How Fiction Differs from Philosophy

George Eliot, who could write powerful essays, regularly chose to present social and political ideas in fictional form. The contrapuntal voice of Princess Leonora Halm-Eberstein demonstrates how arguments and counterarguments come to life in the characters of the novel, creating a mode of storytelling that speaks to readers’ emotions and reason. In asking how the content of Daniel Deronda relates to its form, Professor Wisse illustrates the unique power of fiction to engage the imaginative sympathies of the reader.