He and he alone, in
unconscious dignity, stands up uncowering before Grandcourt. His whole
relations to Mordecai are characterised by a deep suppressed enthusiasm,
that fully responds to the enthusiast's soul. Towards Gwendolen every
word he speaks, every act he does, is marked by the fervour of his whole
nature; but it is beside the fair head drooping under its burden of
hereditary sorrow that Deronda passes from our sight, the fitting type of
him who shall yet, sooner or later, re-establish that great Jewish
theocracy so long dreamt of, and reaffirm that Judaism yet holds a great
place in human life and civilisation.
We have throughout had no intention of dealing with George Eliot merely
as the artist; but if we have succeeded in showing this unity of moral
purpose and aim as pervading all her works, as giving rise to their
variety by reason of the varieties and modifications it necessitates in
order to its full illustration, and as ministered to, directly or
indirectly, by all the accessory characters and incidents of these
creations,--the question naturally arises, whether this does not
constitute her an artist of the highest possible order.
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