Silas Marner

In the nineteenth century, men didn't typically adopt children by themselves. Even today, it's a relative rarity -- when a single person adopts a baby, it's usually a woman.But the exception proves the rule in "Silas Marner," George Eliot's novel about a hermit-like weaver whose life is changed forever when a child wanders into his house. While Eliot explores the pliancy of gender roles and qualities, at heart this is just a heartwarming story about love and family. The ending is rather predictable and a little sappy, but it's a pleasant glimpse of English village life in the 1800s.Weaver Silas Marner moves to the town of Raveloe, and takes up residence far from other people. Nobody knows why, except for the readers -- he was betrayed by his best friend, dumped by his girlfriend, framed for a robbery and expelled from his church. He also suffers from cataleptic seizures, as if life for him didn't suck enough. Now he wants just to be alone in his remote house, and hoard the gold that he earns over fifteen years of weaving cloth.Then one night, the squire's dissolute younger son Dunsey Cass steals his gold and vanishes from the town, leaving Silas without the one thing he has come to love. Meanwhile, Dinsey's older brother Godfrey is freaking out because of an ill-advised marriage to a poor drug addict, which would probably get him disinherited if his strict father knew.But then the wife is found frozen to death in a blizzard, and her toddler child -- Godfrey's daughter -- wanders into Silas' house. And to the surprise of all Raveloe, Silas declares that since "it's a lone thing—and I'm a lone thing," and that he's going to care for the child from now on. This adoption will not only change Silas' life, but Godfrey's as well -- and as the child Eppie grows to adulthood, will finally bring about the admission of long-hidden secrets.As a woman who wrote serious literature in a time when women's literary skills were scoffed at, George Eliot knew something about the bendability of gender roles. Even though the main character is a heterosexual male, she subtly positions him as having a strong feminine side -- he has a job associated with femininity ("you're partly as handy as a woman, for weaving comes next to spinning"), he's the perceived successor of the local hedgewitch, and he has nothing to do with the "manly man" pursuits of boozing it up in the local pub every night, as literally all the local men do.And, of course, he cares for a young child with the tenderness and soft-heartedness that was usually attributed to women, not men. And yet, Eliot never treats this character with anything but respect -- he is not seen as less than other men because he has traditionally feminine traits, but as MORE. And these traits are ultimately what brings him happiness, love and friendship from everyone in the community.But while Silas is the center of the story, Eliot fleshes out the village of Raveloe with deft strokes, from the wealthy (Godfrey and his insufferable girlfriend/wife Nancy) to the ordinary working-class folks whose lives intersect with Silas'. And she knows both the good and bad of these communities -- they have good hearts and kindness, but they also tend to be kind of judgmental and ignorant of people different from themselves. The best example of this is Dolly, a smart, take-charge woman who becomes Silas' best friend and advisor.And twined together with Silas's story is the story of Godfrey, whose life withers as Silas' blooms. He's essentially a very weak man who shies away from telling the unpleasant truth to anyone, and misses out on fatherhood because of it. It's hard to see why he is so enamored of Nancy, though -- she's a rigid, moralistic priss who holds everyone to her impossibly high standards (for instance, she's opposed to adoption because she's decided, based on nothing at all, that it's against God's will).The story's biggest problem? Well, in some regards the story is rather predictable, with a heartwarming ending that borders on sappy. More subtle handling is given to Silas revisiting his old home, and discovering what has come of the betrayals he's suffered."Silas Marner" is a fascinating little novella, twining together a story about love and family with a subtle message on gender roles. Not bad for such a simple little story.

