How is Thaddeus Sholto and his home described in The Sign of Four? What's its purpose?

At the end of chapter three, Holmes and Watson arrive at what the author calls a "questionable and forbidding neighbourhood." Watson describes a line of dark brick houses, most of which are uninhabited, illuminated only by the gaudy public houses on the street corner. They stop at the only house with a light on and knock on the door.

In the next chapter, entitled "The Story of the Bald-headed Man," they enter what Watson calls a "sordid and common passage, ill-lit and worse furnished." They continue into another room, Watson calls an apartment, which as he says "looked as out of place as a diamond of the first water in a setting of brass." In comparison, to the hallway it is luxurious; decorated in a fashion inspired by the east. Expensive tapestries, curtains, and tiger skins are draped over the walls, oriental vases sit on sills, a huge hookah stands on a mat in the corner and a dove-shaped lamp hangs from the centre of the room. Watson says the carpet is so soft that his feet sink into it "as into a bed of moss."

Thaddeus Sholto is standing up to greet them. Watson describes him as a small man with a line of red hair skirting around a shining bald scalp and a set of irregular yellow teeth that he is so conscious of he tries to hide them with his hand. Despite his appearance, Watson says he is only 30 years old.

Thaddeus Sholto is presented as a strange little man, ingratiating and formally polite, but almost too polite, indicating perhaps that he's putting on some kind of an act. It's noticeable that there's something particularly weird about his facial features. They seem to be in a state of perpetual movement, constantly jerking this way and that between scowls and smiles. Nature has played an additional cruel trick on Sholto by giving him a pendulous lip beneath which protrudes a set of irregular yellow teeth. For good measure, Sholto is bald, despite his being only thirty years old.

As for Sholto's apartment, it sticks out like a sore thumb in the rickety old house it occupies. Though somewhat poky, Sholto's place is crammed from floor to ceiling with expensive antiques, furnishings, and draperies. It's notable, too, that there's an air of Eastern luxury about the place, with its two great tiger-skins and the large hookah, or water-pipe, that stands on a mat in the corner.

The description of Sholto is perhaps designed to throw us off the scent, as it were—to make the reader think that perhaps he's the one responsible for the crime. The fact that he's able to fit out his small apartment with such luxurious items only adds to our suspicions. Although Sholto turns out to be completely innocent of any crimes, he's briefly placed under arrest by Athelney Jones.

How do Thaddeus Sholto's surroundings reflect his character in The Sign of Four?

When Arthur Conan Doyle describes Sherlock and Watson's first impressions of the house, he writes:

We were all astonished by the appearance of the apartment into which he invited us. In that sorry house it looked as out of place as a diamond of the first water in a setting of brass. The richest and glossiest of curtains and tapestries draped the walls, looped back here and there to expose some richly-mounted painting or Oriental vase. The carpet was of amber-and-black, so soft and so thick that the foot sank pleasantly into it, as into a bed of moss. Two great tiger-skins thrown athwart it increased the suggestion of Eastern luxury, as did a huge hookah which stood upon a mat in the corner. A lamp in the fashion of a silver dove was hung from an almost invisible golden wire in the centre of the room. As it burned it filled the air with a subtle and aromatic odor.

The apartment is a lot like Sholto himself. For example, the man appreciates the things that money can buy. He says that he's a man with refined tastes. He's very self-involved and wants his surroundings to reflect what he sees as his worth. That's why there's so much attention to detail and the things in the apartment are so rich, luxurious, and comfortable.

Sholto is also eccentric. He decorates his living space in a way that other people wouldn't have in England at that time. For example, he has tiger skins and a hookah. This reflects his character, which is out of the ordinary and therefore very memorable.

Sholto is a man who is nervous but still gives the "impression of youth." This is also obvious in his apartment, which doesn't sound like something an old man would live in—but also doesn't sound like it belongs to someone who gets out often. It's interesting and different but also cozy. When people stay in and avoid others, they often want their space to be as comfortable and relaxing as possible to help insulate them from the outside world. The hookah is one thing that helps calm his nerves.

Holmes and Watson meet Thaddeus Sholto in Chapter Four of The Sign of Four. He lives in a humble terraced house in South London, the interior of which contrasts sharply with the exterior. Here, in Sholto's "oasis," there are a number of features which complement his personality and character.

Firstly, Sholto is a man of a nervous disposition. His features twitch and are in a "perpetual jerk" and he has Watson examine his heart with a stethoscope shortly after their arrival. Sholto's surroundings are designed to overcome this nervousness and anxiety by creating a sense of comfort. The carpet, for instance, is so thick that Watson's foot sinks "pleasantly" into it. Similarly, Sholto has incense burning, creating a "subtle and aromatic" odour to soften the nerves. He also has a selection of wines and some tobacco to hand, as they function as an "invaluable sedative."

Secondly, Sholto's surroundings echo his materialistic nature. His home is the epitome of luxury: "The richest and glossiest of curtain and tapestries draped the walls...Two great tiger-skins thrown athwart...increased the suggestion of Eastern luxury," observed Watson. Sholto is thus a man who values material possessions and enjoys showing them off.

Finally, Sholto is a man who values his privacy and, again, his surroundings reflect this attribute. He has his servant lead Watson, Holmes and Miss Morstan, for example, through a "sordid and common passage" to reach him and keeps his "little sanctum" poorly lit and hidden from the rest of the world. When he asks his guests to pledge their confidentiality, Sholto seats himself on a "low settee" away from them. This is his way of maintaining separation from his guests and controlling access to his personal space.