The Spread of Opium through Colonialism

As British colonialism expanded across the Asian continent in the nineteenth century, India became one of England’s main providers for many different imports, such as cotton, tea and even narcotics. In the Victorian period, opium became a fast expanding craze among middle and upper class English citizens and influenced many works of British literature from the time period. The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins, is an exceptional example of such literature, and although the reader does not know until the end of the story is near, laudanum is the central culprit behind the mystery circulating throughout the novel. Wilkie Collins’ opium addiction while writing the novel seemed to be echoed in the character of Ezra Jennings, both men being highly intellectual and productive, yet caught in the cycle of drug use popularized in Victorian England.

The influence of opium in the Victorian period was outstanding, so much that it appeared in Victorian literature for many years. Opium became a negative aspect of what was thought to be great English colonialism and many of these literary works illustrated the detrimental effects of opium use on the individual and society. The entire novel revolves around the unsuspected use of laudanum in Franklin Blake, and even though the reader does not know this until nearing the end of the novel, once it is discovered the story begins to fall into place. It is said that Wilkie Collins himself, while writing his novel, was ingesting “huge amounts of laudanum to get him through the ordeal of completing the novel’s composition”(pg. xxxv) and because of this “had been obliged…to dictate large stretches” (pg. xxxv) of his story from his bed. Such intense addiction, even if to numb the pain of disease was still an addiction, and is easily comparable to modern issues of drug abuse. Drugs use, including the use of laudanum have their harmful effects on society, and colonialism is what started the downward spiral of Victorian individuals to their opium-addicted culture; a culture that produced many of the most famous works of literature that described what became a Victorian fixation on opium.

Collins’ opium addiction became mirrored in his novel, not only through the noted inconsistencies in Ms. Clack’s character, but also most evidently through the character of Ezra Jennings. Throughout the parts of the novel where Ezra Jennings appears, his dependency on laudanum is a notorious part of his character as he “[returns] to the opium for the hundredth time,” (pg.396) unable to withstand the pain of his illness. Much like Collins himself, the laudanum took over the productivity of his life, though the “vengeance of…opium” (pg. 392) was still endured. Each man, caught in the cycle of dependence, still managed to maintain productivity in doing the things they had passion for. Jennings continued to write his medical theories, and Collins continued to write his mystery novel, both while under the influence of laudanum. Ezra Jennings appears to be a direct connection into the author’s life, much like the death of Lady Verinder connects to the sudden death of Collins’ mother.

Subtle hints draw a deep connection from the author’s life into the novel, and though they take some uncovering their correlations are obvious. Collins’ novel is a direct representation of the effects on Victorian England of colonialism and the import of opium. His experience in Victorian England dictates many of the happenings of the novel, including the complex intertwining of himself with the character of Ezra Jennings. Opium created the lives of the characters, and sustained the life of Wilkie Collins, to create a masterpiece of Victorian literature, which brought the reader directly into the heart of the negative issues of British colonialism.