The Princess And The Jewel Doctor 1905

"The Princess And The Jewel Doctor" by Robert Hichens is a story of a princess consumed by her fear of blindness, a curse that runs in her blood. To escape this imagined fate, Princess Danischeff flees to Tunis, where she becomes captivated by Safti, the "jewel doctor," and his promise of healing through gemstones. Hoping to secure her vision, the princess temporarily possesses a small emerald ring, but her dependence on the jewel grows into a dangerous obsession that pushes her to make questionable moral choices. Trying to flee back to Russia, she hopes to escape the jewel's hold, but in a surprising turn, fate intervenes, and the emerald returns to its keeper, marking the end of the Princess’s illusion of safety. Through superstition and wealth, the story paints a portrait of human nature tested.