Frida Bohlin

Art of Crime
Essay 2
Teacher: Joakim Wrethed
Number of words: 1576
25 November 2022
The importance of the companion - different functions of the sidekick
character in detective and crime fiction

Detective fiction is based around the investigation of a crime and the focus is often mainly on
the extraordinary detective character and the methods they use when solving of the crime.
Unsurprisingly the detective is oftentimes accompanied by an established companion or
sidekick. The classic Sherlock Holmes is accompanied by Doctor Watson, Hercule Poirot by
Arthur Hastings (amongst others) and Augustine Dupin by an unnamed narrator and that’s
just to name a tiny fraction of all the well known sidekick characters that exists. The literary
function of the sidekick is something that varies from case to case; sometimes it’s simply
being the readers ears and eyes and sometimes they provide complex social perspectives. The
purpose of this essay is to investigate some of the functions of the sidekick character that so
often appears alongside the detective. This essay will explore both the connection between
the companion character and the reader as well as the companion and their detective partner.
John Scaggs describes the companion as a friend or colleague who amongst other
things acts as the narrator of the story, the ears and eyes of the reader, provides the reader
with all the clues needed to solve the mystery and provides examples of the deductive
methods used by the detective. Ron Buchanan mentions some of the functions of the
companion, such as “[...] commenting upon the action, marking the passage of time, reacting
as a miniature audience [...]” (Buchanan 16) and means that there are many tasks and
functions that the companion has. One companion that Scaggs mentions is the unnamed
narrator in Edgar Allan Poe’s The Murders in the Rue Morgue and how he provides an
example of Dupins ability to seemingly read his thoughts. To begin with, the narrators
presence and intrigue alone works as a reason for the disclosure of the methods used in the
deduction (Scaggs 39-41). Edgar Allan Poe most definitely uses the narrator as a prompt for
Dupin to explain his thought process in The Murders in the Rue Morgue.

“’Dupin,’ said I, gravely, ‘this is beyond my comprehension. I do not hesitate to say that I am
amazed, and can scarcely credit my senses. How was it possible you should know I was
thinking of -?’ [...] ‘Tell me, for Heaven’s sake,’ I explained, ‘the method - if method there is-
by which you have been enabled to fathom my soul in this matter.’” (Poe 96)
In this excerpt the character of Dupin is urged to reveal his train of thought, thus the readers
are invited into the deduction work. The narrators intrigue and curiosity gives the reason for a
detailed description. An opportunity to expose the details of the story appears and the plot
thickens. Ron Buchanan suggests that the most important task of the sidekick is to follow the
main character throughout the plot of the story, and therefore they act as a biographer or
narrator. Buchanan means that this in turn leads to the companion often assuming a
subservient role to the main character.
Furthermore, the companion and the reader are somewhat interconnected in the way
that they are set apart from the detective and their genius. In Poe’s The Murders in the Rue
Morgue the narrator is astonished over the fact that Dupin knew what he was thinking, which
coincides with the astonishment the reader get to experience when reading about this
extraordinary detective and how he seems to know everything. Buchanan writes about the
connection between the companion and the reader and suggests that the companion represents
the audience through the interplay with the main characters and thus brings the readers into
the story. Buchanan uses the example of Doctor Watson in Sherlock Holmes to describe how
the audience parallel Watson’s reactions to Holmes. First in the feeling of awe at the
detective’s smarts and deduction but also in feeling foolish at ones own abilities or rather lack
thereof (Buchanan 18).
The way the companion is in some cases made to act as a servant for the main
character also affects the distancing from the independent detective. Buchanan uses the
example of Detective Sergeant Robert Lewis buying his superior beer or cigarettes and
driving them to all their crime scenes (Buchanan 16). The companion carries out menial tasks
and therefore the main character can remain detached and consequently mysterious too. The
detective character is by this action somewhat alienated, which adds to the notion of them
being some superhuman genius. In the example of Watson and Holmes, the detective is not
portrayed as a very sociable and easy going person, more so the opposite. Sherlock Holmes is
somewhat standoffish or socially detached which creates distance from and affects the way he
is perceived by the audience. The companion, Watson fulfils another role in this particular
instance. Watsons character maintains Holmes’s humanity as he is actively participating in
Holmes’s life, showing any and all aspects of it. While the awe he feels towards the
detective’s abilities is present and painting a picture of someone with near superhuman
deductive abilities, the audience is also presented with the other aspects of the detective that
makes them human. The initial distancing is being challenged by the companions providing
of a humanitarian perspective of the detective’s usual reclusive behaviours. (Buchanan 20,
24)
The character of the companion does not only provide us with insight into the main
characters attributes, but they give the reader some sort of point of reference too. A possibly
slightly more indirect function that the companion character could hold is as a normalizing
agent. Julie D. O’Reilly writes about Stephanie Plum and Nancy Drew. Nancy Drew is a
famous, self-assured, self-sufficient, competent, iconic “girl detective” while Stephanie Plum
is what O’Reilly calls “the poster child for insecurity, self-indulgence and ineptitude” and “a
magnet for disaster” bounty hunter (O’Reilly 60-61). Nancy Drew does a lot of great things
on her adventures, everything from saving a drowning child to changing a tire and caring for
an injured bird. Stephanie however is more surrounded with bad luck, accidentally destroying
a car, driving in dog poop and being caught in a lie by her mother about playing the cello.
Neither Nancy in all her ‘controlled perfection’ nor Stephanie with her chaotic imperfections
could be perceived as a “normal girl” by the reader, but this is where their companions come
in to play. Both Nancy and Stephanie have two other women as companions and they act as
normalizing agents. Nancy Drew is accompanied by two women, George who is a brash
tomboy and Bess who is a ‘pleasantly plump’ girly girl. Nancy, being accompanied by these
two contrasting depictions of femininity, is perceived as average in comparison and has thus
been normalized. While nancy is described as “an attractive girl”, the descriptions of her
companions are far more detailed:

