we again see Holmes the pipe-smoker. Holmes tells Watson in “The Red-headed League” (Adventures), the second short story by Watson, that the features of the case presented by Mr. Jabez Wilson represent “quite a three pipe problem.” In the next story, “A Case of Identity,” we note that “he took down from the rack the old and oily clay pipe, which was to him as a counselor, and having lit it, he leaned back in his chair, with the thick blue cloud-wreaths spinning up from him, and a look of infinite languor in his face.” Holmes, like Gandalf in the LoTR, liked to watch the smoke of his pipe. “Then he lit his pipe and leaning back in his chair he watched the blue smoke-rings as they chased each other up to the ceiling.” (“The Five Orange Pips,” Adventures). In one of the late stories, “The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot” (Last Bow), we read that as Dr. Sterndale “bowed gravely” and left the arbor, “Holmes lit his pipe and handed me his pouch.” And on and on.
A pipe becomes so much a part of the Holmes persona that it is often seen in the drawings done by Sidney Paget or Frederic Dorr Steele. When the American actor, William Gillette, portrayed Holmes on stage and later in movies, he used a pipe with a long, curved stem. Freeman points out that Gillette used this style of pipe due to his inability to keep a straight-stemmed pipe in his mouth. Any man who stores his tobacco in the toe end of a Persian slipper, or keeps his cigars in a coal scuttle, as does Holmes, may be eccentric, but there would be no denying he is an inveterate smoker. Finally, only a smoker like Holmes would be so keen on observing ashes that he could write a treatise “‘Upon the Distinction Between the Ashes of the Various Tobaccos’ in which he describes the ashes of 140 different varieties of pipe, cigar, and cigarette tobacco.” (“A Case of Identity,” Adventures).As noted above, Frodo meets Aragorn for the first time at “The Prancing Pony,” at the very end of September (FR-I-9). Perhaps it is not a surprise, but the second sentence of the paragraph that introduces Strider informs us that he “was smoking a long-stemmed pipe curiously carved.” Not quite the pipe that we so commonly associate with Sherlock Holmes, but a pipe nonetheless. Like his friend and mentor Gandalf, Aragorn is a pipe-smoker. We catch frequent glimpses of him smoking as he leads the hobbits to Rivendell: as they sit around their small fire in the Dell at Weathertop, or the night of their 10th day east of Weathertop as they approach troll country north of the East-West road. The wording of the former instance, that Strider was “drawing thoughtfully at his pipe” suggests that it could not be unusual for the hobbits to find him doing so. This is corroborated in the next example. After Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas find Merry and Pippin at Isengard, it is Aragorn who says “‘Now let us take our ease here for a little!....’ Then he lay back and sent from his lips a thin stream of smoke.” (TT-III-9). Pippin, recalling the obviously many times he has seen Strider smoke a pipe, says “Look − Strider the Ranger has come back!” Just like Holmes in “A Case of Identity” (Adventures), Aragorn can be wreathed in smoke as he sits on the rubble of Isengard. As Merry and Pippin describe their discoveries at Orthanc, Aragorn finds it curious that they found two small casks of pipe-weed, imported from the Shire, among the wreckage. So much so, that he informs his companions he will let Gandalf know about it. Aragorn surmises that “Saruman had secret dealings with someone in the Shire, I guess. Wormtongues may be found in other houses than King Theoden’s.” (TT-III-9). His suspicion proves to be true, as we find out at the end of the LoTR. Aragorn’s pipe-smoking, along with his intuition about how pipe-weed from the Southfarthing turns up in Saruman’s stronghold proves to be a key factor in later events.
There is little physical description of Holmes in the first chapter of “A Study in Scarlet,” but in Chapter 2 (“The Science of Deduction”) Watson tells us that “In height he was rather over six feet, and so excessively lean that he seemed to be considerably taller.” This is reiterated in the very last of the Holmes stories, “The Adventures of the Retired Colourman (Case Book) where Watson describes “his gaunt figure stretched in his deep chair.” Watson also notes in “A Study in Scarlet” that Holmes had a “thin, hawk-like nose” that “gave his whole expression an air of alertness and decision. His chin, too, had the prominence and squareness which mark the man of determination.” Although Watson observes that Holmes’ hands were “invariably blotted with ink and stained with chemicals,” they still had “an extraordinary delicacy of touch,” exemplified by his ability to proficiently play the violin.
In the case of the LoTR, we never learn much about Aragorn’s chin, but there can be absolutely no question about his being a man of determination. To win the hand of his beloved and to reclaim the majesty and power of the kings of old, Aragorn must be determined to succeed in his mission of saving the West and helping Frodo achieve his quest. Nowhere in the LoTR is there a mention of Aragorn (nor anyone else, for that matter) playing the violin, but on several occasions Aragorn too shows a delicacy of touch as he tries to temporarily heal Frodo at Weathertop, or binds Sam’s wound and bandages Frodo as the Company leaves Moria. Ioreth, wise-woman of Gondor, says in despair for the life of Faramir “would that there were kings in Gondor as there were, once upon a time, they say! For it is said in old lore: The hands of the king are the hands of a healer. And so the rightful king could ever be known.” (RK-V-8). Aragorn’s delicate touch cannot only wield his sword Andúril, but also heal the sick. Tolkien has written that Aragorn’s adult height was 6 feet, 6 inches.2
Once Butterbur finally remembers that last June Gandalf had requested him to have a letter sent to the Shire (Gandalf was in a hurry, and had no time to deliver it himself), he apologizes to the hobbits. Excusing himself by telling Frodo that he is a busy man, and “one thing drives out another,” he is sincere in his apology, and hands Gandalf’s letter to Frodo. After some further conversation with Frodo, Sam, Pippin, and Aragorn, Frodo opens Gandalf’s letter and reads “You may meet a friend of mine on the Road: a Man, lean, dark, tall, by some called Strider. He knows our business and will help you.” (FR-I-10). In addition to Butterbur’s description of Aragorn as tall, we see it repeated in Gandalf’s brief.
On their way out of Bree, Bill Ferny, whom Aragorn has already told the hobbits has “an evil name in the Bree-land,” calls Aragorn “long shanks” as they pass his house. As the Company is trapped in the deep snow on the flanks of Caradhras, Tolkien notes “Aragorn was the tallest of the Company, but Boromir, little less in height, was broader and heavier in build.” (FR-II-3). When Aragorn challenges Éomer “‘Will you aid me or thwart me? Choose swiftly!’ Gimli and Legolas looked at their companion in amazement, for they had not seen him in this mood before. He seemed to have grown in stature while Éomer had shrunk;” (TT-III-2). Finally, at his crowning in “The Steward and the King” (RK-VI-5), it is said that Aragorn was “Tall as the sea kings of old, he stood above all that were near;” so it is evident that both Holmes (over six feet) and Aragorn (six feet, six inches) are taller than most.
Both Holmes and Aragorn are surprisingly strong. After Dr. Grimesby Roylott, of Stoke Moran, grabs the poker out of the fireplace at 221B Baker Street, and bends it out of shape with his bare hands, Holmes says “I am not quite so bulky, but if he had remained I might have shown him that my grip was not much more feeble than his own.” Watson tells us that Holmes then “picked up the steel poker and, with a sudden effort, straightened it out again.” (“The Adventure of the Speckled Band,” Adventures). Watson also relates that when he first met Holmes and shook hands, Holmes gripped his hand “with a strength for which I should hardly have given him credit.” (“A Study in Scarlet”). Holmes often uses his strength to advantage when boxing. In “The Sign of Four,” McMurdo, the former prize-fighter, tells Holmes that “you’re the one that has wasted your gifts, you have! You might have aimed high, if you had joined the fancy.” In “The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist” (Return), Holmes tells Watson that in a fight with Mr. Woodley, the latter “went home in a cart.” Watson records in “The Yellow Face” (Memoirs) that “few men were capable of greater muscular effort, and he was one of the finest boxers of his weight that I have ever seen.” One final example of Holmes’ strength and skill is evident in his ultimately successful fight with Professor Dr. Moriarty at Reichenbach Falls, where Moriarty falls to his death and Holmes attempts to climb out of the chasm without being seen.
Aragorn’s appearance also belies his strength. Based upon his looks at the Council of Elrond, Boromir, son of Denethor, a man from Gondor, expresses doubt that Aragorn has the strength to wield Narsil, the sword of Elendil. Boromir tells Aragorn and The Council “‘…. the Sword of Elendil would be a help beyond our hope − if such a thing could indeed return out of the shadows of the past.’ He looked again at Aragorn, and doubt was in his eyes.” (FR-II-2). Later in the same chapter, he repeats his doubt, saying “Mayhap the Sword-that-was-Broken may still stem the tide − if the hand that wields it has inherited not an heirloom only, but the sinews of the Kings of Men.” After earlier humbly telling Boromir and the Council “Little do I resemble the figures of Elendil and Isildur as they stand carven in majesty in the halls of Denethor. I am but the heir of Isildur, not Isildur himself,” Aragorn goes on to describe some of his toilsome journeys. Long wandering in the Wild, “even into the far countries of Rhun and Harad where the stars are strange” has given Aragorn strength beyond that of mortal men. Indeed, Aragorn’s strength is on par with that of the great Elves, such as Glorfindel.
Aragorn’s strength grows with him as the story unfolds. At the Battle of Helm’s Deep he unsheathes Andúril (the renamed Narsil) for the first time in war. “Andúril! Andúril goes to war. The Blade that was Broken shines again!” shout the Rohirrim from the battlements. (TT-III-7). Alone, wielding Andúril, Aragorn holds back the orcs single-handedly as the Rohirrim make for the rear-gate of the Hornburg. After passing through the Paths of the Dead, “Aragorn rose at once, and he led the Company forth upon the journey of greatest haste and weariness that any among them had known, save he alone, and only his will held them to go on. No other mortal Men could have endured it, none but the Dúnedain of the North, and with them Gimli the Dwarf and Legolas of the Elves3” (RK-V-2). In the Appendix to the LoTR, we later learn that much earlier in his already long life, Aragorn himself defeated the Captain of the Haven of Umbar in a fight upon the quays. Unscathed at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, Aragorn calls on his inner strength to spend the entire night healing the sick and wounded at the Houses of Healing.
Both Holmes and Aragorn possess great physical strength, greater than most other men, but it is not that kind of strength that prevents them from having a gentleness and delicacy-of-touch that is also rare among men.
Another physical trait related to strength (both physical and mental) is the ability to withstand discomfort. Both Holmes and Aragorn exhibit a remarkable similarity in this regard.
Watson makes many references to Holmes’ utter disregard of his own physical needs when he is hot on the trail. Five stories in the “Adventures” highlight Holmes ability to withstand discomfort early in the saga. In “The Red-headed League,” Holmes sits alert and ready in the bank vault of the Coburg branch of the City and Suburban Bank, adjacent to Saxe-Coburg Square, waiting for the appearance of John Clay. A few stories later, Holmes tells Watson “I have had nothing since breakfast” (“The Five Orange Pips,” Adventures). Watson reveals to us that “Sherlock Holmes was a man, however, who when he had an unsolved problem upon his mind, would go for days, and even for a week, without rest….” (“The Man With the Twisted Lip,” Adventures). Knowing that he can withstand a long, quiet vigil in the dark better than Watson, Holmes sits on the same bed towards which Dr. Roylott’s snake will climb down the bell-rope (“The Adventure of the Speckled Band,” Adventures). In “The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet” (Adventures)4, Watson reports that “It was no uncommon thing for him to be away for days and nights on end when he was hot upon a scent, so that his lateness caused no surprise.”
On occasion, Holmes does, in fact, over-exert himself. Watson notes in “The Reigate Puzzle” (Memoirs), “Even his iron constitution, however, had broken down under the strain of an investigation which had extended over two months during which period he had never worked less than fifteen hours a day and had more than once, as he assured me, kept to his task for five days at a stretch.”
Perhaps the best example of Holmes’ ability to withstand discomfort without complaint is this last one. In “The Adventure of the Dying Detective” (Last Bow), Holmes has to appear to be dying in order to wring a confession out of Mr. Culverton-Smith. After getting his confession, Holmes begins to recover from his feigned final moments, and tells Culverton-Smith “I give you my word that for three days I have tasted neither food nor drink.” A little later, Holmes tells Watson “However, as you know, my habits are irregular, and such a feat means less to me than to most men.”
Soon after Frodo meets Aragorn for the first time, at the “Prancing Pony,” we start to learn more about Aragorn’s ability, like Holmes, to withstand discomfort. Immediately following Frodo’s decision to accept Strider’s offer to help get them to Rivendell, Aragorn stays up all night, guarding against the Black Riders, while the hobbits sleep. “Strider was sitting alert in his chair: his eyes gleamed in the light of the fire, which had been tended and was burning brightly; but he made no sign or movement.” A few pages later, in the Dell at Weathertop, Tolkien tells us that “Frodo and his companions huddled round the fire, wrapped in every garment and blanket they possessed, but Strider was content with a single cloak, and sat a little apart, drawing thought-fully on his pipe5.” (FR-I-11). The text suggests that later, as they came between the Last Bridge over the River Hoarwell and the Ford of Bruinen, Aragorn again stays up all night on guard, as Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin sleep. “He (Frodo) felt that black shapes were advancing to smother him; but when he sat up he saw nothing but the back of Strider sitting hunched up, smoking his pipe, and watching.” (FR-I-12), just like Holmes in “The Adventure of the Speckled Band.”
As the Ring travels south from Rivendell, Aragorn has less need for rest than the others. In the camp at Hollin, he was “silent and restless.” Aragorn joins Sam, whose turn it was to take the first watch, when he could have been sleeping like the others (FR-II-3). A short time later, as they approach the Redhorn Gate, Aragorn says to Gandalf “Then let us weigh the matter in our minds, while the others rest and sleep.” It has already been mentioned how Aragorn uses his strength, will, and obvious ability to push himself beyond that which most men are capable of to lead the Company from the Paths of the Dead to Pelargir upon Anduin.
The last example of Aragorn’s ability to forgo physical comfort appears in “The Houses of Healing” (RK) where Aragorn tells Merry that “I have not slept in such a bed as this since I rode from Dunharrow, nor eaten since the dark before dawn.” (RK-V-8). After healing Faramir, Éowyn, and Merry, Aragorn again stays up until the crack of dawn, healing the wounded of Gondor and Rohan in the Houses of Healing. Aragorn’s quote above bears close comparison to Holmes’ statement cited earlier: “I give you my word that for three days I have tasted neither food nor drink.” Both Holmes and Aragorn are thoroughly capable of withstanding physical stress more than most men.
Eyes form one of the most striking and distinguishing features of our face. Eye color is noted on a driver’s license, along with height, weight, and hair color. A person’s weight can certainly vary over time; height may also change from the time we first receive a license to near the end of our driving career. Given the wonders of modern chemistry, even hair color can radically change! By and large, the color of our eyes remains the same over the course of our lifetime.
Both Holmes and Aragorn have arresting and expressive eyes, as is duly noted in Watson’s reminisces and Tolkien’s LoTR. Both Watson and Tolkien use descriptions of Holmes’ and Aragorn’s eyes to good effect, and to help the reader get a good mental image of Holmes’ or Aragorn’s thoughts and feelings. References to their eyes abound in the Canon and in the LoTR, starting with the introduction of both Homes and Aragorn, and continuing on for the duration. Given this abundance of data, it is inevitable that we see many similarities between the eyes of Holmes and Aragorn.
