Academic Articles
-
Christiane Gannon argues The Moonstone’s disjointed composition critiques Victorian Christianity and the Western concept of individualism. She discusses the portrayal of Hinduism and Eastern religions as exemplifying communal spirituality opposing the individualistic Western Christian ideology. The novel's fragmentation illustrates England’s spiritual rift, a result of imperialism and Christian moral authority. The novel critiques imperialism’s social conceit, and by suppressing other cultures, England loses its spiritual unity. The Moonstone imagines intercultural cooperation and the unconscious consideration, emphasizing the constraints of English practices and prejudice.
Gannon, Christiane. “Hinduism, Spiritual Community, and Narrative Form in ‘The Moonstone.’” Dickens Studies Annual, vol. 46, 2015, pp. 297–320. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.waterfield.murraystate.edu/stable/44372257. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
-
This article explores Wilkie Collins's The Moonstone (1868) in relation to Victorian ideals of masculinity, particularly contrasting the masculine Christian ideal with the novel’s portrayal of masculinity embodied by its detective characters. The author argues that Collins intentionally crafts a novel that physically and emotionally engages its readers, promoting a form of masculinity defined by nervousness and intellectual detection rather than athleticism and stoicism. By investigating the novel’s narrative, characterization, and especially its typographical presentation, the paper sheds light on The Moonstone as a physiological and embodied reading experience that challenges dominant mid-Victorian masculine paradigms.
KARPENKO, LARA. “‘A Nasty Thumping at the Top of Your Head’: Muscularity, Masculinity, and Physical Reading in ‘The Moonstone.’” Victorian Review, vol. 38, no. 1, 2012, pp. 132–54. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.waterfield.murraystate.edu/stable/23646858. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
-
Hosanna Krienke examines the correlation between gender, health, and rehabilitative reading in The Moonstone. She investigates how Victorian literary reviewers and convalescent autobiographers insisted male reading was necessary, healthful reprieve from industrial overwork, divergent from the pathologized concept of feminine sensation reading. Krienke draws attention to The Moonstone’s distinct incorporation of masculine recreation and sensational mystery, demonstrating the novel obscures gendered reading characteristics by interlacing rehabilitative reading habits with a sensationalist plot. Krienke argues that the novel reveals varied and conflicting social and gendered roles.
Krienke, Hosanna. “‘The Wholesome Application’ of Novels: Gender and Rehabilitative Reading in The Moonstone.” Victorian Review, vol. 46, no. 1, Mar. 2020, p. N.PAG. EBSCOhost, https://doi-org.ezproxy.waterfield.murraystate.edu/10.1353/vcr.2020.0016.
Alternative Text
-
After attending a seance, the doubtful narrator tells his friend that he thinks Clairvoyance is mimicking a clairvoyant. His friend asserts that clairvoyants are real and details a story that occurred thirteen years earlier in Paris. In a mesmeric coma a clairvoyant accurately describes Eugene; she recounts the events leading to his supposed suicide. The narrator concludes by stating that he remains skeptical of the supernatural. The writer creates an absorbing mystery that observes the tension between skepticism and mysticism.
-
As a short story that centers on an unusual criminal act, “Guile Up To Date” “Guile Up To Date” examines class distinctions, gender roles, and women’s education.
-
This tale recounts how a wealthy Victorian household is upset by a questionable death. A doctor witnesses the dubious and irregular behavior of those around him, and his encounters steer him to the vital information that is more ominous than he expected. This short story explores theme of mental instability and rationality.