Leading the Story via Misleading. Levels of Deception in "The Hound of the Baskervilles" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• Preface
• Introduction: The Sherlock Holmes Phenomenon
• The Haunting and Deceiving Text
  • Background and Summary
  • The Real Curse: Hound or Hoax?
  • The Motif of Deception
    • Deception Level I: The Author's Deceiving Game
    • Deception Level II: The 'Watsonian Narrator'
    • Deception Level III
      • Holmes and Dr Mortimer's Walking Stick
      • No Time for Dartmoor
      • Stapleton and his Hound
• Reading Pleasure
  • One of the Game's Rules: 'It Must Be Honest with the Reader'
  • The Irony Behind the Puzzle-solving Challenge
• Conclusion

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This thesis examines the different levels of deception employed in Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles, exploring how these levels contribute to the novel’s suspense and intrigue. It analyzes the ways in which the author, the narrator, and even Sherlock Holmes himself mislead the reader, ultimately revealing the true nature of the “supernatural” threat.

• The role of deception in storytelling, particularly in detective-mystery and Gothic horror genres.
• The interplay between the rational and the supernatural in The Hound of the Baskervilles.
• The narrator's influence on the reader's perception of the story.
• The significance of Sherlock Holmes's methods of investigation and his use of deception.
• The impact of reading pleasure and reader expectations on the enjoyment of detective fiction.

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

The introductory chapter provides a brief overview of the “Sherlock Holmes phenomenon” in Doyle’s time and its continuing relevance. It also offers background information on the rise of detective-mystery stories and the societal factors that influenced the emergence of Holmes as a literary figure.

Chapter 2 delves into the three distinct levels of deception present in The Hound of the Baskervilles. It explores how the author, through his narrative choices, leads the reader to believe in the existence of a supernatural hound. The chapter also analyzes the narrator's role in deceiving the reader and the way in which Sherlock Holmes's methods of investigation often involve secrecy and deliberate misdirection.

Chapter 3 examines the concept of reading pleasure and how it relates to the reader's involvement in detective fiction. It discusses the “rules” of the Golden Age of detective fiction, including the importance of honesty with the reader, and the challenges of solving Conan Doyle's mysteries.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

The key themes and concepts explored in this thesis include: deception in fiction, detective-mystery, Gothic horror, supernatural elements, the role of the narrator, Sherlock Holmes's methods of investigation, reading pleasure, reader expectations, and the Golden Age of detective fiction.