 Hello and welcome to our video summarizing all you need to know about Silas Moerner by George Elliot. My name is Sarah and in this video we'll look at the novel specifically beginning with a plot summary. We'll then examine the necessary information you'll need to know before looking at each character in depth. Key themes as well as important symbols. This video is very useful especially if you're studying this novel as part of your English coursework or exams as I'll get into the details you need to know to get top marks. So let's get started. First a bit of context. George Elliot was the pseudonym of Mary Anne Evans born in 1819 at the estate of her father's employer in Silver's Cotton. She was sent to boarding school where she developed a strong religious faith deeply influenced by the evangelical preacher John Edmund Jones. After her mother's death Evans moved with her father to the city of Coventry. There she met Charles and Caroline Bray, progressive intellectuals who led her to question her faith. In 1842 she stopped going to church and this renunciation of her faith put a strain on Evans' relationship with her father that did not ease for several years. Evans became acquainted with intellectuals in Coventry who broadened her mind beyond a provincial perspective. Through her new associations she traveled to Geneva and then to London where she worked as a freelance writer. In London she met George Lewis who became her husband in all but the legal sense. A true legal marriage was impossible as Lewis already had an estranged wife. At this point in her life Evans was still primarily interested in philosophy but Lewis persuaded her to turn her hand to fiction instead. The publication of her first collection of stories in 1857 under the male pseudonym of George Eliot brought immediate acclaim from critics as prestigious as Charles Dickens and William MacPhee's Zachary as well as much speculation about the identity of the mysterious George Eliot. After the publication of her next book and first novel, Adam Beattie, a number of imposters, claimed authorship. In response Evans asserted herself as the true author, causing quite a stir in a society that still regarded women as incapable of serious writing. Lewis died in 1878 and in 1880 Evans married a banker named John World Cross who was 21 years her junior. She died the same year. Eliot wrote the novels Adam Beattie and the Mill on the Floss before publishing Silas Marner, the tale of a lonely, miserly village weaver transformed by the love of his adopted daughter. Eliot is best known however for Middle March, subtitled A Study in Provincial Life, this lengthy work tells the story of a small English village and its inhabitants centering on the idealistic and self-sacrificing Dorothea Brooke. Eliot's novels are deeply philosophical in exploring the inner workings of her characters and their relationship to their environment. She drew on influences that included the English poet William Wordsworth, the Italian poet Dante, the English art critic John Ruskin and the Portuguese-Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza whose work Eliot translated into English. The philosophical concerns and references found in her novels and the refusal to provide the requisite happy ending struck some contemporary critics as unbecoming in a lady novelist. Eliot's detailed and insightful psychological portrayals of her characters as well as her exploration of the complex ways these characters confront moral dilemmas decisively broke from the plot-driven domestic melodrama that had previously served as the standard for the Victorian novel. Eliot's break from tradition inspired the modern novel and inspired numerous future authors, among them Henry James, who admired Eliot. Silas Marner was Eliot's third novel and is among the best known of her works. Many of the novels, themes and concerns stem from Eliot's own life experiences. Silas's loss of religious faith recalls Eliot's own struggle with her faith and the novels setting in the vanishing English countryside reflects Eliot's concern that England was fast becoming industrialized and impersonal. The novel's concern with class and family can likewise be linked back to Eliot's own life. The voice of the novel's narrator can thus, to some extent, be seen as Eliot's own voice, one tinged with slight condescension but found of the setting and thoroughly empathetic with the characters. Though Silas Marner is in a sense a very personal novel for Eliot, its treatment of the themes of faith, family and class has nonetheless given its universal appeal, especially at the time of publication, when English society and institutions were undergoing rapid change. On to the plot summary. Silas Marner is the weaver in the English countryside village of Rave Low in the early 19th century. Like many weavers of his time, he is an outsider. The object of suspicion because of his special skills and the fact that he has come to Rave Low from elsewhere. The villagers see Silas as especially odd because of the curious catalytic fits he occasionally suffers. Silas has ended up in Rave Low because the members of his religious sect in London Yard and in Suler neighborhood in Larchtown falsely accused him of theft and excommunicated him. Chapter 1. The novel opens in the English countryside in the days when the spinning wheels hummed buzzily in the farmhouses. In this era, one would occasionally encounter weavers, typically pale, thin men who looked like the remnants of a disinherited race, besides the herty peasants who worked in the fields. Because they possessed a special skill and typically had emigrated from larger towns, weavers were invariably outsiders to the peasants among whom they lived. The peasants were superstitious people, often suspicious of both cleverness and the world beyond their immediate experience. Thus the weavers lived isolated lives and often developed the eccentric habits that result from low menace. One night Silas stayed up to watch over the senior deacon of Lantern Yard who was sick. Waiting for William to come in to relieve him at the end of his shift, Silas suddenly realized that it was nearly done. The deacon had stopped breathing and William had never arrived. Silas wondered if he had fallen asleep on his watch. However, later that morning, William and the other church members accused Silas of stealing the church's money from the deacon's room. Silas's pocket knife turned up in the bureau where the money had been stored and the empty money bag was later found in Silas's dwelling. Silas expected God to clear him of the crime, but when the church members drew lots, Silas was determined, guilty and excommunicated. Sarah called their engagement off. Crushed, Silas maintained that the last time he used his knife was in William's presence and that he did not remember putting it back in his pocket afterward. To the honor of the church, Silas angrily renounced his religious faith. Soon thereafter, William married Sarah and Silas left town. One