A doctor enjoys Sherlock Holmes

The harrowing adventures experienced by some of the characters in the stories of Sherlock Holmes, and the great shocks they sustained, often induced in them a state of high nervous tension. References to such individuals are numerous.

Sherlock Holmes himself possessed an iron constitution, and was favored with an especially well-balanced mind. His biographer, John H. Watson, M.D., writes, “All emotions ... were abhorrent to his cold, precise but admirably balanced mind” (A Scandal in Bohemia). But even Holmes, on one occasion at least, was on the verge of a serious nervous breakdown. In the spring of 1897, Dr. Watson became concerned about the health of his distinguished friend: “... I found him a prey to the blackest depression ... [even his realization of his worldly fame] was insufficient to rouse him from his nervous prostration” (The Reigate Puzzle).

Watson felt that Holmes needed a complete rest in a quiet and soothing atmosphere, and finally persuaded the great detective to take a holiday in the country. Arrangements were made to stay at the home of one of Dr. Watson’s old friends. On the evening of their arrival, their host, Colonel Hayter, in the course of a conversation following dinner, told them of an unusual burglary which had occurred a few nights before in the neighborhood. When Holmes manifested too warm an interest in this event, Watson became alarmed and cautioned him: “You are here for a rest, my dear fellow. For Heaven’s sake don’t get started on a new problem when your nerves are all in shreds” (The Reigate Puzzle). Watson’s admonition proved of no avail. The next morning, while at breakfast, they were informed that a dastardly murder had been committed at the home of a nearby neighbor. Inspector Forrester, knowing that Sherlock Holmes was in the vicinity, asked for his help. Holmes answered the call, and after a rather painful experience, solved the mystery brilliantly in the course of a few hours.

The neat solution of this case, together with the concomitant excitement which it afforded, apparently caused Holmes to recover quickly from his “blackest depression,” for that afternoon he remarked to his faithful friend, “Watson, I think our quiet rest in the country has been a distinct success, and I shall certainly return much invigorated to Baker Street tomorrow” (The Reigate Puzzle). This episode demonstrates the man’s superb constitution. Most people would have required several weeks, or even months, to recover their normal health following a severe nervous breakdown. But not Holmes.

In several instances, the characters described by Dr. Watson showed clear-cut signs of hysteria. When the well-known banker Alexander Holden found that the “Beryl Coronet,” which had been intrusted to his care, had been mutilated and three of its jewels stolen, he became greatly agitated and called on Sherlock Holmes:

This highly respected citizen must have been an emotionally unstable person. One wonders how he could have been a successful banker, with such a sensitive nervous system. The poor man must have lain awake many a weary night worrying about his investments. We do not know his subsequent history, but I suspect that he eventually developed hypertension or suffered from gastric ulcers.

When Rachel Howells was questioned by the master of the house about the disappearance of her perfidious lover Brunton, she showed pronounced signs of hysteria:

There was a real reason for the girl’s behavior; she had been directly responsible for her lover’s horrible death. It is small wonder that she suffered a violent hysterical attack.

Once Dr. Watson was asked to see the wife of his boyhood friend Robert Ferguson. It was a tragic situation. She had been observed on several occasions sucking blood from her infant son. The sympathetic doctor stated that she appeared only half conscious, and had a frightened expression. Her pulse and temperature were both high, but he felt that this was due to her highly emotional state (The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire). Mrs. Ferguson was probably suffering from hysteria. The attack cleared up promptly when Sherlock Holmes sat down at the patient’s bedside and, in the presence of her husband, analyzed the situation, explaining why it was necessary for Mrs. Ferguson to suck the baby’s wounds. They had been made by arrows dipped in curare. The baby’s insanely jealous half-brother had committed this atrocious deed. Truly, a shocking episode!

In The Greek Interpreter, reference is made to a man who showed symptoms of St. Vitus’ dance. Mr. Melas described his unpleasant companion: “... his lips and eyelids were continually twitching like a man with St. Vitus’ dance. I could not help thinking that his strange, catchy little laugh was also a symptom of some nervous malady.”

The term “St. Vitus’ dance” is seldom used nowadays; it is presently called “acute chorea.” This condition is characterized by irregular involuntary contractions of the muscles and is associated with a variable amount of psychic disturbance. The name (St. Vitus’ dance) has been handed down from the Middle Ages. Epidemics characterized by excitement, gesticulations, and dancing brought about mainly by religious fervor were in those days not uncommon. Whenever these symptoms became excessive, the people in the Rhenish province frequently made pilgrimages to the Chapel of St. Vitus in Zebern.

Another reference to twitching muscles may be cited. Sherlock Holmes called on Mr. Sidney Johnson, senior clerk and draughtsman, in an office from which extremely important secret papers had disappeared. Watson writes that the clerk had haggard cheeks, and that his hands were twitching from the nervous strain he had undergone (The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans).

