Arthur Conan Doyle presents Sherlock Holmes as a detective throughout The Sign of the Four by depicting Holmes as a man obsessed with his craft of deduction. In order to solve the complex mystery, Holmes relies on logic and reason to formulate conclusions. It’s clear he has also spent years conducting experiments to find clues that are unseen or meaningless to others, such as when he identifies a suspect as a one-legged man. Holmes also has an underground network of informants in London who help him gather evidence.
It’s important to note that Doyle uses Doctor Watson as the narrator. Doctor Watson serves as a foil to Holmes at points in the narrative, specifically when Watson meets Mary Morstan, the woman who will become his wife. The reader understands Holmes would never marry because it would take time away from his pursuit of deduction.
Also, Watson introduces the reader to the detective’s use of cocaine. When not actively working on an investigation, Holmes uses the drug in an attempt to feel the high he gets from using deduction. This drug use also serves to humanize Holmes as a man with vices; he is not presented as a superhero crime fighter.
In The Sign of Four Sherlock Holmes is presented as the consummate detective: logical, rational, and with truly remarkable powers of deduction. At each stage of the mystery Holmes is completely on top of his game, and we're never left in any doubt that he will solve this most perplexing case.
At the same time, Holmes has a restless nature; he craves excitement, the kind provided by his cerebrally challenging work. (Not to mention the occasional hit of cocaine.) Holmes effectively lives for his work, which makes him a great detective, but somewhat cold and remote as a human being. The poverty of Holmes's emotional life is contrasted in The Sign of Four with Watson's amorous pursuit of Mary Morstan. Watson's greater emotional intelligence allows him to provide Holmes with an element of stability in his life, the kind that would normally be provided by a spouse.
Doyle presents Holmes throughout The Sign of the Four as a man utterly dedicated to using logic and intellect to solve his mysteries. Unlike Watson, who falls in love with Mary and gets engaged during the novel, Holmes has his emotions entirely subordinated to his mind. His "high" in life is the opportunity to solve challenging mysteries, and when he can't satisfy himself that way, he turns to cocaine. This reliance on the "seven-percent solution" worries Watson, but not Holmes.
Holmes moves beyond his trained intellect to make contacts and build a network of people useful to him in crime-solving, showing he is not entirely isolated. He is not so much a recluse as a person single-mindedly bent on one path. He is capable of showing compassion, and his dogged pursuit of the truth shows how deeply he cares about justice: he is satisfied not with any solution to a crime, but only the correct solution.
Watson admires Holmes deeply, encouraging the reader to do the same, but even beyond Watson's admiration, we can see Holmes as a person of integrity who remains true to himself rather than one who bows to conventional social expectations.
The presentation of Sherlock Holmes in Arthur Conan Doyle's novel, The Sign of Four, is as a brilliant and cerebral man who can be extremely perceptive about small details but lacks self-awareness and emotional intelligence. Some readers might wish to argue that Holmes is represented as an example of someone with savant syndrome who might be on the autistic spectrum, albeit on the high-functioning end.
The opening of the novel shows Holmes as addicted to opioids. His unwillingness to follow the advice of Watson, a doctor by profession, is an example of his tendency to be self-centered and unwilling to take advice. Sherlock has a (deservedly) high opinion of himself, and despite his constant insistence on the need for pure rationality, he can show great kindness.
Holmes tends to be secretive, only revealing his discoveries when he has attained complete knowledge of a case—something that helps create suspense. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of matters relevant to his calling and a complete lack of interest in things he deems irrelevant to his interests or purposes.
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