Femme Friday: Mrs. Hudson
“Mrs Hudson leave Baker Street? England would fall!”
This quote from Sherlock’s “A Scandal Belgravia” sums up one of the most important characters in the Sherlock Holmes stories and adaptations. Mrs Hudson is by the far the most patient, resilient, organized and brave women in the Canon and while we often wonder how John Watson manages to stay with Sherlock Holmes (without killing him or at least plotting his murder a couple of times), I found myself asking that question even more often where Mrs Hudson is concerned. In “The Dying Detective”, Watson describes her as a long-suffering woman who adored Sherlock Holmes and never once interfered with his work out of respect, no matter how insane it seemed. Irene Adler might be the Woman to Sherlock Holmes, but Mrs Hudson is the Superwoman.
Interestingly, we don’t know a lot about her from the stories. We know that her could possibly be Martha, but probably isn’t, we know that she might or might not be Scottish and we know that she has the patience of an angel, because she stays with Holmes and Watson through thick and thin – or should I say, through gunshots and temper tantrums…
Sherlock Holmes and John Watson need her in many different ways. In the books she starts off as the landlady, but soon is firmly established as the housekeeper as well who keeps a staff of maids and a page, Billy. You will have noticed that despite her protests, she is very much landlady and housekeeper of Sherlock and John in the BBC series. In fact, in the stories and many adaptations she’s not only the landlady/housekeeper, but also a cook, nurse, ‘mother’, psychic, magician, super sleuth and Sherlock’s most prominent critic. When she appears in the stories, she is usually introducing a new guest or client and very often she shows how little she appreciates the visitors Holmes receives (she’s especially suspicious of the Baker Street Irregulars). Nevertheless, she serves the clients tea, water, gin or jewels, depending on the occasion.
I especially love Rosalie Williams’s portrayal of Mrs Hudson in the Granada Holmes series, because she talks back, which is a glorious thing to witness. While she might let Sherlock Holmes do whatever he bloody well wants – such as shooting the wall, filling his flat with poisonous fumes and playing loud music in the middle of the night – she makes sure that Holmes knows how she feels about it. Granada’s Mrs Hudson is very much about non-verbal communication and her sass is something which even Martin Freeman’s John Watson could learn from.
Una Stubbs’s Mrs Hudson takes the cake of course. We’ve never had an alcoholic, marijuana smoking, exotic dancing and phone in bra hiding Mrs Hudson before and I have yet to meet a single person who doesn’t love her. We love her, because despite all the trouble Sherlock causes, and despite his often offensive behaviour (think of the little episode in the beginning of “Hounds of Baskerville”), she loves her boys and very much acts like a mother hen. To me, one of the loveliest scenes in the BBC series with Mrs Hudson is when Mycroft tells her to shut up and John and Sherlock are simply scandalised. Sherlock will defend her to his death (though he will claim the privilege of shouting at his landlady every now and then).
Another kick ass Mrs Hudson features in Elementary as Ms Hudson played by Candis Cayne. An expert in ancient Greek, Ms Hudson is a transgender woman who used to be a boy scout. In return for being able to stay with Sherlock and Joan during a snow storm after a breakup, she organises Sherlock’s book shelves and helps to build a fire in the fireplace. She has, however, only featured in two episodes so far and her confidence and skills would definitely be welcome in further episodes.
One particular episode in the Canon shows Mrs Hudson’s dedication to her demanding lodger: In “The Empty House,” Mrs Hudson goes as far as to put her own life in danger for Holmes. She crawls around on her knees to move around the wax figure which Holmes has placed in his living room in order to make Colonel Moran believe that it is the detective who sits in his chair while being fully aware that Moran will shoot at Holmes’s wax double. In a similar way, Mrs Hudson ends up in danger when the CIA agents break into 221B Baker Street in search of Irene Adler’s phone in “A Scandal in Belgravia” and what does she do? Hudders ain’t afraid of no CIA. Watch her hide that phone in her bra. Ladies and Gents, Mrs Hudson: Badass of Baker Street.
*****
For a truly fantastic collection of Granada Hudson gifs, go here!
And to read a great essay on Mrs Hudson by Catherine Cook published by the Baker Street Journal, go here!
Maria teaches English Literature at Leipzig University, Germany, published a German introduction to Sherlock Holmes and is a fan of all things Holmes – but especially of the Canon stories and Sherlock BBC. Contact her at @stuffasdreams & maria@bakerstreetbabes.com