The Personality of Sir Arthur Conan Doyles Sherlock Holmes - Research Paper Example

? The Personality of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes Psychoanalytic Theory and Neo-analytic Theory [Type the [Pick the Abstract Sherlock Holmes is one of the most notable literary figures of history, and also one of the most enigmatic. This paper attempts to analyze the personality of Sherlock Holmes based on the accounts made in the stories that he figured in. Two contrasting personality theories were used in making the analysis, Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory, and post-Freud Neo-analytic Theory. With these theories, the personality of Sherlock Holmes was carefully analyzed and insights were made regarding him. Introduction Personality analysis is an important exercise because it allows us to look deeper into a person’s character and provides us with the needed explanations that may justify a person’s behavior and actions. Understanding why a person behaves as he does is such an important need that many persons have devoted their lives into this endeavor. In understanding the personality of an individual, a much deeper understanding of human nature is arrived at as well. In fact, the study of personality and personality theories still goes on today, marking an important subfield of the study of psychology. This paper explores the use of two contrasting personality theories to gain an insight into the intriguing personality of the famous fictional detective of all times; the versatile Sherlock Holmes created by his equally multi-talented author Dr. Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes first makes his mark through A Study in Scarlet (1887); which marks the beginning of a lifelong partnership between him and his confidante-cum-biographer, a retired-hurt Army surgeon, Dr. John H.Watson (Redmond, 2009).  It is through Watson’s descriptions of his own war records that we come to know of the post-war historical context of Battle of Maiwand, the Second Anglo-Afghan War which dampened the British self-esteem as it heralded one of the rare nineteenth-century victories of an Asian force over a Western power (Wagner, 2007). This historical context; mentioned in the opening chapter of the first novel A Study in Scarlet (1887), sets the mood; and Doyle’s creation goes on to become a legend that instills fresh blood into the beaten British morale. The multi-talented yet the eccentric intellectual character of Holmes became an inspiration and a role-model for many later writers of the crime detection genre. Holmes is described as a versatile genius having a passion for accurate knowledge, based on his famous The Science of Deduction; and never fails to baffle the readers with his remarkable in depth predictions of a client’s bio data with the observations based on physical appearance and apparent trifles such as train tickets, sleeves, cufflinks, hats, shoes, boot-laces, pens, keys, spectacles and so on (Redmond, 2009). His physical appearance of height well over 6 feet coupled with his lean frame and sharp features seem to make him the ideal role model for a detective, as well as the fact that he is an expert singlestick player, boxer and swordsman (Wilson, 2011). Also, his multi-faceted profound knowledge in chemistry, botany(especially poisons), practical geology, anatomy, sensational literature as well as his practical knowledge of the British law seem to make him the dream connoisseur of problem-solving in the context of crime (Ibid.). On the other hand, his artistic side as a violin-player is sometimes overshadowed by his infamous addiction to cocaine and his apparent cold-bloodedness when it came to relationships (Redmond, 2009). In spite of these trivial shortcomings, Holmes remains the quintessential detective par excellence in crime fiction of all times. So much so that once when the Doyle apparently got tired of the character and finished him off in the story aptly titled The Final Problem, he was forced by a huge public outcry to bring him back to life in The Adventure of an Empty House (Ibid.).  The paper examines the character of Sherlock Holmes in relation to the contrasting personality theories to investigate how Class is studied as Psychology of Personality.   