Character Analysis — Supporting Characters

While Holmes and Watson dominate The Sign of Four, the supporting characters serve essential dramatic, thematic, and structural functions. Understanding their roles — and how they relate to the protagonists — is key to a sophisticated GCSE response.

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Character Relationship Map

               SHERLOCK HOLMES
              /        |        \
         partner    client    rival
            /          |          \
       DR WATSON   MARY MORSTAN   ATHELNEY JONES
           |           |
       proposes to  daughter of
           |           |
       MARY MORSTAN  CAPT. MORSTAN
                       |
                   served with
                       |
                   MAJOR SHOLTO
                   /          \
               father of   father of
               /              \
        THADDEUS SHOLTO   BARTHOLOMEW SHOLTO
                               |
                          murdered by
                               |
                            TONGA
                               |
                         accomplice of
                               |
                         JONATHAN SMALL

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Mary Morstan — The Ideal Victorian Woman

Mary Morstan is a key character who embodies Victorian ideals of femininity while also displaying notable independence and courage.

Mary's key qualities

Quality	Evidence
Composed	Remains calm when visiting Holmes despite her anxieties
Brave	Accompanies Holmes and Watson into potentially dangerous situations
Modest	Dresses simply and acts with restraint
Morally good	Does not pursue the treasure greedily
Independent	Works as a governess to support herself
Attractive	Watson is immediately drawn to her

Key Mary quotes

Watson describes her: "She was a blonde young lady, small, dainty, well gloved, and dressed in the most perfect taste."

This description emphasises her femininity and respectability — Watson sees her through the lens of Victorian gender expectations.

"I think I can promise you that none of us are likely to get information out of her if she is reluctant to give it."

Mary's composure and determination suggest she is stronger than the typical Victorian "angel in the house."

Mary's dramatic function

• Love interest — her relationship with Watson provides the romantic subplot
• Client — she drives the plot by bringing the mystery to Holmes
• Moral contrast — her goodness contrasts with the greed surrounding the treasure
• Gender commentary — she is both an ideal Victorian woman and subtly more capable than the stereotype suggests

Examiner's tip: A sophisticated response will note the tension between Mary's conformity to Victorian gender norms and her moments of independence. For example: "Conan Doyle presents Mary as the embodiment of the Victorian ideal of femininity — composed, modest, and morally pure. Yet she also works for a living, visits a stranger's house at night, and faces danger without panic. Conan Doyle may be subtly suggesting that women are more capable than Victorian society typically acknowledged."

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Jonathan Small — The Antagonist

Jonathan Small is the novel's primary antagonist, but Conan Doyle presents him as a complex, morally ambiguous figure rather than a simple villain.

Small's backstory

Event	Significance
Loses his leg to a crocodile	Creates sympathy; he is already a victim of circumstance
Serves in the Indian Army	Places him within the context of Empire
Caught up in the 1857 Rebellion	He is at the mercy of historical forces beyond his control
Murders the treasure's servant	His moral line is crossed — but under duress and peer pressure
Signs "the sign of the four"	Bound by loyalty to his co-conspirators
Imprisoned in the Andamans	Punished for decades — disproportionate suffering?
Betrayed by Major Sholto	Sholto steals the treasure — Small is the one betrayed
Pursues justice/revenge	His motivation is partly legitimate — the treasure is "his"

Key Small quotes

"I would rather have my hand cut off than lose it to him."

This reveals Small's fierce sense of justice — he believes the treasure rightfully belongs to "the four."

"I have been a disappointed and bitter man for many years."

His confession invites sympathy. He is not a monster — he is a man shaped by circumstances, betrayal, and the violence of Empire.

Small's dramatic function

• Antagonist — his pursuit of the treasure drives the plot
• Voice of Empire's victims — his backstory reveals the human cost of imperial exploitation
• Moral complexity — he is both a murderer and a victim of betrayal
• Structural device — his confession (Chapter 12) provides the embedded narrative that explains the entire mystery

Examiner's tip: Jonathan Small is one of the most important characters for AO3 (context). His story illuminates the reality behind the glamour of Empire — violence, exploitation, betrayal, and the corruption that treasure brings. A grade 9 response might argue that Small is as much a victim of the British Empire as he is a criminal.

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Tonga — The "Other"

Tonga is Small's accomplice — an Andaman Islander who kills Bartholomew Sholto with a poisoned dart.

Tonga's portrayal: Victorian racism

Conan Doyle's description of Tonga is one of the most problematic aspects of the novel:

Description	What it reveals about Victorian attitudes
"A little black man"	Reductive, dehumanising language
"Savage" and "wild"	Colonised peoples described as uncivilised
Described almost as an animal	Denied full humanity
No dialogue or inner life	He is a function, not a character
Shot and drowned without sympathy	His death is treated as unimportant

Tonga's dramatic function

• Exotic threat — represents the dangers Victorians associated with the colonies
• Plot device — provides the murder method (poisoned dart) and the locked-room entry
• Colonial attitudes — his dehumanisation reflects and reinforces Victorian racism
• The "other" — Tonga embodies Victorian fears about the colonised world

Examiner's tip: Always approach Tonga's portrayal critically. You might write: "Conan Doyle's dehumanising portrayal of Tonga reflects the racist assumptions embedded in Victorian imperialism. Tonga is given no voice, no agency, and no humanity — he exists solely as a 'savage' threat to be eliminated. A modern reader should recognise that this portrayal served to justify the Empire's claim to superiority over colonised peoples."

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Major Sholto — The Imperial Thief

Major Sholto is dead by the time the novel's main events take place, but his actions drive the entire plot.

Sholto's role

Action	Significance
Served with Morstan in India	Military context; connected to Empire
Learned of the Agra treasure	Tempted by imperial plunder
Betrayed Small and stole the treasure	Shows the corrupting power of greed
Let Morstan die without reporting it	Cowardice and selfishness
Tried to confess on his deathbed	Guilt catches up with him — too late for redemption
Died seeing a face at the window	Small's pursuit reaches him even in death

Sholto's thematic function

• Represents the corruption of Empire — the treasure corrupts everyone who touches it
• His betrayal of Small drives the plot — without his greed, there would be no mystery
• His deathbed guilt mirrors the Victorian fear that imperial sin will be punished

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Thaddeus Sholto — The Anxious Heir

Thaddeus is Major Sholto's son. He is nervous, hypochondriacal, and morally better than his father.

Thaddeus's key qualities

Quality	Evidence
Morally conscientious	Sends Mary pearls as compensation for his father's theft
Anxious and eccentric	Described as nervous, fussy, obsessed with his health
Physically distinctive	Bald head, small stature, a slightly comic figure
Well-meaning but ineffectual	Wants to do right but lacks the courage to act decisively

Thaddeus's dramatic function

• Exposition — he reveals the backstory (Chapter 3), connecting the present mystery to the past
• Comic character — his anxieties provide light relief
• Moral contrast — unlike his father, he tries to make amends
• Red herring — he is wrongly arrested by Jones, showing police incompetence

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Athelney Jones — The Incompetent Police

Inspector Athelney Jones represents the official police force — and Conan Doyle uses him primarily as a foil to Holmes.

Jones as a foil to Holmes