Mary Morsten is the wife of Dr. Watson. Characters of stories about Sherlock Holmes

Unlike Irene Adler, the beloved Sherlock Holmes, wife of Dr. Watson - Mary Morstan, in the stories about the adventures of the most famous detective in the world, very little space is given. Why did this happen and what is the fate of this woman?

Early Years of Mary

Born Mary Morstan in 1860 (according to other sources, in 1861) in the family of the British military Arthur Morsten. The exact place of her birth is not indicated. Most likely, this is India, where Captain Morstan served.

Judging by the appearance of Mary, who is described as a pretty blue-eyed blonde, her mother was European or English, but not Hindu. Although such marriages were not uncommon among British military in the XIX century. Probably, this woman was not very strong health, which exacerbated the climate of India: Mrs. Morstan died when Mary was very small. Or it was some sort of hereditary disease, which later and Mary was ruined.

The girl's father was a poor man, although his military career in India was going uphill. And he did not have wealthy friends or relatives. After the death of his wife, he had no one to leave his daughter with, so he sent her to Edinburgh, to a private boarding house.

The fate of Mary after the death of her mother, before meeting her future husband

All the children's years, until 1878, Mary Morstan spent in the guesthouse. She had not seen her father before that time.

The story does not specify why, in 1878, Captain Arthur Morsten decided to take a vacation and after many years of absence return to his homeland and demand from Major Sholto his part of the treasure. Probably the culprit of this was his daughter. After all, by the time she turned 17 - and at this age, girls leave the boarding houses. Most likely, Morsten planned, having got his share of money, for the year of vacation to take care of his daughter. This was hinted at by his telegram from Mary. If it had happened, Miss Morstan would have become one of Britain's richest brides.

However, fate in one moment deprived the girl of all hopes. Arriving at the hotel to his father, Mary Morsten learns about his loss.

Left without a beloved father and not having relatives who could provide for the orphan, the girl had to get a job as a companion to Mrs. Cecil Forrester. Although the woman sympathized with her, she paid Mary very little, because of what the girl was very poor.

Four years after the loss of his father, Mary learned that an unknown person was looking for her through an announcement in The Times. Telling this man his address, Miss Morstan began to receive annually on a large and very expensive pearl.

After 6 years, the same unknown person sent Mary an invitation to meet. However, the girl was frightened to go to a meeting alone and turned to the private detective Sherlock Holmes.

The story "The Sign of Four": the first acquaintance with Miss Morstan

Arriving at Baker Street 221-b, the girl met Sherlock Holmes and his biographer - Dr. John Watson. It is from this that the events of the story of Arthur Conan Doyle - "The Sign of Four" begin.

After learning the story of Mary, Sherlock and John agree to help her. It is worth noting that Watson liked Miss Morstan immediately, and this was noticed by Holmes and rather negatively reacted to this.

Arriving at a meeting with Tadeusz Sholto, the future wife of Dr. Watson learned the truth about the death of his father. It turns out that during his stay in India, Morsten and Sholto conspired with a prisoner named Jonathan Small. He told them where the treasures of the raja of the northern provinces are located, and in return he asked to organize an escape for him and his three friends.

However, Sholto was stingy and mean: he alone took possession of the values and left with them to England. After a while, Morsten visited him and demanded his share. During the quarrel the captain became ill, and he died, and Sholto, fearing that he would be considered a murderer, hid the body and only on his deathbed told about what had happened to his sons.

Since the major died without having time to tell where the treasure is, his children of 6 years could not find him. At this time they sent Mary pearls, so she did not need anything. When the treasure was found, the brothers Sholto wanted to meet with the girl and give her a third of the treasure.

But the deceived convict Jonathan Small managed to return to England. Together with his assistant - a native from the Andaman Islands, Small stole a treasure chest. When Sherlock and the police came out on his trail, he threw the jewelry into the Thames.

Thus, Mary for the second time in her life lost the chance to get rich. However, fate relented: after learning that she was poor, Watson confessed her feelings to her and made an offer. Soon, Dr. Watson and Mary Morstan married and began to live separately from Sherlock.

The married life of the four Watsons

About the years of Marie's marriage, little is known. It is mentioned that she gave birth to Watson's son, and in 1893 (or in 1894), both mother and child died.

After the death of Mary Watson again returned to Holmes and continued to be his partner.

As for the mention of this heroine in the works of Conan Doyle, after the "Sign of Four" Mrs. Watson appeared in two more stories: "Hunchback" and "The Secret of the Boskom Valley". To the exit of the "Contractor from Norwood" she passed away.

Cause of death Mary Watson

Why the wife and son of John Watson died , the books do not really tell. The popular version is that the cause of this was some kind of infectious disease. In this case, the true reason why Conan Doyle "killed" Watson's young wife is widely known.

The fact is that the writing of stories about Holmes periodically bored the writer. He was more willing to write fantastic stories of a-la Herbert Wells. However, detective stories were paid significantly more than for other works of Conan Doyle. Therefore, although he twice tried to complete the cycle of stories about Sherlock Holmes, first killing his hero, and then Watson's marriage, later the writer again returned to him.

After the wedding, there was a need to return the doctor to Holmes on Baker Street. And for this the author had to "bring to the grave" the unhappy Mary and her child.

The fate of Mary Elizabeth Morstan according to the creators of the series "Sherlock"

Unlike Irene Adler, Mary's character does not appear in all the adaptations of the stories of Arthur Conan Doyle. But even if it is shown, as a rule, the biography of the girl is not particularly changed.

However, in the modernized British film adaptation - the series "Sherlock", Mary paid a lot of attention, and her biography is pretty much changed. What is it?

As in the original, in the series the heroine is an orphan, that's only her name is Rosamund Mary. Having matured, the girl chooses the profession of a mercenary, and soon becomes very successful. Together with her 3 colleagues, she formed the Agra group and carried out various tasks for money to eliminate and save people.

Once, while fulfilling the mission of the British government, Agra was betrayed. As a result, only Rosamund managed to survive. She abandoned the past and, taking on a new name for Mary Morstan, began working as a nurse in a London hospital.

Here she met John Watson and they started a novel. Six months later the lovers got married, and Mary became pregnant. The all-powerful blackmailer Charles Magnussen learned about Mrs. Watson's past and pursued her. But Sherlock and John, after learning the truth, helped Mary escape punishment.

In 9 months she gave birth to Watson's daughter Rosamund. But it soon became clear that one of her comrades from "AGRA" is also alive and, considering Mary a traitor, wanted to kill her.

Sherlock manages to find out that the culprit was the employee of the British government Vivian. Unmasked, she tried to kill the detective, but the bullet accidentally ended up in Mary, and she died.

So, like in the book, Watson returned to Baker Street again.

Other important female characters of the stories about Sherlock Holmes

In addition to Mrs. Watson, there are two more important heroines in the book: this is Sherlock's lover - the swindler Irene Adler, and the hostess of the detective's apartment - the Hudson mission. What is known about them?

Irene Adler, unlike the book Mary, was not only a brilliant beauty, but also an adventurer. She was born in New Jersey (USA) in 1858. Possessing not only beauty, but also a fantastic voice, the girl managed to make an excellent career as an opera singer in Italy and Poland.

Touring in Warsaw, Adler became the mistress of the King of Bohemia. And after a while after parting with him left the scene and moved to London. Here she meets British lawyer Godfrey Norton and secretly marries him.

Being a very practical person, Irene hides a photo together with the king, with the help of which the monarch can be blackmailed. Sherlock manages to find a hiding place, but Adler unravels his plan and with the husband manages to escape, taking a photo. In a farewell letter, she promises not to blackmail the king if he does not try to harm her.

Irene died somewhere in 1888-1891. Details of her death are unknown.

Mrs. Hudson is another woman that Sherlock Holmes appreciated. The biographies of Mary Morstan and Irene Adler are more or less detailed in the books. But about Mrs. Hudson's life there is not so much information, it is specified only that she is a widow. And smart, economic and very clean. Also, the book does not mention her name, however, just like her appearance.

Although Mrs. Hudson finds it difficult to get along with Sherlock, his courtesy and generosity are compensated for by his antics. In addition, she realizes that her lodger does a good deed, and sometimes she helps him.