The Book of Esther in Daniel Deronda: Between Metaphorical and Literal Mapping

Abstract:This article traces the place of the Book of Esther in George Eliot's Daniel Deronda, and argues that the biblical work can be seen as Eliot's primary "map" in her own project of literal and metaphorical remapping. Historical and cultural contexts, as well as close readings of the texts, suggest that the Book of Esther is especially relevant because it engages with the "Jewish Question" and the "Woman Question" in tandem; it offers a terrain for the novel's ideas on both issues, while precipitating a revised hermeneutic of the biblical text. Remapping the Book of Esther serves Eliot in advocating for a Jewish return and to the Land of Israel and in spurring discourse towards the depolarization of gendered traits, roles, and relations. However, while Eliot answers the Jewish Question with proto-Zionism, she leaves the Woman Question chillingly unanswered—as does the Book of Esther itself.