The Character and Education of Gwendolen Harleth

Who is this alluring, modern woman, Gwendolen Harleth? Her virtues and shortcomings are on display throughout Daniel Deronda, and her trials suggest what is happening in the country that is the novel’s setting. Professor Wisse outlines the education that Gwendolen received from her mother and her society, and asks whether it has equipped her to succeed in love and marriage, in providing for her wellbeing, or in confronting the inescapable moral choices that all young people must face as they mature into adult men and women.