Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye
“ ‘Carbon, Betteredge! mere carbon, my good friend, after all!’ [sic] ” (62)
Wilkie Collin’s Moonstone, far from being a simple and shallow escapist detective mystery, manages to provide insight into the complicated dynamic of personal and market value. The central conflict in the Moonstone revolves around the differing worth that people attach to it, and the divisions that this creates between groups of people. The desire to control the Moonstone stems from quests for both monetary and spiritual fulfillment. The inability of these groups to be mutually satisfied leads to a significant separation between classes, as well as Eastern and Western cultures.
Godfrey Ablewhite’s dinnertime comment about the Moonstone provides structure and insight into this concept of value definition. He appears to be disregarding and belittling the many interpretations that the worth of the diamond could take on and subscribing to none. His description of the diamond’s being “mere carbon” (62) appears to display a lack of interest in it’s many levels of appeal; an account that proves to be false.
It becomes clear in the initial account of the Storming of Seringapatam that the first value that was affixed to the Moonstone was a spiritual importance ascribed by the Hindu culture and religion. The Moonstone is, in this circumstance, an irreplaceable and highly revered object that merits attention and concern on the basis of its place as the sacred focus of the four-armed Moon god’s forehead. The dedication, patience and diligence shown by the Brahmins sworn to protect the Moonstone, speak to its holy properties and cultural significance. This definition however, appears to escape Godfrey Ablewhite, in his description of this piece of “mere carbon” (62).
The manner in which the Moonstone is installed into the Verinder family, assigns considerable symbolic meaning to it inherently. Many things that are passed down through a bloodline become considered heirlooms of some level of importance, and the Moonstone is considered in this regard. The ascribed importance of Herncastle’s gift to Rachel makes it essentially priceless, as it would be impossible to ever recreate the item, or the sentiment. This level of value as decided by family ties appears again to go beyond the concept of “mere carbon” (62).
The final method by which the diamond is attributed value, is through a purely capitalist designation. The sheer size and unique qualities of the Moonstone puts its fiscal value at thousands and thousands of pounds. This alone motivates and explains the actions of many of the Moonstone’s characters, as their pursuit of and fascination with wealth override more commonly accepted behaviour. This is the one definition of worth that Godfrey Ablewhite eventually subscribes to, in blatant contradiction of his former statement suggesting that the diamond did not interest him in any way.
The Moonstone’s changing and evolving meanings and values shift in importance depending on the position that a character holds in the group. The pecuniary value of the Moonstone seems to hold more importance to the Western metropolitan characters, such as Godfrey Ablewhite. The symbolic value of the diamond, both spiritual and sentimental, seems to be of more consequence to the Eastern travelers, as well as the more traditional and rural Verinder family. This reoccurring theme of shifting values in the Moonstone and the importance it plays in the novel as a whole is well contrasted by Godfrey Ablewhite’s offhand dismissal of any sort of significance relating to the stone. Ablewhite’s later actions only add depth and irony to his previous comments, in addition to making them more incisive. This idea of changing values and morality can also be seen as a symbol for the Victorian era, and its expeditious evolutionary transformations.
Works Cited
Collins, Wilkie. The Moonstone. Ed. John Sutherland. Oxford University Press, 1999.
Wilkie Collin’s Moonstone, far from being a simple and shallow escapist detective mystery, manages to provide insight into the complicated dynamic of personal and market value. The central conflict in the Moonstone revolves around the differing worth that people attach to it, and the divisions that this creates between groups of people. The desire to control the Moonstone stems from quests for both monetary and spiritual fulfillment. The inability of these groups to be mutually satisfied leads to a significant separation between classes, as well as Eastern and Western cultures.
Godfrey Ablewhite’s dinnertime comment about the Moonstone provides structure and insight into this concept of value definition. He appears to be disregarding and belittling the many interpretations that the worth of the diamond could take on and subscribing to none. His description of the diamond’s being “mere carbon” (62) appears to display a lack of interest in it’s many levels of appeal; an account that proves to be false.
It becomes clear in the initial account of the Storming of Seringapatam that the first value that was affixed to the Moonstone was a spiritual importance ascribed by the Hindu culture and religion. The Moonstone is, in this circumstance, an irreplaceable and highly revered object that merits attention and concern on the basis of its place as the sacred focus of the four-armed Moon god’s forehead. The dedication, patience and diligence shown by the Brahmins sworn to protect the Moonstone, speak to its holy properties and cultural significance. This definition however, appears to escape Godfrey Ablewhite, in his description of this piece of “mere carbon” (62).
The manner in which the Moonstone is installed into the Verinder family, assigns considerable symbolic meaning to it inherently. Many things that are passed down through a bloodline become considered heirlooms of some level of importance, and the Moonstone is considered in this regard. The ascribed importance of Herncastle’s gift to Rachel makes it essentially priceless, as it would be impossible to ever recreate the item, or the sentiment. This level of value as decided by family ties appears again to go beyond the concept of “mere carbon” (62).
The final method by which the diamond is attributed value, is through a purely capitalist designation. The sheer size and unique qualities of the Moonstone puts its fiscal value at thousands and thousands of pounds. This alone motivates and explains the actions of many of the Moonstone’s characters, as their pursuit of and fascination with wealth override more commonly accepted behaviour. This is the one definition of worth that Godfrey Ablewhite eventually subscribes to, in blatant contradiction of his former statement suggesting that the diamond did not interest him in any way.
The Moonstone’s changing and evolving meanings and values shift in importance depending on the position that a character holds in the group. The pecuniary value of the Moonstone seems to hold more importance to the Western metropolitan characters, such as Godfrey Ablewhite. The symbolic value of the diamond, both spiritual and sentimental, seems to be of more consequence to the Eastern travelers, as well as the more traditional and rural Verinder family. This reoccurring theme of shifting values in the Moonstone and the importance it plays in the novel as a whole is well contrasted by Godfrey Ablewhite’s offhand dismissal of any sort of significance relating to the stone. Ablewhite’s later actions only add depth and irony to his previous comments, in addition to making them more incisive. This idea of changing values and morality can also be seen as a symbol for the Victorian era, and its expeditious evolutionary transformations.
Works Cited
Collins, Wilkie. The Moonstone. Ed. John Sutherland. Oxford University Press, 1999.
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