# Mr. Watson — Short Fiction character guide

> Mr. Watson in Short Fiction by J. Sheridan Le Fanu.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Watson

**First appearance:** 0048-iii-my-uncle-watson-visits-wauling

## Snapshot

A grave Methodist class leader and heir-at-law who arrives to bury a wicked cousin and finds the estate's papers, and his own composure, missing.

## Who they are

Cousin to the hated Captain and mortgagee of his estates, Watson is a just, dry, near-fifty man who lent money where others lent curses. At Wauling he inherits a house of grudges, a deaf servant, a watchful attorney, and no will at all, with the leases gone and danger plainly implied. His response is to expound on Ananias and Sapphira to the assembled company and pray, with fervour and aplomb, that the thief's heart be softened or broken, which makes him both the story's moral spine and its most dangerously confident man.

## In the story

### [I: Peg O’Neill Pays the Captain’s Debts](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/i-peg-o-neill-pays-the-captain-s-debts)

The narrator's uncle, to whom a very odd thing happened.

### [III: My Uncle Watson Visits Wauling](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/iii-my-uncle-watson-visits-wauling)

The captain's cousin and heir, a Methodist class leader who arrives for the funeral.

### [IV: In the Parlour](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/iv-in-the-parlour)

The narrator's uncle, a truthful man who suspects the attorney of stealing the leases and delivers a sermon on honesty.

### [VI: The Extinguisher Is Lifted](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/vi-the-extinguisher-is-lifted)

Uncle Watson is the protagonist of this chapter, experiencing supernatural phenomena and a terrifying vision.

### [VII: The Visitation Culminates](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/vii-the-visitation-culminates)

The protagonist of the scene, who observes the supernatural visitation and experiences extreme fear.

### [Conclusion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/conclusion)

The narrator's uncle, who experienced the haunting and discovered the secret drawer.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/characters/mr_watson
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/characters