Genoa, Italy

Genoa is a Mediterranean porty city in the Italian region of Liguria (Britannica). It serves as a scene of revelation and tragedy in George Eliot’s Daniel Deronda, playing host to Deronda’s discovery of his Jewish heritage and the death of Gwendolen Harleth’s husband, Grandcourt. Genoa, and Italy as a whole, have been connected to Judaism throughout history. In 1797, the region of Liguria was taken over by France, which instituted a policy of religious tolerance (Rossi 113). This permitted the Jews “to continue the free and public exercise of their religion throughout this territory” (Rossi 113). Despite this proclamation, persecution of the Jews persisted in Italy and prompted many Jews to join the effort for Italian reunification. Their “whole-hearted participation” in the unification movement “brought them full citizenship and equality” in unified Italy and secured them a number of liberal Italian allies who supported the quest for Jewish emancipation (Rossi 120). The culmination of this partnership was the Sineo Act of 1848, which granted Italian Jews equal rights “regardless of their religious beliefs,” including the rights to vote and hold political office (128).

So, what makes Genoa the perfect setting for a Victorian novel like Daniel Deronda? Author Ingrid Semaan remarks on the port city’s romantic nature, describing it as “a city that has been associated with power, fabulous riches, intrigue, mysterious happenings, and cloak-and-dagger adventure,” characteristics which qualify Genoa as the ideal location for the Victorian hero to act out their story (96). Its contradictory history as both a persecutor of the Jewish people (there was once a law which only allowed Jews to remain in the city for three days before they would be chased out by an angry mob) and shelter for Jewish refugees suits it to this story particularly well considering Deronda’s quest for “Zionist Jerusalem” (Semaan 98). In fact, it is here that he meets his mother and discovers he himself is a Jew descended from a line of Genoese Jews; thus, Genoa’s history with the Jewish people is Deronda’s history (Eliot 555). His mother, Leonora, represents the Jews who were acculturated to Italian society. Genoa was “one of the most important musical centers of northern Italy,” and due to this, “music and singing” were a large part of Leonora’s education (Semaan 101; Eliot 556). Her affinity for Genoa’s arts led her to reject Judaism and her father’s wishes in order to become a celebrated singer. An understanding of Genoese culture aids the reader in comprehending Leonora’s choice to turn her back on her religion and her son: she was pursuing Genoa’s beloved profession as a musician, which demanded the sacrifices she decided to make.

While Deronda is uncovering the secrets of his birth, Gwendolen and Grandcourt arrive at Genoa for a short visit while their boat is “set right” after a “squall” at sea (Eliot 592). The romantic atmosphere Semaan comments on has Gwendolen fantasizing about “what she might do with her freedom” while Grandcourt is out on his boat due to the fact that “one can’t move along the roads” in such a crowded place (Eliot 593). Unfortunately, Grandcourt demands Gwendolen accompany him on the boat, and she has no choice but to comply. What was supposed to be a scenic tour of Genoa quickly turns tragedy: “The boat in which Grandcourt had gone out had been found drifting with its sail loose, and had been towed in. The fishermen thought it likely that he had been knocked overboard by the flapping of the sail while putting about, and that he had not known how to swim” (Eliot 604). As Italy brought freedom to the Jews, so it also brings freedom to Gwendolen from her abusive husband.

Genoa’s Jewish ties make it an excellent choice for the setting of a story centered on Judaism. Victorian writers tended to villainize Jews, so using a city intimately connected to Jewish history as the location in which the main characters resolve the majority of their issues is a positive change in perspective. Eliot’s choice certainly contradicts the opinions of the previous era’s writers; the Elizabethan artists were notorious for characterizing Jews and Italians as “betrayers” (Semaan 100). One prominent playwright, William Shakespeare, actually uses Genoa as the setting of a tale about a woman rejecting her Jewish heritage to become a Christian and a good wife (Semaan 101). Though Jewish persecution was still alive and well in the Victorian Era, Eliot’s novel is refreshing compared to Shakespeare’s commentary, almost a complete reversal of his plot: a man travelling to Genoa to reclaim his Jewish heritage, while a woman escapes her position as wife to an abuser. Genoa’s inclusion in Daniel Deronda was a brilliantly calculated decision on George Eliot’s part, offering valuable background information for readers interested in the intricacies of her characters.

Image of Genoa, Italy: View towards the lighthouse in Genoa Italy.docx

Works Cited

Britannica. “Genoa.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Jun. 2017, https://www.britannica.com/place/Genoa-Italy. Accessed 6 April 2021.

Eliot, George. Daniel Deronda. Barnes & Noble Classics, 2005.

Library of Congress. “View Towards the Lighthouse, Genoa, Italy.” Wikimedia Commons, 1890, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:View_towards_the_lighthouse,_Ge…. Accessed 6 April 2021.

Rossi, Mario. “Emancipation of the Jews in Italy.” Jewish Social Studies, vol. 15, no. 2, 1953, pp. 113–134, www.jstor.org/stable/4465154. Accessed 6 April 2021.

Semaan, Ingrid Leyer. “Why Genoa? The Significance of Genoa in Daniel Deronda.” Hawliyat, vol. 8, 95-112, doi.org/10.31377/haw.v8i0.336. Accessed 6 April 2021.