night, Silas stayed up to watch over the senior deacon of Lantern Yard who was sick. Chapter 2 According to the narrator, Silas finds Ravlo with its sense of neglected plenty completely unlike the world in which he grew up. The fertile soil and climate make form life much easier in Ravlo than in the barren north and the villagers are consequently more easygoing and less ardent in their religion. Nothing familiar in Ravlo reawakens Silas' benumed faith in God. Spiritually depleted, Silas uses his loom as a distraction, weaving more quickly than necessary. For the first time, he is able to keep the full portion of his earnings for himself, no longer having to share them with an employer or the church. Having no other sense of purpose, Silas feels a sense of fulfillment, merely in holding his newly earned money and looking at it. Around this time, Silas notices the cobbler's wife, Sally Oates, suffering the symptoms of heart disease and dropsy, a condition of abnormal swelling in the body. Sally awakens in Silas' memories of his mother, who died of similar causes. He offers Sally an herbal preparation of foxglove that his mother had used to ease the pain of the disease. The concoction works so the villagers conclude that Silas must have some dealings with the occult. Mothers start to bring their sick children to his house to be cured, and men with rheumatism offer Silas silver to cure them. To honest to play along Silas sends them all the way with growing irritation. The townspeople's hope in Silas' healing power turns to dread, and they come to blame him for accidents and misfortunes that be half them. Having wanted only to help Sally Oates, Silas now finds himself further isolated from his neighbors. Silas gradually begins to make more money working 16 hours a day and obsessively counting his earnings. He enjoys the physical appearance of the gold coins and handles them joyfully. He keeps the coins in an iron pot hidden under the floor beneath his loom and takes them out only at night to enjoy their companionship. When the pot is no longer large enough to hold his hoard, Silas begins keeping the money in two leather bags. He lives this way for 15 years until a sudden change alters his life one Christmas. Chapter 3 Squire Cass is acknowledged as the greatest man in Rablo, the closest thing the village has to a lord. His sons, however, have turned out rather ill. The Squire's younger son, Dunston, more commonly called by the nickname Duncy, is a sneering and unpleasant young man with a taste for gambling and drinking. The elder son, Godfrey, is handsome and good-natured, and everyone in town wants to see him married to the lovely Nancy Nameter. Lately, however, Godfrey has been acting strange and looking unwell. One November afternoon, the two Cass brothers get into a heated argument over £100 that Godfrey has lent Duncy, money that was the rent from one of their father's tenants. The Squire is growing impatient, Godfrey says, and will soon find out that Godfrey has been lying to him about the rent if Duncy does not repay the money. Duncy, however, tells Godfrey to come up with the money himself, lest Duncy tell their father about Godfrey's secret marriage to the drunken opium-addict, Molly Farron. Duncy suggests that Godfrey borrow money or sell his prized horse, Wildfire, at the next day's hunt. Godfrey bogs at this since there is a dance that evening at which he plans to see Nancy. When Duncy mockingly suggests that Godfrey simply kill Molly off, Godfrey angry threatens to tell their father about the money and his marriage himself, thus getting Duncy thrown out of the house along with him. Godfrey, however, is unwilling to take this step, preferring his uncertain but currently comfortable existence to the certain embarrassment that would result from revealing his secret marriage. Thinking that he has perhaps pushed Godfrey too far, Duncy offers to sell Godfrey's horse for him. Godfrey agrees to this and Duncy leaves. The narrator then gives us a glimpse of Godfrey's future, the empty monotonous prosperity of the aging country's choir who spends his years drinking and wallowing in regrets. The narrator adds that Godfrey already has experienced this regret to some degree. We learn that Godfrey was talking to his secret marriage but none other than Duncy who used the idea as a trap to gain leverage with which to blackmail Godfrey. Godfrey does genuinely love Nancy Lameter as the narrator suggests. Nancy represents everything missing from the household in which Godfrey grew up after his mother's death. The fact that Godfrey cannot act upon his emotions toward Nancy only increases his misery. Chapter 4 Duncy set off the next morning to sell his brother's horse. Passing by Silas Marner's cottage, Duncy remembers the rumors about Silas's horn of gold and wonders why he has never thought to persuade Godfrey to ask Silas for a loan. Despite the promise of this idea, Duncy decides to ride on anyway since he wants his brother to be upset about having had to sell wildfire and he looks forward to the bargaining and swagger that will be involved in the sale of the horse. Duncy meets some apprentices who are hunting. After some negotiation, he arranges wildfire's sale with payment to be handed over upon safe delivery of the horse to the stable. Duncy decides not to deliver the horse right away and instead takes part in the hunt and joins the prospect of jumping fences to show off the horse. However, Duncy jumps one fence too many and wildfire gets impaled on a stake and dies. No one witnesses the accident and Duncy is unhurt so he makes his way to the road in order to walk home. All the while he thinks of Silas's money. When Duncy passes Silas's cottage just after dusk and sees a light on through the window, he decides to introduce himself. To his surprise the door is unlocked and the cottage empty. Tempted by the blazing fire inside and the piece of pork rusting over it, Duncy sits down at the hearth and wonders where Silas is. His thoughts quickly shift to Silas's money and looking around the cottage, Duncy notices a spot in the floor, carefully covered over with sand. He sweeps away the sand, pries up the loose bricks and finds the bags of gold. He steals the bags and flees into the darkness. Chapter 5 Silas returns to his cottage thinking nothing of the unlocked door because he has never been robbed before. He is looking forward to the roast pork and a gift from a customer which he left cooking while he was running an errand. Noticing nothing out of the ordinary, Silas sits down before his fire. He cannot wait to pull his money out and decides to lay it on the table as he is. Silas removes the bricks and finds the hole under the floorboards empty. He frantically searches the cottage for his gold desperately hoping that he might have decided to store it someplace else for the night. He eventually realizes that the gold is gone and he screams in anguish. Silas then tries to think of what could have happened. He initially fears that a greater power