One of the first things to note when looking at a person’s eyes is their color. It is perhaps odd, but although Watson often mentions Holmes’ eyes, he fails to tell us their color until late in the Canon. We may get a hint about their color in “The Greek Interpreter” (Memoirs), where Watson tells us that Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock’s older brother, had “eyes of a peculiarly light, watery gray.” Vincent Starret, in his biography “The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes” describes the scene in which Watson finally reveals to us the color of Holmes’ eyes: “One sees him still as Watson saw and described him in that last of all the series of adventures….‘Holmes lay with his gaunt figure stretched in his deep chair, his pipe curling forth slow wreaths of acrid tobacco, while his eyelids drooped over his eye so lazily that he might almost have been asleep were it not that at any halt or questionable passage of my narrative they half lifted, and two grey eyes, as bright and keen as rapiers, transfixed me with their searching glance.’
“One notes with interest that Holmes’s eyes were grey. It is the only record of their colour” (Starrett). The Barnes and Noble “Classic Edition of The Complete Sherlock Holmes,” Volume II, states in “The Adventure of the Three Garridebs” (Case Book) that there was a “twinkle of amusement in his austere grey eyes” at the start of the story. Perhaps there are then two, not one, references to the eye color of Holmes.
Exactly like Holmes, Aragorn’s eyes are also gray, but we don’t have to wait until the end of the LoTR to find out his eye color: Tolkien tells us this in Frodo’s very first meeting with him in Bree: “As Frodo drew near he threw back his hood, showing a shaggy head of dark hair flecked with grey, and in a pale stern face a pair of keen grey eyes.6” (FR-I-9).
To return to the premise of this paper, consider the “paired” quotations from the Holmes stories on the left and the LoTR on the right. They are arranged so as to highlight similar passages in each of the two source texts, and to emphasize the point that Tolkien must have been influenced by his own conceptions of Sherlock Holmes when creating the character of Aragorn. Not only are their eyes gray, but the eyes of both men can be austere, stern, laughing, shining, gleaming, glinting, glittering, as well as twinkling, piercing, shining, and smiling!
Holmes’ “quick glancing eyes and his sharp scrutiny of every face….” (The Final Problem, Memoirs) assist him in making careful observations, and noting things that other people miss. Aragorn’s outstanding eyesight, better than that of other men, also helps him to see things that others miss. “‘Yes,’ said Strider, whose keener sight left him in no doubt. ‘The Enemy is here!’” (FR-I-11). As the Company travels down the Anduin, only Aragorn and Legolas can see a hunting eagle flying high in the sky. (FR-II-9).
An individual’s eyes are an important component of their facial expressions. Both Holmes and Aragorn have extraordinarily expressive faces, and on many occasions, they exhibit remarkably similar facial expressions. Once again, consider the paired quotations below and observe the similar tone and even, in some cases, the same words that Watson and Tolkien use in describing Holmes’ and Aragorn’s faces.
Both Holmes and Aragorn use their expressive faces to good effect when they need to do so. Holmes frequently uses facial expressions to signal his feelings or intentions. In “The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet” (Adventures), Mary Holder, the niece of the Banker, Arthur Holder, had been involved in the plot to steal the Beryl Coronet4. When Holmes questions her, she feels some fear looking at Holmes, but innocently asks him, “How do you know that?” to which Watson notes “there was no answering smile in Holmes’s thin, eager face.” In “The Valley of Fear” we once again see Holmes’ “eager” face: Sherlock Holmes’ eyes glistened, his pale cheeks took a warmer hue, and his whole eager face shone with an inward light….” In “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle” (Adventures) Holmes has no trouble using his stern expression to browbeat James Ryder into a full confession. Holmes no doubt uses his facial expressions to overcome the surly, swaggering, and bullying Silas Brown, the manager of Mapleton stables, when he lets Brown know that he is aware that Silver Blaze is, in fact, at Mapleton. At the end of Holmes’ conversation with Brown, Watson writes that “‘There must be no mistake,’ said Holmes, looking round at him. The other winced as he read the menace in his eyes.” (Silver Blaze, Memoirs). Even Mrs. Martha Hudson, the landlady for Holmes and Watson in their suite at 221B Baker Street, could be subjected to a hard look from Holmes: “….but he turned on me, sir, with such a look that I don’t know how ever I got out of that room.” (The Sign of Four).
In the LoTR, many characters feel somewhat overwhelmed by the intensity of Aragorn’s eyes and facial expression. In the Inn at Bree, Frodo “felt far from comfortable under the stare of those keen eyes.” (FR-I-9). The word “eager” is not often used to describe a facial expression, but as noted above, Aragorn too has an “eager” face, like Holmes, as he chants The Lay of Leithian for the hobbits at Weathertop. When Aragorn proudly reveals his name and lineage and looks at Éomer, the young leader of the Rohirrim, it is Éomer who lowers his gaze - “He cast down his proud eyes.” (TT-III-2). In the quotations on “eyes” above, it was noted that few could endure his gaze when his eyes were kindled (Appendix A). His eyes could also show pity: on the fourth day of their journey north of the crossroads, the Host of the West came to the end of “the living lands” and some of the Host were unmanned. “Aragorn looked at them, and there was pity in his eyes rather than wrath….” (RK-V-10). Finally, before the Morannon and the Gates of Mordor, the proud, confident, and pompous Lieutenant of Mordor mocks Aragorn, but “Aragorn said naught in answer, but he took the other’s eye and held it, and for a moment they strove thus; but soon, though Aragorn did not stir nor move hand to weapon, the other quailed and gave back as if menaced by a blow. ‘I am a herald and ambassador, and may not be assailed!’ he cried.” A stronger testimonial to Aragorn’s ability to use his eyes and face expressively, like Holmes, can hardly be found.
For a detective like Sherlock Holmes, the ability to disguise himself is paramount to his success as an investigator. From the start of the recorded Holmes’ adventures to the end, Holmes manifests an amazing ability to disguise himself so well that he can even fool his only true friend, Watson. Indeed, Watson tells us in “A Scandal in Bohemia” (Adventures) that “the stage lost a fine actor, even as science lost an acute reasoner, when he became a specialist in crime.” There are a myriad of instances where Holmes dons a disguise in order to gather clues or information. Freeman states that Holmes has a “penchant for disguises” and it appears that Watson enjoys describing many of Holmes’ disguises in great detail.
In “The Sign of Four,” Watson writes that “In the early dawn I woke with a start and was surprised to find him standing beside my bedside, clad in a rude sailor dress, with a pea jacket and a coarse red scarf around his neck.” Later on in the same novel, Holmes returns as an elderly sailor and completely fools Watson. “It was closer upon four before the door opened” Watson reports in “A Scandal in Bohemia” (Adventures) “and a drunken-looking groom, ill-kempt and side-whiskered, with an inflamed face and disreputable clothes, walked into the room. Accustomed as I was to my friend’s amazing powers in the use of disguises, I had to look three times before I was certain that it was indeed he.”
One of the best descriptions of Holmes’ superb “covers” occurs later in “A Scandal in Bohemia” and is here quoted in full: “He disappeared in to his bedroom and returned in a few minutes in the character of an amiable and simple-minded Nonconformist clergyman. His broad black hat, his baggy trousers, his white tie, his sympathetic smile, and general look of peering and benevolent curiosity were such as Mr. John Hare alone could have equaled. It was not merely that Holmes changed his costume. His expression, his manner, his very soul seemed to vary with every fresh part that he assumed.” This rare ability, mentioned by Watson in the first of the Holmes short stories, is seen time and time again throughout the Canon. As Watson is escorting his friend Mr. Isa Whiteney out of an opium den on Upper Swandam Lane in “The Man With the Twisted Lip” (Adventures) he does not recognize that the old, bent, decrepit man at his feet, “an opium pipe dangling from between his knees as though it had dropped in sheer lassitude from his fingers,” is Holmes. “With his collar turned up, his shiny, seedy coat, his red cravat, and his worn boots” Holmes assumes the role of a common loafer in “The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet” (Adventures). Watson notes that “he was a perfect sample of the class.” In “The Final Problem” (Memoirs), Watson does not recognize that the “venerable Italian Priest” he assisted on the platform at Victoria Station, and is now sitting in his railway compartment, is in fact Holmes.
Three years after the disappearance of Holmes at Reichenbach Falls, near Meiringen, Switzerland, Watson finds himself at “the Oxford Street end of Park Lane.” looking at the house in which young Ronald Adair had been killed. As he turns away “in some disgust” from a crowd gathered around someone that Watson suspects is a detective extolling a theory, he bumps into an elderly bookseller, with some books in his hands, and knocks several to the ground. Watson picks up the books and apologizes to the older man, but “with a snarl of contempt he turned upon his heel” and left (“The Adventure of the Empty House,” Return). Arriving at his home in Kensington, Watson is sitting in his study when the same elderly bookseller comes in to see him, wishing, in his turn, to apologize for his earlier rude behavior. As he suggests that some books he is carrying with him might just fill a gap in Watson’s bookcase, Watson turns to look at the open space, then turns back around to see Sherlock Holmes! Watson fainted “for the first and the last time” in his life. He had been, once again, completely taken in by Holmes’ disguise.
As Holmes relates (in the same story) his travels over the last three years to Watson, he tells him, he might have read “of the remarkable explorations of a Norwegian named Sigerson” but Holmes is sure Watson never knew that he was receiving news of his friend. No doubt Holmes had to disguise himself as a Norwegian explorer to make this one come off!
In “The Adventure of the Dying Detective” (Last Bow) Holmes convinces Watson he is dying, but in Watson’s defense it must be pointed out that Holmes surmised Watson would see through his charade if Holmes allowed Watson to get too close to him. In this story he certainly convinced the “long-suffering” Mrs. Hudson, who got Watson to come to Baker Street to attend to his friend. Billy, the page, tells Watson in one of the late stories, that Holmes is “….following someone. Yesterday he was an old woman. Fairly took me in, he did, and I ought to know his ways by now.” (“The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone,” Case Book).
Not all of Holmes’ many disguises have been included here, but what is important to realize is that Holmes had an uncanny ability to disguise himself so successfully that he could fool even his close friend Dr. Watson, and his other associates as well.
Disguise must have come naturally to Aragorn, and like Holmes, he became a master at it. As mentioned earlier, Aragorn was raised “in disguise” at the bidding of his foster-father, Elrond. The Wise were aware that the Enemy was searching for the Heir of Isildur, and Aragorn must have learned at a relatively early age to be careful about revealing himself to others7. Aragorn tells the hobbits in the Inn at Bree that “I had to study you first, and make sure of you. The Enemy has set traps for me before now.” (FR-I-10). For Aragorn, disguise might mean more than gathering clues, it might mean the difference between life and death.
Tolkien tells us in Appendix A of the LoTR (“The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen”) that Aragorn “went in many guises, and won renown under many names. He rode in the host of the Rohirrim, and fought for the Lord of Gondor by land and by sea; and then in the hour of victory he passed out of knowledge of Men of the West, and went alone into the East and deep into the South, exploring the hearts of Men, both evil and good, and uncovering the plots and devices of the servants of Sauron.” In order to do this successfully, especially given his “high profile,” Aragorn must have been able to disguise himself with a high degree of competence, particularly during his visits to the Enemy’s backyard.
Returning to the “Prancing Pony,” Frodo tells Aragorn that “I think you are not really as you choose to look….Why the disguise?” (FR-I-10). When Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas meet Éomer and his riders of Rohan near the Entwash, soon after it flows out of Fangorn, Aragorn tells Éomer, “Nor indeed am I a stranger; for I have been in this land before, more than once, and ridden with the host of the Rohirrim, though under other name and in different guise. You I have not seen before, for you are young, but I have spoken with Éomund your father, and with Théoden son of Thengel.8” (TT-III-2). Appendix A tells the reader that after serving King Thengel, Aragorn − under the name Thorongil (Eagle of the Star) − went to Minas Tirith, to serve Ecthelion, Steward of Gondor, and Father of Denethor. In Gondor, “no one knew his true name nor in what land he was born. He came to Ecthelion from Rohan, where he had served King Thengel, but he was not one of the Rohirrim. He was a great leader of men, by land or sea, but he departed into the shadows whence he came, before the days of Ecthelion were ended.” (Appendix A). Finally, after Aragorn gains control of the Palantir of Orthanc from Sauron, as he joins Legolas and Gimli at the midday meal in the Homburg, Aragorn tells them about his struggle with Sauron: “Yes, Master Gimli, he saw me, but in other guise than you see me here.” (RK-V-2).
One main purpose in donning a disguise is to allow oneself to gather information, or to discover clues, that might not be available otherwise. A closely allied skill is to gather clues or data by being close to the action, or the source of information, without being seen at all − that is, to effectively “disappear.” This is another craft for which both Holmes and Aragorn have a strong knack.
Probably the pithiest and best example of Holmes’ ability to
become “invisible,” or to “disappear,” occurs in “The Adventure of
the Devil’s Foot” (Last Bow). Holmes’ exchange with Dr. Leon
Sterndale, “the great lion-hunter and explorer,” who himself
probably knew a thing or two about not being seen, is classic
Holmes at his best. As Holmes is telling Sterndale how he was
aware that Sterndale had gone to the vicarage before returning to
his cottage, Dr. Sterndale interrupts him: “How do you know that?”
Holmes replies “I followed you.” to which Sterndale retorts “I saw
no one.” Holmes’ answer: “That is what you may expect to see when
I follow you.” Exactly − do not expect to see anything!
Aragorn shares Holmes’ ability to disappear. Strider tells the hobbits about the times he was watching them without being seen himself, and the events are given here in rough chronological order.
As Frodo, Sam, and Pippin return to their room from the Common Room at “The Prancing Pony” on 29 September 3019 they do not notice at all that Strider had come in with them until they stoke up the fire. When Aragorn finally gets the chance to talk to them alone in their room, he tells them that “I have quick ears, and though I cannot disappear, I have hunted many wild and wary things and I can usually avoid being seen, if I wish. Now, I was behind the hedge this evening on the Road west Bree, when four hobbits came out of the Downlands.” (FR-I-10). Strider followed the four hobbits to Bree, without being seen. As the hobbits finished their conversation with Harry, the gate-keeper at the West Gate, and Harry turned to go back to his house, “a dark figure climbed in quickly over the gate and melted into the shadows of the village street.” (FR-I-9). Aragorn verifies that he was the one who climbed over the fence without being seen: “I slipped over the gate just behind them.” (FR-I-10). He then tells the hobbits that on the Monday before they reached “The Prancing Pony,” he learned that two Black horsemen arrived in Bree, one came down the ‘Greenway from the North, and a second appeared later “coming up the Greenway from the South.” A few minutes later, Barliman Butterbur, the Innkeeper, followed by Nob, one of his helpers, enter Frodo’s room. Both Butterbur and Nob fail to see Aragorn until he steps into the light. When Aragorn does so, “The landlord jumped with surprise. ‘You!’ he cried, ‘You’re always popping up. What do you want now?’” At the end of the chapter, Aragorn reveals to the hobbits that he learned about the Black horsemen directly: “They had words with Harry at West-gate on Monday. I was watching them. He was white and shaking when they left him.”
Just like Holmes, Aragorn can make himself “invisible.” Although neither Holmes nor Aragorn can make themselves literally “disappear,” for all intents and purposes they can effectively do so.