Description of Character: Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes is a detective borne out of the creative workings of the mind of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a writer and physician of Scottish descent (Wilson, 2011). Insight into whom and how he is mostly comes from another fictional character, in the form of Dr. James Watson, Holmes’ unofficial biographer. He first appeared in the novel, “A Study in Scarlet,” in 1887 and has since been one of the most reinterpreted fictional characters of history. Not much is known about his life as a child as he was not too expressive about it to Watson. However, his birth is placed sometime around 1854, in London (Redmond, 2009). Physically, Watson describes Holmes as having deep-set grey eyes, a hawk-like nose, long, thin fingers, a square chin, and tufted eyebrows. He was also noted to be thin and more than six feet tall, making him tower over his contemporaries physically as well as mentally. Watson also noted that Holmes’ fingers were usually blotted with ink and stained with chemicals, perhaps from the many experiments that he made to either prove his theories or simply keep himself busy (Wilson, 2011). In terms of his behavioral traits, Holmes was a singular person who was largely contented living a life that was isolated from other people, and it would seem that the only person that he actually preferred being with was his roommate, Dr. Watson. Holmes would much rather focus on problems that challenged his overly active mind and he was immensely attentive at the minuscule details around him (Redmond, 2009). He placed great emphasis on a Cartesian philosophy of not theorizing before having all the facts. Furthermore, he always employs the methods of deduction, basing his conclusions on generally established truths and using all the pieces of evidence available in order to generate a valid conclusion (Wilson, 2011). Holmes was primarily motivated by the idea of achieving justice, and was strongly determined to render it to the best of his abilities. Interestingly, while he is acutely observant of the things that serve their purpose to him, he was also painfully oblivious to everything else that do not matter to him, such as other people’s feelings and the fact that the earth revolved around the sun (Redmond, 2009). His rooms are constantly in disarray, much to the annoyance and exasperation of Dr. Watson. He has a great need to keep himself and his mind busy, engaging in scientific experiments and playing the violin. Dr. Watson also noted that for lack of any other interesting thing to accomplish, Holmes would take drugs solely for the purpose of keeping himself occupied (Wilson, 2011). These and many other strange quirkiness of Sherlock Holmes have triggered numerous and lengthy discussions on the type of personality that he possessed. Many scholars have attempted to explain his extraordinary behavior and unique personality traits. Many experts agree that Holmes is, to a certain extent, enigmatic, and to attempt to understand him would be a great challenge. Organization of the Paper For the given character personality analysis, two contrasting personality theories will be used. These theories are the Psychoanalytic Theory and the Neo-analytic and Ego aspects Theory. In presenting the character personality analysis, Holmes’ personality will first be analyzed using the Psychoanalytic Theory. The section will start with a short outline of the concepts and personalities who championed the Psychoanalytic Theory of personality. Then, Holmes will be analyzed in terms of his personality starting from how his unconscious functions to make him what he is, moving on to the structure of his mind, and also emphasizing a picture of Holmes in terms of his psychosexual makeup. The later part of the discussion will tackle certain defense mechanisms that Holmes may have and the other cross-cultural issues that he faced in the world of 1890s England. This will be followed by the analysis of Sherlock Holmes’ personality using the Neo-analytic and Ego aspects theory. In a similar manner, a brief description of this theory will be provided and then a discussion on Holmes’ personality based on the theory’s concepts will ensue. The discussion will focus on the different treatments offered by the neo-analytic theorists in analyzing personality, from Jung’s theory on selfhood and the division of the psyche into three parts (i. e., the conscious ego, the personal unconscious, and the collective unconscious), to Adler’s theory on the inferiority complex and the perceived importance of society, to Erikson’s theory on life span identity. Other pertinent issues that arose in the neo-analytic treatment of personality psychology will also be shed light on. The paper will then move on to provide a summary of the similarities and differences in the comparative analysis done using the two theories, emphasizing how the two theories agreed or conflicted in terms of providing an analysis of Sherlock Holmes’ personality. Psychoanalytic Theory: A Brief Description The main proponent for the Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality Psychology is Sigmund Freud, who is thereby referred to as the Father of Psychoanalysis (Williams, 2010). According to Freud, each personality is made up of an unconscious component that may have been built upon childhood experiences. Even if one does not consciously remember these experiences, a person’s behavior in his or her adult life is nonetheless influenced significantly by these