removed the money to ruin him a second time but banishes that thought in favor of the simpler explanation of a robbery. He mentally runs through a list of his neighbors and decides that Jim Rodney, a well-known poacher, might have taken the gold. Silas decides to declare his loss to the important people of the town including Squarecast in the hopes that they might be able to help recover his money. Silas goes to the rainbow, the village inn and tavern to find someone of authority. However, the more prominent citizens of Reblo are all at the birthday dance with so God-free and spating earlier, so Silas finds only the less lofty customers at the tavern. The rainbow has two rooms separating patrons according to their social standing. The parlor frequented by Squarecast and others of select society is empty. The few hangers on who were normally permitted into the parlor to enlarge the opportunity of hectoring and condescension for their batteries are instead taking the better seats in the bar across the hall to hector and condescend to their inferiors in turn. Chapter 6 The conversation in the tavern is quite animated by the time Silas arrives, though it has taken a while to get up to speed. The narrator describes this conversation in considerable detail. It begins with a nameless argument about a cow followed by a story from Mr. Macy about a time when he heard the person bungle the words of a wedding vow, a story that everyone in the tavern has heard many times before. Macy says that the person's lapse set him thinking about whether the wedding was therefore invalid and if not just what it was that gave weddings meaning in the first place. Just before Silas appears, the conversation lapses back into an argument this time about the existence of a ghost who allegedly haunts a local stable. The argumentative furrier, Mr. Daulis, does not believe in the ghost and offers to stand out in front of the stable all night. Betting he will not see the ghost, he gets no takers as the rainbow's landlord, Mr. Snell, argues that some people are just unable to see ghost. Chapter 7 Silas suddenly appears in the middle of the tavern, his agitation giving him a strange unearthly appearance. For a moment everyone present, regardless of his stance in the previous argument about their supernatural beliefs, he is looking at a ghost. Silas, short of breath, after his hurried walk to the inn, finally declares that he has been robbed. The landlord tells Jim Rodney, who is sitting nearest Silas, to see him as he is delirious. Hearing the name, Silas turns to Rodney and pleads with him to give his money back, telling him that he will give him a guinea and will not press charges. Rodney reacts angrily, saying that he will not be accused. The tavern goers make Silas take off his coat and sit down in a chair by the fire. Everyone comes down, and Silas tells the story of the robbery. The villagers become more sympathetic and believe Silas' story, largely because he appears so crushed and pathetic. The landlord vouches for Jim Rodney, saying that he has been in the inn all evening. Silas apologizes to Rodney and Mr. Dalas, the ferrier, asks how much money was lost. Silas tells him the exact figure, which is more than £270. Dalas suggests that £270 could be carried out easily, and he offers to visit Silas' cottage to search for evidence, since Silas' eyesight is poor and he might have missed something. Dalas also offers to ask the constable to appoint him deputy constable, which sets off an argument. Mr. Macy objects that no doctor can also be a constable and that Dalas, whose duties as a ferrier, including the treatment of a livestock disease, is a sort of doctor. A compromise is reached wherein Dalas agrees to act only in an official capacity. Silas then leaves with Dalas and the landlord to go to the constable's office. Chapter 8 Godfrey returns home from the dens to find that Dunzi has not yet returned. Godfrey is distracted by thoughts of densilameter and does not think very much about his brothers' whereabouts. By morning, everyone is discussing the robbery and Godfrey and other residents of the village visit Silas' cottage to gather evidence and gossip. A tinderbox is found on the scene and is suspected to be somehow connected to the crime. Though a few villagers suspect that Silas is simply mad or possessed and has light about the theft, others defend him. Some townspeople suspect that occult forces took the money and consider clues such as the tinderbox useless. The tinderbox reminds Mr. Snell, the tavern landlord of a peddler who had visited Ravlo a month before and had mentioned that he was carrying a tinderbox. The talk among the townspeople turns to determining the peddler's appearance, recalling his evil looks and trying to determine whether or not he wore earrings. Everyone is disappointed, however when Silas says he remembers the peddler's visit but never invited him inside his cottage. Godfrey remembering the peddlers as a merry-greening fellow dismisses the story about the peddler's suspicious character. Silas, however, wanting to identify a specific culprit clings to the notion of the peddler's guilt. Dunzi's continuing absence distracts Godfrey from this discussion and Godfrey worries that Dunzi may have run away with his horse. In an attempt to find out what has happened, Godfrey rides to the town where the hunt started and encounters Bryce, the young man who had agreed to buy wildfire. Bryce is surprised to learn of Dunzi's disappearance and tells Godfrey that wildfire has been found dead. Seeing no alternative and hoping to free himself from Dunzi's threats of blackmail, Godfrey decides to tell his father not only about the rent money but about his secret marriage as well. Godfrey stares himself for the worst as Squaric has his prone to violent fits of anger and rash decisions that he refuses to rescind even when his anger has passed. The next morning, Godfrey decides to confess only partly and to try to direct his father's anger towards Dunzi. Chapter 9. Godfrey takes his own breakfast early and waits for Squaricast to eat and take his morning walk before speaking with him. Godfrey tells his father about wildfire and about how he gave the rent money to Dunzi. His father flies into one of his rages and asks why Godfrey stole from him and lied to him for Dunzi's sake. When Godfrey is evasive, the Squire comes close to guessing the truth. The Squire goes on and on blaming his current financial troubles on the overindulgence of his sons. Godfrey insists that he has always been willing to help with the management of his father's estate but the Squire changes the subject complaining about Godfrey's waffling over whether to marry Nancy Lameter. The Squire offers to propose to Godfrey but Godfrey is again evasive and refuses the offer. Afterward, Godfrey is not sure whether to be grateful that nothing seems to have changed or uneasy that he has had to tell more half-truth. Though Godfrey worries that his father might push his hand and force him to refuse