Watson summarizes Holmes’ knowledge as he sees it in his famous table that appears in “The Science of Deduction” (Chapter 2 in “A Study in Scarlet”). Watson refers to it as Sherlock Holmes − his limits,” and without reproducing it in its entirety here (it is, after all, a long table), a few of the highlights will be given. Watson concludes that Holmes’ knowledge of Literature, Philosophy, and Astronomy is “Nil.” Watson was astounded to discover that Holmes knew nothing about Thomas Carlyle, and was not even aware of the “Copernican Theory” or the composition of the Solar System. Holmes defends himself by saying that it is important not to fill his brain with useless facts, and only keep in mind those things he needs to know in pursuit of his work. Of course, one suspects that Holmes may have been pulling a fast one on Watson regarding Thomas Carlyle and the Solar System. It is difficult to believe that a man who can quote Goethe at will not once but twice in the same story (“The Sign of Four”), and then admiringly say that “Goethe is always pithy,” is hardly ignorant of Literature. Even more astounding is Holmes’ knowledge of Hafiz (Mohammed Shams od-Din Hafiz), a 14th Century Persian Poet, whom he quotes at the end of “A Case of Identity.” (Adventures). Holmes even quotes from “Humpty Dumpty” in “The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans,” (Last Bow).
As the stories continue, we learn that some of Watson’s initial assumptions about Holmes knowledge and its limits are simply wrong. Nevertheless, continuing with our survey of Holmes as per Dr. Watson, in “A Study in Scarlet” we learn that his knowledge of politics is “feeble,” that of Botany, “variable,” and that of “geology is practical but limited.” Here again, events in later stories show Watson’s assessment to be flawed: in those stories that involve political figures, such as “The Naval Treaty” (Memoirs), or “The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans” (Last Bow), Holmes shows a keen knowledge of not only national but international politics as well. According to Watson, Holmes’ knowledge of Chemistry was profound, of Anatomy “Accurate but unsystematic” and of “Sensational Literature,” immense. Watson also notes that Holmes “plays the violin well,” is an excellent single-stick player, boxer, and swordsman, and that he has a working knowledge of British Law. Freeman notes that “In October 2002 the Royal Society of Chemistry in Britain awarded an Honorary Fellowship to Sherlock Holmes, on the 100th anniversary of the publication of ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles.”
Stories in the Holmes saga also lead one to conclude that Holmes had, at the very least, a good understanding of French, German, and possibly even Italian and Norwegian. In addition to his frequent use of French expressions, and reading letters addressed to him in French (see “A Study in Scarlet,” “The Sign of Four,” “The Red-headed League,” or “A Case of Identity,” for starters), Holmes recognizes that “Rache” is the German word for “revenge” (“A Study in Scarlet”). He has no trouble identifying the German watermark on the paper sent to him by his future client, the hereditary King of Bohemia9. In that same story, Holmes states that a Russian would not have phrased the sentence in such a way, suggesting that Holmes knew Russian as well. In “The Final Problem” (Memoirs), Holmes, disguised as a “venerable” and “decrepit” Italian Priest, was using broken English. Holmes’ use of Italian must be convincing.
One other facet of Holmes’ language facility must have made a strong and lasting impression on Tolkien: Holmes was also a linguist9. At the end of “The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot” (Last Bow), Holmes tells Watson “And now, my dear Watson, I think we may dismiss the matter from our mind and go back with a clear conscience to the study of those Chaldean roots which are surely to be traced in the Cornish branch of the great Celtic speech.” This alone would endear Holmes to Tolkien’s linguistic heart.
Holmes was also a traveler. Watson alludes to some of his trips to the Continent in the course of the Holmes stories. In “The Adventure of the Empty House” (Return), Holmes informs Watson that “I travelled for two years in Tibet, therefore, and amused myself by visiting Lhasa and spending some days with the head lama.” One wonders what language they spoke together. He also travelled during this period through Persia, visited Mecca and Khartoum (in the Sudan), “the results of which I have communicated to the Foreign Office.” He ended up in France, working in a laboratory in Montpelier. All this while he was supposedly dead at the base of Reichenbach Falls!
Holmes was also a musician. Watson notes that Holmes “plays the violin well.” He later says, in “A Study in Scarlet” that Holmes’ abilities on the violin were “as eccentric as all his other accomplishments. That he could play pieces, and difficult pieces, I knew well, because at my request he has played me some of Mendelssohn’s ‘Lieder,’ and other favourites.” It should be noted that Felix Mendelssohn’s (1809-1847) “Lieder Ohne Wörter” are not considered “easy” pieces, even for a violinist. Along with his violin playing, Watson tells us that Holmes was “not only a very capable performer but a composer of no ordinary merit.” A passionate devotee of music, in several stories, such as “The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans” (Last Bow), we read about Holmes’ work on “his monograph upon the Polyphonic Motets of Lassus,” in private circulation, and “said by experts to be the last word upon the subject.”
Despite the fact that we never know for sure where Holmes was raised or where he went to school (although more than one analyst has attempted to discover and name these places), it is overwhelmingly obvious that his education, background, and general savoir-faire make him a very knowledgeable person indeed. At dinner with Watson and Inspector Athelney Jones just before beginning their pursuit of Johnathan Small in “The Sign of Four,” Holmes’ range of topics impressed Watson with its brilliance. Some of the topics Holmes touched on included the disparate subjects of “….miracle plays, on medieval pottery, on Stradivarius violins, on the Buddhism of Ceylon, and on the warships of the future.” His excellent knowledge of several foreign languages enables him to toss out apropos aperçus, shrewd sayings, and wry witticisms as circumstances dictate. He is obviously an excellent raconteur. In the final analysis, Holmes turns out to be a very “smart” and savvy individual.
As Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin walk along the path cunningly laid along the edge of the Weather Hills, Merry asks Aragorn if there were any barrows on Weathertop. Aragorn replies, telling Merry who built the path, and why. He also explained that the Watch-tower on the summit of Weathertop was once “tall and fair.” Continuing, he tells the hobbits that “‘It is told that Elendil stood there watching for the coming of Gil-galad out of the West, in the days of the Last Alliance.’
“The hobbits gazed at Strider. It seemed that he was learned in old lore, as well as in the ways of the wild.” A little later the hobbits learned that Aragorn “knew many histories and legends of long ago, of Elves and Men and the good and evil days of the Elder days. They wondered how old he was, and where he had learned all the lore.” (FR-I-11).
In “First Impressions” above, it was told that Aragorn was raised in Rivendell since the age of 2 as the foster-son of Elrond himself, who raised him as a son of his own. Aware of his kinship with Aragorn, and the possible destiny of his foster son, to be the restored King of both Arnor and Gondor as the last surviving descendant of Elendil of Númenor, Elrond ensured that his son, the young Aragorn (Estel), received a thorough education10. As a descendant of the Elf-friends of the First Age, who along with the Elves were removed from Middle-earth by the Valar, and settled on the island of Númenor, within sight of the Elves’ home in the Undying Lands, Aragorn was born with a predisposition toward Elvish knowledge, customs, and skills. In addition, his lineage can be traced to the great Elves of the First Age (as noted in The Silmarillion), and to a Maia, Melian, the wife of Elu Thingol. This innate elvish and mannish nature was reinforced by his dwelling in Rivendell from the age of two until the age of twenty, when he “took leave lovingly of Elrond,”; who loved Estel (Aragorn) as a son, and went out into the world to earn his inheritance. “For nearly thirty years he laboured in the cause against Sauron’ and he became a friend of Gandalf the Wise, from whom he gained much wisdom.” (Appendix A, LoTR). Gandalf was a wizard, and one of the Maiar who were sent to Middle-earth by the Valar to bring hope and strength to the Elves and Men and other free peoples in their fight against the evil of Sauron.
Just like Holmes, Aragorn was a wide-ranging traveler. Aragorn journeyed far with Gandalf, and then began to make journeys on his own, and “went alone far into the East and deep into the South, exploring the hearts of Men, both evil and good, and uncovering the plots and devices of the servants of Sauron.” Like Holmes traveling to Tibet, one wonders what language(s) Aragorn spoke while he was in Khand and Rhûn.
“Thus he became at last the most hardy of living Men, skilled in their crafts and lore, and yet was more than they; for he was Elven-wise;….”(Appendix A, LoTR), as well as descended from Elf-friends (Men), Elves, and a Maia, as was Elrond and his other children, Elladan, Elrohir, and Arwen. From the Elves, Aragorn learned much, including the knowledge of leadership, fighting, self-sacrifice, lore, singing, and finally, among others, healing. Aragorn’s skills as a healer were enhanced through his use of plants, as healing agents, and it should be recalled that Holmes also had some knowledge of plants and their uses11. Unlike other men, however, Aragorn was also immersed in the wisdom and sadness of the Elves, and has a finer appreciation of emotions and feelings than most men. His sensitivities have been raised, and he understands, feels, and sees things more deeply than others. No wonder Éowen was drawn to Aragorn as soon as she saw him in the Golden Hall of King Théoden. “The Lady Éowyn greeted them and was glad of their coming’ for no mightier men had she seen then the Dúnedain and the fair sons of Elrond’ but on Aragorn most of all her eyes rested.” (RK-V-2). Legolas, the Elf, notes that “For all those who come to know him come to love him after their own fashion, even the cold maiden of the Rohirrim.” (RK-V-9).
Like Holmes, Aragorn has a command of many different languages. In addition to Westron, the Common Speech of the West of Middle-earth, used alike by Elves, Dwarves, Men, Hobbits, and even the Ents, Aragorn can speak not only one but several of the Elven languages12. As the heir of Isildur, Aragorn was the chief of the Dúnedain of Arnor. Tolkien tells us in Appendix F LoTR that “The Dúnedain alone of all races of Men knew and spoke an Elvish tongue; for their forefathers had learned the Sindarin tongue, and this they handed on to their children as a matter of lore, changing little with the passing of the years. And their men of wisdom learned also the High-elven Quenya and esteemed it above all other tongues….” As Frodo and Sam travel in North Ithilien, they encounter Faramir, son of Denethor, Steward of Gondor (TT-IV-4). While Frodo and Sam watch the battle between Faramir’s men, the Rangers of Ithilien, Frodo “became aware that it was the Elven-tongue that they spoke or one but little different; and he looked at them with wonder, for he knew then that they must be Dúnedain of the South, men of the line of the Lords of Westernesse.” (TT-IV-4). These men, like the Dúnedain of Arnor, also used the Westron, but “after the manner of olden days.”
From the age of two, Aragorn was raised in Imladris as a son of Elrond, where the daily spoken language was Sindarin. Sindarin also served as the language of the Dúnedain (Appendix F, LoTR), so from the age at which one learns their native tongue, Aragorn heard and spoke Sindarin, as well as learning Westron as a second language. Aragorn’s mastery of his native Sindarin tongue, as well as his knowledge of the Common Speech (Westron) and Quenya, the High-elven tongue, impressed the Warden of the Houses of Healing in Gondor. “I see that you are a lore-master, not merely a captain of war” he tells Aragorn (RK-V-8).
Aragorn can also speak the language of the Rohirrim as he spent many years in the service of King Thengel, father of King Théoden, living with them and learning about their culture. At the Council of Elrond, Aragorn tells the Council that he has “crossed many mountains and many rivers, and trodden many plains, even into the far countries of Rhûn and Harad, where the stars are strange,” (FR-II-2), and where the languages are no doubt also strange. It is not hard to imagine that Aragorn learned these languages also, since it is unlikely that Westron was the lingua franca in these eastern lands, often at war with the West13.
In addition to language, Aragorn also experienced the cultures of the lands he has visited. For example, when asked about the Rohirrim, he tells Legolas and Gimli that “They are proud and willful, but they are true-hearted, generous in thought and deed; bold but not cruel; wise but unlearned, writing no books but singing many songs, after the manner of Men before the Dark Years.” (TT-III-2).
Aragorn puts this knowledge to good use when, along with Legolas and Gimli, he meets Éomer and his men in “The Riders of Rohan” (TT-III-2). Knowing that the Rohirrim respond well to bold action, Aragorn acts in a bold way with Éomer: having finally revealed his true identity to Éomer, Aragorn says assertively “Will you aid me or thwart me? Choose swiftly!” (TT-III-2). Also, Aragorn may have learned from the Rohirrim how to oft sprinkle his speech with old saws. In “The Riders of Rohan” he tells Éomer “But when the great fall, the less must lead.” Later, Aragorn wrests control of the Palantir of Orthanc from Sauron. Gimli points out that his bold action might encourage Sauron to battle earlier than he intended. However, Aragorn tells Gimli and Legolas that “The hasty stroke goes oft astray.” (RK-V-2). The Rohirrim, “wise but unlearned,” are wont to use old folk-sayings, to a greater extent than the more learned people of Rivendell and Gondor.
It was already mentioned that unlike Holmes, Aragorn did not play the violin, but with his Elvish upbringing he became a very accomplished singer. In the Dell of Weathertop he chanted part of the “Tale of Tinúviel” to Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin. “His eyes shone, and his voice was rich and deep.” (FR-I-11). At the end of the ballad, Aragorn even explains to the Hobbits about the grammatical structure of the poem, pointing out “‘That is a song,’ he said, ‘in the mode that is called ann-thenath among the Elves, but is hard to render in our Common Speech, and this is but a rough echo of it” (FR-I-11), yet he is able to beautifully do so. Aragorn composes and sings a dirge for the dead Boromir at Parth Galen, and he later chants softly a ballad in the language of the Rohirrim, as he, along with Gandalf, Legolas, and Gimli, approach Edoras in “The King of the Golden Hall” (TT-III-6).
Just like Holmes, Aragorn is a highly educated man. Both men are world-travelers, and have the command of many languages. Their knowledge goes beyond simply knowing how to speak a different language: they understand and appreciate the culture of the people who speak it. Both men are musicians, Holmes on the violin, Aragorn as a singer. They are both well-read, although in Aragorn’s time this type of knowledge would have been known as “lore.” They are well-trained in the use of both the martial arts and the gentle arts. Both men know how to lead and motivate others, and how to realize their goals. Their vast knowledge exceeds that of most men, and both of them use their acumen to achieve their goal of ensuring the triumph of good over evil.
This section will look at various aspects of the characters of both Holmes and Aragorn, and further substantiate their similarities. They both exhibit many identical traits, although the degree to which they display them may vary. Taken as a whole, however, the evidence provided here amply reaffirms the influence of Holmes on Tolkien’s Aragorn.
Both Holmes and Aragorn can express themselves with a stern face. Watson frequently cites Holmes’ stern expression, asking “could this be my stern, self-contained friend? There were hidden fires indeed.” In “The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot” (Case Book), Holmes says “‘The bluff,’ said Holmes sternly, ‘is upon your side, Dr. Leon Sterndale, and not upon mine’.” Finally. Holmes uses a stern, resolute manner to get past Mr. James Wilder, the Duke’s secretary, who is also the illegitimate son of the Duke of Holdernesse14 in “The Adventure of the Priory School” (Return). He also is not afraid to sternly confront the Duke himself a short time after talking with Wilder.
Tolkien tells us that Aragorn’s “face was sad and stern” because of the doom placed upon him by his foster-father Elrond. “Speak no evil of the Lady Galadriel said Aragorn sternly, and his eyes glinted.” (FR-II-6), when Boromir told the Company that none come out of Lothlórien unscathed. Once Boromir returns to the lawn of Parth Galen where the Company is sitting, he tells them that he has talked with Frodo. “‘Is that all you have to say?’ said Aragorn, looking not too kindly at Boromir” (FR-II-10). Gimli can be reminded that “‘You forget to whom you speak’ said Aragorn sternly….” (RK-V-2). Éowyn recognizes that Aragorn can be stern when he needs to. She says to him, “You are a stern lord and resolute….and thus do men win renown.” (RK-V-2). It is apparent that both Holmes and Aragorn share this trait, like so many others, in common.