experiences (Gellner, 2003). In addition, the Psychoanalytic Theory emphasizes that there are three parts to the structure of the mind and these parts are the Id, the Ego, and the Superego. These three components work on different aspects of personality, with the first dealing with the pleasure principle, the second dealing with the reality principle, and the third dealing with the morality principle. Moreover, defense mechanisms affect personality by allowing the person to protect himself from the conflicts provided by reality (Brunner, 2001). Within the theory of psychoanalysis, Freud is also best known for his Psychosexual Theory of Development. He proposes that a person goes through five stages of development in the first six years of his or her life and these stages are sexual in nature. These five stages are the Oral Stage, Anal Stage, Phallic Stage, Latency Period, and the Genital Stage (Weinstein, 2001). Freud also proposed that while the same dynamic forces affect personalities from different cultures, certain cross-cultural issues need to be addressed. As such, Freud believes that cultural forces impact personality development and that people in a particular culture take in common behaviors from immediate environment, usually from families and friends (Gellner, 2003). Psychoanalyzing Sherlock Holmes Not much has been said about the childhood of Holmes. However, based on his behavior as an adult, certain things may be hypothesized regarding his early years. A look at Holmes’ general bearing would suggest that he came, at the very least, from a middle class family. He claims that, "My ancestors were country squires who appear to have led much the same life as is natural to their class. But, none the less, my turn that way is in my veins, and may have come with my grandmother who was the sister of Vernet, the French artist" (The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter). The veracity of this statement is still questionable although it may be one of a number of possible childhood backgrounds that may be attached to Holmes. Holmes was constantly bored and wanting of something to do, characteristic of a person with borderline personality disorder (Williams, 2010). In the following statement made in “The Sign of the Four,” Holmes shows the classic symptoms, "Was ever such a dreary, dismal, unprofitable world? See how the yellow fog swirls down the street and drifts across the dun-colored houses. What could be more hopelessly prosaic and material? What is the use of having powers, Doctor, when one has no field upon which to exert them? Crime is commonplace, existence is commonplace, and no qualities save those which are commonplace have any function upon earth." Holmes’ antisocial behavior most likely stemmed from childhood experiences that made him distrust the obvious and work hard to obtain all the facts before arriving at a conclusion (Gellner, 2003). He does mention that his brother Mycroft was far better in the skills of deduction than he was which indicates a certain degree of unspoken rivalry that may have existed between the two. Mycroft was also quoted as saying that “Sherlock has all the energy in the family,” (The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter) which offers a hint that even as a child, Holmes was a handful to deal with, lacking the focus that a rigid academic institution would require thus not allowing him to complete his education, something his parents (most likely his father) may have required of him (John & Lopes, 2004). For someone who does not exhibit any sense of sexuality, applying Freud’s psychosexual development analysis on Holmes may prove to be quite a challenge. However, Holmes’ actions may indicate a certain degree of affection and loyalty to his mother more than to his father as he was rarely excited by the opposite sex (Brunner, 2001). Indeed the only time that Holmes showed any degree of attention to a woman was with Irene Adler, who stimulated his mind more than his loins. Although not much has been mentioned regarding Holmes’ early years, psychoanalysis offers a way to paint a picture of this childhood based on the behavior that Holmes exhibits as an adult. Freud’s quest to look into the mechanisms of the human mind in order to understand an individual’s behavior paved the way to the understanding of many psychological and mental disorders that were previously misdiagnosed. As with the case of Holmes, Watson was perhaps his resident psychologist, keeping his feet on the ground and checking in on him to make sure he has not completely gone to the far side. Neo-analytic and Ego Aspects: Identity The Neo-analytic Theory of personality came about from the recasting and extension of some of the aspects of the Psychoanalytic Theory of personality. The champions of the Neo-analytic Theory in the form of Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, and Erik Erikson placed