In 'The Sign of Four' Dr. Watson is presented in a manner that completely contrasts Holmes, specifically through his inferior intelligence and emotional qualities. Through this, Doyle is able to allow Holmes to explain every step of his thinking, meaning that Doyle uses the character of Watson to provide a way to see the novel through a more relatable character. Dr Watson is presented as romantic and affectionate and therefore an emotional counterbalance to Holmes. In the extract, Watson thinks about 'her smiles, the deep rich tones of her voice, the strange mystery which overhung her life'. Doyle uses triplet here to emphasise Watson's overwhelming feelings of romanticism towards Mary Morstan. While Sherlock Holmes believes that 'emotional qualities are antagonistic to clear reasoning', Watson disregards this opinion, shown by how he 'sat and mused' implying that he continued to think deeply about Mary Morstan. Doyle presents Watson in this emotional and romantic way to offer the novel a sense of emotion as the protagonist Holmes, is a very nonchalant character and so unable to provide emotional weight to the story. Watson is also presented as as stereotypical Victorian man. In the extract, he realises that he is too poor to be able to marry Mary Morstan. For example, he says 'What was I, an army surgeon with a weak leg and weaker banking - account, that I should dare to think of such things'. The statement by Watson reflects Victorian ideals about class divide because Watson feels as though his social class is too far below Mary's. We also see Watson resembling a stereotypical Victorian man in Chapter 6 where he says 'after the angelic fashion of women'. Watson says this about Mary Morstan while describing how she was scared - he adopts the common Victorian ideal of women being 'weak' and 'helpless', reinforcing his role as a stereotypical Victorian man. Perhaps Doyle presents Watson like this to offer a sense of familiarity for readers in the Victorian era who would've shared the same beliefs. We see Watson presented as an emotional and romantic character again in Chapter 11. After receiving the treasure and opening it with Mary Morstan, they find that the treasure is gone. Watson proclaims his love to Mary and notes 'Whoever had lost a treasure, I knew that night I had gained one'. The sentimental statement from Watson emphasises his love and passion for Mary. The comparison of Mary to a 'treasure' shows that to Watson, Mary means way more than anything - she is priceless. The romantic subplot ends in this chapter, almost acting as a reward for Watson carrying out justice and being fair throughout the novel Finally, Watson is also presented as fair and righteous. In the final chapter, after catching Jonathan Small, Watson refuses to give him an unfair trail. This is shown by his statement 'however quick we are in catching our men, we are not so quick in condemning them'. The statement by Watson shows that even once catching the criminal, his job is not done. Carrying out a fair trial and punishment is required before he considers that his work is over. This is further reinforced by him saying 'if he has done no wrong we sill see no wrong comes to him'. Despite Small being a murderer, Watson still seeks out justice for him, portraying him as a righteous and fair man. Perhaps Doyle presents Watson like this to show the importance of fairness and morals in a righteous man