Theme Of Memory In The Moonstone

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In the novel ‘The Moonstone’ by Wilkie Collins, memory is an important theme in the novel as it sets out the backbone of the book. It allows the author to structure however he chooses and in this case each person in the novel allows the reader to read their narrative. Not only that but considering that this was a detective novel, memory is what any detective in the Victorian times would have used and so it is important especially in discovering who had stolen the Moonstone. There was no other alternative than memory and so that is why memory plays a crucial role in this novel. The definition of memory is the faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information, this is exactly how each person throughout the novel has given their perspective and narrative. By looking back a couple of months to then writing about it and what events had occurred ‘…the idea is that we should all write the story of the Moonstone in turn – as far as our own personal experience extends, and no farther’. Mr Franklin Blake was the one …show more content…

It was only their recalling of memory that was used in ‘The Moonstone’ whereas with only the Verinder family there was no person to give their narrative, Rachael nor Lady Verinder. This can show how the servants and people working for that family where more reliable than the family itself but not only that, it could also show how Franklin did not want any bias in the narrative or any false information as the entire police investigation was around the Verinder family. But it can also signify how the servants back then had to do everything for the family or person that hired them and be honest and faithful, that would be quite common back in the Victorian times, so it would not be surprising if that was the