less emphasis on the sexual development and the role of the unconscious in a person and more importance on the role of the Ego in one’s development (Friedman & Schustack, 2006). Hence, Neo-analytic Theory was also referred to as the Ego theory of personality. Jung, one of the champions of the Neo-analytic Theory, proposes the dual personality of human nature. He also divided the psyche, or the mind, into three parts namely, the conscious ego, the personal unconscious, and the collective unconscious (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2008). Jung’s contributions to the analysis of personality also brought about the currently popular Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which provides an inventory of different personality types (Bayne, 2004). In order to analyze Holmes’ personality using the Myer-Briggs personality scale, the dimensions of this scale must be first clarified. There are four dimensions to the personality scale inspired by Jung and developed by Briggs and Myer. These four dimensions are then put together to make up 16 different personality types. The first dimension of this scale is the Extrovert / Introvert (E / I) dimension. Extroverts are generally attuned to the people and objects around them while Introverts are more reclusive thinkers who are more interested in concepts and ideas rather than physical objects (Friedman & Schustack, 2006). The second dimension of the scale is the Sensing / Intuition (S / I) dimension which focuses on how the individual gathers information from his environment. A Sensing individual has very strong tendencies to use the objects in his or her environment to make certain conclusions. On the other hand, Intuition individuals greatly rely on hunches and are able to make conclusions from the subtlest connections in the objects around them (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2008). The third dimension of the scale is the Thinking / Feeling dimension, which relates to the way individuals arrive at decisions. A Thinking individual strong relies on the cause and effect phenomenon and therefore has the tendency to think objectively about a given situation. A Feeling individual is the opposite, relying on his or her emotions rather than his or her mind (Ibid.). The fourth dimension of the scale is the Judging / Perceiving dimension, wherein the focus is on how people lead the lives that they live. Judging people choose to draw conclusions and thus live in a structured and methodical way. Perceiving people tend to gather information and have the tendency for their attention to be diverted into something else rather than what they are currently doing (Friedman & Schustack, 2006). Using these four dimensions, an individual is labeled with the four letters that correspond to his personality. Thus, the 16 personality types according to the Myer-Briggs scale are ISTJ, ISTP, ISFJ, ISFP, INTJ, INTP, INFJ, INFP, ESTJ, ESTP, ESFJ, ESFP, ENTJ, ENTP, ENFJ, and ENFP. Alfred Adler was another main proponent of the Neo-analytic Theory of Personality (Friedman & Schustack, 2006). He suggested the presence of an inferiority complex and the significant role that society plays in developing an individual’s personality. Adler’s theory on the motivation of personality based on inferiority and superiority was composed of organ inferiority, aggression drive, masculine protest, superiority striving, and perfection striving (Stein, 2006). He also believed that every individual must address the social issues of choosing and pursuing a fulfilling career (occupational tasks), creating friendships and social networks (societal tasks), and finding a suitable love partner (love tasks). Erik Erikson was another important figure in the field of the Neo-analytical Theory of personality. He proposed that personality and identity development did not end in childhood and adolescence as Freud claims. Instead, he noted that an individual’s personality goes on to develop well into adulthood (Friedman & Schustack, 2006). He points out an extension of the development stages that Freud has put in place. These stages, also known as ego crises, include trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame and doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. role confusion, intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation, and ego-integrity vs. despair (Ibid.). Understanding Sherlock Holmes Using the Neo-analytic Theory For this particular section, Holmes will be analyzed using the different perspectives of the three main proponents of the Neo-analytic theory. First, Holmes will be given a label according to the Myer-Briggs personality scale. This will be followed by role that society played in shaping up Holmes’ personality. Lastly, the development of Holmes’ personality in his adult life will be looked into. Myer-Briggs Type Indicator Great debates have been waged in