“A dim line of ancestors, in every variety of dress, from the Elizabethan knight to the buck of the Regency, stared down upon us and daunted us by their silent company. We talked little, and I for one was glad when the meal was over and we were able to retire into the modern billiard-room and smoke a cigarette.” Pg 61
The Hounds of Baskervilles takes place during a time of innovation and progress; Wednesday’s discussion emphasized this period as marked by inventions that greatly improved the standard of living. As discussed, technologies like the camera and advent of skyscrapers demonstrated the unlimited potential that scientific research could bring. Thus there was a focus on scientific explanations for various phenomenon and a transition away from the traditional reliance on legends and the supernatural.
Sherlock Holmes embodies this cultural shift as an expert detective who surrounds himself with individuals of high calliber such as doctors and naturalists, people who study the natural world. His sidekick Watson is likeminded in this regard and views the Baskervilles hound legend with a great deal of skepticism, opting for a more worldy explanation. This skepticism is carried over to his impression of Baskervilles hall where he repeatedly describes the hall with its “weather-bitten pillars … blotched with lichen … a ruin of black granite” (58). From a bio major perspective, lichen are considered pioneer species that transform bare rock into soil. This implies an ancient, unkempt image of Baskervilles hall that itself is situated within a primordial moor that may have once been home to primitive humans.
Referring back to the passage I chose, which until now I’ve barely remarked on, such an image of the hall is paired with an interior lined with old paintings of the Baskervilles line, which portray ancestors as early as an “Elizabethan knight” who would have been around in the 17th century, nearly 200 years prior to the novel. Watson is apprehensive of these overbearing paintings and the general aire surrounding the moor and Baskervilles hall, being happy to return to his more modern room and an area reminiscent of London and civilization. London possibly representing the more developed realm of science and innovation that he’s so accustomed too, whereas the moor is an unexplored and secretive environment.
Exactly what Doyle is attempting to convey with this duality remains obscure as the moor vs. London isn’t so black and white when there exists characters like Mr. Stapleton, a naturalist who respects and appreciates the moor due to its many species undescribed by science, whether they be orchids for his sister or a Cyclopid for his butterfly collection. His character, being a man of science in an area where superstition reins above all may reveal Doyles opinion that there is reason to explore and knowledge to be gained from primitive areas seemingly abandoned by modern humans.
Not only does this duality between science vs. superstition exist between London vs. the Moor, but it can be further seen within the Hound itself. When Holmes and Watson encounter the hound, they describe it as being “pale and exultant [whose] eyes [shone] brightly in the moonlight”(149). The detective duo continue to describe the seemingly supernatural being as an “enormous coal-black hound [without] mortal eyes [and] fire burst from its open mouth [alongside being] outlined in [a] flickering flame”(149). When this image was portrayed, I imagined a Hell-Hound from the television series “Supernatural” because it really seemed like something that would emerge from the pits of hell. In this scenario, the hound seems like it really is a supernatural being. However, this clash with the “supernatural” is brief, as Sherlock and Watson face the aberration with bullets, a product of human science. When the duo come upon the dead hound, they realize that the source of the hound’s fiery qualities came from “a cunning preparation of… phosphorus”(150). The hound was not a supernatural being, but rather a product of clever trickery and science. From this image, Doyle presents an interesting idea: the supernatural is a product of the exploitation of human fears combined with science. In order for the supernatural to exist, clever science must be used to deceive and trick others into believing the events that transpired. As a result, the hound is an excellent representation of the duality that exists between science and the supernatural because it was a product of human science alongside the fear of the unknown.
Editors Note: I am only on season 4 of “Supernatural.”