Silas Marner By George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) (1819 - 1880) Essays

Silas Marner by George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) (1819 - 1880) Silas Marner by George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) (1819 - 1880) Type of Work: Symbolic, life drama Setting English village of Raveloe; early nineteenth century Principal Characters Silas Marner, a lonely and miserly linen-weaver Godfrey Cass, an insensitive, yet charming, young man Dunstan Cass, Godfrey's opportunistic brother Squire Cass, Godfrey and Dunstan's lewd, dull-witted father Eppie, an abandoned little girl Story Overveiw Silas Marner, bent at his loom, was interrupted by some curious boys peering through his cabin window. Scaring them away with an icy stare, the shriveled linen-weaver returned to his work. Fifteen years earlier Marner had come to Raveloe from a northern industrial town, where he had been a respected elder in a small fundamentalist sect. But one night as he watched over a deacon lying on his death-bed, Silas fell into a trance. While he slept, his best friend had stolen into the room and taken the deacon's money bag; then, in a move to win the affections of Silas' sweetheart, he had blamed the theft on Silas. The weaver was "convicted" in the case by the drawing of lots; and even God found him guilty. His faith shattered and "his trust in man ... cruelly bruised," Silas had left his beloved home in Lantern Yard. The eccentric visionary now found himself a ]one alien in the prosperous village of Raveloe. Taking refuge in his work, Silas slowly began to accumulate gold. It became his one purpose in life, and every evening the near-sighted old man would count and caress his shiny coins. Still, Silas' life grew more and more empty: "He hated the thought of the past; there was nothing that called out his love and fellowship toward the strangers he had come amongst; and the future was dark, for there was "no Unseen Love that cared for him." Meanwhile, Squire Cass, the "greatest man in Raveloe," threw nightly parties and attended pubs by day. One of his sons, Dunstan, followed him in his drunken reveries. His other son, Godfrey, had a slightly better reputation, and it was presumed he would soon marry the lovely Nancy Lammeter. But Dunstan knew a secret about Godfrey, kept hidden from their harsh father: Godfrey was already married to Molly, a raucous tavern woman with whom he had shared a brief moment of passion. "Dunsey" continually manipulated his brother over this secret, demanding money to pay gambling debts. In fact, Godfrey finally even handed over to his brother the Squire's rent money. Then, with no other way left to reimburse their father, Godfrey let his brother take his own prize horse to be sold at a nearby fair. Dunstan was paid a good price for the horse, but while delivering it to its new owner he was diverted into joining a hunting party, where the animal was accidentally killed. Unfazed and drunken, Dunstan kept the payment. Then, taking a shortcut on his way home, he passed Silas Marner's cabin. Recalling rumors that the weaver kept a hoard of gold, Dunstan entered the empty cabin, uncovered the miser's money, and carted it off into the night. Silas returned home that night in anticipation of sitting down to the roasted meat provided by the neighbor-lady. But, as was his ritual, when he lifted the bricks to gloat over his cache of gold, he found that it was gone. Hysterically, he rushed off to the nearby Rainbow Pub to alert the authorities. For days the townsfolk debated the robbery. Some said that the Devil was the thief and that Silas' money was now in hell. Others blamed a ghost or a gypsy peddler. When Dunstan didn't arrive home from selling his brother's horse, no one was concerned. Dunstan had a reputation for sporadic disappearances. The only notable reaction to his absence was Squire Cass' rage after Godfrey confessed to the reasons behind the missing rent money. Over the weeks, village interest in Silas' problem died down, though the citizens still felt sorry for the withered and despondent recluse. A few neighbors - Dolly Winthrop and her little son, Aaron, in particular - invited Silas to church and sometimes prepared food for him. As Christmas came and went Godfrey remained in frustration and turmoil. His father prodded him to propose to Nancy Lammetcr. How Godfrey wished he could. Then, at Squire Cass' annual New Year's Eve party, Godfrey began to woo Nancy. Unbeknownst to him, however, his wife, Molly, was at that moment trudging through the snow towards the house, hand in hand with a ragged, golden-haired two-year-old girl. Seeking revenge, she intended to expose the marriage and force Godfrey to acknowledge their child. But fate intervened: before