The Moonstone

64 pages • 2 hours read

The Moonstone

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1868

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Part 1, Section 1, Chapters 1-10

Part 1, Section 1, Chapters 11-23

Part 2, Section 1

Part 2, Section 2: “Contributed by Matthew Bruff, Solicitor of Gray’s Inn Square”

Part 2, Sections 4-6

Part 2, Section 7-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Part 2, Section 1Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 2: “The Discovery of the Truth, 1848-49, The Events Related in Several Narratives”, Part 2, Section 1: “Contributed by Miss Clack; Niece of the Late Sir John Verinder”

Part 2, Section 1, Chapter 1 Summary

The novel is now narrated by a woman named Miss Clack. Miss Clack lives alone in London; she is related to the late Sir John Verinder (Rachel’s father). Like Betteredge, Miss Clack has been asked by Franklin Blake to write down everything she remembers about the period when the diamond was stolen. She begins her narrative describing how she was passing by the London house owned by Lady Verinder on July 3, 1848. At this time, Rachel and Lady Verinder have come to London after dismissing Cuff from the case, picking up the narrative where Betteredge left off. Miss Clack notices that Rachel and Lady Verinder have come to London, and arranges to have lunch with them.

Miss Clack is very religious and supports local charities; the night before her planned lunch with Lady Verinder, she goes to a meeting of a charitable society that Godfrey Ablewhite is also involved with. At the meeting, Miss Clack learns of an unusual event that has befallen Godfrey. Godfrey was lured to a strange room on the premise that someone wanted to donate money to one of his charities, but when he got there, he was attacked, blindfolded, and searched, although nothing was stolen from him. Although he could not see the men who held him captive, Godfrey surmised that they were Indian based on the language they were speaking. After he was left unhurt and eventually set free, Godfrey learned that Septimus Luker—the man who owns a pawnshop—was similarly held captive.

The day after hearing this story, Miss Clack goes to see Lady Verinder and Rachel. From them, she hears the whole story of the diamond and its mysterious disappearance. After some time, Godfrey Ablewhite comes to the house and joins them.

Part 2, Section 1, Chapter 2 Summary

Rachel asks Godfrey many questions about his strange experience. She wonders if the men who attacked him are the three Indians who were near her home in Yorkshire. Godfrey admits that Mr. Luker had recently deposited a valuable gemstone that someone had pawned in his shop, although Luker swears this was not the Moonstone. While Mr. Luker was held captive, the receipt for the gem was taken from him, meaning that someone would be able to claim it from the bank where it was being held. Due to news in the media about the disappearance of the Moonstone diamond, some people suspect that Godfrey Ablewhite stole the diamond and pawned it to Mr. Luker.

Miss Clack notices that Rachel is outraged that people think Godfrey might have stolen the diamond. Rachel writes out a note attesting that Godfrey is not responsible for the disappearance of the diamond. However, after Rachel leaves, Godfrey burns this note, since it implies that Rachel does know who stole the diamond, and even that she could have been the one to do so.

Meanwhile, both Godfrey and Miss Clack notice that Lady Verinder seems to be ill. Lady Verinder asks Miss Clack to serve as a witness for her will.

Part 2, Section 1, Chapter 3 Summary

Lady Verinder confides to Miss Clack that she is seriously ill with a heart condition, and might die soon. Miss Clack becomes very preoccupied with giving Lady Verinder religious texts, although Lady Verinder is not very interested.

Miss Clack meets with Mr. Bruff, a lawyer who has worked with Lady Verinder and her family for a long time, as he is the one preparing the will. Miss Clack and Mr. Bruff discuss the disappearance of the Moonstone. While Mr. Bruff initially suspects Godfrey Ablewhite, he reconsiders when Miss Clack tells him about Rachel insisting that Godfrey is innocent. They wonder if Franklin Blake could be the thief; however, while Franklin does have some significant debts, he will be inheriting a lot of money eventually, and it seems unlikely that his debts would motivate him to resort to theft.

Part 2, Section 1, Chapter 4 Summary

After Lady Verinder signs her will, Miss Clack continues to try to persuade her to read religious texts, even though Lady Verinder objects. Miss Clack is very judgmental of anyone who does not share her devout faith. The next day, Miss Clack receives a package: Lady Verinder has sent all the religious books and pamphlets back to her. Undaunted, Miss Clack begins copying out pertinent passages to send to Lady Verinder.

The next day, Miss Clack goes to visit Lady Verinder. While she waits, she wanders into the drawing-room. Hearing the sound of someone entering the room, she hides behind some curtains. She realizes that Godfrey Ablewhite is now in the room and unaware of her presence.

Part 2, Section 1, Chapter 5 Summary

Rachel joins Godfrey, and the two of them speak while believing themselves to be alone. Godfrey tries to woo Rachel, even though she reminds him that she has previously rejected his marriage proposal. He continues trying to persuade her, even after Rachel explains that she loves someone else. Eventually, Rachel agrees to marry him.

Shortly after Rachel and Godfrey agree to marry, a servant comes to tell them that Lady Verinder is very ill. They rush out of the room, and Miss Clack goes undetected. A few minutes later, she learns that Lady Verinder has suddenly died.

Part 2, Section 1, Chapter 6 Summary

The narrative is broken by an exchange of letters between Franklin Blake and Miss Clack in the present day, at which time she is looking back on past events. Franklin tries to tactfully tell Miss Clack that he is only interested in her memories of events surrounding the diamond and does not need her to include philosophical reflections on death and hell.