Freeman (2003) points out that “We are also attracted by Holmes’ sense of humor. From the very first Holmes not only sprinkles the stories with his dry retorts and ironic asides, he also laughs, chuckles, smiles, and jokes throughout.” (p. xvii, General Introduction). Just to provide a few examples out of many, both Holmes and Watson burst into laughter when Jabez Wilson tells them of the note that says “‘The Red-headed League’ is dissolved. October 9, 1890.” (Adventures). Watson notes “his bright humour” while Holmes entertains Athelney Jones of the Yard, and Watson, at dinner in “The Sign of Four.”
Holmes also likes to have a joke at his client’s expense, when he can. In “Silver Blaze” (Memoirs) he has Silver Blaze disguised so that Colonel Ross cannot recognize his own horse at the Wessex Cup. Percy Phelps, expecting to hear the worst about his missing Naval Treaty, is overwhelmed with joy when he discovers “a little cylinder of blue-gray paper” hidden under the dish cover in front of him while breakfasting with Holmes and Watson at the end of “The Naval Treaty” (Memoirs). Lord Bellinger, the Prime Minister, asks how “the secret letter from a foreign potentate” (probably Kaiser Wilhelm II) came back in the dispatch box of the Right Honorable Trelawney Hope. Holmes smiles in reply, and says “we also have our diplomatic secrets” at the end of “The Adventure of the Second Stain” (Return). At the conclusion of “The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone” (Case Book), Holmes hides the missing gem in the pocket of the somewhat aloof, snobbish, and elderly Lord Cantlemere. Holmes can doubly enjoy his own sense of humor here, for earlier Lord Cantlemere had expressed grave doubt that Holmes could recover the Mazarin Stone.
Although not given to a perpetually cheerful view of life, Holmes can be funny when the opportunity presents itself. Holmes, like a “regular Joe” enjoys laughing when he can.
Exactly like Holmes, Aragorn has a good sense of humor, but also laughs often. Tolkien tells us in Appendix A LoTR that despite his “sad and stern demeanor….hope dwelt ever in the depths of his heart, from which mirth would arise at times like a spring from the rock15.” When Bilbo asks Aragorn why Frodo calls him “Strider,” Aragorn says laughingly “They call me that in Bree, ….and that is how I was introduced to him.” (FR-II-1). As Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin journey between the rivers Mitheithel and Bruinen (“the Angle”), towards Rivendell, Merry and Pippin, who were walking slightly ahead of the others at this point, come running back in fear, telling Aragorn that they just saw some Trolls. Aragorn can joke with them, after he hits one of the lithified Trolls, “In any case you might have noticed that one of them has an old bird’s nest behind his ear. That would be a most unusual ornament for a live Troll!” (FR-I-12). When Aragorn gets a chance to heal the bruised Frodo on the way to Lothlórien from Moria, he discovers the mithril coat that Frodo was wearing and which was given to him by Bilbo. “Gently he stripped off Frodo’s old jacket and worn tunic, and gave a gasp of wonder. Then he laughed. The silver corslet shimmered before his eyes like the light upon the rippling sea.” (FR-II-6). Finally, after laboring to heal Faramir, Éowyn, and Merry, in the Houses of Healing, Aragorn can still joke with Merry, and tease him about being “a careless soldier who throws away his gear.” (RK-V-8).
Despite their advanced knowledge and wisdom, abilities and skills, both Holmes and Aragorn have an endearing laugh, which when we hear it, reveals a human side to their complex personalities.
Of course, it is expected that once Aragorn achieves his goal of becoming the King of both Arnor and Gondor, he will be in a position to dispense justice on a grand scale. Aragorn only achieves the Kingship towards the end of the LoTR, so there are not many examples of Aragorn’s administration of justice. Holmes, in contrast, has a myriad of opportunities to exercise his own sense of justice. As the Holmes series progresses, however, Holmes more and more often takes justice into his own hands, and administers it as he sees fit.
There appear to be two stories of the pre-Reichenbach Holmes that exemplify him as representing the cause of justice. In “The Fire Orange Pips” (Adventures) Watson asks him if he is heading to the Police. Holmes replies “No; I shall be my own police. When I have spun the web they may take the flies, but not before.” Although he does not step out of the bounds of the law in this story, he is indicating an inclination to do so, if he needs to. Holmes goes a bit further in “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle” (Adventures). After ascertaining that James Ryder set up the robbery of the Blue Carbuncle from the jewel case of the Countess of Morcar, and arranged to have an innocent man arrested for the crime, Holmes has Ryder sitting in his flat at 221B Baker Street. Ryder, realizing that Holmes has figured out the entire scam, begs for mercy, and Holmes grants it, allowing Ryder to go free.
Following his near-death experience at Reichenbach Falls and his 3-year journey through Asia and Africa, and finally France, Holmes returns to London in 1894. Immediately picking up where he left off, Holmes once again begins his detective work, but apparently now feels freer to do what he thinks is right as opposed to what the law says is “right.” The Duke of Holdernesse has been complicit, with his son, James Wilder, in temporarily kidnapping his own younger, legitimate son, Lord Saltire, in “The Adventure of the Priory School” (Return). In the process of abducting the 10-year-old boy, Reuben Hayes (in the pay of Wilder) kills a German instructor who had followed Lord Saltire out of his room as he left the Priory School. Once Holmes solves the case, he makes it clear to the Duke. There is little doubt that both James Wilder, using funds provided by the Duke to arrange the kidnapping, and the Duke himself, are complicit in the murder, even if they did “not intend it to happen nor were present when it occurred.” Nevertheless, Holmes works with the Duke to keep the affair quiet and out of the public eye. James Wilder is “exiled” to Australia, Lord Saltire returns to home and school, and all is well, but to some extent, Holmes took the law into his own hands, and in this case we may question Holmes in his action.
Holmes and Watson go even further when they jointly burgle the home of the famous blackmailer Charles Augustus Milverton in the Adventure of the same name (Return). They destroy all the incriminating documents in Milverton’s safe after they witness, while in hiding, Milverton’s murder by a former victim who could not pay his fee. When Inspector Lestrade asks Holmes to help solve the case, Holmes demurs, saying “there are certain crimes which the law cannot touch, and which therefore, to some extent, justify private revenge. No, it’s no use arguing. I have made up my mind. My sympathies are with the criminals rather than the victim, and I will not handle this case.” Here Holmes earns a hearty “Bravo.” He has already broken the law, but readers generally agree with his actions and sense of justice in this situation.
At the end of “The Adventure of the Abbey Grange” (Return), Holmes, acting as judge, and Watson, acting as the jury, allow Captain Jack Crocker to go free after he killed the villainous Sir Eustace Brackenstall. Sir Eustace was quite an abhorrent person, capable of beating his wife, the former Mary Fraser, who Crocker met and fell in love with on her journey to England to marry Sir Eustace. In “The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot” Holmes allows Dr. Leon Sterndale to go free, since Sterndale killed Mortimer Tregennis for the latter’s murder of Sterndale’s true love, Brenda Tregennis, and the driving of her two brothers insane.
Holmes and Watson again resort to burglary when they enter the home of Mr. Hugo Oberstein, of 13 Caulfield Gardens, in “The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans” (Last Bow). After telling Mycroft Holmes and Inspector Lestrade about their break-in, Watson writes that “The professional shook his head over our confessed burglary. ‘We can’t do these things in the force, Mr. Holmes,’ said he. ‘No wonder you get results that are beyond us. But some of these days you’ll go too far, and you’ll find yourself and your friend in trouble.’” Here Lestrade is right, (and we may cheer for him a little), but Watson couches his prose in terms that leave us with the feeling that Holmes, once again, did the right thing.
Holmes tells Isadora Klein directly in “The Adventure of the Three Gables” (Case Book) that “I cannot promise to reciprocate, madam. I am not the law, but I represent justice so far as my feeble powers go.” Holmes takes his role as an agent of justice to heart, when, in “The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax” (Last Bow) he, along with Watson, forces his way into the house of the nefarious Henry Peters, alias the Rev. Dr. Shlessinger of Baden and South America. Peters asks “‘Where is your warrant?’ Holmes half drew a revolver from his pocket. ‘This will have to serve till a better one comes’.” Holmes’ actions ultimately lead him to saving the life of Lady Carfax.
Other examples of Holmes’ escapades outside the law, but within the bounds of justice, exist. The key point is that there is always a clear sense of propriety: what Holmes is doing is right, and stems from his very deep-seated sense of justice. He acts to save lives, or to discover wrong-doing, and so dispenses his own well-developed idea of right and wrong. The reader can accept Holmes’ forays onto the wrong side of the law in pursuit of the higher goals of justice. In these instances, Holmes’ judgments reflect his regard for the concept of consequentialism16, part of the broader idea of teleology.
Like Holmes, Aragorn also dispenses justice, and has a Holmesian sense of right and wrong. His keen sense of justice may stem from his elvish upbringing, for in the Third Age the remaining Elves in Middle-earth would no longer listen to or serve the evil that Sauron, the Dark Lord, represents. (FR-II-2).
Boromir expresses dismay at having to pass through Lothlórien on his return journey to Minas Tirith, but Aragorn tells him that only those who carry evil with them need fear Galadriel and Lothlórien. Galadriel looks deeply into the eyes of her guests when she talks to them at their first meeting, but Aragorn can long withstand her searching gaze, because he serves the cause of goodness, right, and justice; he has no evil in him.
When the Company awakens on the lawn at Parth Galen, Aragorn calls them all together after they had eaten breakfast. Frodo asks for an hour to wander by himself to decide what to do in terms of his guest: to proceed directly to Mordor from there, or go there by way of Minas Tirith, which had always been Boromir’s destination. While walking in the woods, Frodo is accosted by Boromir, who in a moment of sudden madness, tries to seize the Ring by force. As he lunges towards Frodo, he tripped and fell, losing sight of Frodo. Recognizing that what he did was wrong, Boromir calls to Frodo. Too late: Frodo, putting on the Ring in order to make himself disappear and escape from Boromir, was long gone.
Boromir wanders back to where the rest of the Company were sitting, and says that he had talked to Frodo. When the other hobbits hear that Frodo had disappeared, they realize that he had done so in order to escape “an unwelcome visitor.” In a sudden panic, the Company wildly dispersed, looking for Frodo.
“‘We shall all be scattered and lost.’ groaned Aragorn. ‘Boromir! I do not know what part you have played in this mischief, but help now! Go after those two young hobbits, and guard them at the least, even if you cannot find Frodo. Come back to this spot, if you find him, or any traces of him. I shall return soon’.” (FR-II-11).
Boromir does so. He alone comes upon the marauding Orcs trying to capture Merry and Pippin, and alone he takes on the entire band. Boromir blows his horn, but to no immediate avail, and Aragorn, now far away on the summit of Amon Hen, hears the horn cries, and speeds back towards the sound.
Aragorn finds Boromir, pierced by many arrows, “sitting with his back to a great tree, as if he was resting.” (TT-III-1). When Aragorn comes up to the mortally wounded man, Boromir struggles with his dying breaths “I tried to take the Ring from Frodo…. I am sorry. I have paid.” Boromir tells Aragorn “They have taken them. I think they are not dead. Orcs bound them…. Farewell, Aragorn! Go to Minas Tirith and save my people! I have failed.” This is the complex situation and personality that Aragorn must judge in a moment. Drawing upon his own knowledge and experience, wisdom and compassion, Aragorn says without hesitation “‘No!’.... taking his hand and kissing his brow. ‘You have conquered. Few have gained such a victory. Be at peace! Minas Tirith shall not fall!’
“Boromir smiled” and then dies. Like Holmes, Aragorn had to quickly pass judgment when he chose to forgive Boromir; when he saw that Boromir had sacrificed his own life to defend Merry and Pippin, he realizes that the good in Boromir overcame the bad, a consequentialist determination. Aragorn understands that Boromir is not only his subject, devoted to the defense of Gondor and the West, but also a man redeemed from evil. Aragorn “knelt for a while, bent with weeping, still clasping Boromir’s hand. So it was that Legolas and Gimli found him.” (TT-III-1).
When Gimli and Legolas surmise that Frodo fled, they assumed it was from hunting Orcs. In light of Boromir’s confession, Aragorn knows better, but in his compassionate manner, “The last words of Boromir he long kept secret.” He does not even admit to Gandalf what Boromir has said, although with his usual keen insight, Gandalf says “You have not told me all that you know or guess, Aragorn my friend” (TT-III-5).
As the King of Arnor and Gondor, and Lord of the Western Lands, Aragorn must pass judgment on many people and events once he sits upon the throne in Minas Tirith. “In the days that followed his crowning the King sat on his throne in the Hall of Kings and pronounced his judgments.” (RK-VI-5). One of the cases he must judge is that of Beregond, formerly one of the Guards of the Citadel of Minas Tirith. Beregond had killed the door porter to the Citadel itself, and later two of Denethor’s servants, who were helping Denethor prepare to burn both himself and his still-living son, Faramir, fell to his sword. Out of loyalty and devotion to Faramir, Beregond did his utmost to protect his Captain, and to avert tragedy. Here again, King Elessar must make a judgement in a hard case. Aragorn realizes that of old, death was the penalty for crimes like these, but he remits all penalty because of Beregond’s valor and love for Faramir. Aragorn nevertheless tells Beregond he must leave the City of Minas Tirith. Shocked to his core, Beregond is stricken, but Aragorn appoints him to the position of Captain of Faramir’s guard, and Beregond recognized “the mercy and justice of the King, was glad, and kneeling kissed his hand, and departed in joy and content17.” (RK-VI-5).
Just like Holmes, Aragorn must call upon his own sense of right and wrong as he dispenses justice. Like Holmes, Aragorn rewards love and fealty. As with Holmes, the reader concurs with his judgements, and his independent exercise of his own sense of justice.
Although not as charming as the title of the famous book by Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice), the title above captures the two sides of the same coin, and this section will explore the role of these two characteristics in both Holmes and Aragorn. Both Tolkien and Watson (as transmitted to us by A. Conan Doyle) would agree with the thought that an individual needs some blend of both traits to be a fully developed person. As succinctly stated by Rabbi Hillel, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, when?,” there needs to be a balance between pride and humility: both Holmes and Aragorn possess these traits, but they hold them in different proportions. Tolkien, a highly devout Roman Catholic, has a sure sense of the pitfalls of pride18, and it is fascinating to see how he looks at pride and humility in his writings. We can see strong evidence for Tolkien’s feelings about the pride not only in the LoTR and The Silmarillion, but especially “The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth” where Beorhtnoth’s pride led to his defeat and the slaughter of the men of his household at the hands of the Vikings. Watson’s literary agent, A. Conan Doyle, shared a similar religious background19, and received his early education in Jesuit schools. It appears, however, that Doyle’s feelings about pride may have differed somewhat from those of Tolkien. It should also be noted that later in life, Doyle rejected Catholicism.
At the very start of the Holmes Saga, Dr. Watson records some of Holmes’ thoughts about two earlier detectives with whom Watson was aware: C. Auguste Dupin and Monsieur Lecoq. This exchange was alluded to earlier in Section III “Pipe-smoking” above. It is well worth giving the entire exchange here, starting with a comment from Watson.
“‘You remind me of Edgar Allan Poe’s Dupin. I had no idea that such individuals did exist outside of stories.’
“Sherlock Holmes rose and lit his pipe. ‘No doubt you think that you are complimenting me in comparing me to Dupin,’ he observed. ‘Now in my opinion, Dupin was a very inferior fellow. That trick of his of breaking in on his friend’s thoughts with an apropos remark after a quarter of an hour’s silence is really very showy and superficial. He had some analytical genius, no doubt, but he was by no means such a phenomenon as Poe appeared to imagine.’
