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Daniel Deronda

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Daniel Deronda I am Daniel Deronda Colonel Albert Edward W. Goldsmid By Judith Rice "I am Daniel Deronda,' he said. 'I was born a Christian. My father and mother were baptized Jews. When I found out about this, as young man in India, I decided to return to the ancestral fold. While I was serving as a lieutenant, I went over to Judaism. My family was indignant at this. My present wife was also a Christian of Jewish descent. I eloped with her, and we had a civil marriage in Scotland, to begin with. Then she had to become a Jewess, and we were married in a synagogue. I am an orthodox Jew." Theodor Herzl, Nov. 25, 1895 Cardiff, Great Britain ~~~ If you do not want to be forgotten when you die, Benjamin Franklin said: "Write something worth reading about or do something worth writing about." Saying on the homeroom wall of Mr. Pugliesi, Blair High School Daniel Deronda is both the title and the fictional protagonist of the enormously popular late Victorian novel written by George Eliot. It was published in 1876. Women writers in Victorian England commonly assumed male pseudonyms for marketing reasons. Victorian chauvinism reluctantly acknowledged women with the ability, intelligence and art to write popular fiction with deep social and societal content. George Eliot's real name was Mary Anne Evans. George Eliot The great Zionist early 20th century historian, Nahum Sokolow said, "Daniel Deronda paved the way for Zionism". The novel was a "literary preparation for the Balfour Declaration." It was more than a literary preparation for the Balfour Declaration it was a masterpiece affirming Jewish national identity that stirred the hearts of millions of Christians and Jews alike. The novel gave words, gave legitimacy, gave spirit to the Jewish soul seeking a path, a reason to return to their ancestral homes, to adopt what later became known as Zionism. Evans was born, November 22, 1819, in England; South Farm, Warwickshire. She was educated at boarding schools until the death of her mother when she was 16. Her father needed her to return and manage their house. Her home life was filled with a spiritual, evangelical intensity. She knew and the read the Old and New Testaments. Biblical Jewish history was as much a part of her education as was English history. Mary Anne moved to London in 1850. She was Introduced to new ranges of ideas and rebelled against the tight Puritanical strictures of Evangelical life. She felt that the form of Christian worship had deviated and demeaned the message of Jesus. It was in London that she was introduced to Charles Christian Hennell's book, Inquiry Concerning the Origin of Christianity. Hennell wrote "the Jews held more rational notions concerning the Deity than any other ancient people. " He continued, reflecting a powerful intellectual religious ideal in Britain, "the restoration of Israel will come with the expiation of sin…..Jacob shall be restored as a nation; a fresh race of Jews shall spring up, and become a firm and flourishing people." Evan's intellect demanded new and reaching horizons of inquiry that her sex generally was prohibited from reaching. Early in 1848 she began a lifelong translation of and interpretation of the works of Baruch Spinoza, the excommunicated controversial Dutch giant of Jewish philosophic thought. Her work was never accepted for publication. A lonely spinster by Victorian standards, she met George Henry Lewes in 1851. They fell deeply, devotedly in love. Lewes, a married man, was unable to obtain a divorce from his wife. Lewes was an English philosopher and critic of literature and theatre . They lived together, as man and wife, each reinforcing, encouraging the other's careers and efforts, supporting each other in frequent issues of ill health until his death in 1878. Lewes never achieved the contemporary recognition or historic fame that George Eliot did. George Lewes encouraged Mary Anne's writing of fiction. Her first effort, The Sad Fortunes of the Reverend Amos Barton was serialized in 1858 in Blackwood's Magazine. She was an instant success. For the next twenty four years, until her death in 1880, she wrote prolifically; Adam Bede 1859, The Lifted Veil, 1859, the Mill on the Floss in 1860, Silas Marner, 1861 and on. Daniel Deronda was to be her last work. