How we cite our quotes: (Chapter. Paragraph)
Quote #1
"… I came to you, Mr. Holmes, because I recognized that I am myself an unpractical man and because I am suddenly confronted with a most serious and extraordinary problem. Recognizing, as I do, that you are the second highest expert in Europe—"
"Indeed, sir! May I inquire who has the honour to be the first?" asked Holmes with some asperity.
"To the man of precisely scientific mind the work of Monsieur Bertillon must always appeal strongly."
"Then had you not better consult him?"
"I said, sir, to the precisely scientific mind. But as a practical man of affairs it is acknowledged that you stand alone. I trust, sir, that I have not inadvertently—" (1.62-6)
A hilarious clash between someone who's sensitive and a bit arrogant (Holmes) and someone who has the social-emotional skills of a brick (Mortimer). Dr. Mortimer tells Holmes to his face that Holmes is his second choice— he'd rather have consulted French criminologist Alphonse Bertillon. Dr. Mortimer foreshadows the other eccentric characters we'll meet in Dartmoor. The isolated region where he lives is filled with people who are, honestly, a tad strange. The Dartmoor of The Hound of the Baskervilles seems to be full of awkward loners.
Quote #2
I knew that seclusion and solitude were very necessary for my friend in those hours of intense mental concentration during which he weighed every particle of evidence, constructed alternative theories, balanced one against the other, and made up his mind as to which points were essential and which immaterial. I therefore spent the day at my club and did not return to Baker Street until evening. It was nearly nine o'clock when I found myself in the sitting-room once more. (3.95)
Holmes lives in one of the largest cities of the world (London) and he shares a house with his best friend (Dr. Watson), but he is still definitely a loner. Holmes needs his space to think through his new cases, and in those moments, Watson has to leave him on his own. Holmes spends a lot of time inside his own head; it's his favorite place.
While this kind of isolation might help Holmes excel at problem-solving, it comes at the expense of his interpersonal and emotional skills.
Shmoop has recently learned that there's a huge controversy brewing in the U.K. because some people think the BBC TV series hints that Holmes is autistic. Here's what some British psychiatrists have to say about that.
Quote #3
He turned into one of the district messenger offices, where he was warmly greeted by the manager.
"Ah, Wilson, I see you have not forgotten the little case in which I had the good fortune to help you?"
"No, sir, indeed I have not. You saved my good name, and perhaps my life." (4.110-12)
Part of Holmes' strength as an investigator is that he is never truly alone. He's surrounded by a network of people whom he has helped, which means that he has more backup than the criminals he hunts down. (The one exception is Professor Moriarty, the head of a criminal organization who faces Holmes in the short story "The Final Problem," in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.) Still, these are mostly professional, not personal, relationships. The warmth all seems to be on the part of Holmes' clients.