Wilkie Collins The Moonstone Essay -- Wilkie Collins Moonstone Essays

Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone Near the beginning of Wilkie Collins’s novel, The Moonstone, John Herncastle’s cousin explains, â€Å"The deity commanded that the Moonstone should be watched, from that time forth, by three priests in turn, night and day, to the end of the generations of men†¦ One age followed another—and still, generation after generation, the successors of the three Brahmins watched their priceless Moonstone, night and day† (2). As a result of remembering the past, and specifically their deity’s command, the Indian priests are bound by a circular, repetitive chain of events. In contrast, Rosanna Spearman and Franklin Blake, two non-Indian characters in the novel, are able to use their memory of the past to break the cycle of repetitive, unwanted events in their lives and effect desired changes. Each Indian priest’s self-concept never changes; he is simply an embodiment of his office or his societal role, and he lives solely to watch the Moonstone. The self-concepts of Rosanna and Franklin, however, do change over time. Through battling haunting effects of the past and fighting against negative self-concepts, Rosanna and Franklin additionally align themselves with a progressive notion of history as they battle against the cyclical notion that binds the Indian priests. The past has the power to corrupt or infect the lives of characters like Rosanna and Franklin, but when these characters confront and remember the past, they are freed from its ability to perpetuate a cyclical series of unlucky events. For example, Rosanna’s past as a thief causes Franklin to suspect her of having stolen the Moonstone as well. He says, â€Å"’Rosanna Spearman came to my aunt out of a reformatory? Rosanna Spearman had once b... ..., generation after generation, the successors of the three Brahmins watched their priceless Moonstone, night and day† (2). Even the end of the novel isn’t really an end to the repetition of events in India; Mr. Murthwaite writes, â€Å"So the years pass, and repeat each other; so the same events revolve in the cycles of time. What will be the next adventures of the Moonstone? Who can tell?† (466). In contrast, Rosanna Spearman and Franklin Blake, two non-Indian characters in the novel, are able to use their memory of the past to break the cycle of repetitive, unwanted events in their lives and effect desired changes. Through battling haunting effects of the past and fighting against negative self-concepts, Rosanna and Franklin additionally align themselves with a progressive notion of history as they battle against the cyclical notion that binds the Indian priests.