How is Holmes and Watson's relationship portrayed in The Sign of Four?

The relationship between the legendary detective and his loyal assistant is largely unequal. In terms of intellect, logic, and powers of deduction, Holmes is unequivocally Watson's superior. Yet the uneven dynamic at the heart of this relationship cuts both ways. For in relation to what we might today call emotional intelligence, Watson is streets ahead of Holmes.

If Holmes provides the head of this relationship, it's Watson who supplies the heart. Watson's romantic attachment to Mary Morstan makes him a more recognizably human character than the great detective. Although Watson will never be able to match Holmes in the mystery-solving department, his basic sense of decency and humanity provides his friend with the kind of moral support that he needs. In that sense one could say that in The Sign of Four, Watson fulfills the traditional role of the wife in the Victorian household, an unfailingly loyal helpmate who provides stability, warmth, and much-needed companionship.

In this mystery, Sherlock Holmes is the cool head while John Watson is the warm heart. Watson's warm heart is expressed most strongly in his falling in love with Mary Morstan, who comes to Holmes in hopes that he can find her missing father. Another sign of the caring Watson is revealed when he confronts Holmes about his cocaine habit. Watson has watched Holmes use cocaine three times a day, and as a doctor, he is worried about the effects on his friend. Holmes, ever valuing his intellect, insists the cocaine helps him think more clearly.

While Watson is busy falling in love, worrying about Holmes, and jumping to obvious—and wrong—about the case, Sherlock Holmes is using his great intelligence to logically unravel the mystery. Holmes is always two steps ahead of the game, and with forethought, he has people in place, like his Baker Street irregulars, to help him in his quest.

As always, the openhearted Watson, who lives more moment to moment, is awed by the intelligence, foresight, and talent of his friend. Holmes, in turn, relies on Watson's caring nature.

In chapter 1, the relationship between Holmes and Watson is presented as mostly a friendly one, but with some less friendly feelings of irritation and insensitivity. It's important to remember that the story is narrated from Dr. Watson's perspective, so we really only have his interpretation of the relationship to go by.

When contemplating whether to say something about Holmes' drug habit, Watson says, "there was that in the cool, nonchalant air of my companion which made him the last man with whom one would care to take anything approaching to a liberty." This suggests that while Watson cares about Holmes enough to feel that he should intervene, the two are not close enough that Watson feels he is able to easily do so. To some extent, Watson also feels in awe of Holmes and "his many extraordinary qualities."

The fact that Watson does, after much hesitation, say something to Holmes about the latter's drug habit, is an indication of how much Watson cares about Holmes. Or, alternatively, his intervention is an indication of how irritated he is by Holmes' habits. It's probably most accurate to interpret Watson's intervention as a sign both of his concern and his irritation.

When speaking to Holmes, Watson calls himself "one comrade (speaking) to another." The implication here is that there is, at least on Watson's side, a brotherly connection between the two.

Later in the chapter, Watson becomes "annoyed" with Holmes when Holmes criticizes his account of a previous case, which Holmes considers too romanticized. Watson is particularly annoyed because he had written the account in such a way as was "designed to please" Holmes. This compounds the impression that Watson rather idolizes Holmes, and also implies that Holmes is, in return, somewhat insensitive, or careless about hurting Watson's feelings.

How does Watson's character evolve in "The Sign of Four"?

Watson has always been more romantic and emotional than Holmes. Doyle highlights this difference between them in the opening of the novel. As Watson, a physician, expresses concern over Holmes' cocaine habit, Holmes explains that he must have a sense excitement to feel alive, and if he can't get it from an intellectual puzzle, he has to depend on his drugs. Later, when Holmes takes on Mary Morstan's case, it is entirely due to the intellectual intrigue of the situation. When Watson notes how lovely Miss Morstan is, Holmes states that he hasn't even noticed. Watson can hardly bear his friend's indifference, but Holmes insists it is necessary.

