Who IS Sherlock Holmes - Neil McCaw

Translator: Sune Vilsted Østergaard Reviewer: Anders Finn Jørgensen

More than a century after first emerging

Mere end et århundrede efter, at han først dukkede op

into the fog-bound, gas-lit streets of Victorian London,

i de tågede, gasoplyste gader i det victorianske London,

Sherlock Holmes is universally recognizable.

er Sherlock Holmes universal genkendelig.

Even his wardrobe and accessories are iconic:

Selv hans garderobe og tilbehør er ikoniske:

the Inverness cape,

Inverness-kappen,

deerstalker hat,

deerstalker-hat

and calabash pipe,

og calabash-pipe,

and figures such as his best friend and housemate Doctor Watson,

og karakterer som hans bedste ven og bofælle Doktor Watson,

arch-nemesis Moriarty,

ærkefjende Moriarty,

and housekeeper Mrs. Hudson

og husholderske Mrs. Hudson,

have become part of the popular consciousness,

er blevet del af den populære bevidsthed,

as have his extraordinary, infallible powers of deduction

ligesom hans ekstraordinære, ufejlbare deduktive evner,

utilized in the name of the law,

der er brugt i lovens navn,

his notorious drug use,

hans famøse stofmisbrug,

and his popular catchphrase, "Elementary, my dear Watson."

og hans populære slagord, "Elementært, min kære Watson."

And yet many of these most recognizable features of Holmes

Og alligevel er mange af disse genkendelige træk ved Holmes

don't appear in Arthur Conan Doyle's original stories.

ikke tilstede i Arthur Conan Doyles originale fortællinger.

Doyle's great detective solves crimes in all sorts of ways,

Doyles berømte detektiv løser forbrydelser på mange forskellige måder,

not just using deduction.

ikke kun ved hjælp af deduktion.

He speculates, and at times even guesses, and regularly makes false assumptions.

Han spekulerer, og nogle gætter endda, og laver regelmæssigt falske antagelser.

Furthermore, Mrs. Hudson is barely mentioned,

Endvidere er Mrs. Hudson knapt nok nævnt,

no one says, "Elementary, my dear Watson,"

ingen siger, "Elementært, min kære Watson,"

and the detective and his sidekick live apart for much of the time.

og detektiven og hans ledsager lever seperat for det meste af tiden.

Moriarty, the grand villain, only appears in two stories,

Moriarty, den store skurk, er kun fremtræden i to historier,

the detective's drug use is infrequent after the first two novels,

detektivens stofmisbrug er sjælden efter de første to noveller,

and Holmes is rarely enthralled to the English legal system;

og Holmes er sjældent betaget af det engelske retssystem;

He much prefers enacting his own form of natural justice

Han foretrækker at handle udfra sin egen form for retfærdighed

to sticking to the letter of the law.

fremfor at holde sig til loven.

Finally, many of the most iconic elements of the Holmesian legend

Mange af de mest ikoniske elementer i legenden om Holmes

aren't Doyle's either.

er heller ikke Doyles.

The deerstalker cap and cape were first imagined by Sidney Paget,

Deerstalker-hat og kappe blev først fremstillet af Sidney Paget,

the story's initial illustrator.

historiens første illustrator.

the curved pipe was chosen by American actor William Gillette

The buede pipe blev valgt af den amerikanske skuespiller William Gillette,

so that audiences could more clearly see his face on stage,

så publikum bedre kunne se hans ansigt på scenen,

and the phrase, "Elementary, my dear Watson,"

og udtrykket, "Elementært, min kære Watson,"

was coined by author and humorist P.G. Wodehouse.

blev opfundet af forfatter og humorist P.G. Woodhouse.

So who exactly is Sherlock Holmes?

Så hvem er Sherlock Holmes egentligt?

Who's the real great detective, and where do we find him?

Hvem er den rigtige detektiv, og hvor finder vi ham?

Purists might answer that the original Sherlock

Purister svarer måske, at den originale Sherlock,

inspired by Arthur Conan Doyle's university mentor Dr. Joseph Bell

som er inspireret af Arthur Conan Doyles universitets mentor Dr. Joseph Bell,

is the real one.

er den rigtige.

