The Hound of the Baskervilles 367lock Holmes, uses reason and deduction to demon-
strate that what appears to be fate, to be destined
and beyond the control of man, can be understood
and controlled.
As the novel opens, Sherlock Holmes speaks
of “the dramatic moment of fate” as he and Wat-
son await the arrival of Dr. Mortimer, who has
come seeking their assistance in a mysterious affair.
Despite his reference to fate, Holmes is a nonbe-
liever in the supernatural and in the ability of powers
beyond our understanding to intervene in human
affairs. Because of his scientific nature, he is inclined
to disbelieve the tale of a hellhound bringing terri-
fying deaths to the Baskerville heirs as punishment
for the sins of their forefather. Sir Charles, the most
recent victim of the Baskerville curse, had accepted
his lot and was certain that the “dreadful fate” arising
from Hugo’s devilish deeds would be his end. His
death, caused by fright upon seeing the hellhound in
the flesh, leaves the only remaining heir, Sir Henry
Baskerville, to face his fate.
Dr. Mortimer has sought the assistance of Sher-
lock Holmes reluctantly, as he believes the realm of
fate and the supernatural to be beyond the reach of
even the most experienced of detectives. Holmes
at first pretends to acknowledge this limitation.
However, like most traditional detectives, he can-
not accept that there are mysteries the human mind
cannot understand. He knows that behind this fate,
this curse, lies a human agent who can be found and
punished.
Sir Henry is less confident than Holmes that
a human agent lies at the bottom of his ancestors’
tragic deaths. He is aware at all times of the past and
the history that accompanies his inheritance of the
Baskerville estate. For Sir Henry, the weight of the
past continues into the present, guiding his actions
and forcing him to confront his fate directly. Even
Watson cannot help but feel the presence of the
past as he walks along the mysterious moors. The
neolithic homes of prehistoric men remind the cur-
rent inhabitants that they were not the first to settle
on the desolate moor. The presence of a civilization
long since disappeared hangs over the moors and the
Baskerville estate, reminding its inhabitants of the
power of the past and of the temporary and fragile
state of man.
Given the tale’s setting, it is not hard to under-
stand why so many otherwise intelligent characters
are willing to accept the fiendish existence of a fiery
hellhound bringing the past of the Baskervilles to
bear upon the family’s survivors. Holmes’s investiga-
tion, analysis, and deduction soon bring an end to
this fear, proving that what has plagued the Basker-
ville family is not fate but “one of the most singular
and sensational crimes of modern times.”
Holmes and Watson expose Jack Stapleton—
actually the son and namesake of Rodger Baskerville,
who had fled to South America with a “sinister
reputation”—as the earthly villain behind the myste-
rious events upon the moor. It has been not fate but
human intervention that has caused the fear and vio-
lence experienced by the Baskervilles. Stapleton had
used the family legend of a violent hellhound to scare
Sir Charles to death and to attempt to do the same
to Sir Henry. Holmes’s investigation has revealed a
natural and human explanation for all events, bring-
ing the question of a dreadful fate to rest.
Before he is revealed as the villain, Stapleton, a
local naturalist and butterfly enthusiast, bemoans
“the fates” that brought ruin to a school he had
founded in the north country. “The fates” brought an
epidemic to the school, which was closed after the
deaths of three students. Holmes reveals the truth,
that the school “sank from disrepute into infamy”
due to Stapleton’s inexperience. Again, the notion of
fate is raised only to be rejected; Stapleton’s failure
can be ascribed solely to human failings, and his
condemnation of “the fates” only serves to under-
score his very human role in his own downfall.
The Hound of the Baskervilles demonstrates that a
powerful belief in fate and providence remained in
England in the early 20th century. Holmes’s ability
to break the chain of “fated” events by solving the
mystery, naming the criminal, and bringing an end
to the curse of the Baskervilles suggests a strong
opposing belief in the power of the human mind to
understand and control destiny.
Kelly ConnellyHerOism in The Hound of the Baskervilles
In The Hound of the Baskervilles, Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle both reinforces and challenges the Victorian
view of heroism. Sherlock Holmes, with his process