The Moonstone · Theme
The Curse and Fate
How The Moonstone develops The Curse and Fate.
The Moonstone carries a prophecy of disaster to anyone who possesses it unlawfully, and the narrative repeatedly shows characters suffering misfortune, suspicion, and ruin as the gem changes hands, suggesting an inescapable fate tied to the stolen object.
Where it surfaces
- The Moonstone
The diamond is said to be cursed, and its theft sets in motion a chain of events driven by fate.
- Prologue
The prologue introduces the Hindu curse on the Moonstone, foretelling misfortune for its thieves and setting the stage for the novel's central conflict.
- I
The narrator's refusal of friendship and the private difference with Herncastle hint at a fateful consequence tied to the stolen treasure.
- II
The diamond is said to carry a curse that brings disaster to any mortal who steals it, and the prophecy of its eventual return to the Brahmins underscores the theme of fate.
- III
The dying Indian's prophecy that 'The Moonstone will have its vengeance yet on you and yours' introduces the theme of a curse tied to the diamond, suggesting inescapable fate.
- Chapter IV
The narrator expresses a superstitious belief that crime brings its own fatality, foreshadowing the curse associated with the diamond.
- V
The Diamond is associated with threats and a sense of doom, as the Colonel's life was threatened twice in India.
- VI
The diamond is believed to be under a curse, and the Indians' pursuit suggests a fateful destiny tied to its recovery.
- Seventh Narrative
Ezra Jennings's insistence on dying forgotten and unknown, and his request for a nameless grave, echo the theme of inescapable fate and the curse of obscurity.
- III: The Statement of Mr. Murthwaite (1850)
The three Brahmins are doomed to wander as pilgrims until death, and the Moonstone's return to India suggests a cyclical fate.