Silas Marner

Silas Marner is a novel by George Eliot (in fact the pen name of one Mary Ann Evans), first published in 1861.

It is a novel about intricate relationships...

Synopsis

In the early years of the 19th century, Silas Marner is a weaver who is wrongly accused of theft and subsequently exiled by his religious Lantern Yard community. Later he goes on to settle in the village of Raveloe, where he lives as a recluse, and exists only for work and his precious hoard of money. One fateful day his money is stolen and he is heartbroken. Soon, however, an orphaned child finds her way to Silas, changing his life like never before...

In Silas Marner, George Eliot combines humour and rich symbolism with a historically precise setting to create an extraordinary tale of love and hope.

The Epigraph to this novel is as follows:

"A child, more than all other gifts That earth can offer to declining man, Brings hope with it, and forward-looking thoughts."

--WORDSWORTH

The novel begins with:

In the days when the spinning-wheels hummed busily in the farmhouses-- and even great ladies, clothed in silk and thread-lace, had their toy spinning-wheels of polished oak--there might be seen in districts far away among the lanes, or deep in the bosom of the hills, certain pallid undersized men, who, by the side of the brawny country-folk, looked like the remnants of a disinherited race.

and ends with:

"O father," said Eppie, "what a pretty home ours is! I think nobody could be happier than we are."

Additional Excerpt: God gave her to me because you turned your back upon her, and He looks upon her as mine: you've no right to her!

Setting

It is known that the setting of the tale was "the South Midlands", though there are 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".