Nancy, as usual, he merrily places his trust in favorable chance, hoping that some unforeseen event will rescue him from his predicament. Chapter 10 Weeks pass with no new evidence about the robbery and no sign of Dunzi. No one connects Dunzi's disappearance with the theft, however, and the peddler remains the primary suspect, though some still insist that an explicable otherworldly force is responsible. Silas is still inconsolable and passes the days weaving joylessly. Without his money, his life feels empty and purposeless. He earns the pity of the villagers who now think of him as helpless rather than dangerous. They bring Silas' food, call on him to offer condolences and try to help him get over his loss. These efforts are only mildly successful. Mr. Macy subjects Silas to a long and discursive speech about coming to church, among other things, but gets little reaction and leaves more perplexed by Silas than before. Wanting to show his gratitude for the visit, all Silas can think to do is offer Aaron a bit of lord cake. Aaron is frightened of Silas, but Dunzi coaxes him into singing a Christmas carol. Despite his gratitude, Silas is relieved after the two have left and he is alone to weave and mourn the loss of his money. Silas does not go to church on Christmas Day, but almost everyone else in town does. The castes hold a family Christmas party that night and invite the Kimbells, Godfrey's aunts and uncle. All evening, Godfrey looks forward longingly to the square's famed New Year's dance and the chance to be with Dunzi. The prospect of Dunzi's return looms over Godfrey, but he tries to ignore it. Chapter 11 Dunzi's letter and her father arrive at the Red House for the square's New Year's dance. The trip over slushy roads has not been an easy one, and Dunzi is annoyed that she has to let Godfrey help her out of her carriage. Dunzi thinks she has made it clear that she does not wish to marry Godfrey. His unwelcome attention bothers her, though the way he often ignores her bothers her just as much. Dunzi makes her way upstairs to a dressing room that she must share with six other women, including the gun sisters who come from a larger town and regard Ravlo society. Mrs Osgood, an aunt of whom Dunzi is fond, is also among the women. As she puts on her dress for the dance, Dunzi impresses the gun sisters as a rustic beauty, lovely and immaculate, but with her rough hands and slang clearly ignorant of the higher social graces. Dunzi's sister Priscilla arrives and complains about how Dunzi always insists they were matching gowns. Priscilla freely admits she is ugly and in doing so manages to imply that the guns are ugly as well. However Priscilla insists that she has no desire to marry anyway. When Dunzi says that she doesn't want to marry either, Priscilla poops her. When they go down to the parlor, Dunzi accepts a seat between Godfrey and the Rector, Mr Krakenthorpe. She cannot help but feel exhilarated by the prospect that she could be the mistress of the Red House herself. Dunzi reminds herself however that she does not care for Godfrey's money or status because she finds him an unsound character. She blushes at these thoughts. The Rector notices and points out her blush to Godfrey. Though Godfrey determinedly avoids looking at Dunzi, the half-drunk Squire tries to help things along by complimenting Dunzi's beauty. After a little more banter, the Squire pointedly asks Godfrey if he has asked Dunzi for the first dance of the evening. Godfrey replies that he has not but nonetheless embarrassingly asked Dunzi and she accepts. The Fiddler comes in and, after playing a few preludes, he leads the guest into the white parlor where the dancing begins. Mr Macy and a few other times people sit off to one side commenting on the dancers. The noticed Godfrey is courting Dunzi off to the adjoining smaller parlor and assume that the two are going sweet hurting. In reality, Dunzi has torn her dress and has asked to sit down to wait for his sister to help mend it. Dunzi tells Godfrey that she doesn't want to go into the smaller room with him and will just wait on her own. He insists that she will be more comfortable there and offers to leave. To her own exasperation, Dunzi is as annoyed as she is relieved by Godfrey's offer. He tells Dunzi that dancing with her means very much to him and asks if she would ever forgive him if he changed his ways. She replies that it would be better if no change were necessary. Godfrey, aware that Nancy still cares for him, tells Nancy she is heart-hurted hoping to provoke a quarrel. Just then, however, Priscilla arrives to fix the hem of Nancy's dress. Godfrey, exhilarated by the opportunity to be near Nancy, decides to stay with them rather than go back to the dance. Chapter 12 While Godfrey is at the dance, his wife Molly is approaching Ravlo on foot with their baby daughter in her arms. Godfrey has told Molly that he would rather die than acknowledge her as his wife. She knows there is a dance being held at the Red House and plans to crash the party in order to get revenge against Godfrey. Molly is addicted to opium and knows that this, not Godfrey, is the primary reason for her troubles. But she also resents Godfrey's wealth and comfort and believes that he should support her. Molly has been walking since morning and, as evening falls, she begins to tire in the snow and cold. To comfort herself, she takes a draft of opium. The drug makes her drowsy and, after a while, she passes out by the side of the road, still holding the child. As Molly's arms relax, the little girl wakes up and sees a light moving. Thinking it is a living thing, she tries to catch the light but fails. She follows it to its source, which is the fire in Silas Mourner's nearby cottage. The child totals through the open door, sits down on the earth, and soon falls asleep, content in the warmth of the fire. In the weeks since the theft, Silas has developed a habit of opening his door and looking out distractedly, as if he might somehow see his gold return, or at least get some news of it. On New Year's Eve, he is particularly agitated and opens the door repeatedly. The last time he does so, he stands and looks out for a long time, but does not see what is actually coming toward him at that instant, Molly's child. As he turns to shut the door again, Silas has one of his cataleptic fits and stands unaware and unmoving with his hand on the open door. When he comes out of the fit, as always unaware that it has even occurred, he shuts the door. As Silas walks back inside, his eyes near sighted and weak from his years of close work at the loom, he sees what he thinks is his gold on the floor. He leans forward to touch the gold but finds that the object under his fingers is soft, the blonde hair of the sleeping child. Silas kneels down to examine the child thinking for a moment that his little sister, who died in childhood, has been brought back to him. This memory of his sister triggers a flood of other memories of Lantern Yard, the first he has had in