Overall, The Hound of the Baskervilles’s tone is both observational and emotional. The story itself is narrated by Dr. John Watson, Sherlock Holmes’s friend and assistant. As a narrator, Watson pays great attention to detail, yet at the same time, his point of view tends to be more emotional than rational. This tone is exemplified in Chapter 7 when Watson reflects on his time at Baskerville Hall:
The melancholy of the moor, the death of the unfortunate pony, the weird sound which had been associated with the grim legend of the Baskervilles – all these things tinged my thoughts with sadness. Then on the top of these more or less vague impressions there had come the definite and distinct warning of Miss Stapleton, delivered with such intense earnestness that I could not doubt that some grave and deep reason lay behind it.
Instead of describing the moor, pony, and sound in purely observational terms, Watson uses emotionally-driven language instead and describes them as “melancholy,” “unfortunate,” and “weird.” Unlike Holmes, Watson is unable to separate his emotions from his observations, a crucial difference between the two.
This is also evident in Chapter 11 when Watson describes Mrs. Lyons:
The first impression left by Mrs Lyons was one of extreme beauty. Her eyes and hair were of the same rich hazel colour, and her cheeks, though considerably freckled, were flushed with the exquisite bloom of the brunette, the dainty pink which lurks at the heart of the sulphur rose.
Watson is immediately taken by Mrs. Lyons’s beauty. Instead of describing her other qualities, he focuses on the details that make her beautiful, specifically the color of her hair and skin. He even goes as far as to compare her complexion to a rose. Watson’s susceptibility to his emotions contrasts Holmes’s extreme rationality. Holmes, for example, has no trouble giving up the comforts of London for a hut on the moor because he knows it will give him the advantage he needs to solve the case. Holmes’s extreme rationality allows him to override emotions like discomfort or fear; Watson's more sensitive narration balances out Holmes and enriches the novella's tone, allowing readers to feel the story's mystery and melancholy.
Overall, The Hound of the Baskervilles’s tone is both observational and emotional. The story itself is narrated by Dr. John Watson, Sherlock Holmes’s friend and assistant. As a narrator, Watson pays great attention to detail, yet at the same time, his point of view tends to be more emotional than rational. This tone is exemplified in Chapter 7 when Watson reflects on his time at Baskerville Hall:
The melancholy of the moor, the death of the unfortunate pony, the weird sound which had been associated with the grim legend of the Baskervilles – all these things tinged my thoughts with sadness. Then on the top of these more or less vague impressions there had come the definite and distinct warning of Miss Stapleton, delivered with such intense earnestness that I could not doubt that some grave and deep reason lay behind it.
Instead of describing the moor, pony, and sound in purely observational terms, Watson uses emotionally-driven language instead and describes them as “melancholy,” “unfortunate,” and “weird.” Unlike Holmes, Watson is unable to separate his emotions from his observations, a crucial difference between the two.
This is also evident in Chapter 11 when Watson describes Mrs. Lyons:
The first impression left by Mrs Lyons was one of extreme beauty. Her eyes and hair were of the same rich hazel colour, and her cheeks, though considerably freckled, were flushed with the exquisite bloom of the brunette, the dainty pink which lurks at the heart of the sulphur rose.
Watson is immediately taken by Mrs. Lyons’s beauty. Instead of describing her other qualities, he focuses on the details that make her beautiful, specifically the color of her hair and skin. He even goes as far as to compare her complexion to a rose. Watson’s susceptibility to his emotions contrasts Holmes’s extreme rationality. Holmes, for example, has no trouble giving up the comforts of London for a hut on the moor because he knows it will give him the advantage he needs to solve the case. Holmes’s extreme rationality allows him to override emotions like discomfort or fear; Watson's more sensitive narration balances out Holmes and enriches the novella's tone, allowing readers to feel the story's mystery and melancholy.