“‘Have you read Gaboriau’s works?’ I asked. ‘Does Lecoq come up to your idea of a detective?’
“Sherlock Holmes sniffed sardonically. ‘Lecoq was a miserable bungler’ he said, in an angry voice; ‘he had only one thing to recommend him, and that was his energy. That book made me positively ill. The question was how to identify an unknown prisoner. I could have done it in twenty-four hours. Lecoq took six months or so. It might be made a textbook for detectives to teach them what to avoid.’”
Holmes must have had a very high regard for himself to utter such statements, and Watson was somewhat miffed to hear Holmes denigrate two literary characters he admired. It is also ironic that Holmes is a bit hypocritical as regards Dupin: he too enjoys the “showy and superficial” habit of “breaking in on his friends’ thoughts,” as he does to Watson in, for example, “The Adventure of the Dancing Men” (Return), or “The Adventure of the Cardboard Box” (Last Bow).
On three separate occasions, Holmes tells others: “My name is Sherlock Holmes. It is my business to know what other people don’t know.” (“The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle,” Adventures). “‘Never mind,’ said Holmes laughing, ‘it is my business to know things.’” (“A Case of Identity,” Adventures). “It is my business to know things. That is my trade.” (“The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier,” Case Book).
Watson points out many times that Holmes was never above touting his own prowess. In “The Adventure of the Empty House” (Return), Holmes tells Watson “I have some knowledge, however, of baritsu, or the Japanese system of wrestling, which has more than once been very useful to me.” A few stories later, Holmes lets Watson know “that I have some proficiency in the good old British sport of boxing.” (“The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist,” Return). In “The Adventure of the Illustrious Client” (Case Book), Holmes reveals to Watson that “I’m something of a single-stick expert, as you know.” Finally, in “The Five Orange Pips” (Adventures) Holmes tells Watson that young John Openshaw’s death at the hand of members of the KKK “hurts his pride.”
The overwhelming feeling that we get is that Holmes has, in fact, a very high opinion of himself, and a lot of self-confidence, and is not afraid of letting others know that. Freeman (2002) remarks on Holmes’ “self-assurance” and “supreme self-confidence,” and Watson comments on his “singularly proud nature” in “The Adventure of the Six Napoleons” (Return). As noted earlier, in “The Adventure of the Speckled Band,” (Adventures), Holmes seats himself on the bed, near the bell-pull, knowing full well that he has a better ability than Watson to withstand the rigor of a long vigil in the dark. As early as “The Sign of Four,” Watson says that “I had observed that a small vanity underlay my companion’s quiet and didactic manner.” Freeman (2002) does offer a defense of Holmes when he says that although, in his pride, he is critical of others, he also holds himself to the same high standards. Nevertheless, it is hard to overcome our feeling that on the whole, Holmes is a somewhat conceited fellow.
Like Holmes, Aragorn has a lot to be proud of. It has already been mentioned that Aragorn was raised in Rivendell as a son of Elrond from the age of two. At Elrond’s bidding, he was given the name “Estel,” meaning “hope,” as part of the effort to keep the Enemy from learning his true identity. “But when Estel was only twenty years of age, it chanced that he returned to Rivendell after great deeds in the company of the sons of Elrond; and Elrond looked at him and was pleased, for he saw that he was fair and noble and was early come to manhood though he would yet become greater in body and in mind. That day therefore Elrond called him by his true name and told him who he was and whose son; and he delivered to him the heirlooms of his house.” (Appendix A, LoTR). Although Aragorn briefly tells the hobbits his true name, at the Inn at Bree, he does not tell them about his long lineage and position.
After leaving Bree, Pippin points out to Aragorn that the hobbits’ last “short-cut” nearly ended in disaster. Aragorn laughingly says “Ah, but you did not have me with you then. My cuts, short or long, don’t go wrong.” (FR-I-11). Elrond tells Boromir and other guests who Aragorn is at the Council of Elrond, but only mentions in passing his descent from Isildur. A little later Gandalf refers to Aragorn as the heir of Isildur. In the grass field of Egladil Galadriel gives Aragorn a green stone, the Elessar, and says “In this hour take the name that was foretold for you, Elessar, the Elfstone of the House of Elendil.”20 (FR-II-8).
Aragorn declares himself again as the Company (minus Gandalf) rows down the Anduin through the Argonath. Aragorn reassures Frodo and Sam, his companions in his elven-boat. “‘Fear not!’ said a strange voice behind him. Frodo turned and saw Strider, and yet not Strider; for the weatherworn Ranger was no longer there. In the stern sat Aragorn son of Arathorn, proud and erect, guiding the boat with skillful strokes; his hood was cast back, and his dark hair was blowing in the wind, a light was in his eyes: a King returning from exile to his own land. ‘Fear not!’ he said. ‘Long have I desired to look upon the likenesses of Isildur and Anárion, my sires of old. Under their shadow Elessar, the Elfstone son of Arathorn of the House of Valandil Isildur’s son, heir of Elendil, has nought to dread!’” (FR-II-9).
Perhaps he is getting used to no longer keeping his true identity and lineage secret, for when Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli encounter Éomer and the Riders of Rohan, Aragorn has no trouble telling Éomer exactly who he is, in no uncertain terms: throwing back his cloak, Aragorn recites his illustrious lineage by name. This may also reflect Aragorn’s realization that with the apparent demise of Gandalf, he became the de facto leader of the Fellowship.21
“Gimli and Legolas looked at their companion in amazement, for they had not seen him in this mood before. He seemed to have grown in stature while Éomer had shrunk; and in his living face they caught a brief vision of the power and majesty of the kings of stone. For a moment it seemed to the eyes of Legolas that a white flame flickered on the brows of Aragorn like a shining crown.
“Éomer stepped back and a look of awe was in his face. He cast down his proud eyes.” Who wouldn’t? A few minutes later, Aragorn assures Éomer that “no trail has turned aside, this way or that, unless my skill has wholly left me.” (TT-III-2).
With a history like that, and full knowledge of who he is; with his elven-wisdom, long life (he is already 87 years old when the LoTR takes place, and only entering the prime of his life), and superb mental and physical abilities, Aragorn has, just like Holmes, a lot to be proud of. There are differences, however, in how both Holmes and Aragorn temper their pride.
As discussed above, Watson’s portrayal of Holmes leaves us with a sense that Holmes’ character leans toward a dominance of pride and self-confidence. There are a few times, however, when Watson notes that Holmes can realize his own limitations and mistakes and admit to them. These times, when Holmes reveals that he is not as perfect as Watson has made him out to be, show us a more human Holmes, and therefore endear him to us even more. After subjecting both himself and Watson to a near-death experience in “The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot” Holmes apologizes to Watson, and by doing so in the terms that he does, calling it “an unjustifiable experiment,” Holmes is admitting that he made a mistake. In “The Yellow Face” (Memoirs) Holmes says “Watson, if it should ever strike you that I am getting a little overconfident in my powers, or giving less pains to a case than it deserves, kindly whisper ‘Norbury’ in my ear, and I shall be infinitely obliged to you.” Here again, Holmes admits to Watson that his first suppositions were wrong. Several paragraphs earlier, a quotation was taken from “The Five Orange Pips” (Adventures). That quote needs to be repeated here in full, because in it Holmes shows the flip side of his confidence, the realization that he made a mistake in not ensuring Openshaw’s personal safety. “‘That hurts my pride, Watson,’ he said at last. ‘It is a petty feeling, no doubt, but it hurts my pride. It becomes a personal matter with me now, and if God sends me health, I shall set my hands on this gang. That he should come to me for help, and that I should send him away to his death −!’” In “The Valley of Fear” Holmes tells Watson “Would you be afraid to sleep in the same room with a lunatic, a man with softening of the brain, an idiot whose mind has lost its grip?” Again, Holmes is admitting that he made a mistake. Finally, Holmes admits to Watson that he is not the perfect thinking machine that Watson (with Holmes’ subtle encouragement!) makes him out to be: “That one word, my dear Watson, should have told me the whole story had I been the ideal reasoner which you are so fond of depicting.’” (“The Crooked Man,” Memoirs). As the series of Holmes stories progresses, Holmes seems to become more self-effacing. In “The Adventure of the Three Gables” (Case Book) Holmes tells Isadora Klein that “I am not the law, but I represent justice so far as my feeble powers go.” That does not quite sound like the confident, proud Holmes of “A Study in Scarlet” or “The Sign of Four.”
Aragorn is far more humble than Holmes, especially when he is at the same time asserting some pride. For example, during Aragorn’s first meeting with the hobbits, in their rooms at the “Prancing Pony,” fully aware of his position as a descendant of Isildur and the Chief of the Dúnedain, he chooses to reject the Ring. He realizes that despite his vast power, he could not control it. “‘I was after the Ring, I could have it − NOW!’” Standing up to his full height, his eyes gleamed a “keen and commanding light,” Aragorn touched the hilt of his sword. The hobbits were struck dumb.
“‘But I am the real Strider, fortunately,’ he said, looking down at them with his face softened by a sudden smile. ‘I am Aragorn son of Arathorn; and if by life or death I can save you, I will.’” (FR-I-10). Aragorn knows that he has the power to take the Ring, and use it to accomplish his tasks, but at the same moment, his Elvish outlook of right and wrong, combined with his humility, propel him to the proper choice. Setting aside his own objectives, he is willing to risk the chance of his own death to help the hobbits on their way. Another example of how Aragorn’s exclamation of pride in who he is is tempered by a reassertion of his humility is in evidence as the diminished Company paddles through the Argonath on the swift flow of the Anduin. Immediately after telling Frodo and Sam to “Fear not!” (cited above), Aragorn’s first comment is “Would that Gandalf were here!” recognizing the Gandalf might have had better success in helping Frodo on his quest than he could. This is in keeping with Aragorn’s willingness to blame himself rather than others for his mistakes.
After Aragorn chants the ballad “The Tale of Tinúviel” (another name for the Lay of Leithian, about Beren and Lúthien) to Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin, at Weathertop, he tells the hobbits that “There live still those of whom Lúthien was the foremother, and it is said that her line shall never fail. Elrond of Rivendell is of that kin. For of Beren and Lúthien was born Dior Thingol’s heir; and of him Elwing the White whom Eärendil wedded, he that sailed his ship out of the mists of the world into the seas of heaven with the Silmaril upon his brow. And of Eärendil came the Kings of Númenor, that is Westernesse.” (FR-I-11). This would be the perfect time for Aragorn to casually let the hobbits know that he too is part of that lineage, that Lúthien is also his foremother. Out of humility, he chooses not to. It cannot be argued that he does not mention this out of fear of revealing too much of himself; he has already told the hobbits his true name, and Aragorn probably felt that declaring his lineage here might be seen as simple self-aggrandizement. It should be noted here that Aragorn giving his name to the hobbits is extremely significant. Raised as Estel in Imladris, Aragorn was taught from a very early age not to reveal too much about himself to others, as the Enemy was searching for him – the Heir of Isildur – and a stray mention of his true name could have disastrous conseqences.
Perhaps because Aragorn is willing to admit his limitations more than Holmes, there are more examples of Aragorn’s humility scattered throughout the LoTR. As Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn chase the Orcs across the East Emnet towards Fangorn, Aragorn can tell Gimli, when the latter expresses the wish that Galadriel had given them a phial, that “It will be more needed where it is bestowed…. Ours is but a small matter in the great deeds of this time.” (TT-III-2). As previously noted above, when Aragorn proudly declares his identity to Éomer in “The Riders of Rohan” (TT-III-2) the LoTR states that Gimli and Legolas “had not seen him in this mood before.” That clearly suggests that it was not often that Aragorn boasted about himself. Aragorn tells Éomer a short time later that Gandalf had fallen in Moria, and that “when the great fall, the less must lead,” commenting on his own leadership of the Company after the Bridge of Khazad-dum. Even at his crowning as the King Elessar, the lord of Arnor and Gondor, and as Faramir says to Éowyn “…. a Lord among men, the greatest that now is,” (RK-VI-5), he humbly admits that others helped him achieve his goal. “By the labour and valour of many I have come into my inheritance. In token of this I would have the Ring-bearer bring the crown to me, and let Mithrandir set it upon my head, if he will; for he has been the mover of all that has been accomplished, and this is his victory.” (RK-VI-5). While Holmes can − and does − admit on occasion to his limitations, the more humble Aragorn is apt to take less credit for himself, and to acknowledge the help of others.
Closely allied to a feeling of pride in oneself is a lack of patience with others of lesser intelligence or ability. Again a contrast between Holmes and Aragorn can be established. Both men are extremely knowledgeable and talented, but they respond somewhat differently to those with more limited skills and/or wisdom.
Holmes can be very impatient with others, especially members of the “Official Force,” who have destroyed important clues through thoughtless behavior or simple carelessness. In “A Study in Scarlet,” Tobias Gregson rushes forward to meet Holmes and Watson as they alight from their hansom, and tells them that “I have left everything untouched.” Watson records that Holmes remonstrates with him: “‘Except that!’ my friend answered, pointing at the pathway. ‘If a herd of buffaloes had passed along, there could not be a greater mess.’” Holmes seems to have been familiar with the tracks left by a herd of buffalo, because later, in “The Boscombe Valley Mystery” (Adventures), Holmes sees on the ground evidence that Inspector Lestrade had walked all over the area, covering vital tracks, and had gone to the nearby pool. when Lestrade starts to ask “But how on earth −” Holmes almost angrily answers “Oh, tut, tut! I have no time! That left foot of yours with its inward twist is all over the place. A mole could trace it, and there it vanishes among the reeds. Oh, how simple it would all have been had I been here before they came like a herd of buffalo and wallowed all over it.”
Holmes can also show impatience towards his friend, Watson, as in “A Study in Scarlet” when Watson asks him how he knew that the commisionnaíre who had just delivered a note was a retired sergeant of the Marines. “‘I have no time for trifles,’ he said brusquely;” and it should be noted that Holmes follows this up with an apology. While searching the ground in “The Boscombe Valley Mystery” Watson tells us “that a question or remark fell unheeded upon his ears, or, at the most, only provoked a quick, impatient snarl in reply.” In “The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans” (Last Bow), Watson admits that Holmes’ impatience can be a liability: “It was one of my friend’s most obvious weaknesses that he was impatient with less alert intelligences than his own.”
In keeping with his humble nature, Aragorn is far less impatient and much more compassionate in his approach when Sam and Pippin report that they had discovered “a spring of clear water in the hillside, and near it footprints not more than a day or two old. In the dell itself they found recent traces of a fire, and other signs of a hasty camp.” Aragorn (just like Sherlock Holmes!) says “‘I wish I had waited and explored the ground down here myself,’….hurrying off to the spring to examine the foot prints.” Aragorn reproaches himself, not the hobbits, for his failure on the occasion to explore the dell before climbing to the top of Weathertop with Frodo and Sam. He also admits that “I was too careless on the hilltop. I was very anxious to find some sign of Gandalf, but it was a mistake for three of us to go up and stand there for so long.” Aragorn is possessed of a more forgiving nature than Holmes, and is quicker to find fault with himself rather than blame someone else (FR-I-11).
Over the course of Watson’s writings about Holmes, and also in the LoTR, it is evident that both Holmes and Aragorn possess deep-seated feelings. Both men are also reserved, and that trait sometimes forces them to hide their feelings. Nevertheless, Watson does share with the reader some glimpses into Holmes’ feelings. Once again, however, it may be easier for Aragorn to express his feelings, as he is more willing to allow them to come through.