“ George is “an attractive tomboyish girl with short dark hair” whose “boyish name fitted her
slim build” (Red Gate 1) and “an attractive, slender girl, who kept her hair short and always
wore tailored clothes” (Mysterious Letter 2); Bess wears “a pale-blue cotton which showed
off her deep suntan to advantage” (Shadow Ranch 2) and is “blond and slightly overweight”
with “dimples [that] showed prominently” (Mysterious Letter 2).” (O’Reilly 62-63)

By also keeping the descriptions of Nancy’s appearance fairly vague and detailing the
companions’ appearances, more focus is put on how they are not like Nancy. Nancy is
therefore accepted as being the standard or the normal one in comparison. (O’Reilly 63)
Stephanie Plum is also accompanied by two women, an eccentric elderly lady called
Grandma Mazur and an overweight ex-prostitute by the name or Lula. Stephanie, while not
depicted as possessing the ideal femininity, in comparison tho her companions, model an
adequate version. Grandma Mazur is depicted as a scraggly old lady with a peculiar fashion
sense, wearing “a pink-and-orange print cotton blouse with a tissue wadded up in the sleeve,
bright blue spandex shorts, white tennis shoes, and stockings rolled just above her knee” at
one point. Lula is described as a short, fat woman with a fashion taste mostly consisting of
aminal prints and sequins. Stephanie's regular old hockey jersey is not that controversial in
comparison and she is thus perceived as more normal. (O’Reilly 63) These companions are
by their mere presence helping the main character be perceived as ‘normal’ and likeable
where without them they would otherwise be perceived as atypical or odd.
The sidekick character possesses a multitude of functions and the ones mentioned in
this paper are far from all that there is. Providing the reader with eyes and ears, giving insight
into the detectives thought process, providing necessary clues and bringing in the audience
into the story are some of the more vital and explicit functions of the companion character.
The social interplay that the companion provides also supports a deeper character illustration,
which not only helps support the plot but also the main detective character who often times is
distanced from the audience or reader. The companion acting as a normalization agent can
take effect both through them actively advocating for their partner and being a confidant to
them but also just by the companion being present in the story and thus acting as a point of
reference for the reader. They are essential for the audience’s acceptance of the main
detective character. While the sidekick plays a less important role in the ultimate resolution
than the detective, their significance for the plot and storyline is evident.

Reference list
Buchanan, Ron. “‘Side by Side’:The Role of the Sidekick.” Studies in Popular Culture 26,
no. 1 (2003): 15–26. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23414984.

O'Reilly, Julie,D. 2009. The legacy of george and bess: Sidekicks as normalizing agents for
the girl sleuth. Clues 27, (1) (Spring): 61-73,
https://ezp.sub.su.se/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/legacy-george-b
ess-sidekicks-as-normalizing/docview/203650792/se-2 (accessed November 25, 2022).

Poe, Edgar Allan & Van Leer, David (red.). Selected tales. Reissued, Oxford University
press, Oxford, 2008 [1998].

Scaggs, John. Crime Fiction. Abingdon: Routledge, 2003.