Basil, son of a father who values the family pedigree and who would not let him marry below his station, falls in love at first sight with a girl he sees on a bus. He follows her and discovers she is Margaret Sherwin, only daughter of a linen draper. He persuades her father to let him marry her secretly. He agrees on the condition, that, as his daughter is only seventeen, they live apart for the first year. At first the secret works, but then the mysterious Mannion, whose emotions cannot be read in his face, returns from abroad. On the last night of the year Basil follows Margaret and Mannion and discovers them in flagrante delicto. Basil attacks Mannion in the street and tries to murder him, but succeeds only in mutilating his face by pushing it into the fresh tarmacadam in the road. Mannion survives, recovers and swears revenge, and it is revealed that Basil's father indirectly caused Mannion's father to be hanged for forgery.
Basil repudiates Margaret, but Sherwin threatens him with exposure unless he holds to his marriage. Basil confesses to his father, who disowns him, but his sister Clara stands by him. Basil's brother Ralph undertakes to buy Sherwin off, but meanwhile Margaret flees to Mannion, thereby acknowledging her guilt. Visiting Mannion in hospital, she catches typhus and dies. Basil, having been put on her track by Ralph, visits her on her deathbed.
Basil flees from Mannion to Cornwall. The dénouement is worthy of Conan Doyle, set among whirlpools and cliffs near Lands End.
Themes and criticismedit
In her introduction (Oxford World's Classics Edition), Dorothy Goldman applies psychoanalytic theories to argue that Basil and Mannion, Margaret and Clara, are each like opposite halves of the same person. A further doublet is between the active Ralph and the passive Basil, as the former notes in his dialogue. Mrs Sherwin, Margaret's mother, is apparently feeble-minded and as such is the precursor of Sarah Leeson (The Dead Secret), Mrs Wragge (No Name) and other of Collins' deranged woman characters - though she is astute enough to suspect Margaret and Mannion's guilty secret.
One criticism of the book's plot is that it is highly coincidental that Mannion's father lost his life as a consequence of actions set in motion by Basil's father. The fact that the very woman Basil randomly follows is so closely connected to Basil, via Mannion, despite being a total stranger, can be considered to be a plot flaw.
basil, novel, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, basil, novel, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Basil novel news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2015 Learn how and when to remove this message Basil is the second novel written in 1852 by the British author Wilkie Collins after Antonina BasilFirst edition title pageAuthorWilkie CollinsCountryUKLanguageEnglishGenreFictionSet inCornwallPublished1852 Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Themes and criticism 3 Adaptations 4 External linksPlot summary editBasil son of a father who values the family pedigree and who would not let him marry below his station falls in love at first sight with a girl he sees on a bus He follows her and discovers she is Margaret Sherwin only daughter of a linen draper He persuades her father to let him marry her secretly He agrees on the condition that as his daughter is only seventeen they live apart for the first year At first the secret works but then the mysterious Mannion whose emotions cannot be read in his face returns from abroad On the last night of the year Basil follows Margaret and Mannion and discovers them in flagrante delicto Basil attacks Mannion in the street and tries to murder him but succeeds only in mutilating his face by pushing it into the fresh tarmacadam in the road Mannion survives recovers and swears revenge and it is revealed that Basil s father indirectly caused Mannion s father to be hanged for forgery Basil repudiates Margaret but Sherwin threatens him with exposure unless he holds to his marriage Basil confesses to his father who disowns him but his sister Clara stands by him Basil s brother Ralph undertakes to buy Sherwin off but meanwhile Margaret flees to Mannion thereby acknowledging her guilt Visiting Mannion in hospital she catches typhus and dies Basil having been put on her track by Ralph visits her on her deathbed Basil flees from Mannion to Cornwall The denouement is worthy of Conan Doyle set among whirlpools and cliffs near Lands End Themes and criticism editIn her introduction Oxford World s Classics Edition Dorothy Goldman applies psychoanalytic theories to argue that Basil and Mannion Margaret and Clara are each like opposite halves of the same person A further doublet is between the active Ralph and the passive Basil as the former notes in his dialogue Mrs Sherwin Margaret s mother is apparently feeble minded and as such is the precursor of Sarah Leeson The Dead Secret Mrs Wragge No Name and other of Collins deranged woman characters though she is astute enough to suspect Margaret and Mannion s guilty secret One criticism of the book s plot is that it is highly coincidental that Mannion s father lost his life as a consequence of actions set in motion by Basil s father The fact that the very woman Basil randomly follows is so closely connected to Basil via Mannion despite being a total stranger can be considered to be a plot flaw Adaptations editThe novel was adapted into the film of the same name External links editProject Gutenberg etext nbsp Basil public domain audiobook at LibriVox Synopsis and Literary Reception Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Basil novel amp oldid 1224344816, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