At the start of the Holmes saga Watson tells us in “A Scandal in Bohemia” (Adventures) that “All emotions, and that one (love) in particular, were abhorrent to his cold, precise, but admirably balanced mind. He was, I take it, the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen….” Nevertheless, Holmes’ feelings do come through on occasion.
Holmes is easily depressed when not hot upon the trail of some criminal activity. At the end of “The Sign of Four,” Watson relates that when they were comfortably settled, back in their flat on Baker Street, Holmes ends the story by remarking “‘for me…. there still remains the cocaine-bottle.’ And he stretched his long white hand up for it.” In the next story, “A Scandal in Bohemia” (Adventures), Watson notes that Holmes could alternate “from week to week between cocaine and ambition, the drowsiness of the drug, and the fierce energy of his own keen nature.” Many commentators have suggested that this description of Holmes smacks of the character of a manic-depressive, but it also suggests that Holmes was highly sensitive beneath his veneer of complete rationality and his rejection of feelings.
The death of John Openshaw in “The Five Orange Pips” (Adventures) leaves Holmes “more depressed and shaken” than Watson “had ever seen him.” In this case, however, this momentary display of feelings spurs him on to quick action to bring to justice those responsible for Openshaw’s death. After surprising Percy Phelps with the return of the missing Naval Treaty between England and Italy, under a dish-cover in front of Phelps, Holmes remarks that “….Watson here will tell you that I never can resist a touch of the dramatic.” Holmes can forget a case completely with his music, as he does in St. James’ Hall in “The Red-headed League” (Adventures) or in “The Adventure of the Red Circle” (Last Bow) where Holmes says tonight is “a Wagner night at Covent Garden. If we hurry, we might be in time for the second act.” It takes “feeling” to appreciate music! Anyone who can enjoy drama as much as Holmes, or who can sit rapturously in a concert hall, is not devoid of “feelings!”
When Holmes holds up a chunk of plaster containing “the famous black pearl of the Borgias” both Inspector Lestrade and Watson burst out in applause. “A flush of colour sprang to Holmes’s pale cheeks, and he bowed to us like the master dramatist who receives the homage of his audience. It was at such moments that for an instant he ceased to be a reasoning machine and betrayed his human love for admiration and applause.” At the conclusion of the same story, “The Adventure of the Six Napoleons” (Return), Lestrade tells Holmes that the yard is proud of him, and “There’s not a man, from the oldest inspector to the youngest constable, who wouldn’t be glad to shake you by the hand.”
“‘Thank you!’ said Holmes. ‘Thank you!’ and as he turned away, it seemed to me that he was more nearly moved by the softer human emotions than I had ever seen him. A moment later he was the cold and practical thinker once more.”
Similarly in “The Bruce-Partington Plans” (Last Bow) Holmes shows another rapid change from allowing his feelings to come through to his normal, reserved self. Holmes “sprang up and shook me by the hand. ‘I knew you would not shrink at the last’ said he, and for a moment I saw something in his eyes which was nearer to tenderness than I had ever seen. The next instant he was his masterful, practical self once more.” Near the end of “The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot” (Last Bow) Holmes is nearly killed when he subjects both himself and Watson to a test of the potency of the “Devil’s Foot” root. Watson saves the day, in this case, by saving Holmes and himself. Holmes genuinely thanks Watson and apologizes for subjecting him to such an unjustifiable test. Watson writes “‘You know’ I answered, with some emotion, for I had never seen so much of Holmes’s heart before, ‘that it is my greatest joy and privilege to serve you.’”
Finally, in “The Adventure of the Three Garridebs” (Case Book), Holmes shows without hesitation his love for Watson. When the American James Winter, alias Morecroft, alias Killer Evans, suddenly draws his revolver and shoots at Holmes and Watson (who are both armed) he gets off two rounds before Holmes knocks the gun from his hand. In the exchange, Watson is wounded. Holmes cries “You’re not hurt, Watson? For God’s sake, say that you are not hurt!”
“It was worth a wound − it was worth many wounds − to know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask. The clear, hard eyes were dimmed for a moment, and the firm lips were shaking. For the one and only time I caught a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain. All my years of humble but single-minded service culminated in that moment of revelation.” A few sentences later Holmes tells Killer Evans “By the Lord, it is as well for you. If you had killed Watson, you would not have got out of this room alive.” Is this the almost non-human thinking machine, devoid of emotions, that Watson had portrayed Holmes in, for example, “The Crooked Man” (Memoirs)? The evidence suggests not.
Although the dates of their births are not known for certain, it is obvious that both Holmes and Watson grew up, matured and spent their lives through middle age in Victorian England. Coincidentally, Watson’s literary agent, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, was born in 1859 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and his life was roughly contemporaneous with that of Holmes and Watson. Victorian morals and attitudes permeated the weltanschauung of Holmes, Watson, and Doyle. It may have been his Victorian upbringing, combined with his own, rational nature, but Holmes was not wont to talk about or reveal his emotions. They certainly come out, on occasion, as Watson described above, but Watson’s stories suggest that it was relatively rare for Holmes to be free with his emotional state-of-mind.
As noted in the Introduction, J.R.R. Tolkien was born in the last decade of the reign of Queen Victoria. Tolkien grew up and spent his adolescence in Edwardian England, and the rapidly evolving world of the first decade of the 20th Century. His early adulthood was spent under the shadow of the Great War, and the emotional trauma that he lived through in the trenches of WWI dwelt within him for the rest of his life. The scientific study of psychology began in 1879, when Wilhelm Wundt opened a clinic for the treatment of mental illness. In the first decades of the Twentieth Century, Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung expanded the study of psychology and human emotions, leading to a somewhat freer expression of emotion than was typical of the Victorian Era. It cannot be doubted that the influence of these factors and his own experiences in war allowed Tolkien to endow Aragorn with a greater ability to express his feelings than the model exemplified by Holmes.
Despite his elvish upbringing and kinship, Aragorn was a man, with a man’s emotional needs and desires. We can see this so clearly in the Dell at Weathertop when Aragorn chanted “The Tale of Tinúviel” and the Hobbits “watched his strange, eager face, dimly lit in the red glow of the wood fire. His eyes shone, and his voice was rich and deep.” Little do the Hobbits know, but Aragorn feels a deep affinity for that Ballad, that recounts the trials and tribulations of Beren, a Man, as he seeks the hand of Lúthien Tinúviel, an Elf, and the daughter of King Thingol and Melian the Maia22. Against overwhelming odds, Beren and Lúthien wrest one of the three Silmarills from the crown of Morgoth, the evil Vala, of whom Sauron, the Dark Lord in the LoTR, was only a servant. Not only is Aragorn himself a descendant of Lúthien, but he also is in love with an Elf: Arwen Undómiel, daughter of Elrond, “in whom it was said that the likeness of Lúthien had come on earth again.”
We can empathize with the tremendous emotions that must surge through Aragorn as he rejects the Ring in the Inn at Bree, fully realizing that with the power it would give him he could achieve everything his heart desires, but at the cost of doing that which is good and right. We can share his sincerity in telling the Hobbits that “if by life or death” he can save them, he will. We can admire his manliness, generosity, compassion, and mercy, when he kisses the brow of the dying Boromir, and comforts him. Legolas and Gimli find Aragorn “bent with weeping, still clasping Boromir’s hand” when they return to the glade in which Boromir had single-handedly tried to prevent the Orcs from seizing Merry and Pippin. It is a man connected to his feelings who can tell his kinsman Halbarad of the Dúnedain “There go three that I love, and the smallest not the least” as King Théoden, Éomer, and Merry ride off (RK-V-2).
Sensitive to the nuances of love, Aragorn is unhappy to realize that Éowyn has fallen in love with him. He sees and understands her feelings of despair, her lack of hope for the future, and her turning to him as a way “to be lifted far above the mean things that crawl on the earth” (RK-VI-5), because he has the emotional depth to do so. He tells Éomer in the Houses of Healing “Few other griefs amid the ill chances of this world have more bitterness and shame for a man’s heart than to behold the love of a lady so fair and brave that cannot be returned. Sorrow and pity have followed me ever since I left her desperate in Dunharrow and rode to the Paths of the Dead; and no fear upon that way was so present as the fear for what might befall her.” (RK-V-8). Aragorn feels no loss of manliness when he kisses Merry after he heals him. Aragorn can look “at Frodo with kindly pity” as Frodo goes off alone to decide his future course of action (FR-II-10).
Those who can give love, receive it in return. Legolas comments that “…. all those who come to know him come to love him after their own fashion, even the cold maiden of the Rohirrim.” (RK-V-9). Earlier, Éowyn had told Aragorn that his followers will allow him to lead them on the Paths of the Dead: “They go only because they would not be parted from thee − because they love thee.” (RK-V-2). It is obvious that Watson loves Holmes in the same way, but Aragorn engenders more love in more people than Holmes because Aragorn is a somewhat more integrated person, who can allow his feelings to co-exist alongside his rationality.
Both Holmes and Aragorn can be reserved. As we have seen, they both have strong feelings, but generally keep those feelings to themselves, Holmes more so than Aragorn. Aragorn allows himself more freedom to express his feelings than the Victorian Holmes, but when he does so, he is generally talking about his feelings for someone else, and less about his inner feelings or the challenges that he faces. Aragorn is not garrulous. Unless longer discourse is required, he tends to keep talk to a minimum, in line with his private, reserved nature.
Watson points out many times that Holmes tended towards the quiet side; evidence for this comes from two sources. First, Stamford tells Watson in “A Study in Scarlet” that Holmes “is not a man that is easy to draw out, though he can be communicative enough when the fancy seizes him,” suggesting that there are many times when he is NOT communicative. Second, Watson notes in “The Sign of Four” that “Our meal was a merry one. Holmes could talk exceedingly well when he chose, and that night he did choose.” That was the night Holmes was entertaining Athelney Jones and Watson before they set out on the Thames River chase to catch Johnathan Small in Mordecai Smith’s cutter “Aurora,” and Holmes exhibited his great range of knowledge. Compare Stamford’s and Watson’s remarks to one made by Barliman Butterbur, the Innkeeper, about Strider: “He seldom talks: not but what he can tell a rare tale when he has a mind.” (FR-I-9). Butterbur’s description of Aragorn is a very close echo of the characterizations of Holmes above.
One of the more recognizable characteristics common to both Holmes and Aragorn is that of their masterful personalities. References to their commanding natures abound in both the Holmes stories and the LoTR. For both men, their masterful personas stem from the sum total of all the character traits described here, in addition to their wide knowledge and individual idiosyncrasies that endear them to those they lead. Holmes is certainly a leader, whether he admits it or not. In addition to his chronicler, Dr. Watson, many of those on the official force, such as Inspector Lestrade, admire his work, and are more than happy (once they come to know him) to follow Holmes’ leadership in solving a variety of cases. At the end of the “Six Napoleons” (quoted earlier), Lestrade tells Holmes “We’re not jealous of you at Scotland Yard” and lets him know that everyone on the force respects him.
Aragorn was born into a leadership position, but he earns his right to lead through personal example and his own efforts. Naturally, as the leader of the Dúnedain, and the leader of the Company after Gandalf’s battle with the Balrog in Moria, Aragorn has many opportunities to show his leadership. He does so throughout the LoTR, earning not only the respect, but the love of those who follow him, as has already been seen.
Two excellent examples of Holmes’ masterful personality come from the same story, “The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot” (Last Bow). After Watson saves both himself and Holmes from the toxic fumes of the Devil’s root, Holmes apologizes. Watson’s reply could speak for many who follow a masterful leader: “It is my greatest joy and privilege to serve you.” A short while later, Holmes and Watson confront Dr. Leon Sterndale (cited earlier); Watson records that Sterndale, “the great lion-hunter and explorer in Africa,” was possessed of a “tremendous personality.” Nonetheless, as this powerful individual visits with Holmes, “Sterndale sat down with a gasp, overawed for, perhaps, the first time in his adventurous life. There was a calm assurance of power in Holmes’s manner which could not be withstood.”
An additional two examples of the power of Holmes’ personality come from “The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist” (Return) and “The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans” (Last Bow). In the former story, Watson states “The strong, masterful personality of Holmes dominated the tragic scene, and all were equally puppets in his hands.” In the latter adventure, Watson tells us that “The next instant he was his masterful, practical self once more.”
Examples of Aragorn’s masterful personality are common. His strong nature can forge a bond between a Man, an Elf, and a Dwarf, as he, Legolas, and Gimli, begin their chase at Parth Galen. As Pippin and Gandalf talk in their room near the Citadel of Minas Tirith, Gandalf wonders why Sauron rushed to start his war. Gandalf says “And yet, Pippin, I feel from afar his haste and fear. He has begun sooner than he would Something has happened to stir him.” Wondering what that something could be, Gandalf surmises that it was Aragorn. “Ah! I wonder. Aragorn? His time draws near. And he is strong and stern underneath, Pippin; bold, determined, able to take his own counsel and dare great risks at need. That may be it. He may have used the Stone and shown himself to the Enemy, challenging him, for this very purpose. I wonder.” (RK-V-4). The reader already knows that Gandalf’s guess is correct. It takes a strong, masterful personality indeed to dare to challenge Sauron directly in a Palantir, and wrest control of it from him. Even Gandalf feared such an encounter.
Both Gimli and Legolas acknowledge Aragorn’s strong personality. Recounting the passage of the Dúnedain through the Paths of the Dead, Gimli says that “I was held to the road only by the will of Aragorn.” Legolas quickly adds “And by the love of him, also….” (RK-V-9). We already know that only Aragorn’s will “held them to go on” as the Dúnedain, Gimli, Legolas, and the sons of Elrond ride from the Stone or Erech towards Pelargir-upon-Anduin. On that fateful journey, accompanied by the Shades of the dead Oath Breakers who failed to heed Isildur’s summons to battle at the start of the Third Age, Legolas saw that at Aragorn’s command, the wraiths held back. Legolas tells Merry and Pippin that “Even the shades of Men are obedient to his will…. They may serve his needs yet.” (RK-V-9).
As Pippin talks with Merry in the Houses of Healing after Aragorn and Gandalf left them, Pippin, referring to Aragorn, admiringly asks Merry “Was there ever anyone like him?.... Except Gandalf, of course. I think they must be related.” (RK-V-8). Actually, comparing Aragorn to an immortal and powerful Maia like Gandalf, whose name as a youth in the Blessed Realm was Olórin, is not as far-fetched as it may seem. Lúthien, the foremother of Aragorn, was herself the daughter of Melian the Maia and King Thingol, the Elf King in the First Age. Putting Aragorn on a par with a wizard like Gandalf is a testament to Aragorn’s strong, wise, compassionate, and kind leadership. Indeed, Aragorn is part-Maia.
In closing this section, it is wise to think about Watson’s portrayal of Holmes in “The Hound of the Baskervilles.” Watson informs us that Holmes had a “masterful nature which loved to dominate and surprise those around him.” Aragorn also possesses a strong, powerful, persona, but unlike Holmes he does not use it to dominate others, except by his own example. Aragorn is willing to allow Frodo to make up his own mind at Parth Galen, without influencing him one way or the other. He looks at Frodo “with kindly pity” and gives him one hour alone to make up his mind. This would be an easy moment for him to suggest a course of action to Frodo, but he chooses not to do so. As the remaining Company (minus Boromir) debate their future course a short time later, not once does Aragorn tell them what he would do, until he asks the rest of them “If you would let me choose” (FR-II-10).
