The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins Essay -- social issues, popular psych

The gothic traces of the sensation novel creates an ideal boulevard for the popular psychology of the Victorian period; a time of subconcious curiosity and indeed scientific discovery. The juxtoposition of the wild yet domestic framework of The Moonstone is not excluded from this enthusiasm . The novel thrives in the realms of the unknown much like the shivering sand of Cobb's Hole. From this sand the artefacts of discovery are drawn as the vindication of truth occurs in the realms of the unconcious. We will explore the relevance of the contemporary psychology and its preoccupation in The Moonstone by examining the Victorian enthrallment of contemporary pyschology and the supernaturalism of Collins characters, observing the quivers of both themes throughout the novel. The mid nineteenth century sensational novel though criticised for its commonplace compromise is a reliable validation of the importunate effect of the investigation into contemporary psychology. The preoccupation of this supernaturalism is dichotimized with the detective elements of The Moonstone .Throughout the novel, we seem to question the validity of what is commonplace and conventional and what is other worldly and experimental. This is well depicted through the changing narratives upholding the conventions of a small provincial Robinson Crusoe enthusiast, a dutiful christian member of the 'Mothers Small Clothes Conversion Society' to the professional ranks of Sergeant Cuff and Mr Bruff and finally the intellectual and scientific Mr Candy and more especially Ezra Jennings. The supernaturalism of contemporary psychology is always depicted by what is deemed empirical by the uneducated and... ...ysterious location in Collin's narrative is to conceal and reveal secrets, and to complicate the characters knowledge of each other and themselves. Both a grave and a hiding place, a natural phenomon and a preternatural horror ' (169). Works Cited Levy, E. 'The Moonstone' and the Problem of Pain in Life. Canada: Victorian Association of Western Canada, 2002. Print. Robert, L. 'Shivering Sands' of Reality: Narration and Knowledge in Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone . Canada: Victorian Studies Association of Western Canada, 1997. Print. Hutter, D,A. Tranformations and Literature: The Implications of Detective Fiction. USA: Indiana University Press. 1975. Print. Mossman, M. Representations of the Abnormal Body in 'The Moonstone'. USA: Cambridge University Press.2009. Print. Collins, W. The Moonstone. England: Penguin Group. 2012. Print.