Sherlock Holmes

Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous character, Sherlock Holmes, is a perversely lovable, exceedingly arrogant opiate addict with unparalleled deductive reasoning and observation skills. A consulting detective who views himself as the final recourse for the doddering British police force, Holmes regularly finds himself embroiled in mystery and danger. His intellectual prowess and knowledge of human nature lead him to solve seemingly unsolvable cases; he does so with a cutting, dry wit that is equal parts comical and grating. Holmes is an eccentric man, motivated by an unending desire for mental stimulation and knowledge acquisition. He finds mundane things, such as the ash patterns of various types of cigarettes, fascinating, and pursues his interests with the same vigor he pursues his cases. Though Holmes pretends at scientific dispassion, he is often seen to approach his deductions with something akin to showmanship, for he loves to impress others, flex his intellect, and validate his vanity. Many of his traits may seem unlikable, but Holmes is a beloved character whose presence has indelibly stamped the detective fiction genre. 

John Watson

Doctor John Watson, a retired army surgeon who served in British India, is Sherlock Holmes’s roommate-turned-crime-fighting-partner. After he was medically discharged for a bullet wound in his leg, Watson returned home to England where he began practicing as a physician. Watson has a curious nature. He is often bothered by Holmes’s antics, yet he respects his skills and records their mystery-solving adventures. Watson’s medical knowledge often comes in handy during Holmes’s cases, and though the physician often pretends otherwise, he enjoys the thrill of the hunt almost as much as Holmes does. Much more concerned with propriety than the erratic, self-absorbed Holmes, Watson is a proper English gentleman. In The Sign of Four, he falls in love with their client, Mary Morstan, and the two are married. 

Mary Morstan

Mary Morstan is an orphaned socialite whose father, a British officer serving in India, went missing several years before the start of The Sign of Four. Her mother died when she was a child, and she spent most of her life in a boarding school, so she could receive an English education while her father was away. She is a kindhearted soul with an amiable demeanor. Watson’s first impression of Mary is quite favorable, which will eventually lead to their courtship and, later, marriage. 

Major Sholto

Major Sholto, a British officer who served alongside Mary Morstan’s father in India, is the catalyst for the novel’s events. He is motivated by greed and, later, remorse. At the time of his death, he possesses the treasure that catalyzed for Mary’s father’s disappearance, though he dies before he can reveal the full truth of the treasure’s history and conspiracy. 

Dr. Thaddeus Sholto and Bartholomew Sholto

The sons of Major Sholto, Thaddeus and Bartholomew, shoulder the burden of the treasure’s mysteries after their father’s death. The pair disagree about how the treasure issue should be handled and are often in conflict. Thaddeus is motivated by his love for Mary Morstan and attempts to woo her by sending her letters containing valuable pearls. Both brothers wish to find their father’s cache of hidden jewels, a desire that leads to Bartholomew’s death after he locates the chest.

Jonathan Small

Jonathan Small, alongside three Indian co-conspirators, was a part of the original plot to steal the treasure. However, the Englishman was captured and imprisoned in a penal colony, where he encountered Majors Sholto and Morstan. Betrayed and left to rot, Small’s story does not end there. Instead, he claws his way out of imprisonment, travels back to England, tracks down his betrayers, and finally retrieves the spoils that were once his. His search for the treasure consumed his life, and, by the story’s end, he feels only remorse and regret for the time wasted and lives lost in his greedy pursuit of the treasure.