Daniel Deronda characters

Appears from the start

A beautiful, self-possessed young Englishwoman first seen gambling at Leubronn. Gwendolen has been raised to expect admiration and imagines a brilliant future, but her confidence conceals fear of dependence, poverty, and any demand that might limit her freedom.

Appears from the start

An observant, serious young Englishman who notices Gwendolen at the gaming table and silently questions the character behind her beauty. He has been brought up as Sir Hugo Mallinger's ward, with wealth and social access but uncertainty about his birth and his proper purpose in life.

First appears in chapter 2

Gwendolen's widowed mother, loving but unable to direct her strong-willed daughter. She has remarried unhappily and is now trying to maintain a genteel household for Gwendolen and four younger daughters on uncertain means.

First appears in chapter 3

The clergyman who is Gwendolen's uncle and the father of Anna and Rex. Sensible and well intentioned, he advises the Davilow household after its financial reversal and tries to find Gwendolen a practical means of support.

First appears in chapter 3

Gwendolen's cousin, a university student whose childhood admiration has become romantic love. Her beauty and confidence overwhelm his better judgment, while she treats his devotion as an unwelcome claim on her.

First appears in chapter 11

A wealthy, reserved landowner who begins courting Gwendolen. His controlled manner and apparent indifference to ordinary approval intrigue her, but those around him also sense coldness and a habit of command.

First appears in chapter 13

A famous musician and demanding judge of artistic talent. Gwendolen seeks his opinion when she considers the stage as an escape from her family's reduced circumstances, and he refuses to flatter her ambitions.

First appears in chapter 16

The wealthy baronet who has raised Daniel as his ward and treats him with paternal affection. Daniel suspects Sir Hugo may also be his father, but the subject of his parentage has never been openly settled.

First appears in chapter 17

A young Jewish woman Daniel finds preparing to drown herself in the Thames. Exhausted and alone after fleeing a life on the stage, she is searching for the mother and brother from whom she was separated as a child.

First appears in chapter 18

A widowed artist's mother who runs a modest, affectionate London household. Daniel entrusts Mirah to her care, confident that Mrs. Meyrick and her daughters can offer safety without pressing the young woman for more than she wishes to tell.

First appears in chapter 19

Mrs. Meyrick's son, an artist and longtime friend of Daniel's. Warm, clever, and teasing in manner, he quickly takes an interest in Mirah after she joins his family's household.

First appears in chapter 25

A woman who has lived for years as Grandcourt's acknowledged mistress and has children by him. She privately warns Gwendolen that a marriage to Grandcourt would be built on promises and injuries he has chosen to disregard.

First appears in chapter 32

A poor Jewish visionary suffering from tuberculosis, encountered by Daniel among London's booksellers and riverfront streets. Mordecai believes that Jewish life requires a renewed national future and searches for a younger man who can carry forward the purpose his illness will prevent him from fulfilling.

First appears in chapter 44

Mirah's charming but unreliable father, who trained her for the stage and used her earnings. His reappearance threatens the security she has found with the Meyricks and forces her to confront the possibility that he will again exploit her loyalty.

Also known as Leonora Halm-Eberstein

First appears in chapter 50

The celebrated singer who summons Daniel to Genoa and reveals herself as his mother. Proud of the artistic career for which she resisted the life planned by her own father, she regards the surrender of her child and heritage as the price of freedom she deliberately chose.