John H. Watson: Model Husband

This month and next the Keefauver co-columnists are taking sides to debate the question: "Was Dr. Watson a good husband?" The male half of the team begins with . . .

Whether or not John Watson was a good husband may seem a trivial matter. It is. Compared with the sensational dissertations that have been done on Watson the Casanova, Watson the drunkard or Watson the Ripper, the question just lacks excitement. Human nature has always preferred the scandalous side of things rather than dwelling on simple virtue, hence some Sherlockian "scholarship" appears to be better suited for the National Enquirer than scion publications. It thus seems suitable to spend a moment on Watson's true nature

"For three months after taking over the practice I was kept closely at work and saw little of my friend Sherlock Holmes, for I was too busy to visit Baker Street," says Watson in "The Stockbroker's Clerk." His marriage to Mary Morstan had just begun and Watson had accepted the responsibility wholeheartedly. Instead of the man of leisure living with Holmes at Baker Street, we find him working hard to build up his practice and make a good living for his new bride. He even reads the British Medical Journal as he eats breakfast to make use of every possible moment. And his hard work pays off; his practice steadily increases.

By the time of "The Boscombe Valley Mystery," his practice had grown to the point where it seemed it would prohibit him from accompanying Holmes on those occasional cases he would still take part in. But at this crucial juncture, the resourceful Mrs. Watson makes the suggestion that another doctor take over his practice so he can go. That is certainly not the action of a woman whose husband had been constantly deserting her for rambles with an old friend. Desertion may have seemed common in Watson's home life, but we must remember that the only records of his life he gives us are of when he is with Holmes. The weeks and months of domestic routine are not on display.

From what little detail is given, it is easy to infer that Mrs. Watson had no rough time with her husband. His practice made his days so exhausting that his evenings were spent sitting by the hearth enjoying the simpler pleasures of human life. Of vices, save smoking, there is not the slightest trace. Watson spends his free time reading and, in the early part of their marriage, writing up the adventure which brought the happy couple together -- The Sign of the Four.

In rereading the Canon, one can hardly draw any conclusion but that Watson was an exemplary spouse. The qualities which made him an excellent companion for Sherlock Holmes would certainly carry over into wedlock. Loyalty, trust, and patience -- all these were needed in abundance to work with the somewhat eccentric master detective. They are also important marital qualifications. Add them to the love Watson showed for Mary Morstan in The Sign of the Four, and you have the makings of a companion truer even than Watson was to Holmes.

Could Watson have been anything else but a good husband?

NEXT COLUMN: The other side of the debate, answering the question: "Was Watson really a good husband?"

(Printed in Plugs & Dottles, August 1983)