The Valley of Fear By Arthur Conan Doyle
Major Characters in The Valley of Fear
The character of Sherlock Holmes:
Like other novels and stories in
this series, Sherlock Holmes appears not like the protagonist, but he is the key
character to take away the veil of the mystery of Douglas’s murder. With the
precision and dexterity and his extra ordinary observation and analysis, he
immediately reveals that the crime scene was orchestrated and that Mrs.
Douglas, wife of the murdered man, and Cecil Barker are concealing something. In
The Valley of Fear we find Holmes to penetrate the mystery rather quickly. And
he succeeds to bring Douglas out. Even surrounded by the other successful
detectives, it’s Holmes who remains intellectually superior. He is, like other
Sherlock Holmes stories and novels, incredibly brilliant. But, this particular
novel The Valley of Fear probably contains less of Holmes than any of the
others. Actually, in The Valley of Fear, the great detective Sherlock Holmes is
contained largely to Part I.
The character of Dr. John Watson:
Dr. John Watson: Perhaps Dr. John
Watson is just as famous as his brilliant partner and the loyal sidekick of
Sherlock Holmes. A constant companion of Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson is also
the main narrator of the story as well as for the entire series. He helps
Sherlock as a true assistant in almost every other case and learns the art of
observation and investigation from Sherlock. Through almost the entire canon,
readers see everything through Watson’s eyes: and the story is presented in such a
way that it appears as if the story is written firsthand by the good doctor
himself. Such is the case in The Valley of Fear, Part I, though the perspective
for Part II is different. Watson’s presence in The Valley of Fear is fairly
insignificant. Watson is described as stout and somewhat withdrawn, as well as
being very easy-going in nature.
The character of Professor James Moriarty:
Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle in The Valley of Fear presents a great enemy of Sherlock Holmes,
Professor Moriarty. As we often find every great fictional hero has an equally
great nemesis. Sherlock Holmes is not an exception. One of the most infamous
characters in literature, Moriarty is equally a genius and as brilliant as
Sherlock Holmes. In Holmes’s words, he is the mastermind behind all the
organized crimes in Europe. In The Valley of Fear, he does not ever actually
appear, indeed. He is only referenced, and, at the end of the novel, Holmes
receives a short note from Professor Moriarty. Without being present, Moriarty
remains one of the central characters of this novel, rather it’s his shadow
that duels with Holmes and ultimately is revealed being the mastermind behind
Douglas’s murder.
The character of John Douglas/ The character of Jack McMurdo/ The character of Birdy Edwards:
The protagonist of
The Valley of Fear, around whom the whole novel revolves, is a crucial and
multi-dimensional character, John Douglas. In Part I he is only introduced at
the beginning of the story to be a faceless victim, simply the object of
Holmes’ investigation. Towards the end of Part I, however, by the virtue of
Holmes investigation Douglas is revealed to be very much alive. And at the end
of Part I, he shares his history in America, which comprises almost the entire
Part II. During this “story within a story," we come to know Douglas once
bore the name “Jack McMurdo," only to be a part of a notorious gang in the
United States, which was like the Mafia. However, at the end of Part II, it is
revealed that “McMurdo” is actually named “Birdy Edwards", a Pinkerton
detective. Throughout the novel, both in Part I and Part II, in all three of
his identities, Douglas is painted as fearless, intelligent, good-humored, and
a dutiful detective. The character of Douglas shows Conan Doyle’s skill as a
writer, in which readers hardly find any difficulty to accept the composition
of the “three-in-one” character.
Boss (Bodymaster) The character of McGinty:
Boss McGinty appears
as one of the major villains in The Valley of Fear. He is the cruel and brutal
leader of “the Scowrers," a murderous society and the undisputed lord of
Vermissa Valley. McGinty is described as
a fearsome leader, looking almost like a lion, with fierce eyes and a mane-like
beard. McGinty is the Bodymaster of the
Scowrers. And rules over the Vermissa Valley, a coal mining district in the
western United States. He reigns his supremacy with an iron fist, crushing
anyone who gets in his way through the agents appointed by him. As Professor
Moriarty in Europe, McGinty is a mastermind behind all organised crimes in American.
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