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''Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe'' is a Novel by George Eliot (the pen name of Mary Ann Evans) which was first published in 1861 . PLOT SUMMARY The novel is set in the earlier years of the 19th Century . Silas Marner is a weaver in a small religious community, Lantern Yard. He is also a highly thought of member of a dissenting chapel. Silas is engaged to a female member of the church and thinks that his future happiness is assured. However, due to the betrayal of a fellow parishioner, who blames him for a theft that he did not commit, Silas is expelled from the congregation. He finds out later that his former fiancée married the man who had betrayed him. Later on, he settles near the village of Raveloe, where he lives as a recluse who exists only for work and his precious hoard of money until that money is stolen by Dunstan Cass, a dissolute son of Squire Cass, the town's leading landowner. The loss of his gold drives Silas into a deep gloom, although a number of the villagers endeavour to help him. Soon, however, an orphaned child comes to Raveloe. She was not known by the people there, but she is really the child of Godfrey Cass, the eldest son of the local squire. Her mother, Molly, is secretly married to Godfrey, but is also of low birth and addicted to opium and alcohol. On a winter's night, Molly tries to make her way into town with the child to prove that she is Godfrey's wife and ruin him. On the way she takes opium, becomes disoriented and sits down to rest amid the snow, child in arm. Her child wanders from her mother's still body into Silas' house. Upon discovering the child, Silas searches for its mother and finds Molly - a woman unfamiliar to him - dead. Silas decides to keep the child and names it Eppie, after his deceased sister Hephzibah. Eppie changes his life completely. Symbolically, Silas loses his material gold to theft only to have it replaced by the golden-haired Eppie. Later in the book, the gold is found and restored. Eppie grows up to be the pride of the town and to have a very strong bond with Silas, who through her has found inclusion in the town. Later, the childless Godfrey and Nancy Cass arrive at Silas' door, revealing the truth about Eppie's family and asking that Silas give Eppie up to their care. However, the decision falls to Eppie, who has no desire to be raised as a gentlemen's daughter if it means forsaking Silas. At the end, Eppie marries a local boy, Aaron, son of Dolly Winthrop, and both of them move into Silas' newly enlarged house, courtesy of Godfrey. Ultimately, Silas Marner is a tale of familial love and loyalty, reward and punishment, and humble friendships. CHARACTERS IN "SILAS MARNER"
SYMBOLS One of the main symbols Eliot creates to illustrate Silas's solitude is the Loom . The loom is a place where Silas shuts out the existence of the community. Another is his "burden." Money Money is also a momentous symbol in the book. Before Eppie comes along it is his gold coins which are his prized possession. Fortune The way that Silas Marner comes across his gold coins and Eppie have one thing in common. They both cross his path in a fortuitous way. (The gold is left by Godfrey's brother, Dunstan, before he dies and Eppie escapes from her dying mother's grasp when she was young). Eliot chooses to make this a theme in the book because she wanted to show that fortune favours those who are good hearted (like Silas Marner) over those who have not been good (Godfrey Cass) MAJOR THEMES In ''Silas Marner'' Eliot combines humour and rich symbolism with a historically precise setting to create an extraordinary tale of love and hope. This novel explores the issues of redemptive love, the notion of community, the role of religion, and the status of the gentry and family. While religion and religious devotion play a strong part in this text, Eliot concerns herself, as always, with matters of ethics, and it is clear that for her, ethics exist apart from religion. On the surface, the book has a strong moral tract; the bad characters like Dunstan Cass get their just desserts, while the good, pitiable characters like Silas Marner are richly rewarded. Although it seems like a simple moral story with a happy ending, George Eliot's text includes several pointed criticisms on Organized Religion , the role of the gentry, and the impact of industrialization. It was written in the period during Industrial Revolution and may be a reaction against it. LITERARY SIGNIFICANCE & CRITICISM Recently, it has been studied in some Secondary Schools in the United Kingdom , United States and Ireland . It is also a part of the Cambridge A Levels Syllabus in Singaporean junior colleges offering Literature courses. In India, notably in Calcutta, it is offered as part of the Advanced English course. ALLUSIONS/REFERENCES TO ACTUAL HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY AND CURRENT SCIENCE The tale was set in "the South Midlands," and the fictional Raveloe was based on the Warwickshire village of Bulkington . There are also correlations between locations in the book and the village of Inkberrow , Worcestershire . It is not known whether the relation is genuine, a coincidence, or deliberate naming by the locals. To the west of the village is Stone-Pits, and at the east side, a tree-lined drive leads to the entrance of the Red House. FILM, TV OR THEATRICAL ADAPTATIONS 's 1876 play, ''Dan'l Druce Blacksmith'']]
- Felix Holt - Middlemarch - Daniel Deronda
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