"A Face Disguised": A Close Reading of the Moonstone

The Passage: Begins on page 443 (“I felt another pull…") and ends at the bottom of page 444

>The above passage of The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins not only enhances the events within the specified scene, but gives the reader insight into the novel as a whole. The reader finally receives a definitive answer as to who stole the Moonstone from the Verinder’s household, while at the same time the truth about Godfrey Ablewhite’s double life is brought out into the open. The dreaded return of peoples’ pasts is a theme which is evident throughout the book (as in the case of Ezra Jennings for example) and with the death of Ablewhite comes the revelation of his secrets.
>After Sergeant Cuff and Franklin Blake discover the dead body they realize “it is a face disguised” (Collins, 444). The disguise which Ablewhite is wearing is very reminiscent of an East Indian male. The fact that Godfrey is pretending to be someone else highlights his ability to play two very different roles. At the beginning of the novel, Ablewhite is presented as a well rounded British man who is very handsome, religious-minded, and financially stable. Godfrey’s hypocritical side becomes apparent in Miss Clack’s narrative, and by the end of the novel Ablewhite’s duplicity is completely out in the open. The duplicity associated with Godfrey also pertains to a metaphor displayed throughout the entire book: looks can be deceiving. This metaphor is illustrated through Ablewhite’s disguise as an Indian man, which illuminates the fact that the majority of English society believes that the three Indians are responsible for the theft of the diamond, while they turn a blind eye to placing the responsibility on one of their own countrymen.
>Gooseberry’s reaction to the murder is rather bizarre and Franklin Blake states that “[t]here was something so hideous in the boy’s enjoyment of the horror of the scene” (Collins, 443). It appears that Gooseberry begins to take on the role of Sergeant Cuff, in that his actions and remarks are rather insensitive and he is emotionally detached from the actual event. It also seems as though Sergeant Cuff is playing out his own detective game, as he requests that Franklin Blake “[o]pen the sealed letter first” (which has Cuff’s guess at the thief written down on it) before he announces Ablewhite’s identity (Collins, 444). The way in which Ablewhite’s death is passed over is strikingly different than the deaths of other characters, like Rosanna, Mrs. Verinder, and even Ezra Jennings. People are rather unaffected by the murder of Godfrey, after he is discovered as being a dishonest and evil individual, and the business of finding the Moonstone resumes. Ablewhite’s murder can also be seen as a parallel to the murders of the three Brahmins killed by John Herncastle in India.
>The importance of the Moonstone is interpreted differently by the various characters in the book. The disparity of the different systems of value is quite evident as the Indians believe that the “diamond [is] devoted to the service of a god” thus pointing out its spiritual significance, while John Herncastle and his relatives place a familial importance on it, and Ablewhite perceives the Moonstone as possessing commercial value (Collins, 2). By the Indians murdering and stealing the Moonstone, it appears that the cycle of the diamond is complete, and it can be returned to its native land to be worshiped spiritually. The Moonstone appears to be more powerful than ever in this part of the book, as people are beginning to realize the supernatural quality it embodies. With the death of Ablewhite, it appears that the Moonstone does in fact bring bad luck when it is taken out of India.
>This section of the book reveals key information pertaining to Ablewhite’s theft of the Moonstone, while enhancing the reader’s understanding of the book by displaying key themes like the differing values that the diamond possesses, and symbols like Godfrey’s disguise, which hold the story together.