@ ancientsgate I agree with all that, but I suppose the idea I was trying to get across was the idea of abstinence being considered superior to having sex only in marriage.  Most people would have to find an outlet for their sexual desires and marriage served that purpose, but it would be better if they were just able to control themselves.   Obviously, this isn't my view (or ACD's, I'm sure), but I think it does have a little bit in common with Sherlock's view.  He wouldn't limit sex/love to marriage - he just avoids the whole thing, because he believes his mind is superior without it. 

So I do think Sherlock's abstinence seems to draw on a couple of rather outdated ideas - the idea that abstinence was superior, and the idea that indulging could be mentally debilitating.  So I can see why it might be thought of as "Victorian".  In the modern version, I think they update it a little - the experience with Irene goes some way to forming his view (the final proof), as he's put at a disadvantage and makes a mistake due to falling for somebody - but I think the basic idea must have been in place for him long ago.   He seems to have it very much under control in all other circumstances. 
 

I always thought his sexual abstence was because having any kind of romantic/sexual relationship with someone would distract him from his work, both time-wise and his ability to think straight. We all know how all-consuming a crush or physical desire can be in your head. That is what he wants to avoid. 

Last edited by Vhanja (April 2, 2015 8:10 am)

@ Nature, I don't think he's conforming - I'm just saying that the idea probably more currency back then (and maybe didn't seem as odd to readers of the time as it does to us).  I suppose that's what was meant by it being "Victorian".  I agree that the sex isn't spelled out in either, but I think it's implicit, especially in the modern version - I don't get the impression he's having sex with anyone - I get the impression that the reasons for avoiding it are the same as his reasons for avoiding romances.  It's open to interpretation, though - and maybe worth discussing?

@ Vhanja Yes, "grit in a sensitive instrument". 

@ Nakahara Yes, I definitely feel there's an element of that there - he doesn't want to become vulnerable (great gifs!), and ASIB confirms for him that it's a risk.   But I do think there's a bit of superiority as well - it's because his mind is so fine that it needs protecting in this way.  It's OK for other people to indulge because they don't have his intellectual capacity.  He's above all that.

I think he does feel some regret for choosing that way at the end of TSOT (the TV version, although in the book as well, maybe).  He's not part of that life, and knows that it makes him more alone, even if he sees it as flawed. 

Now that is very true--assumption would be made, of course, in the Victorian era, but literature for general audiences DEFINITELY would not be discussing anyone's sex life!

the sign of the four in only the second novel, the friendship between Holmes and Watson hasn't been hugely developed yet by ACD to this point.
So I don't think the use of cocaine is a reaction to Watson's wedding. Proof is that he uses it even when Watson lives in Baker street.
It merely shows how his life is as a lonely detective when a case is over.

Last edited by NatureNoHumansNo (April 2, 2015 9:42 pm)

On a case, as it turns out!    But yes, I do think there are there similarities in the feel of both those scenes (book and TV) - that Sherlock seems to be aware that there's a life he's rejected, and that the life that he's chosen sets him apart.  

(Moftiss have mentioned that the end of TSOT references a particular episode of Doctor Who that they watched as children, where Jo gets engaged and the Doctor leaves the party alone.  The Doctor is set apart by being a time lord rather than a human.   Sherlock is partly set apart by his brilliant mind, but also by his own choice to set himself above human affairs.)

I agree that the drug taking is not directly related to John’s absence or presents. Even in the show we get hints that he had setbacks during the time he and John shared 221b. Moftiss have often explained that while his drug taking in the canon made him more mysterious, in the show, it makes him deeply flawed (they used slightly less polite language here). I think in our modern times, it is actually his decision to not engage in sex that makes him more mysterious. Today, homo- and bisexuality are more and more accepted, but someone who is asexual will often hear that he or she has not yet found the right person. The same is true for sexually active people (though I think this is stronger for women) who do not want to commit to a relationship (at least above a certain age). Sherlock seems to have the urges (many saw his reaction to Irene as sexually motivated and many others see a sexual longing for John), but he does very little about them. A bit of fairly standard porn, apparently, but he does not even risk sex with someone he does not love, but does fake a relationship with. Maybe he does not want to give anyone the power to arouse him. There is some truth is the old joke that at any given moment a man’s blood can only supply his brain or what is between his legs, never both simultaneously(sorry gentlemen). So maybe Sherlock just want s to make sure that he is always the one in control.

Last edited by Lola Red (April 3, 2015 7:32 pm)

I want to be around when all that supression goes "Boom Boom."  

Was that off topic?  *tries to look innocent*

Vhanja wrote:

I remember Benedict once said in an interview that the main reason why Sherlock didn't want to have sex was that he was terrified of losing control. Which goes well with everything people have said in this thread, I think.

I am not the only one who really wants to see him lose that control, right? Right?

Yeah, this is brilliant. Bingo!  

And I would like to look again at this quote:

Steven Moffat: “Sherlock Holmes, again, must have sexual impulses. (…) The fact is, he decides to put all that in an iron box to make his brain work better. He wants to rise above us like a snowcapped mountain, but he’s actually a volcano, and that’s where the story is. That’s where the story is.”

So if I understand correctly the story is not about solving crimes but about Sherlock being a dormant volcano teetering on the brink of breaking out. Nicely put, Steven.