Dr. John Watson - The clue to understanding

The detective story through the eyes of Holmes's friend

Seminar paper from the year 2010 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,3, University of Bayreuth, course: PS Whodunit, language: English, abstract: If we think about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his writings, we automatically think about Sherlock Holmes. But what about his partner and friend Dr. Watson? Is he not as important as his famous companion? Maybe he does not solve the mysteries and crimes maybe he is even a little slow and featherbrained. But Dr. Watson should not be underestimated. He functions as the mediator between the story and the reader. Speaking of a mediator implies that this instrument builds a connection between two poles. In this case it is the figure of Dr. John Hamish Watson. Mediation occurs for example if a call center should connect two business partners. Without a connection both could in fact speak but would not be able to either understand or hear each other. Hence the question arises between which two poles Dr. Watson is a mediator? One of these poles lies similarly to Dr. Watson within Fiction. Namely Sherlock Holmes. On the other hand the second pole lies beyond fiction. It is the reader or even better the readership. So to speak Dr. Watson mediates between the internal text and action and the external world and surroundings, between fiction and reality. First I want to analyze the relationship between Watson and Holmes as well as the meaning of Watson within the story. In a second step I will try to illuminate correlation among the reader, Dr. Watson and the surroundings.