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.

When Mirah was brought to America as child with her father (the novel was published in 1876, so I am assuming Mirah was in America sometime between the 1860s and 1876), she did not have a Jewish community that welcomed her and that she could engage in her beliefs with. Mirah says to Mrs. Meyrick, “he [her father] did not follow our religion at New York, and I think he wanted to me not to know much about it” (Eliot 178).

In 1621, England, Sir Henry Finch published The World's Great Restauration: or Calling of the Jews, and with them of all Nations and Kingdoms of the Earth to the Faith of Christ, a book encouraging the restoration of the Jewish state of Israel. This, in many ways, served as early inspiration and support for Zionism—the belief that the Jewish people should reclaim the “promised land” of Israel (Kobler 110). Zionism was a mindset that became increasingly popular in the 18^th and 19^th centuries.