determining exactly what personality type Sherlock Holmes has. As someone who is not exactly very interested in other people except Watson, Holmes may be classified as an Introvert. Holmes is socially reclusive and eccentric, and these are characteristics of an Introvert personality (Bayne, 2004). This is illustrated in “The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter,” where Watson claims, "sometimes I found myself regarding him as an isolated phenomenon, a brain without a heart, as deficient in human sympathy as he was preeminent in intelligence. His aversion to women and his disinclination to form new friendships were both typical of his unemotional character” Holmes may be classified as a Sensing individual because of his uncanny ability to notice the smallest details in objects around him. Holmes is very detail oriented and he has used this to spot things that other people around him don’t. On the other hand, Holmes also has great abilities to be obsessed with a particular subject, so much so that it is all that he could think about. In fact, one of Holmes’ favorite subjects is himself, as he tends to go on with a sense of superiority over Watson, as illustrated in this exchange in “The Adventure of the Naval Treaty,” Oh, if you find your own cases more interesting than mine--" said Holmes with some asperity.  [Watson responds,] "I was going to say that my practice could get along very well for a day or two, since it is the slackest time of year."  "Excellent," said he, recovering his good-humour. Thus, Holmes may also be typed as an Intuitive individual (Friedman & Schustack, 2006). This situation of typing a personality with conflicting types is not uncommon because these types do overlap at times. Even more so with fictional characters where authors sometimes tend to season a character’s personality with conflicting types to make the character more “universal” and more exciting. In terms of the way by which Holmes arrives at decisions, he is most certainly a Thinking type. Rarely was Holmes ever illustrated as showing empathy for others (Redmond, 2009). In fact, he would go to great lengths to solve his cases, disregarding the feelings of people involved. In “The Adventure of the Speckled Band,” Holmes is shown to be blunt with the following exchange, Watson: Holmes, by striking the snake you indirectly caused the doctor's death.  Holmes: I can't say that it shall weigh heavily on my conscience. Another source of debate regarding Holmes’ personality is his exhibition of qualities of both a Judging and Perceiving type. While Holmes certainly is methodical in his actions especially when solving a case that he is extremely interested in (J), he also lacks a great deal of focus and patience on subjects that do not affect his existence (Bayne, 2004). This is clearly illustrated in Watson’s observation of the great Sherlock Holmes from “The Adventure of the Yellow Face,” “[Holmes] rarely took exercise for exercise's sake. Few men were capable of greater muscular effort, and he was undoubtedly one of the finest boxers of his weight that I have ever seen; but he looked upon aimless bodily exertion as a waste of energy, and he seldom bestirred himself save where there was some professional object to be served . . . . his diet was usually of the sparest and his habits were simple to the verge of austerity. Save for the occasional use of cocaine he had no vices, and he only turned to the drug as a protest against the monotony of existence when cases were scanty and papers uninteresting.” Therefore, by the Myer-Briggs typing scheme, Holmes may be labeled as either an INTJ, INTP, ISTJ or ISTP (Bayne, 2004). Again, it should be noted that Holmes is a fictional character and thus, the lapses illustrated here. More importantly, not all individuals may be typed into one particular personality type, as Jung emphasizes the duality of an individual’s personality. Societal Influences Adlerian Psychology or Individual Psychology points out that a healthy individual requires mutual respect with society and that ultimately, one’s goal is to belong (Stein, 2006). However, one reading of a Sherlock Holmes story would immediately lead one to conclude that this is the least of Holmes’ goal. While it may seem as such, Adler proposes that this feeling of superiority that Holmes illustrates actually masks his real feelings of inferiority. Holmes is extremely concerned with himself and with the goals that he has accomplished perhaps because this is the only way by which he is made to feel important (Friedman & Schustack, 2006). Before proceeding further, it should be noted that Holmes was not one to seek fame. In fact, in almost all of the stories, he insisted that the police claim credit for the solving of a case. However, he was constantly in need of recognition, especially from Watson. In fact, as previously pointed out, Watson is the only socialization that