CLIFFORD
J.
MARKS
453
expression of a binding history, tragic and yet glorious. He won–
dered at the strength of his own feeling; it seemed beyond the occa–
sion-what one might imagine to be a divine influx in the darkness,
before there was any vision to interpret.
This conversion narrative depicts Daniel entering into the mystical
qualities of the Jewish faith, elevating normally mundane experience
into something transcendent. His observations range from the reader to
the choir, from the impassioned physical movements of the worshipers
to the ordinary architecture of the shul, and from the downtrodden
tableau to the religions of the world. Without knowing Hebrew, Daniel
nonetheless absorbs these contraries and emerges with a somewhat
overwhelming spiritual feeling. Here, Eliot seems to set him up to
embrace the Jewish religion.
But his brief movement towards the sublime gets muted by the touch
of a fellow worshiper who inquires about Daniel's parentage. Daniel
sternly tells the fellow "I am an Englishman." Apparently, a poet can
only temporarily separate his Englishness from his spiritual inclinations.
Whatever divinity, spirituality, or historical power Daniel initially feels
he converts into a retreat, into a British identity that distances him from
Judaism. While Daniel safely operates in the mainstream, he feels the
spiritual appeal of Judaism. But this same appeal threatens his protected
place in the majority. To give in to these emotions would mean aban–
doning power.
As in many of Eliot's novels, marriage serves as a possible location for
renewal, both personal and societal. Through relationships, Eliot
devises the microcosmic possibility of uniting diverse cultures to enrich
the larger society, and here, if we trace Gwendolyn or Daniel's stories,
we discover Eliot depicts different versions of spiritual awakening.
Daniel has already succeeded in establishing his value in the majority
culture. To improve that culture, he must allow his spiritual sensibility
to transcend his worldly self-knowledge. His spiritual sensibility will
materialize from his eventual adoption of the minority culture from
which he was, ironically, adopted out. But the dominant culture, as pri–
marily represented by the "Gwendolyn Harleth" story, will emerge,
ironically, as deeply in need of spiritual repair. Daniel aggressively
embraces the religion of his biological origin; Gwendolyn slowly shifts
her self-centered perspectives.
If
change was to occur-if the minority
culture was to have a real impact on the majority-then the Gwen–
dolyns of the world had to turn from their entrenched positions.