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ As a young man of 20, Henry Goldsmid took a position with the British East India Company in 1832. He settled in Bombay where he met and married his wife Jesse Sara. Both Henry and Jesse were Christian converts. They were the descendents of influential Jewish families with long important ties to Britain. Henry and Jesse were married in 1845. A year later their son, Albert Edward Williamson Goldsmid was born, October 6, 1845, at Puna, Bombay. He was baptized in the Church of England. Henry rose quickly in the India Service becoming a highly respected colonial administrator and financial manger. Over-working, steadily, intensely, Henry died, 1855. The Goldsmid family returned to England. Ninety two years earlier (1763), Aaron Goldsmid was the first Goldsmid to settle in England. He had two sons, Benjamin and Abraham. The brothers became extremely successful businessmen prospering as bill brokers in the developing London money markets. Both brothers were well respected for their public and private generosity. Benjamin Goldsmid, in particular, was deeply involved in the founding of the Royal Naval Asylum. Abraham Goldsmid (1756-1810) They lost their fortunes when the markets collapsed during the Napoleonic wars. Deeply depressed, they committed suicide within two years of each other. The Goldsmid family is a socially and marital cohesive family. They have a long and proud, social, economic, political and military history interwoven deeply with the Jewish life of 19th century Great Britain. A Goldsmid reputedly served as a General during the Napoleonic war. Sir Francis Henry Goldsmid (1808-1878) became the first Jewish barrister and later represented the Reading constituency in Parliament. He energetically worked for the passage of the Jewish Disabilities Act and was a founder of the Great Jews Free School. He was a major contributor to Jewish charities and the University College. His nephew Sir Julian Goldsmid assumed his baronetcy eventually becoming a privy councilor. Dying without a male heir, Sir Julian was succeeded by Osman Elim d'Avigdor who took the name Goldsmid.1 Sir Frederick John Goldsmid (1818-1908) graduated King's College London and entered the Madras Army in 1839. He served in the China War of 1840-41. He commanded Turkish troops in the Crimea, 1855-56. After a long career, he retired a Major-General in 1875. Sir Frederick Goldsmid is best remembered for his services in exploration, surveying and peacemaking. He played a significant role in negotiating the borders of Persia from Baluchistan and Afghanistan. He was awarded the K.C.S.I. (Knight Commander of The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India), in 1871. Sir Frederick John Goldsmid's sister married Henry Edward Goldsmid, the father of Albert Goldsmid. Albert Goldsmid graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1866. He was four months short of his 20th birthday when he was commissioned an officer of the 104th Foot (Infantry). 1871 he became the adjutant of the battalion and Captain in 1878. He rose to major five years later in 1883, lieutenant-colonel in 1888 and colonel April 21, 1894 assuming command of the Welsh regimental district at Cardiff. He served as assistant adjutant-general during the South African Boer war. A young lieutenant in the India Service, Goldsmid learned of his Jewish heritage. Feeling that he had been improperly denied his identity and the faith of his fathers, he converted to Judaism. His parents were dismayed. He was 24 years old. Twelve years later, in 1882, he was asked about his conversion with the canard of "dual loyalty". Goldsmid responded through the London Jewish Chronicle – "Britain is my father and Israel is my mother." His noted in later life, his decision to convert never impacted his career with the British army. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ George Eliot's Daniel Deronda appeared in serialized form in 1876. It was an instant, major success. It was an extraordinary story of life, love, the importance of identity and purpose. Daniel Deronda is actually two stories united by the title of the character. The novel begins in August 1865 when Daniel Deronda encounters Gwendolen Harleth in Leubronn, Germany. Deronda raised as an English gentleman, the alleged illegitimate son of Sir Hugo Mallinger, was traveling in Europe trying to find some purpose to his life. Gwendolen and Daniel lock eyes. He is instantly attracted to, but wary of, the beautiful, stubborn and selfish Gwendolen. In a show of arrogance and disregard she loses heavily at roulette, while eyeing Deronda. The next day, Gwendolen receives a letter from her mother telling her that the family is financially ruined. She is asked to return home. Realizing that she has irresponsibly lost all of her money, Gwendolen pawns a necklace to continue gambling and regain her losses. In a fateful moment however, her necklace is returned to her by a porter. Daniel saw her pawn the necklace and redeemed it for her. She returns home, Deronda continues on with his travels. The potential relationship is pregnant with possibilities but both characters move for the time being in separate directions. Gwendolen returns home and relocates to more modest living arrangement in the country with her family. She meets and reluctantly agrees to marry Henleigh Mallinger Grandcourt, the nephew and legal heir of Sir Hugo Mallinger. She agrees to marry Grandcourt to provide for her family but also because of his great wealth and the material comforts that that would bring her.
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