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Miss Stapleton, née Beryl Garcia, is Mr. Stapleton’s wife, posing as his sister as part of his plan to isolate the other Baskerville heirs. She is the victim of her husband’s manipulation and abuse, stating that he has “tortured and defiled” her “mind and soul.” Although too loyal to report him to the police thanks to what Holmes believes is a mixture of fear and love, Miss Stapleton nevertheless refuses to participate in the Baskerville murders. Mr. Stapleton turns to Laura Lyons to lure Sir Charles onto the moor only because Miss Stapleton won’t. Her passive unwillingness to help turns into active sabotage after this point. She uses whatever moment she finds alone to warn Sir Henry away from the moor, even sending the mysterious note. Like many other characters in the novel, Holmes explains her motivations through pseudoscientific Victorian ideas of heredity. He attributes her active sabotage to a newfound hatred of Mr. Stapleton upon discovering Laura Lyons. According to Holmes and Victorian stereotypes, Miss Stapleton’s Latin American heritage makes her unforgiving of romantic slights. Just as Mr. Stapleton cannot truly hide his connection to Hugo Baskerville, the novel implies that Miss Stapleton, too, is bound by her genetic inheritance.