many years. These memories occupy Silas until the child wakes up, calling for her mother. Silas reheats some of his porridge, sweetening it with the brown sugar he has always denied himself and feeds it to the child, which quiets her. Finally seeing the child's wet boots, it occurs to Silas to wonder where she came from and he follows her tracks along the road until he finds her mother's body lying in the snow. Back at the Red House, the man dents and Godfrey stands to the side of the parlor to admire Nancy. Godfrey suddenly notices Silas' mother enter carrying Godfrey's child and shocked he walks over with Mrs. Laminer and Mr. Kraken Thorpe to discover what has brought Silas here. His choir angrily questions Silas, asking him why he has intruded. Silas says he is looking for the doctor because he has found a woman, apparently dead, lying near his door. Knowing that it is Molly, Godfrey is terrified that perhaps she is not in fact dead. Silas' appearance causes a stir and the guests are told simply that a woman has been found ill. When Mrs. Kimball suggests that Silas leave the girl at the Red House, Silas refuses, claiming she came to him and he is his to keep. Godfrey insists on accompanying the doctor, Mr. Kimball, to Silas' cottage and they pick up Dolly along the way to serve as a nurse. Kimball's title is Mr. Rather Than Doctor because he has no medical degree and inherited his position as village doctor. Godfrey waits outside the cottage in agony realizing that if Molly is dead he is free to marry Nancy but that if Molly leaves he has to confess everything. When Kimball comes out he declares that the woman has been dead for hours. Godfrey insists on seeing her claiming to Kimball that he had seen a woman of a similar description the day before. As he verifies that the woman is in fact Molly, Godfrey sees Silas holding the child and asks him if he intends to take the child to the parish. Silas replies that he wants to keep her since both he and she are alone and without his gold he has nothing else to leave for. He implies a connection between his lost money, gone I don't know where and the baby come from I don't know where. Godfrey gives Silas money to buy clothes for the little girl and then hurries to catch up with Mr. Kimball. Godfrey tells Kimball that the dead woman is not the woman he saw before. The two talk about the oddness of Silas wanting to keep the child and Kimball says that if he were younger he might want the child for himself. Godfrey's thoughts turn to Nancy and how he can now court her without dread of the consequences. He sees no reason to confess his previous marriage to her and vows that he will see to it that his daughter is well cared for. Godfrey tells himself that the girl might be just as happy without knowing him as a father. Molly is given an anonymous paupers burial but her death, the narrator notes, will have great consequences for the inhabitants of Ravelo. The villagers are surprised by Silas' desire to keep the child and once again they become more sympathetic toward him. Dolly is particularly helpful offering advice giving him clothing outgrown by her own children and helping to bathe and care for the girl. Silas is grateful but makes clear that he wishes to learn to do everything himself so that the little girl will be attached to him from the start. Silas remains amazed by the girl's arrival and continues to think that in some way his gold has turned into the child. Chapter 14 Dolly persuades Silas to have the child baptized though at first Silas does not really know what the ceremony means. Dolly tells him to come up with a name for her and he suggests Hevzba, the name of his mother and sister. Dolly is skeptical saying that it does not sound like a Christian name and is a little long. Silas surprises her by responding that it is in fact a name from the Bible. He adds that his little sister was called Epi for short. Epi and Silas are baptized together and Silas finds that the child brings him closer to the other villagers. Unlike his gold which exacerbated his isolation and did not respond to his attention, young Epi is endlessly curious and demanding. Her desires are infectious and as she hungrily explores the world around her so does Silas. Whereas his gold had driven him to stay indoors and work endlessly, Epi tempts Silas away from his work to play outside. In the spring and summer, when it is sunny, Silas takes Epi to the field of flowers beyond the stone pit and sits and watches her play. Silas' growth mirrors Epis and he begins to explore memories and thoughts he has kept locked away for many years. By the time Epis is three, she shows signs of mischievousness and Dolly insists that Silas not spoil her. He should punish her either by spanking her or by putting her in the coal hole to frighten her. Shortly after this conversation, Epi escapes from the cottage and goes missing for a while, though she is soon found. Despite his relief at finding her, Silas decides that he must be stern with Epi. His use of the coal hole is ineffective, however, as Epi takes a liking to the place. Thus Epi is reared with that punishment. Silas is even reluctant to leave her with anyone else and so takes her with him on his rounds together yearn. Epi becomes an object of fascination and affection and as a result, so does Silas. Instead of looking at him with repulsion, the townspeople now offer advice and encouragement. Even children who have informally found Silas frightening take a liking to him. Silas in turn takes an active interest in the town wanting to give Epi all that is good in the village. Moreover, Silas no longer hoards his money. Since his gold was stolen, he has lost the sense of pleasure he once felt at counting and touching his sayings. Now with Epi, he realizes he has found something greater. Chapter 15 Godfrey keeps a distant eye on Epi. He gives her the occasional present, but is careful not to betray too strong an interest. He does not feel particularly guilty about failing to claim her because he is confident that she is being taken care of well. Dante still has not returned and Godfrey, released from his marriage and doubtful that he will ever hear from his brother again, can devote himself to freely wooing Nancy. He begins to spend more time at Nancy's home and people say that he has changed for the better. Godfrey promises himself that his daughter will always be well cared for even though she is in the hands of a poor weaver. Chapter 16 The action resumes 16 years later as the rave law congregation fires out of church after a Sunday service. Godfrey has married Nancy and though they have aged well, they no longer look young. Squire Cass has died, but his inheritance was divided after his death and Godfrey did not inherit the title of Squire. Silas Marner is also in the departing congregation. His eyes have a more focused look than they did before, but otherwise he looks quite old for a man of 55. Ep 18 and quite pretty walks beside Silas while Aaron Winthorpe follows them eagerly. Ep