How we cite our quotes: (Chapter. Paragraph)
Quote #7
"Who—who's this?" [Stapleton] stammered.
"It is Selden, the man who escaped from Princetown."
Stapleton turned a ghastly face upon us, but by a supreme effort he had overcome his amazement and his disappointment. He looked sharply from Holmes to me. "Dear me! What a very shocking affair! How did he die?" (12.111-13)
This is the first dialogue between Stapleton, Holmes, and Watson after Holmes has told Watson that Stapleton is the murderer. Stapleton tried to hide his shock that the body isn't Sir Henry. The language Watson uses to describe Stapleton changes entirely once he knows for sure that Stapleton is guilty. Suddenly, Stapleton's face is "ghastly" (meaning very pale) because he is struggling with his "amazement and his disappointment." Watson has an entirely new insight into Stapleton's character now that he can see through his lies, and it influences his narration.
Quote #8
"Yes, it is an interesting instance of a throwback, which appears to be both physical and spiritual. A study of family portraits is enough to convert a man to the doctrine of reincarnation. The fellow is a Baskerville—that is evident." (13.61)
Once again, no matter how much Stapleton lies, his face betrays him. Here, his resemblance to Hugo Baskerville proves to Holmes that he's secretly a Baskerville relative after the family fortune. No matter how good a liar Stapleton may be, he can't control every variable. As Shakespeare said, "the truth will out." Especially with Sherlock Holmes on the case.
Quote #9
"Thank God! Thank God! Oh, this villain! See how he has treated me!" [Beryl] shot her arms out from her sleeves, and we saw with horror that they were all mottled with bruises. "But this is nothing—nothing! It is my mind and soul that he has tortured and defiled. I could endure it all, ill-usage, solitude, a life of deception, everything, as long as I could still cling to the hope that I had his love, but now I know that in this also I have been his dupe and his tool." She broke into passionate sobbing as she spoke. (14.68)
Beryl Stapleton claims that she could take Stapleton's abuse and lies if she "could still cling to the hope that she had his love." As soon as this bubble bursts, she turns violently against him. What might Conan Doyle be suggesting about the morality (or immorality) of love in general? Have you ever lied to protect someone you love? (All answers are strictly confidential.)