Editing Sherlock Holmes (section)

=={{anchor|Habits and personality}}Personality and habits==
[[File:The Adventure of the Priory School 08.jpg|thumb|upright|Holmes examining a bicycle with Watson standing behind in "[[The Adventure of the Priory School]]" from 1904. [[Sidney Paget]]'s illustrations in ''[[The Strand Magazine]]'' iconicised both characters.]]

Watson describes Holmes as "[[Bohemianism|bohemian]]" in his habits and lifestyle.<ref>Klinger I, p. 265—"[[The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb]]"</ref> Said to have a "cat-like" love of personal cleanliness,<ref>Klinger III, p. 550—''The Hound of the Baskervilles''</ref> at the same time Holmes is an [[Eccentricity (behavior)|eccentric]] with no regard for contemporary standards of tidiness or good order. Watson describes him as

{{Blockquote|in his personal habits one of the most untidy men that ever drove a fellow-lodger to distraction. [He] keeps his cigars in the [[coal scuttle|coal-scuttle]], his tobacco in the toe end of a Persian slipper, and his unanswered correspondence transfixed by a jack-knife into the very centre of his wooden mantelpiece.&nbsp;... He had a horror of destroying documents.&nbsp;... Thus month after month his papers accumulated, until every corner of the room was stacked with bundles of manuscript which were on no account to be burned, and which could not be put away save by their owner.<ref>Klinger I, pp. 528-529—"The Musgrave Ritual"</ref>|sign=|source=|title=}}

While Holmes is characterised as dispassionate and cold, he can be animated and excitable during an investigation. He has a flair for showmanship, often keeping his methods and evidence hidden until the last possible moment so as to impress observers.<ref>Klinger III, p. 481—''The Hound of the Baskervilles''</ref> Holmes is willing to break the law as a means for righting a wrong, contending that "there are certain crimes which the law cannot touch, and which therefore, to some extent, justify private revenge."<ref>{{Cite book |last=[[DK (publisher)|DK]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-9LgDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT564 |title=The Sherlock Holmes Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained |date=2019-11-12 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-1-4654-9944-8 |location=United Kingdom |pages=564 |language=en}}</ref> His companion condones the detective's willingness to do this on behalf of a client—lying to the police, concealing evidence or breaking into houses—when he also feels it morally justifiable.<ref>"A Scandal in Bohemia", "[[The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton]]", and "[[The Adventure of the Illustrious Client]]"</ref>

Except for that of Watson, Holmes avoids casual company. In [[The Adventure of the Gloria Scott|"The ''Gloria Scott''"]], he tells the doctor that during two years at college he made only one friend: "I was never a very sociable fellow, Watson&nbsp;... I never mixed much with the men of my year."<ref name="Klinger I p. 502">Klinger I, p. 502—"The ''Gloria Scott''"</ref> The detective goes without food at times of intense intellectual activity, believing that "the faculties become refined when you starve them".<ref>Klinger II, p. 848—"The Adventure of the Norwood Builder"</ref><ref>Klinger II, p. 1513—"The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone"</ref> At times, Holmes relaxes with music, either playing the violin<ref>Klinger III, pp. 34-36—''A Study in Scarlet''</ref> or enjoying the works of composers such as [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]]<ref>Klinger II, pp. 1296-1297—"[[The Adventure of the Red Circle]]"</ref> and [[Pablo de Sarasate]].<ref>Klinger I, p. 58—"The Red-Headed League"</ref>

==={{anchor|Use of drugs}}Drug use===
[[File:Sherlock Holmes - The Man with the Twisted Lip (colored).jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Holmes in a blue bathrobe, reclining against a pillow and smoking his pipe|1891 Paget portrait of Holmes smoking his pipe for "[[The Man with the Twisted Lip]]"]]

Holmes occasionally uses addictive drugs, especially in the absence of stimulating cases.<ref>Klinger III, pp. 213-214—''The Sign of Four''</ref> He sometimes uses [[morphine]] and sometimes [[cocaine]], the latter of which he injects in a seven-percent solution; both drugs [[Drug policy of the United Kingdom#History|were legal]] in 19th-century England.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/doyle/addiction.html|title=Sherlock Holmes's Addictions|last=Diniejko|first=Andrzej|date=13 December 2013|website=The Victorian Web|access-date=27 December 2019|archive-date=27 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227043831/http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/doyle/addiction.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.victorianweb.org/victorian/science/addiction/addiction2.html|title=Victorian Drug Use|last=Diniejko|first=Andrzej|date=7 September 2002|website=The Victorian Web|access-date=27 December 2019|archive-date=2 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202222702/http://www.victorianweb.org/victorian/science/addiction/addiction2.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author= Dalby, J. T. |title= Sherlock Holmes's Cocaine Habit |journal= Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine |year= 1991 |volume= 8 |pages= 73–74 |url= http://bakerstreetdozen.com/coca.html |doi= 10.1017/S0790966700016475 |s2cid= 142678530 |access-date= 24 September 2007 |archive-date= 16 July 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110716225106/http://www.bakerstreetdozen.com/coca.html |url-status= live |issn = 2051-6967}}</ref> As a physician, Watson strongly disapproves of his friend's cocaine habit, describing it as the detective's only vice, and concerned about its effect on Holmes's [[mental health]] and intellect.<ref>Klinger III, pp. 215-216—''The Sign of Four''</ref><ref>Klinger II, p. 450—"[[The Adventure of the Yellow Face|The Yellow Face]]"</ref> In "[[The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter]]", Watson says that although he has "weaned" Holmes from drugs, the detective remains an addict whose habit is "not dead, but merely sleeping".<ref>Klinger II, p. 1124—"The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter"</ref>

