Different types of Religion in Wilkie Collins's "The Moonstone"

Paper Summary:

This critical essay looks at Wilkie Collins?s The Moonstone-- a novel that presents some interesting observations of religion that mirror the Victorian society of his day. These were people searching for a moral truth to put their faith in. Collins creates larger-than-life characters who settle into a fantastic plot. The author includes many quotes from the novel itself.

From the Paper:

" Throughout Wilkie Collins? detective masterpiece, The Moonstone, one notices the many varied beliefs represented by the different characters. Hailed as one of the first true detective novels ever written that follows the modern conventions of mystery novels, Collins is careful to balance the gap between plot and character. His original and diverse characters each have their own form of religion, which shines through in their narrative style, which Collins artfully portrays. Firstly, from the Introduction straight through to the Epilogue Collins flavours The Moonstone with Hindu mythology, through the three Brahmin men who closely guard the stone. Next, the quaint narrator Gabriel Betteredge represents a middle-class settled Protestantism, who relies on his Robinson Crusoe as his prophetic bible. Mr. Jennings represents the scientific viewpoint, the physician who trusts all his faith to science and medicine. Lastly, the fervent "rampant spinster" (259) Miss Clack shows the reader her very enthusiastic attachment to her Christian faith in saving others from going to Hell, through pestering them with continual pamphlets, in her amusing narration."

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