…which was a while back… I retain the memory of the assessment of some of my fellow classmates: “the most boring novel ever!” (as though they had read a lot). Somehow, I missed this “bullet of boring” back then and was able to read “The Catcher in the Rye” instead.Rather late in life, I finally got around to reading George Eliot. The impetus was an excellent offering from the Vine Program, Rebecca Mead’s “My Life in Middlemarch,” which I read and reviewed in 2014. Mead has read “Middlemarch” four times, roughly once a decade, commencing when she was 17. It is that proverbial river, which is different each time, when one puts one’s foot into it, according to Mead. Rather than immediately jump into “Middlemarch,” decided to first read “The Mill on the Floss,” also in ’14. It took another half decade before I tackled “Middlemarch,” which I found to be immensely satisfying. Those two tomes should quench the thirst of most Eliot seekers, yet I had this nagging need to read her shorter work, written in between the tomes, to reflect on that high school assessment of utter tedium.In reading “Marner” after “Middlemarch,” there was an element of a prequel to the book. Both are set in small villages in the very heart of “Merry Ol’ England.” Transportation is by foot or horse. London is a very distant abstraction. The time period can only be deduced by the prosperity that a war is providing the farmers, in terms of demand for their products. What war? I could only guess the Napoleonic one, which places the novel in the early 19th century, before the advent of the railroad, which was featured in “Middlemarch.” “Marner” also foreshadows “Middlemarch,” which Eliot wrote a decade later, in the range of characters, the psychological introspection balanced with a plot that can move, surprise, and twist.Silas Marner is a thin, introverted weaver by trade, who arrives in the village of Raveloe after being falsely accused of theft in his home village. He mainly keeps to himself and works all the time. His fate becomes intertwined with the ne’er-do-well children of the village squire, Godfrey Cass, the eldest, and his younger brother, Dudsey. There are elements of greed, debts, horse trading and horse races, just as in “Middlemarch.” In “Marner” however, Eliot quite openly places drug addiction – to opium – in the plot. Religious authority, and the community of drinkers at the village tavern also play a part.The novel spans more than a 16-year period; thus, the aging process is also a key element, and its impact of the motivation of the characters. There were a couple of turns in the plot that seemed a bit contrived, and Marner’s relationship with his adopted daughter a bit too good to be true. Nonetheless, I find reading Eliot a bit addictive, and all too enjoyable and therefore will not dock her a star for these possible flaws. Overall, another 5-star novel.

Deserves to be on the Top 100 books to read. Well written and engaging. Probably what will happen in the future. Ugh. Can’t wait to read the next books.

Silas Marner is an excellently written book with many applicable themes. Although written in the 1800s its central theme and life lessons are still relevant today, truly making Silas Marner a classic. Because the book was written in the 1800s many words and the style of writing are hard to follow. This makes for a slow read, and although very descriptive, beats around the bush at getting to the point. For that reason alone i give it4 stars.The central theme here is the reedeming power of love. We see this in the evolution of the protagonist Silas marner. Silas is an old miser living in the English town of Raveloe. Silas was not always a miser. In his previous life in Lantern Yard he was falsely accused of a crime, and had his fiancè stolen by his best friend. As a result of these events, Silas became hardened, denounced God and moved away. For years he spent his time weaving cloth. He grew attached to his money, particularly the gold guineas. On the other side of the story we meet the antagonist Godfriey Cass. Godfriey is the selfish spoiled grown son of Squire Cass, the richest man in Raveloe. As the plot unfurls we see how these two very different peoples problems and lives intertwine, and through the power of love a life is restored, consequences are dealt, and the realization that nothing ever stays hidden.In sum the book is powerful for the reader who chooses to pay attention. When it gets bogged down with details, just keep reading knowing something great is around the corner.

“The love of accumulating money grows an absorbing passion in men whose imaginations, even in the very beginning of their hoard, showed them no purpose beyond it.”George Elliot was the pen name of Mary Ann Evans and in Silas Marner she created one of the most memorably characters in literature. When we talk about someone loving his money more than anything else, his name usually crops up.Silas Marner is a story of sin, greed and redemption. It’s also a story of prejudices and of how decisions we make shape our lives and others, and it is also of course story of love and it’s healing powers.After being falsely accused of theft, Silas leaves Lantern Yard were he lives and moves to Raveloe taking up a job as a weaver. Due to the nature of his work, and the fact that he’s an outsider, he adopts a solitary life, with just he’s accumulating hoard of Gold his only companion.This is a powerful timeless story full of memorable characters. Probably too many characters sometimes, too many to keep track of. There are 10 people in the Rainbow in chapter 6 for example. (Which is one of the great comic moments in this book). So it can be confusing especially when they are not always referred to by their names. But even the minor characters add to this timeless tale. But of the main characters that occupy most scenes there are few.Silas Marner isn’t a long story, it’s a simple story, but it is a great story brilliantly told and truly deserves the label, ‘classic’.Mary Ann Evans has achieved this with great economy, there are no wasted words here. There is incredible detail, but it’s never boring. Each characters motives are carefully examined showing both the dark and the good in people.She covers many themes including religious faith, social standing, prejudices, the industrial revolution and the diversity of human beings. She manages to do this in 126 pages (Kindle version).It’s a thought provoking book, One which I would thoroughly recommend.I listened to the Dreamscape audiobook narrated by Gordon Griffin which I would also recommend.

