Children's Selfishness

In Harper’s Weekly, immediately following the final installment of The Moonstone, an article called “Children’s Selfishness” is found. The article is only three paragraphs long but communicates information to parents the importance of raising children without selfishness. One of the overall messages of the article is: “the child, I think, should give as much as he takes himself, just as we are required to do in after-life by good manners and good feeling” (Children’s Selfishness 503). Children must learn to be generous when they are young because they are required to do it in their adult life so that they may go to heaven. Interestingly, the article discusses selfishness just like the final installment of the novel discusses Godfrey’s selfishness. Sargent Cuff reveals that Godfrey had a large debt that needed to be paid off, and greed brought him to steal the diamond. Readers of Harper’s Weekly would contemplate the parallels between The Moonstone and children’s selfishness as they are printed one after the other. The article would serve to bring attention to the final line of The Moonstone and remind readers about the role that greed played in bringing the curse of the Moonstone. It may reinforce the message of raising children without greed because they saw what happened to the family of the man that greedily stole the diamond and Godfrey who died because of his theft of the diamond out of greed. This would complicate the finality of The Moonstone novel, and thus, draw attention to the greed of the American public.