The Philosophy of Sherlock Holmes

Not the Crime, but the Man

23 Not the Crime, but the Man Sherlock Holmes and Charles Augustus Milverton David Rozema “As Cunning as the Evil One” “The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton” is, in many respects, unique amongSherlockHolmes’sadventures.1 Inthefirstplace,Holmesdoesnotinvestigateanycrime ,norisheaskedto.Rather,hebecomesacriminalhimself,burgling a man’s house and witnessing his murder without trying to prevent it or report it. Second, his antagonist, Charles Augustus Milverton, is described by Holmes as “the worst man in London”; he likens Milverton to the venomous serpentsatthezoo,“withtheirdeadlyeyesandtheirwicked,flattenedfaces,”and tells Watson, “I’ve had to do with fifty murderers in my career, but the worst of them never gave me the repulsion which I have for this fellow.”2 This intensity of feeling is strikingly unusual for Holmes, who nearly always has at least some understanding of—sometimes even respect for—the criminals he is tracking. What sort of a man could induce such revulsion in Holmes, noted for his emotionally detached, logical attitude toward the criminals he tracks down? Charles Augustus Milverton, we learn, is “the king of all blackmailers .”3 He has made a fortune by paying high sums for secret letters that would compromise people of wealth and reputation, then demanding much higher sums to keep the letters a secret. He waits for just the right moment—an impending wedding, political appointment, or public honor—and then springs his trap. Most of the time his victims pay what he demands, but even in the cases where they do not, Milverton profits, for the public humiliation and loss that results from exposure makes him even more feared and enables him to demand even higher sums. “With a smiling face and a heart of marble, he will squeeze and squeeze until he has drained [his victims] dry.”4 Because he is already wealthy, Milverton can afford to pay the high- 24 David Rozema est prices for any damaging letters, and he can also afford to bide his time until the most profitable opportunity presents itself. As Holmes says, “He is far too rich and far too cunning to work from hand to mouth.” This cold, calculating cruelty and greed especially incenses Holmes and causes him to call Milverton the worst man in London: “I would ask you how could one compare the ruffian, who in hot blood bludgeons his mate, with this man, who methodically and at his leisure tortures the soul and wrings the nerves in order to add to his already swollen money-bags?”5 And if that is not enough, it seems that Milverton’s victims are more often women than men—less able to defend themselves against blackmail and more likely to comply with his demands. This, of course, is as ungentlemanly as a man could be. Despite appearances, Milverton is no gentleman. The law is no deterrent to Milverton’s blackmailing either. As Holmes points out, “What would it profit a woman, for example, to get him a few months’ imprisonment if her own ruin must immediately follow? His victims dare not hit back.” Holmes’s encounter with Milverton proves that the comparison with a venomous serpent is apt: the man is cold-blooded, cunning, slippery, deceptive, and deadly—“as cunning as the Evil One.”6 Holmes has been commissioned by Lady Eva Blackwell (“the most beautiful debutante of last season”) to negotiate an agreement with Milverton that would prevent the revelation of some imprudent letters that Lady Eva had written to a young country squire years ago. These letters would suffice to break off the match between Lady Blackwell and her fiancé, the earl of Dovercourt. Milverton has all the airs of an aristocrat, including “a perpetual frozen smile” that Watson says is “insufferable.”7 Though Lady Eva cannot afford to pay more than£2,000 for the letters—a fact Milverton is aware of—he will take no less than£7,000, insisting that “the occasion of a lady’s marriage is a very suitable time for her friends and relatives to make some little effort upon her behalf.”8 It is clear that Milverton has very finely estimated the maximum amount he can make from this blackmail attempt and is ruthless in his pursuit of it. He is even prepared for Holmes’s sudden attempt to wrest the letters from him by force: he is as quick as a rat and armed to the teeth, and in any case, he is not so foolish as to have the letters with him when he visits Holmes’s apartment...