The Victorian era thrived on ideals; knowing their world is more than knowing the facts of British politics, of documented interactions, or popular amusements, it is striving to understand the light in which they saw themselves, the real or ideal roles society endeavored to fulfill. As Lynn Voskuil explains, “In nineteenth-century England. . . theatricality and authenticity often functioned dynamically together to construct the symbolic typologies by which the English knew themselves as individuals, as a public, and as a nation,” (Voskuil 2004, 2). To define oneself by the fulfillment of archetypical notions requires a social performance that seems to conversely relate to the very ideal of authenticity. There are many cases in which an individual's own goals and morals align perfectly with those that society as a whole dictates, but there still requires performative expression of these shared ideals. The term ‘natural acting' was coined by theatre critic (and partner of George Eliot) George Henry Lewes, to describe cases in which an individual uses acting not to mask their motives, but to explore their true emotions and present themselves accurately to the world.
[...] Gwendolen is introduced through the eyes of Daniel Deronda, in a gambling scene of self-fashioned drama and allure. His perusal is like that of art; he ponders whether she was "beautiful or not beautiful? And what was the secret of form or expression which gave the dynamic quality to her glance?”(Eliot 1986, 35). The terms “secret of form” and “dynamic quality” evoke dialogue about the Golden Ratio employed in Renaissance portraiture, or the proportioned aesthetics of classic sculptures. Gwendolen is indeed an artist, using her own body as her medium, not to express any inner truth of self, but rather for the sheer power of aesthetics. [...]
[...] Michie writes, fact that sisters in Victorian texts frequently compete with and replace each other should not blind us to the fact that within the protective idiom of sisterhood, women could express anger and sexuality in a way unavailable to them in the context of other relations, certainly including those with (Michie 1992, 21). As we shall see in Daniel Deronda, the institution of sisterhood is strongest in cases of theoretical relation, rather than blood ties, and its subtlety of identification is essential to the growth of the main female characters, yet not ever formally recognized. [...]
[...] Mirah is indeed in a separate world from Gwendolen, different class, different nationality and religion, which causes distress to Mirah before she openly acknowledges that the thing they have in common is a mutual ‘love' for Daniel Deronda. Finally Mirah exhibits emotions that make her real by clashing with her perfect performance of ‘natural acting.' She has feelings that don't align with her ideals, realizes emotion that isn't a part of the role she wants to play. Mirah is jealous towards Gwendolen because she fears that Daniel loves her, which confirms that she also loves Daniel. [...]
[...] Michie explains the term ‘sororophobia' by the following, “Indeed, sororophobia is about negotiation; it attempts to describe the negotiation of sameness and difference, identity and separation, between women of the same generation, and is meant to encompass both the desire for and the recoil from identification with other women,” (Michie 1992, 9). This term characterizes Gwendolen's situation of isolation from other women, and her distanced relationship with both Lydia Glasher and Mirah. Although Ms. Glasher is older than Gwendolen, she is of the same generation because of her un-relinquished, though failing, ties with Grandcourt. [...]
[...] In Daniel Deronda, Eliot frames the English experience within the context of the European continent, seemingly criticizing the lack of perspective found in Victorian life. At the forefront of critique, Gwendolen Harleth becomes the very symbol of the woman suppressed by her own performance of the Victorian ideals of femininity. Contrasting with her vain and unnatural position, Mirah represents the earnest woman, whose performance aligns with her true emotions and social role. Lydia Glasher portrays a deviant of the feminine ideal, a character that allows Eliot to explore a wider range of mal-adjustments to imprisoning principles. [...]
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