Unlike Irene Adler, the lover of Sherlock Holmes, the wife of Dr. Watson - Mary Morsten, very little space is given in the stories about the adventures of the most famous detective in the world. Why did this happen and what is the fate of this woman?
Early years of mary
Mary Morsten was born 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 Morsten 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 the British military in the 19th century. This woman probably did not have very good health, which was aggravated by the climate of India: Mrs. Morsten died when Mary was very tiny. Or it was some kind of hereditary disease, which subsequently killed Mary.
The girl’s father was a poor man, although his military career in India went uphill. And he did not have wealthy acquaintances or relatives. After the death of his wife, he had no one to leave his daughter with, so he sent her to Edinburgh, in a private boarding house.
The fate of Mary after the death of her mother, before meeting her future husband
All the childhood years, until 1878, Mary Morsten spent in the guesthouse. She had not seen her father until this time.
The story doesn’t exactly indicate the reason why it was in 1878 that 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 treasures. Probably the culprit of this was precisely his daughter. After all, by that time she was 17 - and at this age, girls leave the boarding houses. Most likely, Morsten planned, having received his share of the money, to take care of his daughter during the year of vacation. The telegram of Mary hinted at this. If that happened, Miss Morsten would have become one of Britain’s richest brides.
However, fate in one moment deprived the girl of all hopes. Arriving at the hotel with his father, Mary Morsten learns about his loss.
Left without her beloved father and having no relatives who could provide an orphan, the girl was forced to get a chaperon to Mrs. Cecil Forrester. Although the woman was sympathetic to her, she paid Mary very little, which is why the girl was very poor.
4 years after her father disappeared, Mary found out that an unknown person was looking for her through an ad in The Times. Having given this person her address, Miss Morsten began to receive annually a large and very expensive pearl.
After 6 years, the same unknown sent Mary an invitation to meet. However, the girl was afraid to go to a meeting alone and turned to private investigator Sherlock Holmes.
The Story of the Sign of Four: The First Acquaintance with Miss Morsten
Arriving on Baker Street 221-b, the girl met Sherlock Holmes and his biographer, Dr. John Watson. It is from this that the events of Arthur Conan Doyle's short story “The Sign of Four” begin.
Upon learning Mary's story, Sherlock and John agree to help her. It is worth noting that Watson liked Miss Morsten immediately, and this was noticed by Holmes and reacted rather negatively to this.
Arriving at a meeting with Tadeusz Sholto, the future wife of Dr. Watson found out the truth about the death of his father. It turns out that while in India, Morsten and Sholto conspired with a prisoner named Jonathan Small. He told them where the Rajah’s treasures of the northern provinces were located, and in return asked to arrange an escape for him and his three friends.
However, Sholto was stingy and mean: he alone took possession of the values ​​and went with them to England. After some time, Morsten visited him and demanded his share. During the quarrel, the captain felt ill, and he died, and Sholto, fearing that he would be considered a murderer, hid his body and only on his deathbed told his sons what had happened.
Since the major died before he could tell where the treasure was, his children of 6 years could not find him. At this time, they sent Mary pearls so that she did not need anything. When the treasure was found, the Sholto brothers wanted to meet the girl and give her a third of the treasures.
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 followed him, he threw the jewelry into the Thames.
Thus, Mary lost her chance to get rich for the second time in her life. However, fate had mercy: upon learning that she was poor, Watson confessed his feelings to her and made an offer. Soon, Dr. Watson and Mary Morsten got married and began to live separately from Sherlock.
The married life of the Watson couple
Little is known about Mary's years of marriage. It is mentioned that she gave birth to Watson's son, and in 1893 (or in 1894) both mother and child died.
After death, Mary Watson 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 the Four” Mrs. Watson appeared in two more stories: “The Hunchback” and “The Secret of the Boscomian Valley”. By the exit of “Contractor from Norwood” she died.
Cause of death mary watson
Why did the wife and son of John Watson die , the books do not really tell. The popular version is that some kind of infectious disease became the cause of this. Moreover, the true reason why Conan Doyle “killed” Watson’s young wife is widely known.
The fact is that writing stories about Holmes periodically bothered the writer. He was more willing to compose fantastic stories a la Herbert Wells. However, for detective stories paid significantly more than for other works of Conan Doyle. Therefore, although he tried twice to complete the cycle of stories about Sherlock Holmes, first killing his hero and then marrying Watson, the writer later returned to him again.
After the wedding, it became necessary to return the doctor to Holmes on Baker Street. And for this, the author had to "bring to the grave" the unfortunate Mary and her child.
The fate of Mary Elizabeth Morsten according to the creators of the series "Sherlock"
Unlike Irene Adler, the character of Mary does not appear in all adaptations of Arthur Conan Doyle's short stories. But even if they show it, 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 she like?
As in the original, in the series the heroine is an orphan, that's just her name Rosamund Mary. Having matured, the girl chooses the profession of a mercenary, and soon she becomes very successful. Together with her 3 colleagues, she formed the AGRA group and carried out various tasks to eliminate and save people for money.
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, "Mary Morsten," began to work as a nurse in a London hospital.
Here she met John Watson and they began an affair. Six months later, the lovers got married, and Mary became pregnant. The all-powerful blackmailer Charles Magnussen found out about Mrs. Watson's past and began to pursue her. But Sherlock and John, finding out the truth, helped Mary to escape punishment.
After 9 months, she gave birth to Watson's daughter Rosamund. But it soon became clear that one of her AGRA comrades was also alive and, considering Mary a traitor, wanted to kill her.
Sherlock manages to find out that the culprit of all was an employee of the British government Vivian. Exposed, she tried to kill the detective, but the bullet accidentally hit Mary, and she died.
Thus, as in the book, Watson returned to Baker Street again.
Other Important Female Characters for Sherlock Holmes Tales
In addition to Mrs. Watson, the book contains 2 more important heroines: this is Sherlock’s lover - swindler Irene Adler, and the hostess of the detective’s apartment - mission Hudson. 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 some time after breaking up with him, she left the stage and moved to London. Here she meets the British lawyer Godfrey Norton and secretly marries him.
Being a very practical person, Irene hides a photo with the king, with which you can blackmail the monarch. Sherlock manages to find a cache, but Adler unravels his plan and manages to hide with his husband, taking a photo. In a farewell letter, she promises not to blackmail the king unless he tries to harm her.
Irene died somewhere in 1888-1891. Details of her death are unknown.
Mrs. Hudson is another woman that Sherlock Holmes appreciated. Biographies of Mary Morsten and Irene Adler are more or less detailed in books. But about Mrs. Hudson’s life there is no such detailed information, it is specified only that she is a widow. Moreover, smart, economic and very clean. Also in the book her name is not mentioned, however, as is her appearance.
Although Mrs. Hudson finds it difficult to get along with Sherlock, his politeness and generosity to her compensate for his antics. In addition, she understands that her tenant does a good deed, and sometimes she helps him herself.