Daniel Deronda

I'm so glad my great Books book club decided to tackle the imposing “Daniel Deronda“ for our January 2025 book. Would I have read it otherwise? I certainly always intended to read the author's “Middlemarch“ years ago, but only did it because of book club

Clocking in at almost 800 pages of very dense text, this book demands that you focus on it, and I found myself having to schedule time at the library to avoid distraction at home. Like other Victorian literature, there are times a modern reader might be forgiven for skimming (for me it was parts of chapter 42).

It's best to go into this book as blind as possible, and let George Elliott take you where she will, letting her weave us through the ebbs and flows of the intertwining stories of Gwendolyn Harleth and Daniel Deronda.

The intense power of a single look just a few pages into “Daniel Deronda” kicks off several deep character studies; crises of action, identity, and conscience; and the stories of the titular Daniel and Gwendolyn.

My initial impression of Gwendolyn was a young woman keen at riding and archery, being pretty, duplicitous wordplay, and breaking men's hearts: in summary, a bit of a bratty twit. We learn that her father died many years before and that she detested her stepfather. Other than the intriguing Daniel Deronda, Gwendolyn treats men as playthings or annoyances. Gwendolyn dislikes being touched; one wonders whether she was spoiled or disliked men because the stepfather abused her in some way. By the end of the novel, I couldn't figure out whether Gwendolyn was intended to be a satire of the characters that the author complains about in her 1856 essay “Silly Novels by Lady Novelists” or not. Perhaps, she ends up living with her mother the rest of her life on the reasonable money Grandcourt leaves her.

Women in middle and upper class England had few choices open to them. Even women who had money or property did and could not mange it themselves. The caste system often kept women segregated from each other, as well. There were so few choices open to women at that time: without a fortune or advantageous marriage, being a governess or a singing teacher were the only somewhat acceptable means of making a living.

Enter Grandcourt, “that remnant of a human being,” who is menacing from early on; Grandcourt's cruel treatment of the good dog Fetch let's us know who he is. By chapter 30, the reader witnesses absolute cruelty and dismissal of the people he claims to love (nevermind his blood relatives). He is bored by everything except winning what he shouldn't or can't have (for now). And once he has made his acquisition, he carelessly tosses his loves in a type of imprisonment, encasing them in “an empire of fear. “ (p. 384). The high-spirited Gwendolyn did not deserve this man. George Eliot is masterful in the cruel sections of the book. She's uses direct language that is almost modern and accurately depicts what horrible things humans can do to each other. Her portrayal of psychological abuse was unusual for the time (compared to contemporary books I have read). Ultimately, grand Court is one of the best villains I have read in a long time.

People of unknown or partially-known parentage lived on the edges of society, allowed to view or take minor roles, but never to be fully integrated. And this is how we meet Daniel Deronda at the beginning of the book: a bit of a shadow who becomes more fleshed out as we proceeded through the story. So, too, was life for people of minority religions. In fact, this is the first book in my memory that takes a more sympathetic picture of what it was like to be Jewish in 1865 and to show a kind, generous Jewish family in the Cohens.

And this is George Eliot's thesis. The book predicts the decline of the English aristocracy because of a belief in supreme power and ability to conquer without being open to other religions and cultures. The English aristocracy also undervalued the middle and lower classes upon whom they relied and it was those classes that should be valued, which is very clear in the book; the scenes in the middle and lower-class homes are the most charming and realistic. The most successful characters are the ones who look to help others not just focus on themselves.

Many of the characters in this book truly shine and are a clear reflection of George Eliot's genius. The delightfully honest and stern Klesmer; Hans Meyrick and his open-minded mother and sisters; Ezra Cohen‘s warm and welcoming family, especially little Jacob; and Mr. Lush are very well-drawn. Many of these characters, steal the show from the two main character characters.

A few other random thoughts.

Set in 1865, there are references to the US Civil War's impact on England's economy and availability (or lack) of goods.

I couldn't find any information on a possible theme of used/stale books. P. 347 Dermda observes “second-hand bookseller may belong to that unhappy class of men who have no belief in the good of what they get their living by...,” and on p. 389 “It had been Gwendolyn's habit to think if the persons around her as stale books, too familiar to be interesting.”

There was quite a bit of talk at the meeting today about whether Danield Deronda was circumcised or not; his mother gave him away around the age of 2 and, of course, we don't find out.