Both Holmes and Aragorn possess powerful, masterful personalities, that engender strong respect and love in their followers, who are willing to allow Holmes and Aragorn to lead them on often dangerous paths. Such leadership stems from Holmes’ and Aragorn’s composite nature, that gives them the ability to lead by thought and deed.
“One of Sherlock Holmes’s defects − if indeed, one may call it a defect − was that he was exceedingly loath to communicate his full plans to any other person until the instant of their fulfillment.” So reports Dr. Watson at the start of Chapter 14 in “The Hound of the Baskervilles.” Among other examples, in “The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor” (Adventures), Watson is fully in the dark as a caterer arrives to set up a delicious spread at the end of the tale. “There was a curious secretive streak in the man which led to many dramatic effects, but left even his closest friends guessing as to what his exact plans might be. He pushed to an extreme the axiom that the only safe plotter was he who plotted alone.” (“The Adventure of the Illustrious Client,” Case Book). Even in this regard, Aragorn is like Holmes. Frodo and the rest of the surviving Fellowship of the Ring stay in Minas Tirith long after the crowning of King Elessar. Finally, Frodo asks Gandalf why Aragorn is anxious to have the Companions stay in Gondor, for Frodo would like to return to the Shire and visit Bilbo in Rivendell on the way home. Gandalf replies “Many folk like to know beforehand what is to be set on the table; but those who laboured to prepare the feast like to keep their secrets for wonder makes the words of praise louder.” (RK-VI-5).
Using the examples of Dr. Watson, as transmitted by A. Conan Doyle, and J.R.R. Tolkien, this essay also has “saved the best for last.” Nowhere can one see a stronger influence of Sherlock Holmes upon Aragorn than in looking at Aragorn, the detective. This section of the essay will look at those aspects of Aragorn’s activities that most clearly resemble those of Sherlock Holmes. Indeed, it was in reading some of the passages cited here that the idea first came to mind that Tolkien was influenced by Sherlock Holmes when he crafted Aragorn’s weltanschauung.
In particular, three segments from the LoTR most clearly show Aragorn playing the role of Sherlock Holmes, the detective. These three segments are, in order of appearance: 1) in the Dell at Weathertop (FR-I-11), 2) in Parth Galen in “The Departure of Boromir (TT-III-1), and 3) in the field surrounding the burned pile of Orcs in “The White Rider” (TT-III-5). Two of these three segments provided material for the quotes provided at the start of this essay. Many of the citations in this segment will come from these three sources as well as others scattered throughout the LoTR. Beginning with a discussion of the idea of alternate “theories” within the framework of the scientific method, this section will look at the scientific process and how both Holmes and Aragorn use it to advantage in their pursuit of justice, truth, and knowledge.
Holmes lived in the latter half of the 19th Century and the early part of the 20th. The Victorian world was dominated by the notion that there is no such thing as an unsolvable problem. Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species by Natural Selection” was published in 1859, oddly enough, the birth-year of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Great advances in physics, chemistry, and the application of science to all sorts of human endeavors made everything seem possible. At the root of all this was the Scientific Method, as it is used to this day. The Scientific Method, starting with observations, the posing of a question, and then the development of alternate hypotheses to answer that question, depends on objective analysis and the testing of each alternative hypothesis. Once testing shows one hypothesis is to be correct over and over again, it may be elevated to the status of a “theory,” and, as all theories are, is still subject to rigorous testing. Unfortunately, Conan Doyle (who probably misinterpreted Watson) and the lay public too indiscriminately use the word “theory,” confusing it with “hypothesis” (which is harder to say!). Once a hypothesis has reached the status of a theory, it has undergone considerable testing to prove its validity.
Dr. Watson prepares two chapters, one each in “A Study in Scarlet” (Chapter 2) and “The Sign of Four” (Chapter 1) in which he discusses Holmes’ use of the Scientific Method as part of his deductive process. Both chapters are titled “The Science of Deduction” and illustrate how Holmes’ deductive methods reflect scientific principles. Holmes even provides scientists with an important aphorism: “It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgment.” (“A Study in Scarlet”). He emphasizes it again in “A Scandal in Bohemia” (Adventures) where he says “It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.” This same idea is reiterated in “The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge” (Last Bow), one of the later stories.
Holmes uses alternate hypotheses in many of his cases. It was noted earlier how Holmes could provide one or more “theories” as an alternative to the hypothesis proposed by someone else, usually a detective from the official force. In “The Adventure of Black Peter” (Return), “The Adventure at the Norwood Builder” (Return), and “The Valley of Fear” Holmes offers, or is called upon, to provide alternate hypotheses. In “The Norwood Builder” Holmes offers Lestrade not one but a dozen alternatives to the “theory” developed by Lestrade to explain the case.
Though probably not aware of the Scientific Method per se due to the long-ago time in which he lived, Aragorn certainly uses the process to good effect on those occasions when he is asked to give an explanation for the clues he has seen. When Gimli asks Aragorn if he can better the explanation given by Legolas as the Three Hunters look for Merry and Pippin near the eaves of Fangorn, Aragorn ends his analysis of the clues by saying something that could have come directly from Sherlock Holmes: “There, that is my tale. Others might be devised.” That suggests that Aragorn has considered other hypotheses, but has given Legolas and Gimli, his best explanation. (TT-III-5). This is an excellent example of using the Scientific Method and creating alternative hypotheses to explain the data! Like Holmes, Aragorn’s explanations almost always turn out to be very near the truth.
The Scientific Method begins with the observation and collection of data. All of us (to a greater or lesser extent) spend a considerable part of our time observing the world around us and using that data to help us form our “world-view.” Watson acknowledges Holmes’ ability to observe things better than anyone else can early in the Canon, and continues to do so throughout the entire series. In “A Scandal in Bohemia” (Adventures) Holmes, observing Watson, tells him the he can see that 1) the Dr. is in practice again, 2) has put on a trifle over 7 lbs, 3) has been out getting himself wet lately, and finally, 4) that Watson has “a most clumsy and careless servant girl.” After Holmes explains to Watson how he deduced these things based upon his observations, Watson exclaims that he is “baffled” until Holmes explains his process. Watson then says “And yet I believe that my eyes are as good as yours.” Holmes agrees with him, but with a caveat: “You see, but you do not observe.” A few sentences later Holmes reiterates this point, but in reverse order: “You have not observed. And yet you have seen.” Before this exchange, Watson had watched Holmes examine the room in 3, Lauriston Gardens, near the Brixton Road, in which someone had scrawled the word “Rache” on a part of the wall in a corner of the room. While Tobias Gregson and Inspector Lestrade “watched the manoeuvres of their amateur companion with considerable curiosity and some contempt,” Watson realizes that all of Holmes’ observations were directed towards some definite and practical end.
Maybe Holmes’ skill in observation is due to the fact that “Perhaps I have trained myself to see what others overlook.” (A Case of Identity,” Adventures). The key to solving “The Adventure of the Norwood Builder” (Return) occurs when Inspector Lestrade shows Holmes the blood-stained thumbprint of John Hector McFarlane on the hallway wall on the 2nd of the investigation. McFarlane was already imprisoned on the 1st day of the investigation. Holmes suddenly deduces the setup, based upon his observations on the 1st day: “Only this: that I know that that was not there when I examined the Hall yesterday.”
Frodo’s first meeting with Aragorn in Bree has already been discussed in “First Impressions” above. It is easy to overlook, but Gandalf had earlier mentioned Aragorn to Frodo in “The Shadow of the Past” (FR-I-2), where he tells Frodo “And my search would have been in vain, but for the help that I had from a friend: Aragorn, the greatest traveler and huntsman of this age of the world.” After Gandalf had given up the chase, Aragorn persevered, and finally tracked down Gollum. Any hunter will know that keen observation of any and all available signs, or clues, about the animal being hunted will often lead to a successful conclusion.
Just like Holmes, whose feats of close observation appear in almost all of the Holmes stories, Aragorn’s outstanding observation skills appear time and time again in the LoTR. Besides the three major segments already mentioned, where Aragorn reveals so clearly the influence of Sherlock Holmes, we see constant reference to his skill as a tracker who can observe the finest details.
While Legolas and Gimli overlook them, Aragorn finds Merry and Pippin’s swords among the Orc weapons at Parth Galen. “‘See!’ cried Aragorn. ‘Here we find tokens!’” (TT-III-1). A short time later he recognizes that some of the dead Orcs are not “folk of Mordor.” On the trail of the Orcs holding Merry and Pippin, both Legolas and Gimli turn to Aragorn to find the trail and interpret the signs that he sees. These discoveries would be the ideal time for Aragorn to say, just like Holmes,” You see, but you do not observe.” Aragorn’s humility prevents him from doing so. As a result of his superb skills at observation, “Legolas and Gimli left the tracking to Aragorn.” (TT-III-5), recognizing that he is better at tracking than they are.23
Even Pippin, held prisoner by the Orcs and being brought, along with Merry, to Isengard, knows the tracking skill of Aragorn. Pippin sees in his mind “a vision of the keen face of Strider, bending over a dark trail, and running, running behind.” (TT-III-3). He intentionally drops the brooch of his Elven-cloak on the trail, trying to leave a clue for Aragorn to find. That proves to be a good thing, too, because Aragorn sees where Pippin ran off to drop the brooch; Gimli and Legolas both missed this very important clue. Just like Holmes, Aragorn can observe what others fail to see.
Commenting on Aragorn’s ability to find clues and fit them together into a coherent whole, Gimli states “A bent blade is enough for Aragorn to read.” (TT-III-5). Finally, it is Aragorn who traces the Hobbits’ footsteps into Fangorn, and observes the unusual tracks of Treebeard as the three companions climb Treebeard’s Hill.
Observation
Both Holmes and Aragorn are not above talking or muttering to themselves as they go about their business of detecting. In “The Sign of Four,” Watson records that “As he hunted about, he kept muttering to himself, and finally he broke out into a crow of delight.” Again, “He drew out a lens and lay down upon his waterproof to have a better view, talking all the time rather to himself than to us.” (Watson and Lestrade watching Holmes work in “The Boscombe Valley Mystery” (Adventures). Similarly, “Aragorn sped on up the hill. Every now and again he bent to the ground…. ‘I read the signs aright,’ he said to himself. ‘Frodo ran to the hill-top!” (TT-III-1).
The next step in the Scientific Method is to pose a hypothesis that answers a question that pre-dates the observations, or arose in the observation of the clues or data itself. Holmes is a master at this, as all the 56 short stories and the 4 Novellas in the Canon testify.
In “The Sign of Four” Watson asks Holmes to give him an opinion on a watch which “has recently come into my possession.” In response to the question, Holmes looks at the watch, and observes that “The watch has been recently cleaned, which robs me of my most suggestive facts.” Nevertheless, he collects enough data to come up with a story, or hypothesis, that fits the facts. So unerringly true is Holmes’ analysis, that Watson is unnerved, and thinks that Holmes has made inquiries into the life of his brother, recently deceased, whose watch it was. Watson then confirms that Holmes’ deductions leading to his hypothesis are correct.
Many of the stories in the Holmes Canon end with Holmes explaining his observations, deductions, and his development of a “theory” to fit the facts. For example, at the end of “The Adventure of the Golden Prince-Nez” (Return), Holmes explains his solution to Watson and Inspector Stanley Hopkins as they travel back to London by train.
As Watson, Colonel Ross, and Holmes return from Winchester to London, following the triumph of Silver Blaze in winning the Wessex Cup, Holmes goes over his observation of, and deductions about, the clues he has collected. The first link in his chain-of-reasoning, he relates, was that a curry was served to the stablehands that night − a curry that contained powdered opium. It would have been too coincidental for the suspect in John Straker’s murder, Fitzroy Simpson, to have been there with powdered opium just the same night that curry, which can disguise the taste of opium, was served. Holmes used the deduction to help him start off in a fresh direction, that did not include Simpson, and so he arrived at the correct solution to the murder.
It was earlier pointed out that three segments in the LoTR emphasize Aragorn’s likeness to Holmes. The first of these segments occurs in “A Knife in the Dark” (FR-I-11) where Aragorn and the four hobbits finally reach Weathertop. Once Aragorn investigates the spring in the hillside where Sam and Pippin had found some tracks, he goes through a Holmesian observation-deduction-theory cycle. “‘It is just as I feared,’ he said, when he came back. ‘Sam and Pippin have trampled the soft ground, and the marks are spoilt or confused. Rangers have been here lately. It is they who left the firewood behind. But there are also several newer tracks that were not made by Rangers. At least one set was made only a day or two ago, by heavy boots. At least one. I cannot now be certain, but I think there were many booted feet.’ He paused and stood in anxious thought.” It is important to note that even with the Hobbits’ damage to the original tracks, he can still make the correct analysis.
As soon as Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas leave Parth Galen, the trail becomes difficult to read. Legolas asks Aragorn to figure out which path they should follow, north or south. In a quick demonstration of Holmesian thinking, Aragorn says “They will not make for the river, whatever mark they aim at. And unless there is much amiss in Rohan and the power of Saruman is greatly increased, they will take the shortest way that they can find over the fields of the Rohirrim. Let us search northwards!” (TT-III-2). Using his knowledge of Orcs, the Rohirrim, and the terrain, Aragorn makes a logical deduction that proves, once again, to be correct.
The very best example of Aragorn at his Holmesian best appears in “The White Rider” (TT-III-5). Aragorn sounds so much like Holmes, that this entire episode could have been told by Holmes to an appreciative Watson as the duo are hurtling back to London in a railway Pullman car. It is this segment, read and re-read many times over, that inspired the hypothesis behind this essay. Consider the tone, pace, and clarity of this passage, that could just as easily have been given by Holmes to Watson.
“‘There was sorcery here right enough,’ said Gimli. ‘What was that old man doing? What have you to say, Aragorn, to the reading of Legolas. Can you better it?”
“‘Maybe, I could,’ said Aragorn smiling. There are some other signs near at hand that you have not considered. I agree that the prisoner was a hobbit and must have had either legs or hands free, before he came here. I guess that it was his hands, because the riddle then becomes easier, and also because, as I read the marks, he was carried to this point by an Orc. Blood was spilled there, a few paces away, orc-blood. There are deep prints of hoofs all about this spot, and signs that a heavy thing was dragged away. The Orc was slain by horsemen, and later his body was hauled to the fire. But the hobbit was not seen: he was not “in the open,” for it was night and he still had his elven-cloak. He was exhausted and hungry, and it is not to be wondered at that, when he had cut his bonds with the knife of his fallen enemy, he rested and ate a little before he crept away. But it is a comfort to know that he had some lembas in his pocket, even though he ran away without gear or packs that perhaps, is like a hobbit. I say he, though I hope and guess that both Merry and Pippin were here together. There is, however, nothing to show that for certain.’”
In response to a second question from Gimli, Aragorn explains how the clues have helped him solve another riddle: “Why when Boromir had fallen were the Orcs content with the capture of Merry and Pippin?” Aragorn logically and convincingly tells Legolas and Gimli his “theory”, which once again turns out to be very near the true events. He concludes his comments “There, that is my tale. Others might be devised….”
No similarity between Holmes and Aragorn is more obvious than their ability to observe, collect clues, hypothesize, and deduce the correct answer to the problem at hand. Clearly, Holmes could serve as an ideal model for Tolkien to use in creating his character of Aragorn, the detective.
