Deronda Meets his Mother

Grayscale illustration of a well-dressed woman standing in a sitting room, placing both her hands on the shoulders of a man as if to console him.

This illustration captures Daniel Deronda's first encounter with his mother, a renowned Jewish opera singer. His mother, dressed in black lace, is confessing to her son that she gave him up so that he could live without the daily struggles of being Jewish. This moment is central to Deronda’s journey through his Jewish heritage and to his quest for identity and purpose (Book 7, Chapter 51).

Freer, F. W. (1849-1908)

George Eliot Archive , edited by Beverley Park Rilett, https://GeorgeEliotArchive.org

1888

CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Freer, F. W. (1849-1908), Deronda Meets his Mother, George Eliot Illustrations Gallery, George Eliot Archive , edited by Beverley Park Rilett, https://GeorgeEliotArchive.org, Accessed September 7, 2026. https://www.georgeeliotarchive.org/items/show/83618