What make a Holmes a Holmes?

[garonne]

This morning I realised that I've been convinced for no reason at all that Holmes has grey eyes, Watson is (was) blond, and a couple of other things that have no real basis in fact, and now I want to figure out why... (ETA: Turns out Holmes does have grey eyes)

Comments

[tazlet]

I wanted to know at one point and looked it up (because of Robert Downey's damn black eyes)- am laboring under the impression that that I found a description confirming canon grey eyes in Barring-Gould's Annotated - my go to and exhaustively correct. Unfortunately I'm not home at the moment to look it up.

ETA: "Damn black eyes' does not mean I dislike RDJ's eyes; I like them a little too much; I was writing an ACD fic.

[spacefall]

Yep, the grey eyes are frequently mentioned (see below.)

[tazlet]

Thank you, that was going to be sand in my shoe all day.

[vsee]

Don't forget that the first actor to play Holmes, William Gilette, fits the assumed "ideal" for Holmes...tall, thin body, pale complexion, hair color and style, and also wore costumes and props that we associate with Holmes now...deerstalker, pipe, smoking jacket, etc. Previously the cap had been in one or two illustrations, but never mentioned. The play also contained the line "Elementary

[garonne]

Hmm, yes. I hadn't really thought about Gillette at all. I wish we could see him in action. And I hadn't noticed that Gillette appeared right in the middle of the period when ACD was writing, wow. Always assumed it was afterwards, for some reason.

Actually, when I finally found references to Holmes' grey eyes, thanks to Spacefall, I noticed that they were all in the second half of my big Complete-Holmes-as-plaintext file, i.e. HOUN (published 1901-1902) or later. It would be fun to think that particular detail had been influenced by Gillette, and how much ACD liked his portrayal and appearance, but google tells me his eyes were a "vivid blue."

Didn't know there was a controversy about RDJ being American. Seems a bit silly. It's not like very many James Bonds were English, for instance.

[tazlet]

Basil Rathbone had blue eyes as well, and that may contribute to the popular perception. I like to think that in the choice of eye color ACD was associating Holmes with Athena.

The only significant Bonds who weren't English or Scottish, were the Australian George Lazenby and the Irish Pierce Broznan - all arguably within the British Sphere Of Influence - there's not even a Canadian.

[garonne]

I was thinking of Scottish, Irish and Welsh (Timothy Dalton, sort of) as being just as different from English as Canadian or Australian is. Not to get too political of course, especially since it's such a sensitive topic at the moment with the Scottish referendum and so on!

In my ignorance I had to look up that reference to Athena. Learnt something new today :) I very much like the idea, by the way.

[spacefall]

Holmes's grey eyes are most definitely canonical. Watson refers to "his grey eyes dancing with amusement" in HOUN, and 3GAR mentions his "austere grey eyes". There are several other references in the tales

[tazlet]

Oh yay, Arthur Wontner and his 'dear one!' (If anything Wontner was the 'smaller man.')

[garonne]

Holmes's grey eyes are most definitely canonical.

Aha, thank you! That was driving me nuts.

Vila Restal was frequently described as 'little' though he was the same height as Avon

Yeah, I suppose because of the sort of imbalance of power between them. The "taller" Avon having a much more forceful personality than the other, I mean.

In adaptions or imaginings there is no reason that Watson should look any particular way.

Mm, yes. Maybe with the caveat that I'd find a moustache-less Watson pretty hard to take!

Thanks to your comment I just spent a while watching Wontner and Fleming on youtube, by the way (first time I saw them in action) and thinking how wonderfully Holmesian Wontner looks, and what a shame his voice drives me nuts for some reason. And that surely that can't be Fleming's natural hair colour!

[tehomet]

Maybe the hair colour contrast thing is, as you suggest, simply a matter of appearances, as in SATC where each actress had a different hair colour? Shallow, I guess, but there you (might) go. :)

[garonne]

Yep, I really do think that's probably it!