While not related to the characters of Holmes or Aragorn, several other intriguing tidbits need to be considered before closing this essay. Carter tells us that Tolkien [Carter (1997) often referred to Tolkien using one of his given names, Ronald] attended King Edward’s School in Birmingham before moving on to Exeter College at Oxford. The Summer Term of 1911 was Tolkien’s last at King Edward’s. In the summer holiday that followed, he made a trip to Switzerland with his brother Hilary and the Brookes-Smith family that Hilary was living with as he worked on their farm. Backpacking their way through Switzerland, the group made their way to Meiringen. It is hard to believe that Tolkien didn’t think of Holmes’ titanic struggle with Professor Moriarity as he stared into the depths of Reichenbach Falls.
During the Christmas break of 1912, Tolkien spent the holiday with the family of his mother’s sister, May Incledon. Carter notes that “He spent Christmas 1912 with his Incledon relatives at Barnt Green near Birmingham. As usual in that family, the season was enlivened with theatricals, and this time Ronald himself wrote the play that they performed. It was called ‘The Bloodhound, the Chef, and the Suffragette.’ Later in life he professed to despise drama, but on this occasion he was not only the author but the leading actor, playing ‘Professor Joseph Quilter, M.A., B.A., A.B.C., alias world-wide detective, Sexton Q. Blake-Holmes, the Bloodhound, who is searching for a lost heiress named Gwendoline Goodchild.” No stronger evidence could be provided in support of the hypothesis given in this essay. Tolkien knew about Holmes, and consciously or sub-consciously, Watson’s descriptions of Holmes influenced Tolkien’s characterization of Aragorn.
Carter (1997) also notes Tolkien’s concern for accuracy and detail. He states this trait of Tolkien’s “was doubly valuable because it was coupled with a flair for detecting patterns and relations. ‘Detecting’ is a good word, for it is not too great a flight of fancy to picture him as a linguistic Sherlock Holmes, presenting himself with an apparently disconnected series of facts and deducting from them the truth about some major matter.” Is it possible that Tolkien ever thought of himself in this manner? It is likely indeed, especially given his previously cited knowledge of Holmes and his techniques.
In “The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place” (Case Book), the name of the inn near Sir Robert Norberton’s home is “The Green Dragon.” Without knowing how many “Green Dragon” Inns may have existed or still exist in the U.K., is it also a coincidence that the name of one of the local inns in Bywater, the Shire, is “The Green Dragon?24”
If Tolkien was a “fan” of Holmes, or at least, had a working knowledge of Watson’s stories, he might have been interested in other works by Watson’s amanuensis, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle published a popular book in 1891 of which J.R.R. Tolkien was probably aware. The title of this book was “The White Company,” and it dealt with chivalry in the 14th Century. The chapter in which Aragorn leads Elladan, Elrohir, the Dúnedain, Legolas, and Gimli, on the Paths of the Dead in the LoTR (RK-V-2) is entitled, of all things, “The Passing of the Grey Company.” Chivalry is often associated with knights, and Tolkien refers to members of the Dúnedain as being Knights on occasion. Furthermore, Tolkien uses the name “The White Company” itself when Aragorn appoints Beregond to the very chivalric role of leading this Company, dedicated to the service and protection of the Lord Faramir, Prince of Ithilien.
As noted above, the reading of those passages in the LoTR in which Aragorn acts as a consummate detective, suggested the hypothesis that Tolkien was inspired by Sherlock Holmes in creating Aragorn’s character. Further observation of the evidence in both the Holmes “Canon” and the LoTR provided additional clues indicating a close similarity between Holmes and Aragorn beyond their abilities as detectives. Many of these similarities have been presented in this essay. The list below recapitulates this evidence in a convenient format for comparative purposes:
Considering all of the data presented in this essay and in the compilation above, it appears that there are far too many similarities between Holmes and Aragorn for these similarities to be ascribed to mere coincidence. A thorough reading of the Holmes “Canon” and the LOTR clearly shows that J.R.R. Tolkien must have been familiar with Watson’s work and that of his literary agent, A. Conan Doyle. And why not? As seen in this essay, Holmes’ influence upon culture and literature is as strong now as it was in the heyday of Victorian and Edwardian England. Given the influence of Holmes upon Aragorn, and Tolkien’s masterful writing in the LOTR, it appears that the legacy of both Sherlock Holmes and Aragorn son of Arathorn, King Elessar, will long endure.
1 The significance of Aragorn’s fostering in Imladris, where Elrond came to love him as a son of his own (as noted by Tolkien in Appendix A) and raised him as such, cannot be overstated. Many of Aragorn’s character traits, outlook, strengths, and general savoir-faire may be attributed to his being raised more as an Elf than a Man, in addition to the fact that he had elvish blood in his long lineage, and was in fact a descendant of Lúthien. Chapter Five (Denethor as Macbeth: The Tragedy of the Last Rulinjg Steward of Gondor) includes much additional information on Aragorn’s “elvishness,” and have a direct bearing on his relationship to other characters in the LoTR as well as the people of Middle-earth in toto. The important idea to remember here is that Aragorn’s upbringing in Rivendell, where he was called “Estel,” at the bidding of Elrond (LoTR Appendix A, The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen), greatly influenced his personality, skill, knowledge, perspective, and wisdom (as opposed to knowledge alone). As noted by the Warden in the Houses of Healing (RK), Aragorn was not merely a man of war, but he was also a healer, well-versed in the skills of healing, and his knowledge of not one, but several elvish languages, including Quenya or “High Elven.”
2 Aragorn stood at 6 feet, 6 inches tall, according to Tolkien in his later writings (Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull, The Lord of the Rings: A Reader’s Companion, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston and New York, 2005). Extensive corroborating information is also provided in the numerous fan fiction and fan research articles published online.
3 Elladan and Elrohir, the Sons of Elrond, are also on the Paths of the Dead, but Tolkien does not mention them separately. Are they meant to be included without special mention in the Dúnedain, given their historical and familial relationship to the Men of the West? This will be further considered in Chapter Five.
4 Ah, those beryls! They keep cropping up (or outcropping, should we say?) and will be discussed in Chapters Three and Six, The Geology of Middle-earth, and Who Foretold What, When?
5 Aragorn in
the Dell at Weathertop (FR) is content with only a single cloak,
while the Hobbits are bundled up. This is another characteristic
of one who is raised with the Elves, and possesses some elvish
blood himself: the ability to withstand cold and other discomforts
with aplomb.
Chapter Five discusses this idea further.
6 It is noted in The Silmarillion (p.148) that the descendants of the House of Bëor were most like the Noldor Elves in appearance. A characteristic feature of Beor’s descendants is their gray eyes. “The Men of that house were dark or brown of hair, with grey eyes; and of all Men they were most like to the Noldor and most loved by them; for they were eager of mind, cunning-handed, swift in understanding, long in memory, and they were moved sooner to pity than to laughter.” At the end of The Silmarillion, Tolkien provides a genealogy that traces the origin of Elros and Elrond (and thus Aragorn) from the House of Bëor, through both Beren and Lúthien (through their son Dior and his daughter Elwing) and Tuor, who married Idril Celebrindal, the daughter of Turgon. It should also be noted here that gray eyes are extremely rare. “Less than 1 percent of people have gray eyes. Gray eyes are very rare. Gray eyes are most common in Northern and Eastern Europe. Scientists think gray eyes have even less melanin than blue eyes.” (As reported by Healthline, July 2021.)
7 Elrond himself, and his chief advisors, who served as both instructors and friends to the young Estel, probably impressed upon Estel the importance of caution in revealing his identity to others. This fact has given rise to much speculation in the world of fan-fiction and analysis, especially as to how Elrond communicated this important information to a young child, without revealing the reasons for it…until Estel was informed by Elrond of his true lineage and role in Middle-earth, once Estel reached the age of twenty. See the Bibliography for additional information.
8 Indeed, Aragorn’s appearance (disguise, as it were) is so unusual, for a man, that Éomer wonders if he is of elvish folk: “Are you elvish folk?” (TT, II, p. 422)
9 This leads to an interesting observation on the part of Holmes about German. In discussing the letter he had received from an “anonymous” source, Holmes comments upon the poor English employed by the letter’s author, as indicated by its unusual verb placement. In the letter, Holmes says to Watson “Do you note the peculiar construction of the sentence – ‘This account of you we have from all quarters received.’ A Frenchman or Russian could not have written that. It is the German who is so uncourteous to his verbs.”
10 Again, Estel’s education under the direction of Elrond is a matter of great interest to fan-fiction writers and other scholars of LoTR lore. Given the information provided in this chapter, there can be little doubt that Estel’s education including learning Westron, Quenya, the history of the First, Second, and Third Ages, with particular attention on the interaction between Elves and Men during this period. He was also probably very well-schooled in the military and hunting arts, acquiring great skill with the use of the sword, the bow, and knives (for hunting and other uses), as well as, probably, the spear. Elrond would no doubt have not overlooked Estel’s future as a potential monarch of a great realm, and probably ensured that this education also included court rules and etiquette, the dispensation of justice, and the balance between judgment, pity, understanding, and compassion. On top of all that, simply through being raised in Imladris, Estel had a deep appreciation for the Elvish weltanschauung, and their idealization of memory. This is a topic, again, that serves as an endless source of delight for fan fiction writers.
11 On 16
October 2005, Holmes was awarded an Honorary Fellowship in The
Royal Society of Chemistry in the United Kingdom. “The Royal
Society of Chemistry is to bestow an Extraordinary Honorary
Fellowship upon Sherlock Holmes, the first detective to exploit
chemical science as a means of detection. The honour marks the
centenary of Holmes's most celebrated case, The Hound of the
Baskervilles, as well as the 100th anniversary of Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle's knighthood.
“Holmes began, albeit it fictionally, a tradition that is now part
of everyday policing around the world in which science and
rational thinking are allied to combat evil. Since then countless
people around the world have believed - and believe today - that
Holmes truly existed, venturing forth from his smog-steeped Baker
Street lodgings to take on the most baffling cases known to
Victorian England.
“The award will be presented at the statue of Holmes outside the
entrance to Baker Street station at 11.00am on Wednesday 16
October. Present to mark the occasion will be a modern Dr John
Watson, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. Also present
will be a Mastiff cross-breed hound as a reminder of the dog which
haunted the Baskerville family through two centuries on darkest
Dartmoor.” (Royal
Society of Chemistry, "Sherlock Holmes Honorary Fellowship")
12 Here we get to the heart of Tolkien’s creation of Middle-earth. Tolkien’s love of language, already alluded to in the text above, reflected itself in his creation of several contrived languages as a young man. Tolkien saw his fictional works as a stage upon which he could set his created languages. A complete discussion of the Elvish languages is too broad a subject for this short footnote, but suffice it to say that the LoTR mentions several Elvish languages, including Quenya and Sindarin. Tolkien notes that the “East-elves” of Mirkwood and Lórien had their own languages, but that they do not appear in the LoTR (Appendix F). The West-elves, the Eldar, spoke two languages: Quenya and Sindarin. Over the course of time, Quenya became an “Elven-latin,” used only for high occasions and only by the learned, whereas Sindarin became the lingua-franca of most of the remaining Elves in Middle-earth. Estel, as noted by most writers of fan-fiction, spoke both Quenya and Sindarin fluently. Tolkien hiself notes that at the end of the Third Age, Quenya was probably spoken by more men – the wise men of Gondor and Arnor – than by the Elves themselves. The Introduction to this book alludes to Tolkien’s love of language, and more of this will be discussed in later chapters.
13 Appendix B (“The Tale of Years”) enumerates the numerous wars waged by the Easterlings against Gondor in the Third Age.
14 It is
interesting to note the spelling of the word “Holdernesse” in the
Holmes’ storya. The suffix “ness,” used in modern English to
change adjectives or participles into nouns describing an abstract
quality, is usually spelled simply “ness.” The addition of the
final “e” adds a perhaps archaic mood to the spelling. “Ness” is a
native English suffice, cognate with German “nis.” Cf. The Men of
Westernesse, using a similar spelling for the suffice “ness.”
Simply a coincidence, or did Tolkien remember Watson’s use of the
suffix?
aThe Adventure of the Priory School.
15 A very biblical reference to Moses striking the rock in the desert, from which water sprang forth to supply the Israelites in the desert. This perhaps is a reflection of Tolkien’s religious upbringing as a devout Catholic, and his knowledge of the Bible.
16 “The ends justify the means” is a typical expression of consequentialism.
17 Yet another biblical reference, this time to the Book of Micah, in which Micah declares to the people “It hath been told thee, O Man, what is good, and what the Lord doth require of thee: Only to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God.” (Micah, 6:8)
18 One of the Seven Deadly Sins in Catholic tradition. The concept of “pride” will be further developed in Chapter Five, “Denethor as Macbeth.”
19 A. Conan Doyle, Watson’s Literary Agent, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 22 May 1859. He was raised as a Roman Catholic, and his early schooling was at a Jesuit school in England, and then he studied at Stonyhurst College, a Jesuit college, in northwest England. It is interesting to note that from 1875 through 1876, Doyle was in attendance at another Jesuit School, Stella Matutina, in Feldkirch, Austria, adjacent to the border with Lichtenstein, and also close to the Swiss border.
20 In another delightful fan-fiction story, Estel does not like his name, considering it rather “stupid.” After all, Elrond and his brother Elros both had names beginning with “El,” and their mother’s name was Elwing. It has been noted that “El” is one of the oldest words in Tolkien’s elvish lexicon, and that the root signifies “star,” or, by extension, “Elda,” or one of “the star-folk.” Over time, the term was broadened to suggest an elf, as, for example, in the names Elladan (elf-man) and Elrohir (elf-knight), both of whom are the Sons of Elrond. In the story, the 13-year-old Estel has a preference for the name Finrod, and misspells his own name (without knowing it is his real name, of course) Aragorn in the genealogy he is filling out for Erestor. The irony is, naturally, that Aragorn eventually eventually DOES receive the name that was foretold for him, Elessar, the Elfstone of the House of Elendil. Eventually, Estel does indeed fit right in with the rest of his extended family, and the son of Arwen and Aragorn is named Eldarion.
21 Receiving the name Elessar (and the stone that goes with the name) from Galadriel, and his journey down the Anduin perhaps gave Aragorn some time to reflect on his new status as the leader of the Fellowship, enroute to his rendezvous with destiny. His heart “yearned” for him to go to Minas Tirith, there to establish his credentials as the Heir of Elendil and Isildur, the true leader of the Dúnedain, and the Rightful King of both Arnor and Gondor. Unfortunately, with the apparent death of Gandalf, Aragorn had to reconsider his options, and typical of his selflessness, he thought that instead of going to Minas Tirith, he should accompany Sam and Frodo to Mordor, on what perhaps would be a suicide mission, but one that might result in the final overthrow of Sauron.
22 Again and
again Estel’s (Aragorn’s) fascination with and love of “The Lay of
Leithian” is mentioned in numerous stories by fan-fiction authors.
It may only be concluded that the young Estel, before he met
Arwen, was no doubt fascinated by the love shared by Beren, a Man,
and Lúthien, the daughter of an Elf and a Maia. No doubt Estel’s
later interest was piqued by his own love for Arwen, an Elf, and
the daughter of Elrond. In the FR, Aragorn refers to the Lay of
Leithian simply as “The Tale of Tinúviel.” (FR-I-11).
It should also be noted that many of these stories point out how
easily Estel is mistaken for a young Elf.
23 Again and again, fan-fiction stories highlight Estel’s training in tracking by Elladan and Elrohir, the sons of Elrond, while he is being taught by his foster-father, Elrond, in Imladris.
24 It is noted on “The Shire” webpage in Wikipedia that “There was a Green Dragon pub in St. Aldates in Oxford in Tolkien's time,” as noted in the book by John Garth, “Tolkien's Worlds: The Places That Inspired the Writer's Imagination.” So there must be at least one or more of them!
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