How Does the Multi-Narrative Structure of ‘the Moonstone’ Contribute to the Presentation of Character and the Sense of Suspense? in Your Answer, You Should Refer in Detail to at Least Two of the Narratives
The Moonstone is structured in a multi-narrative style and Wilkie Collins did this to present the characters and events from different perspectives and also create a sense of suspense. This is because the reader will have many different opinions on events from the different characters so there is not a definitive answer to what was said or what happened. How Collins portrays Victorian attitudes will also be examined in this essay.
Not much is revealed about Miss. Clack in any of the narratives apart from hers. Collins gives her a voice for a specific reason. Through her he can criticise the other characters without criticising them directly and this gives more depth to the novel. In Betteredge’s first narrative we learn very little about Miss. Clack but his narrative introduces us to the character of Miss. Clack. As we know very little about her it creates a sense of suspense, as she becomes another part of the puzzle of who stole the Diamond. In her narrative we get an insight to what Miss. Clack is really like. She is shown to have a curious nature, as she says,
‘I waited for a minute or two, more than a minute or two.’
This is said when Miss. Clack is considering who had entered the house. Because of her curiosity and suspicion, the reader is also curious and suspicious. What Miss. Clack discovered was Godfrey’s proposal to Rachel. If Collins had not set the style as a multi-narrative structure then this important piece of information would not have been revealed to us. No other character is as curious as Godfrey than Clack, so she is the only one who found out about his proposal. She also keeps enquiring throughout the narrative about the secret which Rachel and Mr. Bruff hold. This makes the reader suspicious as to what information is being withheld from Clack.
We also find out more about Victorian attitudes due to the multi-narrative structure, as each character has their own views on events, and the reader can see how different classes treat the
Not much is revealed about Miss. Clack in any of the narratives apart from hers. Collins gives her a voice for a specific reason. Through her he can criticise the other characters without criticising them directly and this gives more depth to the novel. In Betteredge’s first narrative we learn very little about Miss. Clack but his narrative introduces us to the character of Miss. Clack. As we know very little about her it creates a sense of suspense, as she becomes another part of the puzzle of who stole the Diamond. In her narrative we get an insight to what Miss. Clack is really like. She is shown to have a curious nature, as she says,
‘I waited for a minute or two, more than a minute or two.’
This is said when Miss. Clack is considering who had entered the house. Because of her curiosity and suspicion, the reader is also curious and suspicious. What Miss. Clack discovered was Godfrey’s proposal to Rachel. If Collins had not set the style as a multi-narrative structure then this important piece of information would not have been revealed to us. No other character is as curious as Godfrey than Clack, so she is the only one who found out about his proposal. She also keeps enquiring throughout the narrative about the secret which Rachel and Mr. Bruff hold. This makes the reader suspicious as to what information is being withheld from Clack.
We also find out more about Victorian attitudes due to the multi-narrative structure, as each character has their own views on events, and the reader can see how different classes treat the