Silas Marner by George Eliot
"Silas Marner," a novel by George Eliot, tells the story of a linen weaver living in the isolated community of Raveloe. Silas, once a happy man, becomes a recluse after being wrongfully accused of theft, leading him to hoard the money he earns from weaving. For fifteen years, he lives in solitude, fixated on his gold. The narrative intertwines with the lives of local gentry, particularly Godfrey Cass, who struggles with his own secrets and responsibilities, including a hidden marriage and a gambling-addicted brother, Dunstan. When Dunstan steals Silas's hoard, fate intervenes when a destitute woman dies near Silas's home, leaving behind her infant daughter, Eppie. Silas, mistaking the child for his lost gold, decides to raise her, transforming his lonely existence.
As the years pass, Silas's life flourishes with Eppie's presence, prompting him to reconnect with the community. The arrival of Eppie's biological parents brings complications, but ultimately, she chooses to remain with Silas, the man who has cared for her. The novel explores themes of redemption, the nature of family, and the contrast between wealth and true happiness, culminating in a joyful conclusion marked by Eppie's marriage to her childhood friend, Aaron. "Silas Marner" offers rich insights into human relationships and societal values in 19th century England.
Silas Marner by George Eliot
First published: 1861
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Domestic realism
Time of plot: Early nineteenth century
Locale: England
Principal Characters
Silas Marner , a weaverEppie , his adopted daughterAaron Winthrop , the man whom Eppie marriesGodfrey Cass , Eppie’s fatherDunstan Cass , his wastrel brotherNancy Lammeter , the woman whom Godfrey marries
The Story
Silas Marner, the linen weaver, lives in the small community of Raveloe. Long years at his spinning wheel have left Silas extremely nearsighted, so his vision is limited to only those objects that are very bright or very close to him. Because of an unjust accusation of theft, Silas left his former home at Lantern Yard and became a recluse. For fifteen years, the lonely, shriveled man lives for no purpose but to hoard the money he receives in payment for his weaving. Night after night, he takes his golden hoard from its hiding place in the floor of his cottage and lets the shining pieces run through his fingers.
The leading man in Raveloe is Squire Cass, who has one fine son, Godfrey, and one wastrel son, Dunstan. It is said that Godfrey will marry Nancy Lammeter. Godfrey, however, becomes involved in Dunstan’s gambling debts. He lends his spendthrift brother some of the squire’s rent money, which Dunstan loses in gambling. Since neither brother can raise the money, they decide that Dunstan must sell Godfrey’s favorite horse, Wildfire, at a nearby fair. Godfrey’s one fear is that this affair will harm his reputation in the neighborhood and his chance with Nancy. Another thing that weighs on Godfrey’s conscience and prevents his declaration to Nancy is the fact that he is already married. Once he was drunk in a tavern in a distant hamlet, and in that condition he married a woman of the lower class. Sober, he fled back to Raveloe and kept his marriage a secret.
Dunstan rides Wildfire across the fog-dimmed fields and cripples the animal on a high jump. With no means of raising the money, half-drunk and fear-driven, Dunstan comes to Silas’s cottage. He knows through the neighborhood gossip that the weaver has a hidden hoard of gold. The cottage is empty, and instinct soon leads the drunken youth to the hiding place of the gold. Stealing out of the cabin with his prize and stumbling through the night, Dunstan falls into an abandoned quarry pit and dies.
The robbery of Silas’s cottage furnishes gossip for the entire community. Another mystery is the disappearance of Dunstan. Godfrey is forced now to tell his father about the rent money he gave Dunstan and about the loss of the valuable horse, which was found dead. Silas begins to receive visitors from the neighborhood. Two of his most frequent callers are Dolly Winthrop and her son Aaron, a charming little boy. Nevertheless, Silas cannot be persuaded to come out of his hermitage; he secretly mourns the loss of his gold.
On New Year’s Eve, a destitute woman dies in the snow near Silas’s cottage. She has with her a little yellow-haired girl who makes her way toward the light shining through the cottage window and enters the house. Returning from an errand, Silas sees a golden gleam in front of his fireplace, a gleam that he mistakes for his lost gold. On closer examination, he discovers a sleeping baby. He follows the child’s tracks through the snow and discovers the body of the dead woman.
Godfrey is dancing happily with Nancy when Silas appears to say that he found a body. Godfrey goes with the others to the scene and sees to his horror that the dead woman is his estranged wife. He tells no one of her identity, and he does not have the courage to claim the baby as his own. Silas, with a confused association between the golden-haired child and his lost hoard, tenaciously clings to the child. After Dolly speaks up in favor of his proper attitude toward children, the villagers decide to leave the baby with the old weaver.
Years pass. Under the spell of the child, who calls herself Eppie instead of the biblical Hephzibah that Silas bestowed upon her, the cottage of the weaver of Raveloe takes on a new appearance. Lacy curtains decorate the once-drab windows, and Silas outgrows his shell of reticence. Dolly brings her son to play with Eppie. Silas is happy. After many years, he even returns to Lantern Yard, taking Eppie. He searches his old neighborhood hopefully but can find no one who can clear his blighted past.
Godfrey marries Nancy, but it is a childless union. For sixteen years, Godfrey secretly carries with him the thought of his child growing up under the care of Silas. At last, the old stone quarry is drained, and workmen find a skeleton identified by Dunstan’s watch and seals. Beside the skeleton is Silas’s lost bag of gold, stolen on the night of Dunstan’s disappearance. With this discovery, Godfrey’s past reopens its sealed doors. He feels that the time has come to tell Nancy the truth. When he confesses the story of Eppie’s birth, Nancy agrees with him that they should go to Silas and Eppie with their tale. After hearing this strange story of Eppie’s parentage, the unselfish weaver opens the way for Eppie to take advantage of her wealthy heritage, but Eppie flees back to the man who was a father and a mother to her when no one else would claim her. There is one thing remaining to complete the weaver’s happiness. Eppie marries Aaron Winthrop, her childhood playmate, while Silas beams happily on the scene of her wedding.
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