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PA RT I SA
REV I EW
decay o f British society from w ithin due to actions by the mino rity j ews.
In stea d , the j ews symbo li ca ll y represent w ha t British soc iety could
become by embrac ing certa in j ewish idea ls. juda ism o ffered a spiritu a l–
ity a nd wo rldliness tha t traditi o na l British soc iety a ppea red to lack . A
Briti sh imperi a li sm tha t threa tened th e j ews thu s emerges as the fo rce
t ha t threa tens a ll o f society; a nd a j ewi sh na ti o na li sm emerges as a fo rce
w hi ch would benefit the wo rld .
In
her fa mo us letter to Ha rri et Beecher Stowe, Eli o t says,
Bu t precise ly because I fe lt that the usua l attitude o f Chri sti a ns
towa rd s Jews is-l hardl y know whether
to
say impio us or more
stup id when viewed in the light of their professed principl es, I
therefo re fe lt urged
to
trea t the Jews wi th such sympa th y and
understa nding as my na ture a nd know ledge co uld a tta in
to.
As even Eli o t sugges ts,
Daniel Derol1da
a t times exagge ra tes these
cha rac ter iza ti o ns so the a uthor ca n identify " uni ve rsa l" idea ls thro ugh
the j ewish cha racters. Yet thi s exagge ra ti o n emph as izes how the "Zio n–
ist pa rt " impa rts a fres h a nd inn ova ti ve perspecti ve. Aestheti ca ll y, Eliot
had to use mo re genera li za ti o ns in o rder to engage her la te Victo ri an
gentil e rea dership. Stereotypes wo rked to her ad va ntage as she pos i–
ti ve ly red irected th em to un ve il a j ew ish community th a t functi o ned a t
th e hi ghest leve l of spiritua lity a nd understa nding .
T he poss ibility fo r a certa in kind o f spiritu a l awa kening ma kes
Da ni el's unce rta in embrace o f hi s bi o log ica l culture wo rthw hil e.
In
Daniel Deronda,
the individu a l ca n ignite soc iety thro ugh spiritu a l
interve nti o n, just as a min o rity di scourse ca n o ffer soc iety insight fo r
futu re ameli ora ti o n; th e indi vidu a l ca n a lso spiritu a ll y d amage soc iety,
just as the min o rity di scourse ca n threa ten . In the nove l, the min o rity lit–
era tu re o pposes the domina nt pa radi gms of its soc iety. T hi s o ppos ing
stra tegy ma kes
Daniel Deronda
powerful fi cti o n . In a ppro pri a ting the
stra tegies o f a min o rity litera ture, Eli o t constructs a bi -cultura l spiritu–
a lity th a t combines po liti cs a nd ethi cs. This spiritu a lity reli es o n di scov–
ering a nd being faithful to o ne's heritage. Whil e embracing th e min o rity
c ulture ce rta inl y is risky a nd perh a ps, in Daniel's case, substa nti a tes too
eas il y th e no ti o n o f bi o logica l o rig in , when tha t o ri gin ema na tes fr om a
min o rity culture with a compe lling philosoph y (mo re redempti ve th a n
the ma jo rity culture'S), the vo ice o f th e minority must be hea rd . Da ni el's
return to hi s j ewish roots signa ls a ra ti o na l ethics fo r th e self
and
a con–
fro nta ti o na l po liti cs for the domina nt soc iety.