tells Silas that she wants a garden and Aaron offers to dig it for them. They decide that Aaron should come to their cottage to mark it out that afternoon and that he should bring his mother Dolly. Silas and Ep return to the cottage which has changed greatly since we last saw it. There are now pets, a dog, a cat and a kitten. The cottage now has another room and is decorated with oak furniture courtesy of Godfrey. We learn that the townspeople always note Godfrey's kindness toward Silas and Ep with approval of that they now regard Silas as an exceptional person. Mr Macy even claims that Silas's good deed of adopting Ep will bring back the stolen gold someday. Having returned home, Silas and Ep eat dinner. Silas watches Ep play with the pets as she eats. We learn that Silas has also discussed his past with Ep. He has informed her that he is not her father and has told her how she came to him at her mother's death. She is not unduly troubled by the story and does not wonder about her father as she considers Silas a better father than any other in Ravelo. She is however eager to know things about her mother and repeatedly asked Silas to describe what little he knows of her. Silas has given Ep her mother's wedding ring which she often gets out to look out. As the two come out of the cottage Silas smoke, Silas mentions that the garden will need a wall to keep the animals out. Ep suggests building a wall out of stone so she goes to the stone pit where she notices that the water level has dropped. Silas tells her that the pit is being drained in order to water neighboring fields. Ep tries to carry a stone but it is heavy and she let it sink down with Silas. Ep tells him that Aaron, windthorpe, has spoken of marrying her. Silas conceals his sadness at this news. Ep adds that Aaron has offered Silas a place to live in their household if they are married. Ep says she is reluctant as she does not want her life to change at all. But Silas tells her that she will eventually need someone younger than he to take care of her. Silas suggests that they speak to Dolly who is Ep's godmother about the matter. Chapter 17 Meanwhile, the Red House has likewise gained a much more domestic feel than it had during the squire's wifeless reign. Nancy invites Priscilla and their father to stay at the Red House for tea. But Priscilla declines saying she has work to do at home. Priscilla has taken over management of the laminar form from her aging father. Before Priscilla leaves, she and Nancy take a walk around the garden. Nancy mentions that Godfrey is not contented with their domestic life. This angers Priscilla but Nancy rushes to defend Godfrey saying it is only natural that he should be disappointed at not having any children. Godfrey goes on his customary Sunday afternoon walk around his grounds and leaves Nancy with her thoughts. Nancy muses as she often does on their lack of children and the disappointment it has caused Godfrey. They did have one daughter but she died at birth. Nancy wonders whether she was right to resist Godfrey's suggestion that they adopt. She has been adamant in her resistance insisting it is not right to say something that providence had withheld and predicting that an adopted child would inevitably turn out poorly. Like her insistence years before that she and Priscilla wear the same dress, Nancy's unyielding opposition to adoption is not based on any particular reasoning but simply because she feels it important to have her unalterable legal code. Godfrey's argument that the adopted AP has turned out well is of no use. Never considering that Silas might object Godfrey has all along specified that if he and Nancy were to adopt they should adopt AP, considering his childless home a retribution for failing to claim AP. Godfrey sees adopting her as a way to make up for his earlier faults. Chapter 18 Godfrey returns from his walk trembling and tells Nancy to sit down. He tells her that the skeleton of his brother Dunzi has been found in the newly drained stone pit behind Silas' cottage. The body has been there for 16 years and it is clear that it was Dunzi who robbed Silas. Dunzi fell into the pit as he made his escape and the money has been found with his remains. Godfrey is greatly shaken by the discovery and it convinces him that all hidden things eventually come to light. Thus, Godfrey goes on to make his own confession telling Nancy of his secret marriage to Molly and of AP's true lineage. Nancy responds not angrily but instead with regret. Saying that had she known the truth about AP she would have consented to adopt her six years before. Nancy and Godfrey resolve to do their duty now and make plans to visit Silas Marner's cottage that evening. Chapter 19 AP and Silas sit in their cottage later that evening. Silas has sent Dolly and Aaron with Thorpe, desiring Solitude with his daughter after the excitement of the afternoon's discovery. Silas muses about the return of his money and reconsiders the events that have passed since he lost it. He tells AP how he initially hoped she might somehow turn back into the gold but later grew fearful of that prospect because he loved her more than the money. Silas tells AP how much he loves her and says the money has simply been kept till it was wanted for you. She responds that if not for Silas she would have been sent to the workhouse. Someone knocks at the door and AP opens it to find Godfrey and Nancy gas. Godfrey tells Silas that he wants to make up to Silas not only for what Danzi did but also for another debt he owes to the weaver. Godfrey tells Silas that the money is not enough for him to live on without continuing to work. Silas, however, argues that though it might seem like a very small sum to a gentleman, it is more money than many other working people have. Godfrey says that AP does not look like she was born for a working life and that she would do better living in a place like his home. Silas becomes uneasy. Godfrey explains that since they have no children they would like AP to come live with them as their daughter. He assumes that Silas would like to see AP in such an advantageous position and promises that Silas will be provided for himself. AP says that Silas is distressed though Silas tells her to do as she chooses. AP tells Godfrey and Nancy that she does not want to leave her father nor does she want to become a lady. Godfrey insists that he has a claim on AP and confesses that he is her father. Silas angrily retorts that if this is the case Godfrey should have claimed AP when she was a baby instead of waiting until Silas and AP had grown to love each other. Not expecting this resistance Godfrey tells Silas that he is standing in the way of AP's welfare. Silas says that he will not argue anymore and leaves the decision up to AP. At she listens Nancy cannot help but sympathize with Silas and AP but feels that it is only right that AP claim her birthrights. Nancy feels that AP's new life would be an unquestionably better one. AP however says that she would rather stay with