Reading the Chunksters discussion

I posted this until the moderator gets back so as to keep the discussion open.

I felt that this section was a sort of awakening for both Gwendolen and Daniel. Grandcourt also comes into sharp focus.

Thanks Tracey. I could do with a reminder about what happens in these chapters!

Just cheated slightly by Googling chapter summaries. So this is the part where Daniel meets Mordecai, and in retrospect this is where the whole direction of the story starts to change!

Thank you Tracey. If I had the power to rip a character to shreds it would have been Grandcourt. I disliked very strongly how he reprimanded Gwendolen over her choice of jewelry. I can understand her dilemma; she feels as if she can't tell Grandcourt about the mistress's hateful letter, but the jewelry sickens her. It does me too. I hope it turns to Mirah soon.

For me this was the section where it switched from a story about Gwendolen to a story about Deronda. I think it's a really interesting aspect of the novel that it took this long for that transition to happen (and of course, its length makes it possible).

I agree with the comments made so far. I felt that this section was a sort of awakening for both Gwendolen and Daniel. Grandcourt also comes into sharp focus.

The honeymoon is well and truly over for Gwendolen but rather than this causing her to be less compassionate, it seems to have awakened in her a desire to do better. Daniel talks about having sympathy for those who have made wrong choices, through which their eyes are opened. He encourages Gwendolen to live for others, doing good and making one's life good even though one is living in the grief of a decision that cannot be undone. He tells her to see this as a time of letting in the light.
Deronda also is being enlightened as he searches for Mirah's family. He is opening himself up to answers to questions that he did not know he was carrying within him.

Great is my sympathy for poor Gwendolen and my respect for the way she is dealing with her situation. Grandcourt is sadistic in his approach to Gwendolen, seeking only domination of her. He desires to possess her mind, body, and soul and it is in possession and mastery that he gets his rewards. So very different from Deronda.

I have put up the thread for this week's reading also.

I kind of feel like we hear some about Gwen and some about GC but we go from the wedding to a number of weeks later and things have fallen apart for Gwen already in the marriage. I would have liked more on what it was exactly that was happening between them for so swift a change. There was always trouble ahead for the marriage but I feel like I'm missing an important part of the dynamic between the two within the short marriage.

I am finding the storyline about Mirah, Deronda and Mordecai and the other jewish characters interesting. I am keen to see where this will lead.

I loved the inclusion of Jewish customs in these chapters. Eliot writes in great detail about celebrating the Sabbath, with great care and without any airs. It’s easy to forget why these chapters would be necessary considering many readers of the time would not have been exposed to the culture to this depth. My mind perked up earlier when somebody had asked Deronda if he was a Jew at the synagogue and he answered, “I am an Englishman;” it happens again in these chapters when Mordecai too mistakes Deronda for a member of the tribe, the wakening of a new interest in Jewish History and outlook…what’s about to surface regarding Deronda couldn’t have been clearer, at this point, for me.

I approach most of my reading rather blind, especially with Classics because I enjoy the surprise factor. What may have been obvious to some of you since the beginning, regarding Deronda’s heritage, wasn’t for me. I’m drawn to Eliot’s ability to continue drawing and layering on these various aspects of the story. While Deronda is captivated by the demon, Gwendolyn, I am also intrigued by his connection to Mirah too. How this will pan out is beyond me, but I did and still root for Mirah.