I am continuously surprised by the shorter word limit of this biography paper (6-7 pages). I'm wondering if the reason has more to do with the number of threads upon threads that I keep discovering through the sheer amount of material available on George Eliot's life, or if it's because I'm having a hard time setting information aside for my other papers. Although there's a "reception paper," the reception of Eliot's other books has some bearing on her choices in Deronda, I think. Likewise with historical contexts.
For example, the "Jewish Question" makes up a lot of the discussion around Deronda. Many Jewish characters in Deronda bear a resemblance in name and/or purpose to historical Jewish figures or scholars that Eliot was familiar with. How important is it that I read their work to understand what Eliot was reading? How much historical context should I understand in order to sufficiently apply these biographical facts to the paper? This is where the line is getting fuzzy to me and I begin to wonder if I am spending too much time reading about this one facet of the novel for this specific paper.
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