Some scholars believe that Eliot’s own residence and time spent within Russia as she was writing the novel Daniel Deronda could have had an influence on why such a place was chosen for a character like Leonora to reside in. When looking at the multiple locations throughout Europe like England, Italy, Germany, etc., they all of course have their own distinctions, but share many similarities none the less. Russia is a bit different; For starters, The Russian Empire was not only geographically remote, but difficult to travel in. Leonora resided somewhere between St. Petersburg and Moscow in Western Russia where, during the time period within the bounds of the novel, there was little transportation available. In fact, the St. Petersburg-Moscow Railway (massive port of transportation for residents) was not built until the year 1851: “The Railway was officially opened on 1 November 1851, when the first “all-people's” train from Saint Petersburg to Moscow was put on rails” (“Train From Moscow To St. Petersburg”). Given that the novel began in fall of 1865, “It was near four o’clock on a September day,”, Deronda’s mother must have arrived before or around the time this railway was built (Eliot 1). In regards to those trying to visit Russia, many visitors would have to carry a passport where in other European countries like the above did not require it or it was not as common. With all these restrictions, or limitations rather, Eliot made it extremely difficult for anyone to search for or find the character of Leonora with this distance between her and her old life while also adding depth to her as a character along the way.
Another point to note is that Russia and Britain did not have a “great relationship” per say. Its reputation back in Britain was that of a barbarous autocracy. Leonora remarries in around 1851 which just so happened to be the year in which Britain and Russia broke off relations in the run-up to the Crimean War. According to History.com, “The Crimean War was a result of Russian pressure on Turkey; this threatened British commercial and strategic interests in the Middle East and India. France, having provoked the crisis for prestige purposes, used the war to cement an alliance with Britain and to reassert its military power” (Crimean War). Russia eventually agreed to the terms of the 1856 Treaty of Paris and the Crimean War reshaped Europe’s power structure. “The hostility of the novel’s presentation of Russia accords with and reflects the political enmity which existed between Britain and Russia for much of the nineteenth century, but at no time more than during Alcharisi’s first years there” (Brown 3). For Leonora, all of this pointed to signs of this country being the best place for her to escape to in search of a wealthy husband after the passing of her first and a safe place to reside in as a Jew.
As Leonora is looking to remarry, she pretty much had her pick of a husband in England or any portion surrounding it. However, there are several possible reasons as to why she may have favored a Russian husband over any of these eligible men back home. She ended her life as a singer very abruptly and absolutely; It makes sense that she may have wished to move as far away as possible from the West European countries most associated with her unhappy childhood and motherhood as well: Italy and England (Brown 2). She would also have wished to remain unknown to her son Daniel while also inaccessible to Jews like Kalonymos who knew of Daniel Derronda’s birth. As we have seen in this novel alone, Jews have been persecuted and stereotyped all too frequently. In fact, Leonora’s entire reasoning for giving up her son was to free him from the bondage of being a Jew: “I chose for you what I would have chosen for myself. How could I know that you would have the spirit of my father in you? How could I know that you would love what I hated?” (Eliot 268). All of this puts into perspective just how terribly Jews were treated in Western European countries that a mother would disassociate herself with her own child and flee to the enemy country of Britain in order to provide a better life for both of them as Jews.
Description: “Русский: Лагерь в Балаклаве, май 1855 г.English: Camp. Balaclava. May 1855
Work Cited
Adair, Alexander William “Crimean War” Wikimedia Commons, 1855, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crimean-war-016.jpg. Accessed 29 April 2021.
Brown, Catherine. “Why Does Daniel Deronda’s Mother Live In Russia?” CatherineBrown.org, 2017, catherinebrown.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Why-does-Daniel-Derondas-Mother-live-in-Russia.pdf.
Eliot, George. Daniel Deronda. Pandora's Box Classics, 2020.
History.com Editors. “Crimean War.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 9 Nov. 2009, www.history.com/topics/british-history/crimean-war.
“Train From Moscow To St. Petersburg.” Train From Moscow To St. Petersburg | Russiantrains.com, Russian Trains, 2021, www.russiantrains.com/en/route/moscow-st-petersburg-railway.