Silas. Nancy tells her that it is her duty to go to her real father's house but AP responds that Silas is her real father. Godfrey greatly discouraged turns to leave and Nancy says they will return another day. Chapter 20 Godfrey and Nancy return home and realize that AP's decision is final. Godfrey concedes that what Silas has said is right and he resigns himself simply to helping AP from afar. Godfrey and Nancy surmise that AP will marry Aaron and Godfrey wistfully comments on how pretty and nice AP seemed. He says he noticed that AP took a dislike to him when he confessed that he was her father and he decides that it must be his punishment in life to be disliked by his daughter. Chapter 21 The next morning Silas tells AP that he wants to make a trip to his old home Lantern Yard to clear up his lingering questions about the theft and the growing of the lots. After a few days' journey they found the old manufacturing town much changed and walked through it looking for the old chapel. The town is frightening and alien to them with high buildings and narrow dirty alleys. They finally reached the spot where the chapel used to be and it is gone having been replaced by a large factory. No one in the area knows what happened to the former residents of Lantern Yard. Silas realizes that Raiv Lowe is his only home now and upon his return tells Dolly that he will never know the answers to his questions. Dolly responds that it does not matter if his questions remain unanswered because that does not change the fact that he was in the right all along. Silas agrees saying that he does not mind because he has AP now and that gives him faith. AP and Aaron are married on a beautiful summer day. Priscilla Lammeter and her father are among those who watched the procession through the village. They have come to keep Nancy company as Godfrey has gone away for the day for special reasons. Priscilla tells her father that she wishes Nancy had found a child like AP to ways for her own. The procession stops at Mr. Macy's porch as he is too old and frail to attend the wedding feast and has prepared some kind words for Silas. At the rainbow the assembling guests talk about Silas's strange story and everyone, even the ferrier, agrees that he deserves his good fortune. The wedding procession of Silas, AP, Aaron and Dolly approaches the cottage. AP and Aaron have decided they would rather stay in Silas's cottage than go to any new home so the cottage has been altered to accommodate Aaron. Among other improvements, a large and impressive garden has been built at Godfrey's expense. Returning home with the wedding party, AP tells Silas that she thinks nobody could be happier than we are. On to character analysis. Silas Marner, the title character Silas is a solitary weaver who at the time we meet him is about 39 years old and has been living in the English countryside village of Ravelo for 15 years. Silas is reclusive and his neighbors in Ravelo regard him with a mixture of suspicion and curiosity. He spends all day working at his loom and has never made an effort to get to know any of the villagers. Silas' physical appearance is odd. He is bent from his work at the loom, has strange and frightening eyes and generally looks much older than his years. Because Silas has knowledge of medicinal herbs and is subject to occasional cataleptic fits, many of his neighbors speculate that he has other worldly powers. Despite his antisocial behavior, however, Silas is at heart a deeply kind and honest person. At no point in the novel does Silas do or say anything remotely malicious and strangely for a miser, he is not even particularly selfish. Silas' love of money is merely the product of spiritual desolation and his hidden capacity for love and sacrifice manifests itself when he takes in and raises epi. Silas' outsider status makes him the focal point for the themes of community, religion and family that Eliot explores in the novel. As an outcast who eventually becomes Ravelo's most exemplary citizen, Silas serves as a study in the relationship between the individual and the community. His last and subsequent rediscovery of faith demonstrates both the difficulty and the solace that religious belief can bring. Additionally, the unlikely domestic life that Silas creates with epi presents an unconventional but powerful portrait of family and the home. Similarly, Dante's theft of Silas' gold and epi's appearance on Silas' doorstep, rather than any actions Silas takes of his own accord, are the major events that drive the narrative forward. Silas significantly diverges from this pattern of passivity when he decides to keep epi, thereby becoming an agent of his eventual salvation. Godfrey Caste Godfrey is the eldest son of Squire Caste and the heir to the Caste State. He is a good-natured young man, but weak-willed and usually unable to think of much beyond his immediate material comfort. As a young man, he married an opium addict, Molly Farron, with whom he had a daughter. This secret marriage and Godfrey's handling of it demonstrates the mixture of guilt and moral cowardice that keep him paralyzed for much of the novel. Godfrey consented to the marriage largely out of guilt and keeps the marriage secret because he knows his father will disown him if it ever comes to light. Despite his physically powerful and graceful presence, Godfrey is generally passive. In this respect, he is similar to Silas. However, Godfrey's passivity is different from Silas' as his endless waffling and indecisiveness stem entirely from selfishness. Godfrey is subject to constant blackmail from Danzie, who knows of Godfrey's secret marriage and Godfrey is finally freed of his malicious brother simply by an accident. He is delivered from Molly in a similarity fortuitous way, when Molly freezes to death while en route to rave low to expose their marriage to Godfrey's family. Even Godfrey's eventual confession to Danzie is motivated simply by his right after the discovery of Danzie's remains. This confession comes years too late. By the time Godfrey is finally ready to take responsibility for Epi, she has already accepted Silas as her father and does not want to replace him in her life. Danzie is the pretty, caring and stubborn young lady whom Godfrey pursues and then marries. Like Godfrey, Danzie comes from a family that is wealthy by rave low standards. However, her father, unlike Squire Cass, is a man who values moral, rectitude, thrift and hard work. Danzie has inherited these strict values and looks disapprovingly on what she sees as Godfrey's weakness of character. She is, however, exhilarated by Godfrey's attention in part because of the status he embodies. Danzie lives her life according to an inflexible code of behavior and belief. She seems to have already decided how she feels about every question that might come up in her life, not necessarily on the basis of any reason or thought, but simply because anything else would represent a sort of weakness in her own eyes. When Danzie is younger, this