In one sense, I'm thinking how this is one example of Maria losing track of things, which is definitely not who she is. This might spark an intense emotion like the one described here. On the other hand, we know Maria is not well off, and this was a gift that she wanted to give but couldn't and may not be able to easily acquire again.

The man really only has his intentions in mind and can't really discern whether he loves her for her or for what she does for him.

The mention of reputation is very Pride and Prejudice-esque. I wondering if Joyce took inspiration from Austen for this narrative.

This description seems to be a bit of an oxymoron, making Polly seem to be an unexpected combination of both. Additionally, there seems to be a lot of talk of the religion in the book, and here is just another case of it. In this case specifically, this perhaps describes what the boarding school boys thought of Polly.

What an entrance to the story! And the nonchalance of the narrator to just describe this is somewhat shocking, as if this is just normal behavior.

Source states that this means "The end of pleasure is pain", but there are other critiques that give different interpretations.

Its very interesting how the thoughts of the sister seem to light up the world for the narrator. The thought of the sister seems to be in conflict with the surroundings.

There is a very threatening aura to this description of rain. Seems like this is just the vibe of the narrative so far, especially after we just got the narrator's perspective of how they feel walking in the streets in the evening and the constant mention of death/bleak colors.

yikes...

Cool link I found for anyone interested. Apparently these stories were really popular among kids who lived in Dublin due to their narratives of the Wild West, although attached to these stories were (not surprisingly) nationalist views.

Original purpose of the stories were to put the "Penny Dreadfuls" out of business, which were sensational stories that cost a penny. Apparently, these magazines were sold for cheaper and boasted quality content that wasn't that good in reality.

Also from wikipedia: Snuff is a smokeless tobacco made from ground or pulverised tobacco leaves. It is inhaled or "snuffed" into the nasal cavity, delivering a swift hit of nicotine and a lasting flavoured scent (especially if flavouring has been blended with the tobacco).

The scene of the room and the priest is unnerving, and it's contradictory in regard to what I think of a priest. But the garments are perhaps symbolic of that. Also he seems to be living poorly since he is so cold. Seems like the narrator is the only one taking care of him?

Questions about morals are one of the hardest since discussions about them are done through lenses. In the end, you only "elucidate" these hard questions with answers when you constrain yourself to a certain view of how the world works, which doesn't work for everyone.

So the long lengthy texts are an attempt to encapsulate all the things that can happen, but due to numerous possibilities, it's potentially incomplete and probably hard to follow. Does the priest even follow of all of the mandates of his religion?

Straight from Wikipedia:

Rosicrucianism is a spiritual and cultural movement which arose in Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts which purported to announce the existence of a hitherto unknown esoteric order to the world and made seeking its knowledge attractive to many.

I think the tl;dr is a cult belief system like believing in the Illuminati.

Not sure why he mentioned a Rosicrucian, though.

The sentimentality of the character shows through. And her unfamiliarity feeds this sentimentality, contrasted with her friends/family who seem to be so used to the ball experience.

I find this interesting and Mansfield-esque in a way where we could consider who/what this is being directed to. Is this directed to her friends for laughing at the letter? Is this directed to her for giving into to how her friends would feel but not really how she feels? Is this directed to William for showing such unexpected emotion, even though the couple adopted a pattern to avoid confrontation?

Adding on to the previous annotations about one-sidedness or who is the real guest/intruder, here is some imagery painting Isabel's friends taking food as if it was theirs to begin with. From the narrator's point of view, these are glutenous individuals, but from Isabel's point of view, she is entertaining guests. It seems as if William and Isabel are definitely not on the same page.

This is the second time she has refused service, but when Hennie partakes, she quickly changes her mind and does so as well. Is this just a case of FOMO, wherein her initial refusal may stem from trying to act like a grown up?

Even when the father is dead, his effect on them persists. Perhaps this is due to his recent death, and the feeling of one's presence tends to linger on people. Or this could hint to some sort of trauma, which may align with the mentioning of a stick in the last paragraph.

Is this referencing abuse?

Not the first thing I'd say to someone whose father had died., I feel as if you would say condolences or something.

I love how she keeps pushing past her mental barriers to transform her understanding. Being uncomfortable yet making the choice to move forward is something that few people are able to do.

Perfect picture of how ignorance is bliss.

Ezra has been the saving grace for many of the main characters and for the doctor, mending either life or relationships or innocence. This is a really fitting description yet horribly sad ending for Ezra.

Contemplating what names mean in this novel, it is clear to me that Godfrey Ablewhite's name is perhaps one of the most iconic and astounding examples of irony.

This is a hilarious but true thought reflection. The translation from polite commonplace to plain english, to me, is indicative of a surjective function, or many inputs to one output.

