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Silas Marner
The Weaver of Raveloe.
(1861)
Exiled by superstition and betrayal from Lantern Yard, and cut off from faith and human love, for fifteen years the solitary simple-hearted weaver Silas Marner has plied his loom in Raveloe and devoted himself to the amassing of a hoard of golden guineas. Silas's chance of redemption, when it appears one New Year's Eve, is intimately connected with the fate of Godfrey Cass, son of the village Squire. Clandestinely married, then blackmailed by his dissolute brother Dunstan, Godfrey like Silas has been trapped by his past, from which he is seeking to escape. Humorous, richly symbolic, subtly characterized and meticulously plotted, George Eliot's 'sudden inspiration' in this slim novel of rural England cut across her plans for Romola, her vast Italian Renaissance epic.
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Silas marner is about a man you was framed by his best friend. He was accused of robbing money from the church. He left his home town and went to a new one where he becomes the medicine man and makes a lot of money. His money was stolen fron him one night while he was out and the town tries to help him. One day a little girl finds his house and after discovering that her mother is dead he takes her in. 16 years later he goes back to his home town to clear his name.--Submitted by Jonathan Murphy.
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Recent Forum Posts on Silas Marner
Silas Marner's accent
Can anyone place Silas Marner's accent? He is clearly from the north of England. He sounds like he is from around Manchester way, but I cannot identify any closer than that. To give an example of his speech, here is a bit from chapter 16: "Yes, I could do it, child, if you want a bit o' garden: these long evenings, I could work at taking in a little bit o' the waste, just enough for a root or two o' flowers for you; and again, i' the morning, I could have a turn wi' the spade before I sat down to the loom. Why didn't you tell me before as you wanted a bit o' garden?"
Silas Marner as a schoolstudy book
I had not heard of Silas Marner until a couple of years back. Looking at this list, I gather it is one of the books often studied at GCSE level (school exams for 16-year-olds in the UK). The books in the list are Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Frankenstein, Great Expectations, Jane Eyre, Lord of the Flies, Of Mice and Men, Pride and Prejudice, To Kill a Mockingbird, Heroes, Animal Farm, Wuthering Heights, Touching the Void, Paddy Clark Ha Ha Ha, Silas Marner and Anita and Me. What do you think about its suitability as a study book? It is not Elliot's best book, but it is reasonably short. It is Victorian, which will put a lot of 16-year-olds off, but it is not romantic fiction, which would put the boys off. Although I enjoy discussing books and listening to discussions of books now, at that age, I thought analysing books like we did at school spoilt them. Therefore, it would be a shame to kill a really good book like Wuthering Heights or Great Expectations.
Punishment of children in Silas Marner
There was a bit in chapter 14 in which Dolly Winthrop advises Silas to punish Eppie when she is naughty, either by smacking her or locking her in the coal hole. I was bracing myself for something quite unpleasant. However, Silas cannot bring himself to smack the child, and when he closes her in the coal hole for 30 seconds, she seems to enjoy it. After that, he gives up on the idea of punishing her. I suppose corporal punishment was going out of fashion when I was growing up. I was never caned at school. In fact, I can remember only being smacked once at school. Some of the bad boys were slippered, but I cannot remember anyone ever being caned. I was spanked a few times by my father, but by the time I reached my teens in the 80s, corporal punishment was generally disapproved of. Putting a child in a coal hole sounds pretty horrible, but I suppose it is not that different from the naughty step, except for being colder and dirtier. If Silas Marner did not approve of these sorts of punishment, surely that would have been rather unusual in the late C18th or early C19th. I suppose the popular opinion would have been "Spare the rod and spoil the child."
A wonderful tale, but just a tale
Having just finished Silas Marner, I can say I was thoroughly entertained by this fine moral story. But, after Middlemarch and The Mill on the Floss, I was expecting high drama and moral complexities akin to that in Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. But Silas Marner is something less. :frown5: Still, isn't Priscilla stupendous?
Museum Project of Silas Marner???
hi i was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions for me. i am required to complete a "museum project" for school on the novel Silas Marner. According to the paper i was given- "a museum project is a physical cretion representing a particular aspect of the novel" an example of symbolizing the word love is drawing a heart, not writing the word. and it must follow one of these aspects: -theme -characterization -mood -a conflict of the plot so thats it. i have no idea what im going to do it on and need some suggestions Pleaseee????:confused:
mock religion?
Hi all, I have just finished reading Silas Marner and was wondering what people's thoughts are on the book. This is my first George Eliot book. I am torn between two views on the book. I am not sure if George Eliot is mocking religion or is she advocating for renewed faith in religion.... or perhaps I have got it all wrong. It would be great if someone could shred some light into the matter for me.
historical context in silas marner
I dont know how i can relate the plot of Silas Marner with the historical changes (after the Industrial Revolution). can anyone help me please?:bawling: Thanks
I need help for my assignment!
Here are the questions: 1- What is the significance of Silas Marner's near sightedness?? 2- Explain: "Marner's face and figure shrank and bent themselves into a constant mechanical relation to the objects of his life so that he produced the same sort of impressure or a crooket tube,which has no meaning standing apart" (chapter 2) 3- How does social class function in the novel? please help me!!I am really confused! = (
coursework help, any ideas please??
Question: how far do you agree that Silas Marner is a simple moral story where the good are rewarded and the bad are punished? I need any ideas by thursday please, I have enjoyed reading this book, but find this coursework hard to answer, any input at all much appreciated, (no matter how small)
Please help me !!!!
Why does Silas gradually become accepted b villagers?
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