Society Sacrifice
The moonstone gives the reader an important introspection into the Victorian society. It allows the reader to see how interconnected the characters are, and how their decisions and actions directly affect how they are viewed by others. Wilkie Collins points out that public opinion is a powerful force that is not easy to intervene. There are a few characters, however, that sacrifice their reputation for something that they feel is even more significant.
The three Indians who attempt to steal the diamond were “Brahmins who had forfeited their caste in the service of the god” (465), and for the spiritual good of India as a whole. The reader is given insight to this idea when Murthwait explains, “that the restoration of the moonstone to its place on the forehead of the Indian idol, is the motive and justification of that sacrifice of caste” (72). The three Indian’s powerful belief in the spiritual importance of the diamond supersedes the significance of the public opinion. The direct connection the diamond holds to the Indian’s belief in God helps the reader sympathize and understand the motives that the Indian’s have to steal the diamond.
There is a cermony in the end that features the replacement of the diamond in India, and dramatizes the sacrifices that the Indians must further undergo. It is apparent that the Indians have sacrificed their entire lives in hopes of returning the Moonstone to its rightful shrine when, “God . . . commanded that their purification should be the purification by pilgrimage” (465). This passage illustrates how strong of an impact religion held on the Indian society, and the sacrifice these Indians were willing to make for their God.
Rachel Verinder also sacrificed her reputation in the novel, but in her case, it was for love. Rachel spares Franklin the public humiliation he would certainly receive by keeping her knowledge a secret. “Are you afraid I shall say the words which I have never said yet to anybody but you? I can’t say the words! I can’t expose you” 350! Her willingness to sacrifice her reputation shows her strength and love for Franklin Blake. Perhaps the mystery would have been reveiled earlier if Rachel would have told on Franklin. She makes an irrational decision, because she is in love with him.
The inner turmoil that Rachel is struggling with is clear in her verbal and physical language during her direct confrontation with Franklin Blake over the loss of the diamond. At one point Rachel shouts, “you mean miserable coward” (338) at Franklin, which shows that she is deeply hurt and angry towards him. Franklin notes in his narrative, that shortly after “her head sank on my shoulder; and her hand unconsciously closed on mine at the moment she asked me to release it” (341). Rachel is jumping back and forth between anger and passivity. This allows the reader to see her uncertainty of emotion towards Franklin, and, her inner struggle between her love for him, and the guilt she feels in keeping her knowledge a secret.
Ezra Jennings also sacrifices himself for love, but in a different sense than Rachel. The opinion of the public does not mean much for Ezra Jennings who “has survived the solitude and persecution of many years” (393). He has been an outcaste of society for much of his life, and learns to cope with his loneliness and detachment from the world. Ezra Jennings suffers from a disease, and states that he “should have let the agony of it kill [him] long since” (375). He is sacrificing himself to his miserable life for the woman that he loves. He is staying alive so that he can make money and give it to her, because, his “own little patrimony is hardly sufficient to make her independent of the world” (375).
Ezra Jennings is a very enduring compassionate character whom the world has turned its back on, yet he holds no grudges. Every night he has to pick between getting frightful nightmares from taking the opium or the pain from his disease. He makes this sacrifice in order to help the girl he loves, and Mr. Candy who gave him shelter and employment. Jennings is also the driving force that reconciles Rachel and Franklin Blake.
Each of the characters in the novel sacrifice something that is worthy and important to them for something they feel is even more significant. This is an important subplot that Wilkie Collins brings up because it gives us an in-depth analysis of the characters, and helps us understand their motives and views. The characters sacrifice much for love and spirituality, which shows the reader that it is human nature to make sacrifices in order to achieve a higher goal.
Works Cited
Collins, Wilkie. The Moonstone. Ed. John Sutherland.New York; Oxford University Press, 1999.
The three Indians who attempt to steal the diamond were “Brahmins who had forfeited their caste in the service of the god” (465), and for the spiritual good of India as a whole. The reader is given insight to this idea when Murthwait explains, “that the restoration of the moonstone to its place on the forehead of the Indian idol, is the motive and justification of that sacrifice of caste” (72). The three Indian’s powerful belief in the spiritual importance of the diamond supersedes the significance of the public opinion. The direct connection the diamond holds to the Indian’s belief in God helps the reader sympathize and understand the motives that the Indian’s have to steal the diamond.
There is a cermony in the end that features the replacement of the diamond in India, and dramatizes the sacrifices that the Indians must further undergo. It is apparent that the Indians have sacrificed their entire lives in hopes of returning the Moonstone to its rightful shrine when, “God . . . commanded that their purification should be the purification by pilgrimage” (465). This passage illustrates how strong of an impact religion held on the Indian society, and the sacrifice these Indians were willing to make for their God.
Rachel Verinder also sacrificed her reputation in the novel, but in her case, it was for love. Rachel spares Franklin the public humiliation he would certainly receive by keeping her knowledge a secret. “Are you afraid I shall say the words which I have never said yet to anybody but you? I can’t say the words! I can’t expose you” 350! Her willingness to sacrifice her reputation shows her strength and love for Franklin Blake. Perhaps the mystery would have been reveiled earlier if Rachel would have told on Franklin. She makes an irrational decision, because she is in love with him.
The inner turmoil that Rachel is struggling with is clear in her verbal and physical language during her direct confrontation with Franklin Blake over the loss of the diamond. At one point Rachel shouts, “you mean miserable coward” (338) at Franklin, which shows that she is deeply hurt and angry towards him. Franklin notes in his narrative, that shortly after “her head sank on my shoulder; and her hand unconsciously closed on mine at the moment she asked me to release it” (341). Rachel is jumping back and forth between anger and passivity. This allows the reader to see her uncertainty of emotion towards Franklin, and, her inner struggle between her love for him, and the guilt she feels in keeping her knowledge a secret.
Ezra Jennings also sacrifices himself for love, but in a different sense than Rachel. The opinion of the public does not mean much for Ezra Jennings who “has survived the solitude and persecution of many years” (393). He has been an outcaste of society for much of his life, and learns to cope with his loneliness and detachment from the world. Ezra Jennings suffers from a disease, and states that he “should have let the agony of it kill [him] long since” (375). He is sacrificing himself to his miserable life for the woman that he loves. He is staying alive so that he can make money and give it to her, because, his “own little patrimony is hardly sufficient to make her independent of the world” (375).
Ezra Jennings is a very enduring compassionate character whom the world has turned its back on, yet he holds no grudges. Every night he has to pick between getting frightful nightmares from taking the opium or the pain from his disease. He makes this sacrifice in order to help the girl he loves, and Mr. Candy who gave him shelter and employment. Jennings is also the driving force that reconciles Rachel and Franklin Blake.
Each of the characters in the novel sacrifice something that is worthy and important to them for something they feel is even more significant. This is an important subplot that Wilkie Collins brings up because it gives us an in-depth analysis of the characters, and helps us understand their motives and views. The characters sacrifice much for love and spirituality, which shows the reader that it is human nature to make sacrifices in order to achieve a higher goal.
Works Cited
Collins, Wilkie. The Moonstone. Ed. John Sutherland.New York; Oxford University Press, 1999.
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