In the tales, other references may be found to shattered nerves and states of nervous exhaustion. In describing the condition of her father, Alice Turner tells Sherlock Holmes: “... Dr. Willow says that he is a wreck and that his nervous system is shattered” (The Boscombe Valley Mystery). The real reason for his pitiful state, which his daughter did not know, was that he had recently murdered an old acquaintance.

When Don Murillo, Tiger of San Pedro, tried to kidnap Miss Burnett, she broke away from him, and with the help of a friend got into a cab. Here Holmes saw her, and observed that she was in a state of collapse from nervous exhaustion (The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge). This brave lady had been locked in a room for a number of days with insufficient food, and had undergone other traumatic experiences. It is no wonder that Holmes found her in such a pitiful state.

After Sir Henry Baskerville had narrowly escaped death on the moor from the savage hound, he suffered a nervous collapse, “... the shock of the night’s adventure had shattered his nerves.” Sir Henry assuredly was not a weak man, but the victim of a concatenation of unfortunate circumstances. The family history of the hound, Sir Henry’s love for a married woman, his isolation and loneliness, and the somber landscape of the bleak moor doubtless all preyed on his mind. When the hound actually sprang upon him, his nervous system finally reached the breaking point. Stronger men than he would have quailed.

Mr. Marlow Bates, the manager of the estates of the wealthy “Gold King” Mr. Gibson (whose wife had been found dead), called on Sherlock Holmes. Watson describes him as a small, thin, fidgety man, who appeared to be on the brink of a serious nervous breakdown. Although in great fear of his vicious employer, Bates detested him so heartily that he hurried to Baker Street and told Holmes that Gibson was an “infernal villain.” In view of the circumstances, this was indeed a grave accusation. The reader will recall that the “Gold King” had not murdered his wife; she had died by her own hand (The Problem of Thor Bridge).

The eyes often show a characteristic expression under emotional strain. Referring to Colonel Valentine Walther, whose brother had suddenly died, Watson observes that he had wild eyes and presented a worried and disheveled appearance (The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans). It was discovered that it was the colonel who had stolen an extremely important state document. His older brother, Sir James, suspected Valentine’s guilt. The shock was too much for the older man and caused his death; there was a question as to whether he took his own life. Be that as it may, his younger brother was responsible for the tragedy. We are not surprised to learn that the eyes of the colonel had a wild expression.

People under great emotional strain often break out in a cold sweat. Nearly everyone has, at one time or another, experienced this phenomenon. It is caused by violent stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system. When John Openshaw’s uncle Elias received a letter containing five orange pips, a great change came over him. At times he acted like a madman. His nephew told Holmes, “At such times I have seen his face, even on a cold day, glisten with moisture, as though it were new raised from a basin” (The Five Orange Pips).

A cold sweat is more apt to manifest itself on the forehead, but it is not necessarily limited to the face, for any portion, or all, of the body may be involved. The cold, clammy sweat produced under conditions of intense mental stress is different, of course, from the normal healthy sweat brought about by a warm environment or by physical exertion, or by both. The physiologic explanation of a cold sweat is that it is a condition brought about by pain or fear as a reaction anticipatory of the strenuous muscle movements that may ensue.

Victor Trevor’s father was also the recipient of a letter which led to tragedy:

Apparently, this individual became so agitated, and his blood pressure rose so high, that he was stricken with a fatal cerebral hemorrhage. It is well known that emotions may produce a pronounced rise in blood pressure even in healthy people.

Most of the nervous maladies described by Dr. Watson were in the nature of acute episodes, and more or less transient in character. The individuals he depicted were high-strung, nervous people, overwhelmed by the traumatic experiences to which they had been subjected. Some of these were unable to suppress their emotions and either became hysterical or suffered a nervous collapse.

As a rule, we do not think of the English people as giving way to their feelings, but as governing them strictly. It is the Latins who are supposed to manifest hysterical reactions. However, it would take extraordinarily strong men, regardless of their nationality, to maintain normal mental equilibrium under some of the situations described in the spine-tingling tales; even the stolid Britishers cracked under the mental strain. The nervous system of man can withstand just so much and no more. It is given to but few to possess nerves of steel, and even such rare individuals finally reach a breaking point. Man is not a machine, but a human being.

If Dr. Watson were writing his adventurous stories today, he probably would stress the fact that long-continued nervous strain is likely to produce ulcers of the stomach or of the duodenum. The modern view is that mental worry may lead to hypertension and to diseases of the arteries, especially those which supply the heart muscles, namely, the coronaries—although it is true, as previously mentioned, that most of the characters depicted in the tales suffered mental strain for a substantial length of time.

It is noteworthy that both Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson maintained a nice mental balance even during periods of tremendous excitement and danger. A striking characteristic about both was their extraordinary fearlessness and mental poise. Although people around them often manifested signs of abject fear, or were given to hysterical outbursts, our heroes never faltered, but maintained a calm demeanor and dispatched neatly and efficiently the task before them.