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Introduction:

The Moonstone is a mystery novel by Wilkie Collins, published in 1868. The book is about a rare stone called moonstone from India. The book follows the stone which was stolen by John Herncastle and was planned to give it to a daughter of Lady Verinder on her 18th birthday. However, it disappears right before her birthday and they hire a detective to figure out the whereabouts of the stone. The book is known for its Indian-British backgrounds along with a twist in the middle of the book. 

Plot:

The Moonstone begins with the story of a large, yellow diamond, the Moonstone, which is sacred to Hindus and kept in a temple in India, guarded by three Brahmin priests. In 1799, a British soldier named John Herncastle killed the priests and stole the diamond, bringing it back to England. The story then jumps to the 1800s, where Gabriel Betteredge, the steward of Lady Verinder’s estate, is asked by Franklin Blake, her nephew, to write about the mysterious theft of the Moonstone from Lady Verinder’s home. The diamond was meant to be given to Rachel, Lady Verinder’s daughter, on her 18th birthday, but it disappears the night she receives it. Franklin suspects the diamond is cursed, as it was left to Rachel by the dishonorable John Herncastle, and soon notices mysterious Indian men following him. The investigation begins, but the local police are ineffective. Sergeant Cuff, a famous detective, is called in and suspects Rosanna, a maid with a criminal past, of stealing the diamond. However, Rosanna kills herself after leaving a letter suggesting Rachel may have been involved in the theft. Franklin later discovers that he had unknowingly taken the diamond under the influence of opium, which had been secretly given to him by the family doctor, Dr. Candy, during a moment of anxiety. This clears his name, and he and Rachel become engaged. Meanwhile, Mr. Bruff, the family lawyer, tracks the diamond to a sailor who turns out to be Godfrey Ablewhite, Rachel’s cousin, in disguise. It’s revealed that Godfrey had been secretly pawning the diamond and planned to sell it. The Indians, who had been following the diamond, kill Godfrey and take the Moonstone back to India, restoring it to its rightful place on their idol. The mystery is solved, and the diamond’s journey ends with it returned to its sacred origin.

Analysis:

The ultimate focus on the diamond shows both the perspective of Indian guards and Sergeant Cuff, the detective. However, it doesn’t show clear perspectives of each main character. To the stone, it finds a happy ending to be finding its sacred origin. But, the stone has caused everyone in the story with troubles. Lady Verinder couldn’t give anything to her daughter except her engagement with Franklin Blake, her nephew. This also caused them to hire a famous detective and to find the stone. When he found a suspect, the suspect wrote a letter and killed herself because of a small stone. Godfrey, a sailor in disguise, was also murdered by the Indian guards. This shows how the stone gave troubles to everyone who was involved except for John Herncastle who was the reason all this happen. Another hardship it caused was to the Indian guards who had to travel a long distance to find and protect the stone. In this novel, John Herncastle plays the reason and the cause of all this mystery and adventure. He had stolen the diamond and killed the soldiers. He has the fault to be blamed for giving the diamond to Lady Verinder. The book doesn’t show clear reason to why he stole the diamond and gave it to Lady Verinder. He might have known her before but might have also been in a different time frame. The stone shows a true curse when it is not handled properly and is out of its place.

Conclusion:

The Moonstone is a mystery and adventure novel by Wilkie Collins, published in 1868. The book follows a special diamond, the Moonstone, which was protected by Hindus, until John Herncastle stole the stone. The stone was brought to England and was in possession of Lady Verinder. However, it was stolen again and she hired a famous detective to find the stone. It had killed many people and gave troubles to everyone involved. Even though the book does not specifically state that the moonstone shows curse, it can be inferred to be cursed.