Mr. Candy Character Analysis in The Moonstone

The Verinder family’s goofy family doctor, whose social tactlessness gets him into an argument with Franklin Blake at Rachel Verinder’s birthday dinner. (Although he does not reveal this until late in the book, Candy secretly drugs Franklin with laudanum as a practical joke to get his revenge.) On his way home from the dinner, he falls sick due to the heavy rain, and his illness—while cured by his brilliant assistant Ezra Jennings—ultimately debilitates him. When Franklin visits Mr. Candy again at the end of the book, the doctor is withered and sickly, unable to remember what he means to say or hold a coherent conversation. However, the letter he writes notifying the Verinders and reader of Ezra Jennings, which forms one of the book’s final narratives, is completely coherent. This appears to prove Ezra Jennings’s theory: Candy can think coherent thoughts, just not express them.

Mr. Candy Character Timeline in The Moonstone

The timeline below shows where the character Mr. Candy appears in The Moonstone. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...turn into a brooch for Rachel. The first was the talkative and irreverent doctor Mr. Candy, who joked that he would burn the Diamond away for the sake of science, and... (full context)

The dinner proceeds awkwardly: Mr. Candy, for instance, boorishly suggests that the husband of another guest, Mrs. Threadgall, visit some skeletons... (full context)

Detective Methods and Genre Standards Theme Icon

...though Betteredge knows she was inside all day. Secondly, the postman brings news that Mr. Candy, the doctor, has fallen ill from traveling in the rain and was “talking nonsense,” which... (full context)

...to, despite Betteredge’s attempts to send her to Julia instead. Betteredge thinks about calling Mr. Candy’s assistant, Mr. Ezra Jennings, to take a look at Rosanna—but nobody “liked him or trusted... (full context)

...next week,” and walks out. Betteredge explains that the man is the assistant to Mr. Candy, who “lost his memory” during his previous illness and can no longer practice medicine. “Nobody... (full context)

...by Ezra Jennings after seeing Franklin at the station and Jennings told him that Mr. Candy wanted to see Franklin for some specific, significant, and secret reason. When his time comes,... (full context)

...he rediscovers the letter Betteredge had left him, which asks him to talk with “Mr. Candy’s remarkable-looking assistant” Ezra Jennings, and he writes a “perfectly commonplace” reply. He thinks through Rachel’s... (full context)

When he reaches Frizinghall, Franklin sends notice to Betteredge and then visits Mr. Candy, who “had expressed a special wish to see [him].” Franklin is astonished to see Candy... (full context)

...and young both together” and make him rather unpopular around town. Jennings admits that Mr. Candy’s memory “is hopelessly enfeebled” but thinks “it may be possible to trace Mr Candy’s lost... (full context)

During Candy’s acute illness, Jennings noted down his “wanderings” to test for research purposes whether “the loss... (full context)

...slander,” and even lost another job in rural England before going to work for Mr. Candy. Despite his appearance, he admits, he is only 40. But Jennings believes he “shall be... (full context)

...for an appointment, and Jennings tells Franklin to meet him two hours later at Mr. Candy’s house. (full context)

...Betteredge. When the time is up, Franklin meets Jennings in a surgery room at Mr. Candy’s house. Jennings has papers out and repeats his question to Franklin about opium, before adding... (full context)

...Diamond, in a state of trance, produced by opium […] given to [him] by Mr. Candy” in order to prove his point about the capacity of medicine. Jennings admits that Candy’s... (full context)

On June 17, Jennings writes that Mr. Candy is leaving for a trip, which allows him to avoid discussing his experiment. Rachel has... (full context)

...to prepare the dose of Laudanum, and decided to increase this dose: the amount Mr. Candy stated he gave Franklin Blake was unlikely to create symptoms, and so Jennings is convinced... (full context)

...time for his laudanum, and Jennings implores him to wait, since he knows that Mr. Candy must have originally given Franklin the drugs sometime around 11:00. Jennings and Franklin briefly chat,... (full context)

...pounds within two years, as of the date of the Diamond’s theft. Godfrey helped Mr. Candy slip Franklin the laudanum on the night of the theft. (full context)

Mr. Candy’s letter to Franklin Blake includes a returned, unopened letter from Franklin to Ezra Jennings. Candy... (full context)

Before his death, Jennings sends Candy to examine his papers, including his diary and a partial manuscript of a book. He... (full context)

Before his death, Ezra Jennings says the name “Ella” and asks Mr. Candy to kiss his forehead. Moments before his passing, “he lifted his head [and] the sunlight... (full context)

Mr. Candy writes that Jennings was “a great man,” although unknown, who confronted “a hard life” with... (full context)