Watson's emotional fervor increases over the course of the novel as he falls in love with Miss Morstan. Ironically, Doyle structures their communication so that Watson seems as cold as Holmes. However, this is only a ruse: Watson doesn't want Mary to know he is in love with her. As he explains:

She has told me since that she thought me cold and distant upon that journey. She little guessed the struggle within my breast, or the effort of self-restraint which held me back. My sympathies and my love went out to her... Yet there were two thoughts which sealed the words of affection upon my lips. She was weak and helpless, shaken in mind and nerve. It was to take her at a disadvantage to obtrude love upon her at such a time. Worse still, she was rich.

It costs Watson dearly to repress his emotions, but he is willing to make the sacrifice because he loves Mary. At the end of the novel, he is utterly delighted when it comes to pass that Mary has no fortune after all because this means he can marry her.

In this novel, Doyle structures his narrative to emphasize Holmes' detachment in contrast to Watson's romantic temperament.

In the opening scene of The Sign of the Four Watson is intimidated by Sherlock Holmes and upset with himself for not having the courage to confront him about his frequent injections of cocaine and morphine. Despite his medical expertise, Watson describes himself as "diffident" and Holmes as "masterly." Watson summons the courage to point out the possible permanent consequences on Holmes's brain, only to hear Holmes say that his brain needs stimulation, whether it is a puzzle, problem, or drug. Also in this scene, Holmes belittles Watson's attempt at writing, and as Watson defends his work he reflects resentfully on Holmes's ego and vanity.

However, Watson must credit Holmes for his extraordinary powers of deduction, and he is quick to abandon his negative thoughts about Holmes when Miss Morstan arrives and Watson is asked to accompany Holmes in the investigation.

Watson gradually becomes more assertive; he is both attracted to and protective of Miss Morstan and engages with her while Holmes retreats into his own thoughts. Watson, however, retains his diffidence; when he understands that Miss Morstan may become a very rich heiress, his confidence falters. They do, though, fall in love and she accepts Watson's proposal.

Holmes often needs Watson as a sounding board for his theories about the case, and Holmes also knows that Watson is much better in dealing with people than he is himself. He tells Watson that he needs his help, and Watson seems to gain confidence as a result.

When the case is solved, Holmes falls back into his same pattern of solitude and drug abuse while Watson becomes less preoccupied with feelings of inferiority and more humanized and developed through his assistance with the case and his romance with Miss Morstan.

How is Watson and Holmes's relationship presented in the novella The Sign of Four?

Watson is a foil, or contrast, to Holmes throughout the novella. Watson's own inability to puzzle out rationally what is going on with the mystery highlights the power and logic of Holmes's superior intellect. As Holmes says to Watson:

"How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?"

Watson also acts as an emotional foil to Holmes, who remains wedded to the rational throughout. Watson, in contrast, falls in love with Mary Morstan, the woman who comes to Holmes hoping he will help her solve the mystery of what happened to her missing father, as well to help her discover the meaning of the pearl she receives every year. While Holmes focuses his laser sharp mind on analyzing what has happened, Watson deals with a dizzying array of emotions about Mary. Although he is in love with her, he hesitates to declare himself when he thinks Mary is the heiress to a fortune, for fear she will think he is after her for the money. But when he finds out she will not inherit the bulk of the Agra treasure, he proposes to her. Holmes, meanwhile, stays aloof from love entanglements. 

How is Watson portrayed throughout The Sign of Four?

From the very beginning of the story, Watson is portrayed as having enormous respect for Holmes. The Sign of Four starts with Holmes injecting himself with cocaine, as is his normal habit. Yet, no matter how many times he witnesses this elaborate ritual, Watson continues to find it an unpleasant sight:

Three times a day for many months I had witnessed this performance, but custom had not reconciled my mind to it.

Watson feels that he really should say something about Holmes's drug addiction, but he is much too respectful of Holmes to contemplate doing so:

His great powers, his masterly manner, and the experience which I had had of his many extraordinary qualities, all made me diffident and backward in crossing him.

As well as being a considerate friend to Holmes, Watson also proves to be a profoundly honorable man. He falls deeply in love with Mary Morstan, but he worries that people will think he is after her money. He does not want Mary to have to deal with their snide insinuations. However, when the treasure is lost, the question of Mary's inheritance is no longer an issue. Now Watson can express his true feelings for Mary:

Because I love you, Mary, as truly as ever a man loved a woman. Because this treasure, these riches, sealed my lips. Now that they are gone I can tell you how I love you. That is why I said, "Thank God."

