The Dark-Skinned Sailor Character Analysis in The Moonstone

A curious man present at the bank when Mr. Septimus Luker takes out the Moonstone, and whom Franklin, Bruff, and Cuff initially suspect to be working for the Indians due to his skin color. Gooseberry follows him to the Tower Wharf, where he takes a room at a pub called “The Wheel of Fortune” and is found dead the next morning. The jewelry box in his room suggests that he did indeed have the Moonstone, and that the three Indian Brahmins murdered him and took it sometime the night before. At the end of Franklin Blake’s second narrative, Sergeant Cuff realizes that the sailor is wearing a mask, which he pulls off to reveal the man’s true identity: he is Godfrey Ablewhite.

The Dark-Skinned Sailor Character Timeline in The Moonstone

The timeline below shows where the character The Dark-Skinned Sailor appears in The Moonstone. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...was doing the day before, when he was “missed at the bank.” He was following a dark-skinned man “dressed like a sailor ,” whom the others had suspected of working for the Indians, and whom Gooseberry had... (full context)

...detective work. Cuff explains what Gooseberry told him while Franklin was meeting with Bruff’s clerk: the sailor went to the Tower Wharf, where he tried to board a boat for Rotterdam overnight—but... (full context)

Eventually, the mechanic and then Gooseberry followed the sailor into the eating-house. The mechanic and the sailor ate quietly, reading newspapers, at separate tables... (full context)

Sergeant Cuff tells Franklin what he suspects: the sailor likely had the Diamond, the Indians likely sent the mechanic, and the mechanic likely went... (full context)

...him upstairs and Sergeant Cuff introduces himself, the landlord immediately turns apologetic and explains that the sailor “is upsetting the whole house.” The sailor disappeared overnight and left his door locked, even... (full context)

Gender and Victorian Morality Theme Icon

The carpenter arrives and opens the door, which is barricaded from the inside. The sailor is not gone, but laying on the bed, dead. While Cuff investigates the body, the... (full context)