The Book of Esther in Daniel Deronda
Between Metaphorical and Literal Mapping
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21834433 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Channah Damatov (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 305-329 |
| Publication date | 2021-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Partial Answers Journal of Literature and the History of Ideas (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1936-9247 • E-ISSN: 1565-3668 |
| Publisher | Project MUSE (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1353/pan.2021.0017 |
| OpenAlex | W3168269568 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
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
Art · Art history · Judaism · Linguistics · Literature · Theology · Zionism · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · History · Pentecostalism and Christianity Studies · Philosophy · Religion and Society Interactions
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |