Reading 1001 discussion

For a long book, this was a surprisingly smooth, enjoyable read. Poor Danial Deronda is way too accepting when other people make unfair claims on him. and the Dutchess was was too pathetic and clingy, to the point where most people would have given her a strong talking-to, or would have dropped her to deal with her own life and decisions. It was interesting to see how the various characters react to Jews and the extent to which 'being a Jew' matters or is irrelevant throughout the book. This is ultimately a who-marries-whom book, which I usually find annoying, but there was enough else going on to keep me engaged in my reading the whole way through.
I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads.

Rating: 5 stars


I loved this book for so many reasons: 1) It is well-written and entertaining to the point that you hardly mind the fact that it is a rather large book; 2) It champions religious and ethnic tolerance during an otherwise racially intolerant time frame (mid-19th century); 3) it has fantastic character development, 4) and it shies away from the predictable romance endings of other books from its time. This is one of my favorite books of the year.

Really enjoyed this book and gave it 4 stars. The way the book has the set-up of a conventional romance and then subverts it for a story about how unexpected others can help in our personal growth was great.

I also love that this was a Victorian novel that had a sympathetic portrayal (overall) of the Jewish community which is extremely unique for the time.

The way that Daniel and Gwendolen are lampshaded in what types of personal growth can better you and fulfill your life (internal maturity versus outward action), was also well done.

3 Stars

I actually enjoyed this more than I expected to although if I were to give the book a title it would be Dan & Gwen a History.

While the title may be Daniel Deronda I would argue that most of the story focusses on Gwendolyn and the decisions she makes that keep pulling her into the orbit of Daniel.

I can’t really say much about the book without giving away spoilers all I can say was that it was an interesting read about family, inheritance, morality & religion.

Reason read: Quarterly book 2025. This novel examines how characters are shaped by their origins, upbringing, and choices, while also critiquing Victorian societal expectations and the challenges faced by women. It also examines being Jewish and Christianity. It is a character driven novel. I disliked one character but that character also made the greatest change. I still did not like her. The male main character was too good to be a believable character. I did like the Jewish and Christian components but that was also what probably was the most boring part of the book. The author uses a lot of "divine providences" in this book. I think I liked the other books by Eliot more than this one even though this is supposedly her greatest novel.

I had a great deal of difficulty in the first half of the book. Both of the main characters were not appealing to me and their dilemmas appeared to be relatively typical for that era of novel writing. However, by the time I was half way through the book the themes came to the forefront and the parallel development of Gwendolen and Daniel's inner questioning complimented by a handful of interesting characters really drew me in and keep me reading. I was appreciative of Eliots' approach to Jewish culture, especially for that era. Also, I liked her investigations into class and status for independent and strong willed women at a time when neither of those attributes were valued. I was particularly delighted by Eliot's ability to not bring either of the main characters to a "storybook ending" while still granting them self respect and at least the potential of a good future.
It is interesting to be reading this book now in 2025 when the nationalism of the Israelis' is in a completely different sphere.

I’m afraid I responded to this book much the same way many of its original readers did (according to the introduction to the Penguin edition) – i.e., getting sucked into the story by Gwendolen during Book 1, and then getting increasingly bored as Deronda and the topic of religion take over. It just becomes so preachy, e.g., the entire chapter at the Hand and Banner, where Mordecai and his buddies debate philosophical and political issues. And despite Eliot’s effort to depict Jews with sympathy and understanding, she perpetuates a lot of stereotypes, especially about working-class Jews like the Cohens. I found the gender issue much more interesting than the religious angle, especially Eliot’s critique of the limited options available for women in the Victorian era. Sometimes this is more light-hearted, such as the Meyrick women all doting on a dolt like Hans. Or the following description of Gwendolen’s attitude toward marriage:

“To be very much sued or hopelessly sighed for as a bride was indeed an indispensable and agreeable guarantee of womanly power; but to become a wife and wear all the domestic fetters of that condition, was on the whole a vexatious necessity. Her observation of matrimony had inclined her to think it rather a dreary state, in which a woman could not do what she liked, had more children than were desirable, was consequently dull, and became irrevocably immersed in humdrum.” :)

Sometimes the topic is handled in a much more serious and daring fashion, as in her depiction of the Princess, a talented woman restricted to the role of wife and mother, although she has no inclination to be either. Having said that, I’m not crazy about the fact that Gwendolen is both punished and reformed, whereas the meek and traditional Mirah is rewarded.

In the end, I would rather have re-read Middlemarch.

⭐ ⭐ 1/2

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“For in general mortals have a great power of being astonished at the presence of an effect toward which they have done everything, and at the absence of an an effect towards which they have done nothing but desire it. […] The truth is something different from the habitual lazy combinations begotten by our wishes.”

“She had no gratuitously ill-natured feeling, or egoistic pleasure in making men miserable. She only had an intense objection to their making her miserable.”

****

The most complex Eliot novel due to the numerous interweaving story lines; while the title hints as to the main thread, it is not obvious throughout the novel (especially at the beginning) who is the main focus of the story. While the stories of Gwendolen and Daniel would probably have been more than enough to constitute a very good novel, Eliot has also expounded in details the state of Jewish existence in England and in Europe in the middle of the 19th century through some of the secondary characters. While her approach covers all the perspectives, she also provided a glimpse into the possible futures for the Jewish people through the "pub" meeting and discussion attended by Mordecai and Daniel; several potential options were discussed, including the proto-Zionism expounded by Mordecai. However, I don't think she would be impressed by how the Zionist doctrine has evolved until today and how her work has been appropriated as a beacon by the Zionist movement. I still enjoyed the novel, though my preference remains with Middlemarch.