Holmes actually enjoys maybe because Watson has taken a great deal of interest in him, thereby fueling his sense of worth (Redmond, 2009). Using Adlerian psychology, Holmes may have eased these feelings of inferiority if he was only able to focus more on his societal and love tasks rather than just his work tasks. On the other hand, Holmes’ dissociation from emotions and societal affiliation may have been a major factor in the successes that he has acquired in the field of investigation. Adlerian Psychology would thus tell us that Holmes has a lacking personality due to the distance that he chose to take from society (Friedman & Schustack, 2006). Adult Development Erik Erikson placed a certain focus on the role of the ego in the psychological development of an individual (Friedman & Schustack, 2006). Indeed, when Sherlock Holmes is the point of discussion, it is almost impossible not to mention the overpowering ego that the man had. However, Erikson’s view of the ego goes beyond just one’s exaggerated conceit. He added the focus on the individual’s adult development in explaining one’s personality (Welchman, 2000). The first stage of adult development, intimacy vs. isolation immediately paints a picture of the lack of personality development in Holmes. Holmes has no “loving relationship” whatsoever and the most intimate relationship that he has is with his roommate Watson. Again, one is made to think of exactly how Holmes lived in his childhood years for him to practice this chronic case of social isolation (Friedman & Schustack, 2006). The next stage, generativity vs. stagnation, clearly puts Holmes under the branch of generativity or the tendency to constantly move forward in terms of his career and accomplishments as investigator. In the final story, Holmes was even made to go into beekeeping, a fairly challenging job for a retiree, yet something that obviously kept him at his toes. Moreover, such a career allows him to be socially isolated which leads one to think that Holmes’ psychosocial development has remained the same throughout his life (Weinstein, 2001). Finally, in the stage of ego integrity vs. despair, one can posit conflicting ideas on Holmes would have been in the last years of his life. One is inclined to think that either he worked until the last minute of his life, or simply dozed off to death for lack of anything to do. Holmes is not the type to relish on past accomplishments as he is constantly hungry for new ones. Thus, as his usual self, Holmes may have been at some times truly proud of his accomplishments, and at others, utterly bored with the idea that he can no longer roam the streets of London, solving difficult cases. Conclusion Despite the mystery that Sherlock Holmes exhibited throughout his literary existence, people get a clear picture of the kind of person that he is based on his eccentricities and quirks, no matter how fictional these may be. Psychoanalysis pegs Holmes as someone who has had a cold childhood, most likely devoid of personal contact and affection, thus making Holmes an equally cold and calculating adult. On the other hand, the Neo-analytic theorists would peg Holmes as having a personality type that may not be as clearly established as of yet. Moreover, Holmes may be seen as a great exception to normalcy, both in his personality and dealings with society. Personality analysis is one of the most mentally stimulating exercises that one may make in the course of studying Psychology. Gaining an understanding about an individual’s personality leads to an understanding of basic and complex human nature. As pointed out in this paper, one must not be frustrated when certain characters (especially fictional ones) may be quite difficult to analyze as they present conflicting cues. Certain leeway must be made for the dramatics that authors need to lend to their work. Sherlock Holmes is an interesting figure to analyze and the insights gained from understanding the personality that he has, allows for a deeper understanding of the behavior and actions that he demonstrated throughout his literary existence. References Bayne, R. (2004). Psychological types at work: an MBTI perspective. Cengage Learning. Brunner, J. (2001). Freud and the politics of psychoanalysis. Transactions Publishers. Doyle, A. Collection of Sherlock Holmes Stories. Friedman, H., & Schustack, M. (2006). Personality: Classic theories and modern research. Mason, OH: Pearson / Allyn and Bacon. Gellner, E. (2003). The psychoanalytic movement: The cunning of unreason. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons. John, E., & Lopes, D. (2004). Philosophy of literature: Contemporary and classic readings : An anthology. New York, NY: Wiley-Blackwell. Kaplan, R., & Saccuzzo, D. (2008). Psychological testing: Principles, applications, and issues. Cengage Learning. Redmond, C. (2009). 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