Part 2, Section 1, Chapter 7 Summary

Since Rachel is only 18 when her mother dies, her uncle, Mr. Ablewhite (Godfrey’s father) becomes her guardian. Rachel does not want to stay in either London or Yorkshire, so Mr. Ablewhite rents a home for her in Brighton. He asks Miss Clack to help find a house and hire servants; she is very happy to do so, and she thinks she has an opportunity to provide a more religious influence upon Rachel.

When Rachel arrives at the house in Brighton, she is accompanied by Mrs. Ablewhite and Mr. Bruff. Rachel and Mr. Bruff have a long conversation that seems to leave her very thoughtful; although she is extremely curious, Miss Clack doesn’t know what Rachel and Mr. Bruff discussed.

A short time later, Godfrey Ablewhite visits Rachel. He runs into Miss Clack afterwards and calmly explains that Rachel has ended their engagement.

Part 2, Section 1, Chapter 8 Summary

Godfrey tells Miss Clack that he quickly regretted proposing to Rachel, and questioned whether the marriage was a good idea. He was therefore relieved when Rachel told him that she wanted to call off the engagement.

Godfrey leaves, but more visitors soon arrive at the Brighton house: Mr. and Mrs. Ablewhite and Mr. Bruff. Mr. Ablewhite has learned that Rachel has called off the engagement, and he is very angry. He rebukes both Rachel and Miss Clack (as a bad influence) and tells her that he no longer wants to be Rachel’s guardian. After Mr. Ablewhite storms off, Mr. Bruff suggests that Rachel come and live with him and his wife until they can find a new guardian for her. Miss Clack offers Rachel the chance to live with her instead, and is hurt and confused when Rachel firmly refuses.

Miss Clack explicitly explains that she has been trying to “save” Rachel by converting her to a specific form of Christianity, and that she fears Lady Verinder has gone to hell as a result of not being religious enough. Rachel is very angry and quickly leaves with Mr. Bruff. Miss Clack’s narrative ends, since after this point, she no longer has direct access to Rachel.

Part 2, Section 1 Analysis

While Betteredge seems to be essentially trustworthy, Miss Clack is an explicitly unreliable narrator: She is invested in presenting herself in a certain way, she misreads situations based on her own biases, and she inserts her own judgements and values into the narrative. For example, dramatic irony exists throughout Miss Clack’s narrative when she persists in believing that Lady Verinder is open to Clack’s efforts at conversion to a specific model of evangelical Christianity, while it is clear to a reader that Lady Verinder has no interest in this. Miss Clack’s biases are also clear when she watches with horror as Rachel and Godfrey kiss, explaining that “to every right-feeling person of my own sex, volumes could say no more” (246).

Miss Clack’s exaggerated moral scruples add comic relief to the text, especially after the tense investigation of the theft, but they also hint at the theme of The Unreliability of Witnessing and Memory. She sees events and tries to record them faithfully, but she (like all of the other characters) is limited by her own biases and assumptions.

Miss Clack’s strident religious values provide an opportunity for Collins to engage in a critique of organized religion that is somewhat subversive for the Victorian era, reflecting The Tensions Between Empirical Evidence and Faith. Miss Clack’s beliefs make her more judgmental and hypocritical, but they don’t seem to make her more compassionate or caring; nor does her work with various charitable organizations seem to make much of a difference for individuals who are actually suffering. Miss Clack also comes into conflict with what she deems “the notoriously infidel profession of Medicine” (232), staging a conflict between her faith-based model of life and a practice based on science and empiricism. Given that the mystery of the theft will largely be solved based on the careful detective work and empirical observation of both Sergeant Cuff and Ezra Jennings, Miss Clack’s worldview provides a warning of the dangers of ignoring conclusions based on reason and evidence.

Miss Clack not only directly proselytizes: She uses written materials to convey her message, strewing religious pamphlets and tracts all over the house. Miss Clack’s religious pamphlets function as a parallel to Betteredge’s devotion to Robinson Crusoe: Both characters rely on specific written texts in order to guide them and help them make sense of the world. The critique of religious extremism introduced via Miss Clack also becomes important since Godfrey Ablewhite is likewise very visibly religious and devoted to charitable works. Godfrey’s hypocrisy and deception are only revealed much later in the plot, but these qualities work alongside Miss Clack’s characterization to reveal that characters who claim to be good Christians might not be, which in turn invokes the tensions of Public Reputation Versus Inner Nature.

Miss Clack’s narration is necessary, because much of the plot in this section revolves around private and domestic events that only a close female confidante would have access to, notably Rachel’s emerging relationship with Godfrey. His proposal and Rachel’s honesty that she is in love with someone else allows him to advocate for a marriage that needn’t be founded on love: “I don’t ask for your love—I will be content with your affection and regard” (244). While this suggestion provides insight into views of romantic relationships in the Victorian era, Rachel’s hesitation and quick reversal reveal that the plot seems to endorse her following her heart. The subsequent revelation that Godfrey was wooing her mainly to have access to her fortune is one of the first hints that Godfrey is more sinister than he may seem, and that he would be motivated to steal the diamond. The subplot about Godfrey wooing Rachel foreshadows that he is not the romantic hero he appears, but will be eventually revealed as the villain.