Quote 4
"Very good, Lestrade," said Holmes, laughing. "You really are very fine indeed. Let me see it." He took up the paper in a listless way, but his attention instantly became riveted, and he gave a little cry of satisfaction. "This is indeed important," said he.
"Ha! you find it so?"
"Extremely so. I congratulate you warmly."
Lestrade rose in his triumph and bent his head to look. "Why," he shrieked, "you're looking at the wrong side!"
"On the contrary, this is the right side." […]
"I've wasted time enough," said Lestrade, rising. "I believe in hard work and not in sitting by the fire spinning fine theories. Good-day, Mr. Holmes, and we shall see which gets to the bottom of the matter first." He gathered up the garments, thrust them into the bag, and made for the door (Bachelor.166-75).
Speaking of foils: if Holmes's relationship with Lestrade is so antagonistic, why do they keep working together? How does this scene illuminate both Holmes's and Lestrade's characters? Why might Conan Doyle find Lestrade a useful character to have around?
Quote 5
Pshaw, my dear fellow, what do the public, the great unobservant public, who could hardly tell a weaver by his tooth or a compositor by his left thumb, care about the finer shades of analysis and deduction! (Beeches.9).
Holmes is criticizing Watson's "romantic" representation of Holmes's deductive methods. Watson protests that his stories are popular, and Holmes replies, "what does the public know?" Here, we get a tiny snapshot of Holmes's slightly elitist attitude towards the whole question of cunning. Sure, Holmes may talk a good game about not caring about the status of his clients, but as far as logical reasoning goes – leave it to the professionals, folks.
Quote 6
"The law cannot, as you say, touch you [Mr. Windibank]," said Holmes, unlocking and throwing open the door, "yet there never was a man who deserved punishment more. If the young lady has a brother or a friend, he ought to lay a whip across your shoulders. By Jove!" he continued, flushing up at the sight of the bitter sneer upon the man's face, "it is not part of my duties to my client, but here's a hunting crop handy, and I think I shall just treat myself to—" He took two swift steps to the whip, but before he could grasp it there was a wild clatter of steps upon the stairs, the heavy hall door banged, and from the window we could see Mr. James Windibank running at the top of his speed down the road.
"There's a cold-blooded scoundrel!" said Holmes, laughing, as he threw himself down into his chair once more. "That fellow will rise from crime to crime until he does something very bad, and ends on a gallows. The case has, in some respects, been not entirely devoid of interest" (Identity.129-30).
Does Holmes's quick change from apparent fury to laughter cast doubt on the sincerity of his feelings? Is it enough for him to content himself with the belief that Windibank will eventually be hanged? What do you think about Holmes's decision to not tell Mary Sutherland about her stepfather's (and mother's, for that matter) deception?