Book Review – Silas Marner
An Overview of George Eliot’s Classic Victorian Novel
Jun 11, 2009 Michelle Bailat-Jones
Compared with her other longer works, Silas Marner is the perfect introduction to George Eliot’s writing. This is the simple story of Godfrey Cass and Silas Marner, two men in the fictional village of Raveloe. Godfrey Cass is given an undeserved chance to correct the errors of his youth, while Silas, a reclusive weaver, adopts an abandoned young girl, an act that will change his life forever.
Two Interweaving Stories in George Eliot’s Silas Marner
After a quick introduction of Silas, the novel’s initial focus lies upon the son of the local squire, Godfrey Cass. Eliot portrays Cass as a kindhearted gentleman with an unfortunately weak character. He is heavily influenced by his greedy and dishonest younger brother, Dunstan, and hiding a shameful, secret marriage from his father. When his unwanted wife unexpectedly dies, Godfrey is given a second chance to become a better man.
Godfrey’s story is set against a second narrative following the novel’s eponymous character. Silas is the village weaver and lives an isolated life as an outsider. Betrayed as a young man in another town, Silas rejects the company of others and has become a miserly hermit. His only joy comes from counting his steadily growing piles of money.
Like Godfrey, a series of unforeseen events disrupt his life, offering Silas a chance to change his ways. First, his money is stolen and then a mysterious child appears on his doorstep.
Character Transformation in Silas Marner
When the two stories come together, both men find themselves transformed. Humbled by his good luck, and genuinely sorry for the errors of his past, Godfrey marries Nancy Lammeter, the woman he should have married in the first place. Silas, for his part, is finally accepted into the community and develops a deep, sincere love for the young orphaned girl he takes in.
One of the strengths of Silas Marner lies in Eliot’s skillful juxtaposition of these characters and their gradual transformation. There is no mistaking her preference for Silas and her assertion within the story that his character, more honorable to begin with in comparison to Godfrey’s, undergoes the most noble of conversions.
The Novel’s Main Thematic Focus - Money
One of the novel’s central preoccupations revolves around money. Silas literally worships his gold, dreaming about it during the day and the moment he can take it out and count it, while most of Godfrey’s troubles are the result of financial irresponsibility. Eliot sets up the men’s dependence on money only to remove it from them with a careful narrative sleight of hand.
The death of Godfrey’s first wife and the theft of Silas’ money effectively eliminate the object of each man’s single-minded focus. For Silas this is a physical change. The money is gone and he must turn his attention elsewhere. For Godfrey, it is a more metaphorical removal, freeing his conscious to start anew as an honest man.
Published in 1861, Silas Marner was George Eliot’s third work of long fiction. This novel about redemption and renewal is an excellent example of Victorian literature as well as a perfect illustration of Eliot’s elegant and incisive prose.
Silas Marner, Signet Classics, 2007 (originally published 1861), 208 pp.
ISBN: 978-0451530622
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