Artifact:
My artifact is a political cartoon from Punch; or, The London Charivari, a humor magazine in the 1800s known for its political satire & cartoons. The cartoon is by John Tenniel and was published on April 15th, 1876.
The cartoon depicts Benjamin Disraeli, the British Prime Minister at the time, presenting Queen Victoria with the “Crown of India” as he persuades her to exchange her old British crown for his. Beneath the title “NEW CROWNS FOR OLD ONES!” it says (Aladdin adapted.) In this comic Disraeli is the magician who in the original story of “Aladdin” from 1001 Arabian Nights continuously carries an ornate and new lamp trying to exchange it for others’ old, dull ones. The magician’s lamp, while beautiful, is much less valuable than the dingy magic lamp containing the magical djinn, or genie. Tenniel has depicted Disraeli as trying to trick Queen Victoria into exchanging the crowns instead of the lamps from “Aladdin.”
Historical Background:
This comic is a metaphor depicting the moment when Queen Victoria would be crowned Empress of India, about nine months after this cartoon was published. Disraeli was a key figure in having Queen Victoria crowned. India had been under British rule since the late 1850s, but giving Victoria the additional title of “Empress of India” would serve as a sign of good will and friendship between the two.
This comic was published a month after Disraeli delivered the Royal Titles Act of 1876. Even though England had been present in India since the 1850s, in 1876 prime minister Disraeli would propose to add the title of “Empress of India.”
Opponents to Disraeli’s notion thought it was a thinly veiled way of showing their absolute control over India and disguising it as a display of friendship.
They also disliked the word “empress” because they believed it indicated an attitude of “military despotism” over India. “This is a clumsy periphrasis in which you are involving the country if you have not only royal but imperial majesties.” said one opponent. They also thought the word would weaken the impression and supremacy of Queen Victoria’s original title.
Wilkie Collins had a long history of critiquing the British political system and specifically British imperialism.
The Moonstone was a sensation novel not only for its exciting story and innovative plot devices, but also for its critique of Britain’s treatment of and relationship with India. Collins saw how the British considered themselves naturally superior to Indians, with a strong sense of entitlement (like how his characters believe they are entitled to the Moonstone, the “heart” of India) and superiority (remember how men like Herncastle regard Indians’ lives with so little value)
Collins states in the preface that the fictional Moonstone is based off of two real diamonds: the Koh-i-Nor and the diamond on the top of the Russian Imperial Sceptre, originally the eye of an Indian idol. He also mentions taking inspiration from the Koh-i-Nor’s supposed curse upon those who “divert it from its ancient uses.”
The comic relates to The Moonstone because they both challenge the romanticized idea of imperialism and the British presence in India.
Disraeli is presenting this shiny new title of Empress as a wonderful creation that will strengthen ties between India and Britain, when instead it’s a symbol of oppression and despotism. In The Moonstone, the stone is given to Rachel, seemingly a simple, pretty souvenir from India, but it’s actually an artifact of huge significance, representing the heart of India, that means a lot to the people it was stolen from.
The tone in this comic and its metaphor relate to The Moonstone’s matching disscontempt for India’s abuse and British society’s ignorance.
The way Wilkie Collins depicts the Indians and their treatment by the British is a critique of British imperialism.
He does this by showing that the three Indians are intelligent, patient, and an intellectual threat instead of only a physical one. They are a constant presence felt in the novel, even when they are not in plain sight or performing an action. It's a surprise when we find out they speak English and can treat some of the English characters with respect because these traits go against the stereotypes about Indians.
Discussion Points:He does this by showing that the three Indians are intelligent, patient, and an intellectual threat instead of only a physical one. They are a constant presence felt in the novel, even when they are not in plain sight or performing an action. It's a surprise when we find out they speak English and can treat some of the English characters with respect because these traits go against the stereotypes about Indians.
In his preface, Collins states that in The Moonstone, “In some of my former novels, the object proposed has been to trace the influence of circumstances upon character. In the present story I have reversed the process. The attempt made, here, is to trace the influence of character on circumstances.” (47) What do you think he means by this? How did he use this to criticize British imperialism?
In the comic, Queen Victoria is being swindled out of her more valuable “old crown.” In The Moonstone, what would you say the characters lose in exchange for the Moonstone? (e.g. Innocence, compassion, or rationality)
Important Quotes:
In the prologue, John Herncastle kills the men meant to protect the Moonstone in cold-blood and then lies about it to his cousin, claiming he doesn’t know the cause of death. It’s a startling scene, to have these supposedly more civil and rational Englishmen plunder and murder for wealth. “‘The Indian met his death, as I suppose, by a mortal wound,’ said Herncastle. ‘What his last words meant I know no more than you do.’” (57) Herncastle outright lies to his cousin, this exchange makes the prologue even more disturbing because not only are is this English soldier a murderer, but a cruel one who doesn’t feel any regret for murdering these Indians.
The Indians in The Moonstone aren’t impulsive killers, they wait and use cunning methods to try and obtain the Moonstone. In the end, the reader doesn’t even truly know how exactly they came to obtain the Moonstone. “How it has found its way back to its wild native land - by what accident, or by what crime, the Indians regained possession of their sacred gem, may be in your knowledge, but is not in mine. You have lost sight of it in England, and (if I know anything of this people) you have lost sight of it for ever.” (542)
“Who ever heard the like of it - in the 19th century, mind; in an age of progress, and in a country which rejoices in the blessings of the British constitution?” (88) The British thought themselves to be very advanced in their time, especially compared to the “devilish” Indian society.
“If he was right, here was our quiet English house suddenly invaded by a devilish Indian Diamond - bringing after it a conspiracy of living rogues, set loose on us by the vengeance of a dead man.” (88) It stuck out while reading how he phrases this. Ignoring that this was a stolen treasure that was taken through murder of Indian men charged with guarding it, he instead phrases it as the poor English house being plagued by malicious spirits. Instead of facing the consequences for stealing the Moonstone from India, it is the “vengeance of a dead man” that is causing their misfortune.
Works Cited:
Bardinelli, John. “The Origin of the Genie in the Lamp.” John Bardinelli, Giant Glacier, 3 Mar. 2015, www.giantglacier.com/the-origin-of-the-genie-in-the-lamp/.
Blake, Robert Norman. “Benjamin Disraeli.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 22 Mar. 2017, www.britannica.com/biography/Benjamin-Disraeli.
Collins, Wilkie, and Steve Farmer. The Moonstone. Broadview, 1999.
Disraeli, Benjamin. “Royal Titles Bill. 1 March 9, 1876.” Disraeli's reading of the Royal Titles Bill. 1 March 9, 1876, The Victorian Web, www.victorianweb.org/history/empire/disraeli1.html.
“Making Britain.” Queen Victoria Becomes Empress of India | Making Britain, The Open University, www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/makingbritain/content/queen-victoria-becomes-empress-india.
Szczepanski, Kallie. “Political Cartoons - A View of Colonial India.” ThoughtCo, Thought Co., 17 May 2015, www.thoughtco.com/colonial-india-in-cartoons-195499.
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