However, the translation from plain english to polite commonplace is a much more difficult transformation, as it is a one input to many output relation. And in order to guide someone to the correct set of outputs, one needs a heuristic or a set of training data, which would be the experience of living in Victorian society.

The analogy breaks down when we predict other people's plain English thoughts, as their polite commonplace can have multiple interpretations.

So to say nothing is enough proof that there is no merit to this experiment? Isn't Ezra's thoughts inspired by textbooks/an intention to mimic the scientific process?

I feel like such ignorance towards science is relevant today *cough*,*cough* people who refuse to wear face masks *cough*,*cough*

Although this is a very sweet sentiment made by Ezra, it hints to a sadder truth that Ezra just wants to do good but suffers under the judgement of people due to his addiction. Drugs have been just as much (perhaps more) of a curse to Ezra as the Diamond has been for the characters in this story.

Here is another document to keep track of. What would Mr. Candy want to say to Franklin?

This "plausible" explanation for his disrespect has caused me to question his character. Even as he pleads innocence to us, this chapter seems to paint different picture than his words. Are we to always trust the narrator?

The very fact that we get to read her memorandum verbatim is a violation of trust.

The importance of dates is more apparent in this text.

Is this piece of text meant to imply that Bruff views the man's origin as barbaric/uncivilized?

The use of "Indian Diamond" has only been used from these two narratives. It seems to focus on something other than the stone itself, i.e. that it came from India and Indians are trying to take it, instead of the mystique that surrounds the stone titled the Moonstone.

The importance of reputation seems to play an important part in this story. It is from reputation that Betterredge has such high esteem for the family. And it is reputation that caused the family to refuse the sergeant's help and better judgement. Saving face seems to be more important than the truth.

The narrator then explains who these strangers are. An example of deixis/coreference resolution? The style, however, is different. While Betterredge uses it, Miss Clack uses unidentified strangers.

Like Betterredge, she also has a habit of keeping dates.

Super suspicious. Is Mr. Godfrey also in on the diamond disappearance? Also who is the Miss Clack character and why is she not trustworthy? Another one of the author's many uses of putting off the object until later.

Any challenge to preconceived notions has just been flatly rejected by the family. This is super frustrating to me, but it goes to show how baked in their beliefs are, despite the strongest of reasoning.

The true thoughts of the Mother finally come out, letting us know that she is fully aware of her daughter's lies and cover ups (whether coerced or not). Unfortunately, everyone that tries to help them are somehow made as enemies. This seems wholly unfair, especially when the price to pay is the face of the family.

Is it by reputation, or honor/commitment that keeps the detective here? Maintaining face seems to be at the forefront of Betterredge's mind, but that might not be the motive at all.

Although nothing has been discovered/proven yet, Betterredge's own preconceptions blind him from jumping to a pretty clear and plausible conclusion.

It's interesting how Franklin, who invited Cuff to investigate, is now against him. I suppose this is due to (1) him not being able to say what he wants and (2) the tactics of Cuff are too devious/go against the best interests of Franklin.

Another instance of Betterredge's beliefs getting in the way of what seems to be painstakingly clear. How many times during this story has Betterredge diverged from what we as readers have come to believe? Would be an interesting thing to tally up his unreliableness.

There has been an obvious challenge to the powers that be in the house, and I think she is not adjusting to it well. Meanwhile, other characters seek the truth and not necessarily the process by which it is done. What else could be the reason why there is such a wall between the Lady and the detective?

Why do their opinions differ? Personal ties? Foreign education? Guilt being found, or rather, not found out?

Another juxtaposition showing difference in attitudes based on national custom and belief. Again, foreignness is deemed as more open minded while nativeness is deemed as more traditional (or closed minded)

This passage illustrates how Franklin not only thinks differently due to his exposure to other countries, but through Betterredge's worlds, it also seems to paint these perspectives as unwelcome. In a sense, Betterredge thinks it would be better if Franklin would just do as the English do.

I interpreted this passage as a consequence of privilege, obviously not for those who have it but for those who have to clean up the mess. Furthermore, the tendencies illustrated in childhood get carried over and even advanced in later years, especially when this type of behavior is normalized and unchallenged.

I love how the author uses context of the scene to bring up metaphors for Rosanna's own life. We have the lappet from before and now the sand.

Interesting how he gives no credit to "fanciful" stories/ideas, but believes in his own version of Karma. Also I'd like to note the narrator's stylistic pattern in using juxtaposition. In this case, he uses it to dramatize possibility.

To be expected, but still a shot in the arm to reference an all too familiar glass ceiling. I think also Betteredge has such an interesting way of speaking. Its like deadpan humorous and purposefully isolating, although his relationship with the Lady seems to be one of the only contradictions to the isolationism.