Book Review: Daniel Deronda

When you read Jane Austen, you can curl up in a comfy chair and sip tea. You can also do that with Dickens or Trollope. But not George Eliot.
Eliot requires you to sit upright, eyes forward, and pay attention! There is nothing cozy about her novels. Her work tends to edify rather than entertain. Her stories address serious themes through extensive critical examination, and even when there is humor, it is not terribly playful.
This may sound harsh, coming from a self-professed George Eliot fan. About twenty years ago, I could not get enough of her. I have read all her novels multiple times as well as several biographies. She definitely fascinates me.
Even so, her prose gets rather thick. I have just finished tackling Daniel Deronda, Eliot’s final novel (or more accurately, it tackled me). This is my third go-round for Deronda, which isn’t even one of my favorites. It certainly is not as readable as its predecessor, Middlemarch.
So, if the prose is thick, what compelled me to go back for a third helping? Perhaps I’ve finally reached an age where I can comprehend the layers of social analysis, or maybe I am merely pretending to be erudite and intelligent enough to understand what is going on.
Daniel Deronda follows parallel storylines. One involves Gwendolyn Harleth, a spoiled and headstrong young woman. When her family suffers an economic setback, she makes a mercenary marriage to Henleigh Grandcourt, a rich man. Given her determination, Gwendolyn believes she will be able to manipulate her husband as easily as she has other men. However, Grandcourt proves to be cold-hearted, and he takes cruel delight in controlling his spirited young wife. 
The second plot involves Daniel, who is helping a young Jewish singer find her brother. This takes him into the Jewish community, where he eventually locates Mordecai, who is dying of tuberculosis. Mordecai, a Zionist, believes that Daniel has been sent to him to be his pupil and successor in terms of establishing the Jewish nation. 
The first time I read the novel, I felt like I was reading two separate novels that had been jammed together. I could not understand how Gwendolyn’s tale related to Daniel’s immersion in Judaism. The second time I read it, I got a glimmer of understanding, which winked out as soon as it shone.
This time around, I finally understand how these parallel stories focus on redemption. Gwendolyn recognizes her sin in marrying Grandcourt for his money. She turns to Daniel for guidance. From their first encounter, she has idealized him as morality personified. Once she recognizes the depth of his compassion, she turns to him as a teacher to guide her through her difficult marriage. She wishes to rise above her selfish nature to become a better person.
Likewise, Mordecai fears his impending death, as his life’s work will come to nothing. On meeting Daniel, Mordecai experiences relief for his troubled soul. He recognizes that Daniel’s sympathy will preserve his mission to help the Jewish identity be an equal part of the world community, where all nations will come together to educate and reform the populace.
For both Mordecai and Gwendolyn, Daniel is the answer to their prayers.
Daniel, too, experiences redemption. He is at a crossroads in his life. A recent graduate, he has not yet decided what career to pursue. As the ward of Sir Hugo Mallinger, Daniel knows nothing of his past or parentage. When he finally does meet his mother, and thus learns of his Jewish heritage, he finds the purpose he has been longing for. Although he does not recant of his Christian upbringing, he does feel the calling to support his Jewish heritage.
Put away your
cell phones,
and pay attention!Daniel Deronda is unique as a Victorian novel, in that it shines a sympathetic light on the Jewish community in England. Other novels, such as Oliver Twist or Trollope’s The Way We Live Now, feature unfavorable caricatures of Jews, so for George Eliot to present a realistic portrayal of Judaism – in particular, Zionism – is rather remarkable.
Eliot’s prose is always rich and dense, but I confess to feeling beaten down by the preponderance of moral examination. No incident is too small to dissect as an example of the universal human experience. Many times I had to read passages more than once to make sure I understood the import.
My second complaint is that Daniel comes across as a moral template. Every action he takes is always proper, and all the characters (apart from Henleigh Grandcourt) hold him up as perfection. But Eliot knows that that would make a rather boring character, so she gives Daniel plenty of uncertainty and doubt. The problem is that the conflict is always internal. No one ever witnesses Daniel’s quandaries because he keeps it all to himself. It would have been more realistic if he exhibited a few questionable actions so that he doesn’t come across as goody-goody.
In the end, I do feel edified. I also feel exhausted. It took me 3 months to plow my way through the novel. I believe this will be my final go-round for Daniel Deronda. But certainly not the last George Eliot novel I will read.