Analysis of Sherlock’s parents and why their normality is vital in explaining how Sherlock became the man he is.
The moment I saw them I had the sinking feeling that Mr and Mrs Holmes are irreparably wrong.
Then I realise that this was only my own narcissism getting in the way of logical analysis because if one looks at them from an impartial perspective Sherlock’s parents are surprisingly right, in every sense of the word.
I explain:
- Why the Holmes Parents fit perfectly into Sherlock and Mycroft’s background. They had to be ordinary in order to explain why Sherlock and Mycroft are extraordinary.
- How normal loving parents can produce such eccentrically maladjusted offspring
- What we can tell about the Holmes Brothers’ childhood from their parents.
Hot House Flowers
The Holmes parents’ apparently banality appears to have spoilt many deeply held fan beliefs regarding “Mummy”. The truth is I also fell into the horrific logical trap of assuming that just because Sherlock has arrested emotional development – his parents must be utterly eccentric, over medicated, psychologically unstable, adulterers who evidently neglected him something terrible.
What we all lacked was a sarcastic voice of reason to interject with a perfectly time “really?” and an elegantly raised eyebrow.
The age old belief that parents pass their problems onto their children is definitely true but the way these problems manifest in children can be surprising and counter-initiative.
For a doctor who has been surprised too many times to actually be surprised – I really should have seen the Holmes parents’ coming because actually they fit perfectly into Sherlock and Mycroft’s background.
Okay this is about sherlock and mycroft, but i can relate to this pretty hard with my own parents too.