#dyin

when youre dying but ratchet is holding you

‘I speak English very well’

Today I read the first part of "The Adventure of Charles August Milverton" (thanks to Dr. Watson as always) and in a few lines you can already know the type of adversary he is.

There are many types of antagonists in all Holmes' stories, but those who are smart have a special place in the canon. Let's see some examples:

Irene Adler in "A Scandal in Bohemia" is the rival of Sherlock Holmes in that case. She left so strong impression in the detective that he calls her The Woman. She's smart, charming, beautiful and bit playful character, but above all she is not a villain. All that she does is to run away with her lover husband and start a new life. A smart woman with strong character that outsmarted Holmes.

In "The Adventure of the Dying Detective" we have Culverton Smith as opponent. He use a tropical disease to kill his nephew for money (IIRC) and tries to do the same with Holmes. He's evil because he kills his own family for what he wants and he has the willingness to do it again with whoever dares to search the truth.

Professor James Moriarty from "The Final Problem" is so far the most famous rival of Holmes, mathematics professor and criminal mastermind. Moriarty is essential in every adaptation of the canon and his intelligence is one of his higlights as a character. What makes Moriarty evil? The professor is the one who plans crimes for other people to execute in exchange of money. He doesn't seem the type of person who commits the crime for himself, he perfectly could be in his office, eating fish and chips while his minions do the dirty work. The evil in Moriarty is that he uses his brilliant mind for planning crimes and apparently he loves that.

We just have the first part of this story, but Charles August Milverton seems to be a completely different type of antagonist. He is smart but instead of making many different plans like Moriarty he uses blackmail. Just like Smith he wants money and is ready to take action himself and see the victim. He looks like a harmless person just like Adler but, contrary to all of these examples, Milverton enjoys to see his victims suffering. There's pleasure in watching the blackmailed person begging for a new deal, extra time or whatever they need to keep everything behind the rug. Charles August is the type of villain who wants to see the world on fire.