Sergeant Cuff Questions Rachel Verinder

Instalment VII of The Moonstone in Harper’s Weekly presents an illustration of the scene in which Sergeant Cuff calls Rachel for questioning and she tells him to not take Franklin Blake’s assistance, after which she storms off. Rachel’s testy behaviour is noticed by Sergeant Cuff in the scene as his “immovable eyes never stirred from off her face”. This quote brings attention to the exchange between Rachel and the detective just through a simple reading of it. However, the illustration offers a more accurate depiction of the scene which readers may not paint in their heads as Rachel is prominently surrounded by men in the illustration. The illustration places everyone at the scene and it serves as a reminder for readers about the power dynamics that may be at play. This illustration allows readers to form different views about Rachel and her odd behavior. They may be led to chalk it up to intimidation Rachel may have experienced in the presence of so many men, especially considering she only had her mother as an authority figure. Readers of Harper’s Weekly may have been pondering upon the connection between her behavior and the men in her presence while the readers of All the Year Round were still trying to figure out what the reason was behind Rachel’s behavior. They were not being directed to a certain conclusion through some supplemental image like the readers of Harper’s Weekly were, and are able to theorize their own ideas by focusing on other elements for clues rather than an illustration provided.