Watson and Holmes both use tobacco, smoking cigarettes, cigars, and [[smoking pipe (tobacco)|pipes]]. Although his chronicler does not consider Holmes's smoking a vice ''per se'', Watson—a physician—does criticise the detective for creating a "poisonous atmosphere" in their confined quarters.<ref>Klinger III, p. 423—''The Hound of the Baskervilles''. See also Klinger II, pp. 950, 1108-1109.</ref><ref>Klinger II, p. 1402—"The Adventure of the Devil's Foot"</ref>

==={{anchor|Financial affairs}}Finances===
Holmes is known to charge clients for his expenses and claim any reward offered for a problem's solution, such as in "[[The Adventure of the Speckled Band]]", "[[The Red-Headed League]]", and "[[The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet]]". The detective states at one point that "My professional charges are upon a fixed scale. I do not vary them, save when I remit them altogether." In this context, a client is offering to double his fee, and it is implied that wealthy clients habitually pay Holmes more than his standard rate.<ref>Klinger II, p. 1609—"The Problem of Thor Bridge"</ref> In "[[The Adventure of the Priory School]]", Holmes earns a £6,000 fee<ref>Klinger II, p. 971—"The Adventure of the Priory School"</ref> (at a time where annual expenses for a rising young professional were in the area of £500).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.victorianweb.org/economics/wages2.html|title=Wages and Cost of Living in the Victorian Era|website=The Victorian Web|access-date=13 March 2016|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304062554/http://www.victorianweb.org/economics/wages2.html|url-status=live}}</ref> However, Watson notes that Holmes would refuse to help even the wealthy and powerful if their cases did not interest him.<ref>Klinger II, p. 976—"The Adventure of Black Peter"</ref>

==={{anchor|Attitude towards women}}Attitudes towards women===
As Conan Doyle wrote to Joseph Bell, "Holmes is as inhuman as a [[Charles Babbage|Babbage]]'s Calculating Machine and just about as likely to fall in love."<ref>{{cite book|last=Liebow|first=Ely|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i5nb6TywMIQC&pg=PA173 |date=1982|title=Dr. Joe Bell: Model for Sherlock Holmes|publisher=Popular Press|isbn=9780879721985|page=173|access-date=17 October 2014}}</ref> Holmes says of himself that he is "not a whole-souled admirer of womankind",<ref>Klinger III, p. 704—''The Valley of Fear''</ref> and that he finds "the motives of women&nbsp;... inscrutable.&nbsp;... How can you build on such quicksand? Their most trivial actions may mean volumes".<ref>Klinger II, pp. 1203-1204—"The Adventure of the Second Stain"</ref> In ''[[The Sign of the Four|The Sign of Four]]'', he says, "Women are never to be entirely trusted—not the best of them", a feeling Watson notes as an "atrocious sentiment".<ref>Klinger III, p. 311—''The Sign of Four''</ref> In "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane", Holmes writes, "Women have seldom been an attraction to me, for my brain has always governed my heart."<ref>Klinger II, p. 1676—"The Adventure of the Lion's Mane"</ref> At the end of ''The Sign of Four'', Holmes states that "love is an emotional thing, and whatever is emotional is opposed to that true, cold reason which I place above all things. I should never marry myself, lest I bias my judgement."<ref>Klinger III, p. 378—''The Sign of Four''</ref> Ultimately, Holmes claims outright that "I have never loved."<ref>Klinger II, p. 1422—"The Adventure of the Devil's Foot"</ref>

But while Watson says that the detective has an "aversion to women",<ref>Klinger I, p. 635—"The Greek Interpreter"</ref> he also notes Holmes as having "a peculiarly ingratiating way with [them]".<ref>Klinger II, p. 1111—"The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez"</ref> Watson notes that their housekeeper Mrs. Hudson is fond of Holmes because of his "remarkable gentleness and courtesy in his dealings with women. He disliked and distrusted the sex, but he was always a chivalrous opponent."<ref>Klinger II, pp. 1341-1342—"The Adventure of the Dying Detective"</ref> In "[[The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton]]", the detective becomes [[Engagement|engaged]] under false pretenses in order to obtain information about a case, abandoning the woman once he has the information he requires.<ref>Klinger II, pp. 1015-1106—"The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton"</ref>

====Irene Adler====
[[Irene Adler]] is a retired American opera singer and actress who appears in "[[A Scandal in Bohemia]]". Although this is her only appearance, she is one of only a handful of people who bests Holmes in a battle of wits, and the only woman. For this reason, Adler is the frequent subject of [[pastiche]] writing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://arthurconandoyle.co.uk/character/irene-adler|title=Irene Adler|last=Karlson|first=Katherine|website=The Official Conan Doyle Estate Ltd.|access-date=27 December 2019|archive-date=27 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227073313/https://arthurconandoyle.co.uk/character/irene-adler|url-status=live}}</ref> The beginning of the story describes the high regard in which Holmes holds her:

{{Blockquote|To Sherlock Holmes she is always ''the'' woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name. In his eyes she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex. It was not that he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler.&nbsp;... And yet there was but one woman to him, and that woman was the late Irene Adler, of dubious and questionable memory.<ref>Klinger I, pp. 5-6—"A Scandal in Bohemia"</ref>}}

Five years before the story's events, Adler had a brief liaison with Crown Prince of [[Bohemia]] Wilhelm von Ormstein. As the story opens, the Prince is engaged to another. Fearful that the marriage would be called off if his fiancée's family learns of this past impropriety, Ormstein hires Holmes to regain a photograph of Adler and himself. Adler slips away before Holmes can succeed. Her memory is kept alive by the photograph of Adler that Holmes received for his part in the case.<ref>Klinger I, pp. 5-40—"A Scandal in Bohemia"</ref>