But the fact remains that that version of Sherlock has been largely eclipsed

Men faktum er, at Sherlock i høj grad er blevet overskygget

by the sheer volume of interpretation,

af det ren og skære store antal af fortolkninger,

leaving Doyle's detective largely unrecognizable.

som stort set gør Doyles detektiv ugenkendelig.

So there's another, more complex,

Så der er en anden, mere kompleks,

but perhaps more satisfying answer to the question,

men måske mere tilfredsstillende svar til spørgsmålet,

but to get there, we must first consider the vast body of interpretations

men først bliver vi nødt til at overveje den store mængde af fortolkninger

of the great detective.

af den berømte detektiv.

Since Conan Doyle's first story in 1887,

Siden Conan Doyles første fortælling i 1887,

there have been thousands of adaptations of Holmes,

har der været tusindvis af bearbejdelser af Holmes,

making him perhaps the most adapted fictional character in the world.

som muligvis gør ham til den mest bearbejdede fiktive karakter i verden.

That process began with Victorian stage adaptations,

Den proces begyndte med Victorianske teaterstykker,

and accelerated with the emergence of film.

og accelererede med fremkomsten af film.

There were more than 100 film adaptations of Holmes

Der var flere end 100 filmatiseringer af Holmes

in the first two decades of the 20th century alone.

alene i de første to årtier af det 20. århundrede.

And since then, there have many thousands more in print,

Og siden dengang har der været mange tusinder flere i print

and on film,

og på film,

television,

fjernsyn,

stage,

and radio.

teater

og radio.

Holmes has been reinterpreted by people everywhere,

Holmes er blevet genfortolket af folk overalt

in remarkably different, and often contradictory ways.

på utroligt forskellige og ofte modstriende måder.

These adaptations demonstrate both Holmes's popularity

Disse bearbejdelser viser både Holmes' popularitet

and his malleability.

og hans formbarhed.

For instance, he featured in a number of allied anti-Nazi propaganda films

For eksempel optrådte han i en række anti-Nazi propaganda film for de allierede

during World War II.

under 2. verdenskrig.

And both Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Og både Winston Churchill og Franklin Delano Roosevelt

were avid enthusiasts,

var ivrige entusiaster,

the latter even joining the Baker Street Irregulars,

den sidstenævnte tilsluttede sig endda 'the Baker Street Irregulars',

a Holmesian appreciation society,

et samlested for fans af Holmes.

and nicknaming one secret service hideout Baker Street.

og navngav et af sine Secret Service skjulesteder for Baker Street.

And yet, at the very same time,

Og alligevel, på samme tidspunkt,

Holmes also appeared in various German-language film adaptations,

har Holmes også optrådt i adskillige tysksprogede filmatiseringer,

some of which were said to have been much-loved favorites of Adolf Hitler.

hvoraf nogle efter sigende skulle have været Adolf Hitlers favoritter.

So let's return to our question.

Men spørgsmålet var:

Would the real Sherlock Holmes please stand up?

Vil den rigtige Sherlock Holmes være sød og rejse sig?

The truth is that this world of adaptation has made him into a palimpsest.

Sandheden er at alle disse bearbejdelser har gjort ham til en palimpsest.

Sherlock is a cultural text,

Sherlock er en kulturelt tekst,

repeatedly altered over time as each new interpretation becomes superimposed

der er blevet ændret gang på gang i takt med at nye fortolkninger bliver overlejret

over those that proceed it.

af dem der følger efter den.

This means that Sherlock continually evolves,

Det betyder at Sherlock er i fortsat udvikling,

embodying ideas and values often far removed

og repræsenterer idéer og værdier, som ofte er langt fra dem,

from those found in Conan Doyle.

som man finder hos Conan Doyle.

And after each particular story ends, Sherlock rises again,

Og hver gang en fortælling slutter, så opstår Sherlock igen,

a little changed, perhaps,

måske en smule anderledes,

with a new face and fresh mannerisms or turns of phrase,

med et nyt ansigt og friske manerer eller slagord,

but still essentially Sherlock, our Sherlock.

men i essensen stadigvæk Sherlock, vores Sherlock.