Wessex is an extremely vital geographic location that helped devlop the plot of Daniel Deronda for a plethora of reasons. In the novel Daniel Deronda, the countryside of Wessex is used repeatedly in the text, especially in describing Offendene. Offendene was the home of Gwendolen Harleth's mother, Fanny Davilow. This home of Fanny Davilow is coveniently located in the part of Wessex in which life moves very slow and is anything but booming and bustling which is what Gwendolen seems to greatly desire for herself. In the younger life of Gwendolen, one can see her views on Wessex, especially Offendene, to enforce her views of being shallow and degrading, which is how she sees Wesssex. In her eyes, Wessex is some nowhere town that is a complete dump because it lacks the social standards that supports the glamorous lifestyle that she strives to live. 

The geographic consistency of Wessex in the novel Daniel Deronda can be seen in the following quote from the book, "One would have liked the house to have been lifted on a knoll, so as to look beyond its own little domain to the long thatched roofs of the distant villages, the church towers, the scattered homesteads, the gradual rise of surging woods, and the green breadths of undulating park which made the beautiful face of the earth in that part of Wessex." This quote enforces the message of Wessex being seen as a slow paced central for many agricultural farmers in the era of the text. Although, the text paints this area to be bad in regard to that in relation to Gwendolen, there should be some direct appreciation for some of the pristine naturalness of the area, especially in a time period when cities were plagued with pollution. Furthermore, this clearly goes against the values of Gwendolen, she sees herself being too good to be seen in such a place that defies her social stature, which the book enforces within her younger years. It is unique in the eyes of George Eliot to see how he uses this geographical location of Wessex to present the characterization of Gwendolen Harleth. Many would chose to characterize a main character directly, but rather so, Eliot is able to describe her feelings by describing the unwanted connection to the roots in which her mother calls home.

Although, in her younger years Gwendolen finds herself hating the idea of Wessex and Offendene because it does not her standards, readers see these values change throughout the text. As Gwendolen learns more about her true personality and gains more of a sense on how she sees the world, she develops a longing to return to the home of her mother, as she finds it a suitable place to settle down. As this change occurs, the landscape offers an avenue of change to view Gwendolens character, and this hints towards the value of Wessex. Wessex is a slow moving area, without much hustle and bustle, but that does not mean it is any less important than that of an area such as London. This moral points to the fact that one should never judge a book by its cover or make assumptions of a person unless they have walked in their shoes. In this case, Gwendolen grew such a hate for Wessex and Offendene that she was unable to attempt to understand the purpose of life there, and this blinded her form seeing the enjoyment and beauty in the countryside of such a place.

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Works Cited

Eliot, George. George Eliot, 1876, Daniel Deronda, www.gutenberg.org/files/7469/7469-h/7469-h.htm.