code of hers immense that she and her sister dress alike on formal occasion. When she is older, Danzie's code forbids her to adopt a child, as in her mind such an action represents a defiance of God's plan. Danzie is neither well educated nor particularly curious and her code marks her as just as much a product of rave low's isolation and rusticity as the windthrob. Danzie is, however, a genuinely kind and caring person as evidenced by her forgiveness of Godfrey after his confession. On to theme analysis. The individual versus the community. Silas Marner is, in one sense, the story of the title character, but it is also very much about the community of rave low in which he lives. Much of the novel's dramatic force is generated by the tension between Silas and the society of rave low. Silas, who goes from being a member of a tight knit community to early alone and then back again, is a perfect vehicle for Iliad to explore the relationship between the individual and the surrounding community. In the early 19th century, a person's village or town was all important, providing the sole source of material and emotional support. The notion of interconnectedness and support within a village runs through the novel. In such examples as the parishes charitable allowance for the crippled, the donation of leftovers from the squire's feast to the village's poor and the villagers who drop by Silas's cottage after he is robbed. The community also provides its members with a structured sense of identity. We see this sense of identity play out in the rave low's public gatherings. At both the rainbow and the squire's dance, interaction is ritualized through a shared understanding of each person's social class and place in the community. As an outsider living apart from this social structure, Silas initially lacks any sense of this identity. Not able to understand Silas in the context of their community, the villagers see him as strange regarding him with a mixture of fear and curiosity. Silas is compared to an apparition both when he shows up at the rainbow and the red house. To be outside the community is to be something unnatural, even otherworldly. Though it takes 15 years, the influence of the community of rave low does eventually steep into Silas's life. It does so via Godfrey's problems, which find their way into Silas's cottage, first in the form of density, then again in epi. Eliot suggests that the interconnectedness of communities is not something one necessarily enters into voluntarily, nor something one can even avoid. In terms of social standing, Silas and Godfrey are quite far from each other, whereas Silas is a distrusted outsider, Godfrey is the village's golden boy, the heir of its most prominent family. By braiding together the fates of these two characters and showing how the rest of the village becomes implicated as well, Eliot portrays the bonds of community as their most inescapable and pervasive character as destiny. The plot of Silas' murder seems mechanistic at times, as Eliot takes care to give each character his or her just deserts. Dunzi dies, the squares land are divided, Godfrey wins Nancy, but ends up childless, and Silas leaves happily ever after with Epi as the most admired man in rave low. The tidiness of the novel's resolution may or may not be entirely believable, but it is a central part of Eliot's goal to present the universe as morally ordered. Fates in the sense of a higher power rewarding and punishing each character's actions is a central theme of the novel. For Eliot, who we all determined not only what we do, but also what is done to us. Nearly any character in the novel could serve as an example of this moral order, but perhaps the best illustration is Godfrey. Godfrey usually means well, but is unwilling to make sacrifices for what he knows to be right. At one point, Godfrey finds himself actually hoping that Molly will die as his constant hemming and howling have backed him into so tight a corner that his thoughts have become truly horrible and cruel. However, throughout the novel Eliot maintains that Godfrey is not a bad person, he has simply been compromised by his inaction. Feedingly, Godfrey ends up with a similarly compromised destiny in his marriage to Nancy. He gets what he wants, only to eventually reach the dissatisfied conclusion that it is not what he wanted after all. Godfrey ends up in this ironic situation, not simply because he is deserving, but because compromised thoughts and action cannot in the moral universe of Eliot's novel have anything but compromised results. The interdependence of faith and community. In one sense, Silas Marner can be seen simply as the story of Silas's loss and regaining of his faith. But one could just as easily describe the novel as the story of Silas's rejection and subsequent embrace of his community. In the novel, these notions of faith and community are closely linked. They are both human necessities and they both feed off of each other. The community of Lantern Yard is united by religious faith and rave law is likewise introduced as a place in which people share the same set of superstitions beliefs. In the typical English village, the church functioned as the predominant social organization. Thus, when Silas loses his faith, he is isolated from any sort of larger community. The connection between faith and community lies in Eliot's close association of faith in a higher authority with faith in one's fellow men. Silas's regained faith differs from his former Lantern Yard faith in significant ways. His former faith was based first and foremost on the idea of God. When he is unjustly charged with murder, he does nothing to defend himself, trusting in a just God to clear his name. The faith Silas regains through EP is different in that it is not even explicitly Christian. Silas does not mention God in the same way he did in Lantern Yard but bases his faith on the strength of his and EP's commitment to each other. In his words, since I've come to love her, I've had light enough to trust and buy and now she says she'll never leave me. I think I shall trust until I die. Silas's new faith is a religion that one might imagine Eliot herself is pausing after her own break with formalized Christianity. It is a more personal faith than that of Lantern Yard in which people day-lostly and superstitiously ascribe supernatural causes to events with straightforward causes such as Silas's faith. Both Dolly's and especially Silas's faith consist of a belief in the goodness of other people as much as an idea of the divine. Such a faith is thus inextricably linked to the bonds of community. So that's it for this video. If you found it useful, give it a thumbs up and do subscribe to our channel where we offer free materials that you can use as part of your studies to really get a better grasp of specific areas you might find challenging. Make sure to visit our website as well where you'll find useful revision guides, model answers and tools to get top marks. Thank you for listening!