The 2002 BBC adaptation by Andrew Davies is very well done with excellent casting across the board. They did a nice job of taking very dense material and creating a digestible miniseries.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FROM 01/25/25 GREAT BOOKS MEETING
1. George Eliot's first epigraph begins, “Let thy chief terror be of thine own soul.” Why do you think the author began the novel with this poetic warning? What is the purpose of the epigraphs that begin each chapter? Are they distracting or do they broaden your understanding of each chapter?
2. What sense do you get of the narrator of this book? How does she gain your trust, stir your interest?
3. What effect do you think the names of the eight separate “books” of the novel have on the way we read and think about Daniel Deronda and the characters in it? (For example, the first book is called “The Spoiled Child.” How does this affect the way you look at Gwendolen?)
4. Consider how the principal characters in the novel (the Mallingers, the Meyricks, Gwendolen, Grandcourt, Mirah, and Mordecai) view Daniel Deronda. Do their views contrast with the way he views himself? How do his self-image and his aspirations change over the course of the novel?
5. Henry James wrote an 1876 piece for The Atlantic Monthly using 3 fictional characters to criticize and praise “Daniel Deronda.” One character argued: “Gwendolen Harleth is a masterpiece. She is known, felt, and presented, psychologically, altogether in the grand manner. Beside her and beside her husband – a consummate picture of English brutality refined and distilled (for Grandcourt is before all things brutal) – Deronda, Mordecai, and Mirah are hardly more than shadows.” Do you agree or disagree with this assessment?
6. The Princess Halm-Eberstein, tells her son, Daniel Deronda: “You are not a woman. You may try—but you can never imagine what it is to have a man's force of genius in you, and yet to suffer the slavery of being a girl.” The book teems with strong female characters of different backgrounds, temperaments, talents, and ruling passions. What are the female characters' place in Victorian society and how do they deal with their limited options? Can you compare and contrast Gwendolen's and Mirah's feelings about family and roots? How do the portrayals of these women, as well as the focus on matrilineal descent in Judaism, work with terms like motherland and mother tongue?
7. Eliot emphasized the idea of “separateness with communication” in support of multiculturalism. How does the theme of maintaining an individual's ethnic identity weave throughout “Daniel Deronda?” Is there room for minorities in a society organized or guided by nationalism? More specifically, how would you characterize Eliot's depiction of Jewish people and their cultural and religious heritage? Was the viewpoint typical of the Victorian era? How do the individual romantic plots relate to the book's focus on nationalism?
8. Some critics view The Philosophers Club scene in Chapter 42 is like “a play within a play.” What is this scene's impact on the story? Why did Eliot choose so many (at-the-time) British minorities are to debate with Mordecai?
9. George Eliot remarked that everything in the book is related to everything else. Consider the attempted and actual drownings, the pawned-then-returned necklace and the gifted-then-regifted diamonds, as well as the various singers (Gwendolyn, Mirah, Princess Halm-Eberstein). How do these connections affect your view of the book?
10. Gwendolen sends Daniel a letter on his wedding day claiming that: “It is better—it shall be better with me because I have known you.” Do you think this is true? How would you describe the complex relationship between Gwendolen Harleth and Daniel Deronda? Who do you think is the real protagonist of the novel, Daniel or Gwendolen or (someone else) and why?
11. How does Eliot explore the themes of social class, power, and respectability in the novel? Specifically, what do we learn about Grandcourt's character from the way he treats his dogs, Mr. Lush, Mrs. Glasher, and Gwendolyn? Is his character meant to represent the British aristocracy of his time?
12. How do the characters in Eliot's novel achieve a meaningful life (specifically in relation to one's calling)? What does the novel say about people who choose selfish actions over selfless actions?

EXTRA CREDIT: Silly Novels by Lady Novelists
PDF: https://georgeeliotarchive.org/files/original/df6ffa5059cc345b11f58a03d8e04341.pdf
Audiobook on Hoopla (1 hour, 8 minutes): https://www.hoopladigital.com/audiobook/silly-novels-by-lady-novelists-george-eliot/15620451

This essay, originally published anonymously in The Westminster Review (1856), examines the state of women's fiction. Eliot laments that absurd and banal novels, written by well-to-do women of her time, do great disservice for the overall appreciation of women's intellectual capacities within society.

What would the George Eliot of 1856 think of Gwendoyn Harleth and the of the 1876 “Daniel Deronda?”

LINKS & RESOURCES
Reader's Guide from Penguin edition: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/45821/daniel-deronda-by-george-eliot-introduction-by-edmund-white/9780307430878/readers-guide/
Themes: https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Daniel-Deronda/themes/
Ruth Wisse's Study Guide: https://tikvah.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Tikvah_DerondaStudyGuide_v5.pdf
https://georgeeliotarchive.org/ including several reviews from contemporaries

No olihan tämä historiallinen järkäle. Ei tosin mitenkään erityisen vanhentunut, päin vastoin: monessa kohtaa oli ilahduttavan modernia ajattelua, esimerkiksi miesten ja naisten osista elämässä.

Romaani alkaa, kun itsevarma seurapiirikaunotar Gwendolen Harleth ja aristokraatin holhokki Daniel Deronda kohtaavat ohimennen rulettipöydän ääressä. Siitä harpataan askel taakse kertaamaan muutaman sadan sivun verran molempien taustoja, kunnes päästään taas itse asiaan, eli Gwendolenin naimakauppoihin puisevan Grandcourt Mallingerin kanssa ja Danielin kohtaamiseen nuoren juutalaisnaisen Mirahin kanssa.

Gwendolenin ja Danielin välillä kipinöi ja yhteydestä tulee merkityksellinen molemmille. Kirja kuvaa myös vahvasti juutalaisuutta ja juutalaisten asemaa viktoriaanisessa Englannissa. Hieno teos, kaikin puolin, ja todellinen kulttuuriteko tämä käännös, jonka parissa Alice Martin on tehnyt upeaa työtä.

2.5

I love George Eliot. I love her intelligent, erudite, incredibly critical, and, yes, pedantic view of the world. And I find that the longer and more pedantic her fiction, the more I like it. If you want to check her out, don't go the lazy route and read the much shorter Silas Marner, because it's just not that good. But Middlemarch and Daniel Deronda are vast, sprawling, and wonderful. This book takes commitment and stamina, but it's worth it for the complex and compelling characters and the astute narratorial asides. The central narrative of Daniel Deronda's spiritual journey is somewhat naive and two-dimensional, but the story of Gwendolyn Harleth and her quashed ambitions is what makes this book so resonant.