This leads us to another characteristic of Watson: his romanticism. In this respect, Watson is very different from Holmes, with his cold reason and unerring logic. Accordingly, it comes as no surprise that Holmes chides Watson for his romantic style in writing "A Study in Scarlet":

Honestly, I cannot congratulate you upon it. Detection is, or ought to be, an exact science, and should be treated in the same cold and unemotional manner. You have attempted to tinge it with romanticism, which produces much the same effect as if you worked a love-story or an elopement into the fifth proposition of Euclid.

Finally, Watson is presented as being incredibly loyal. One dark, foggy night, Watson finds himself with Holmes and Miss Morstan in a hansom cab rattling through the streets of London. He has no idea where they are going or even why they are going there. However, Watson trusts Holmes implicitly. However strange and potentially dangerous a situation may be, Watson knows that he can always count on his famous friend:

I lost my bearings, and knew nothing, save that we seemed to be going a very long way. Sherlock Holmes was never at fault, however, and he muttered the names as the cab rattled through squares and in and out by tortuous by-streets.

How is Watson portrayed as an ideal crime-solving partner in The Sign of Four?

In some ways, Sherlock Holmes is a solitary figure, capable of almost miraculous feats of detection based on encyclopedic knowledge of relevant information, strong observational skills, and a brilliant analytic mind. Holmes, however, despite understanding a great deal about people's criminal habits, has very little in the way of "people skills," often appearing to lack empathy or even the ability to avoid offending people whose help might be useful. He also often does not see the need to explain himself or make himself understood.

Watson, on the other hand, is a doctor with an excellent bedside manner, good at soothing people who are upset, and he often smoothes over the ruffled feathers left by Holmes's abrupt and eccentric manners. Watson projects an air of solid respectability that people inherently trust. Also, in his writing, he provides publicity for Holmes.

Watson is in many ways the perfect crime-solving partner for Sherlock Holmes because in many ways, the characters function as foils.

Sherlock Holmes's stock in trade is his logical mind and faith only in empiricism and deduction. He tends to be tactless and arrogant in his interactions with clients and others whom he meets in the course of solving the crime. Watson's role in this duo is to try to reign in Holmes's abuse of cocaine and morphine, as he does in the story's opening scene, to raise an eyebrow when Holmes claims to be the "only unofficial detective," and to remind Holmes that Mary Morstan is a person and not just a case. In short, Watson functions to save Holmes from himself. Watson is also intelligent and able to keep up with and sometimes challenge Holmes.

Watson is empathetic, kind, and tactful; in short, he possesses the social skills that Holmes lacks, making their partnership effective. When Watson tells Holmes in the story's conclusion that he and Miss Morstan will marry, Holmes replies "But love is an emotional thing, and whatever is emotional is opposed to that true cold reason which I place above all things." Instead of becoming offended, Watson is able to laugh and show his concern for his friend's fatigue, ensuring that their partnership will continue.

What is Watson's relationship with other characters in The Sign of Four?

Dr. Watson is the narrator of The Sign of Four, and we are left in no doubt through his narration that he is a loyal, faithful companion to Holmes. Watson appears at times to be almost in awe of the master detective, regularly expressing his astonishment at Holmes's legendary powers of deduction:

I assure you, Holmes, that I marvel at the means by which you obtain your results in this case.

Watson is very much an emotional man. This provides a nice contrast to the coldly rational and unfailingly logical Holmes. Watson's rich emotional life finds its clearest expression in his relationship with the delightful Miss Mary Morstan. Watson falls for her and in a big way. Yet Watson is also a deeply honorable man, and so he is keen to avoid the slightest suspicion that he might be after Mary's money. Watson's sense of propriety is also much in evidence in his anger at Thaddeus Sholto for his offhand announcement of Captain Morstan's death.

But in relation to Miss Morstan, Watson's romantic streak can never be held in check for long, and it comes as little surprise when he asks for—and receives—Mary's hand in marriage.