I love this book, which is hilarious considering I had absolutely hated it at GCSE level and assumed my teachers had set it as some kind of torture. When I reread it at university I realised it's a beautiful and moving fairy tale, which utterly transports you to days of old. For me this has become a Christmas read that is the equivalent of a warm hot chocolate on a cold day. It warms the cockles of your heart, it does.

[Spoiler Alert]Silas Marner is a truly beautiful and thought provoking book in every sense of the words. From the off, this poetic, adorably cute and moving story captured my heart and imagination and plunged me into a maelstrom of emotions. As the book went along it drew me deeper and deeper into the fine and intricate web of events that make it up, and what events? They made my heart glow like the sun in the height of springtime. I never thought I'd find anything to move me as much as Frankenstein did, but Silas Marner is now right up there, as one of my favourite books of all time.Silas Marner is a weaver and a recluse with a propensity to hoard and obsess over money. He was an unlikable, if not a pitiable character at first, that was difficult for a lot of people to relate to. However, when we learn how and why Silas Marner ended up like that we can understand it. He was wrongly accused of theft and extradited from his former community in the north of England. Marner moved south to a rural village, where he locked himself up inside a stone cottage and immersed himself in weaving and hoarding gold. At this point I felt nothing but pity for poor Marner and I strove for things to get better for him, but things only got worse! Marner was robbed of the only thing he treasured in his sad life, his gold and yet I didn't feel regret. This was the best thing that could have happened to him, because it forced him out of his seclusion and into the community, albeit he was completely depressed and broken.It took a baby orphan girl, whose mum died of a drug overdose in Marner's backyard, to draw Marner completely out of his shell and unleash his inner heart, and what a wonderful heart that was. Marner cared and nurtured little Eppie into womanhood, an admirable sentiment that brought tears to my eyes. Little Eppie reminded a man, so shut up within himself that he still possesses emotions. Little Eppie reminded the formerly closed Silas Marner how to feel again and for that he adored her, and who can really blame him? For what is a man who cannot feel love, if not worse off than a corpse?This story is a rollercoaster of emotions, it goes up and down and all over the place throughout and yet in spite of it all, it always has a warm and delicate undertone, which even in the darkest of places made me feel strong love and admiration towards the characters. I grew to know and love Silas Marner as well as every other character. It also gave me an insight into rural, rustic England of the 1800s, a talent that a lot of similar books written at the same time have failed to do.Silas Marner is not an easy book to read, because of the elaborate words the author uses. You'll definitely need a dictionary to hand when reading this, and it takes a while to get into the flow of the poetic and lavish prose, but it is well worth the effort. I'm so glad I had the pleasure of reading Silas Marner, and I wish I could thank George Eliot personally for the pleasure of sharing her soul. She is simply wonderful.Quote George Eliot:"...He seemed to weave, like the spider, from pure impulse, without reflection. Every man's work, pursued steadily, tends in this way to become an end in itself, and so bridge over the loveless chasms of his life...""...He handled his golden coins, he counted them, till their form and colour were like the satisfaction of a thirst to him. But it was only in the night, when his weaving was done, that he drew his coins out to enjoy their companionship...""...Thought and feeling were so confused within Silas, that if he tried to give them utterance, he could have said that the child were come instead of his long lost gold-that the gold had turned into the child..."Beautiful! x

What a pure pleasure it was to return to this novel a third of a century after studying it as an English Literature O level topic. The pure simplicity and morality of the story is tainted by "having to" read and study the book as a chore whilst at school; whereas returning to it now through choice is a pure delight. The rollercoaster life of the title character is beautifully depicted, capturing the readers heart,eliciting sympathy and compassion. The flaws and weaknesses of characters are laid bare with their attendant consequences set out as a warning to all. This short book written so long ago is still eminently readable in the 21st Century. If, like me, you are tempted to return to it through nostalgia from your schooldays, please do not hesitate. It's fantastic and deserves to be enjoyed, without the worry of a follow up essay for homework.(sorry I didn't appreciate it more at the time Mrs Cowie!)

Silas Marner is the story of a country weaver, who was previously let down by his community, and finds his life again through adopting a stray child.As with any book by Eliot, the standard of the writing is exceptional- the story is more a myth than a novel, and the characters are drawn clearly, and with sympathy. If you haven't read this, and you like literature from this time, you must! Such a super novel.