Silas Marner used the key ring as a hook to hang his cooking pot when he was preparing his meal. One day during the meal preparation he realized some ingredients were missing, so left the pot to go and get the essentials. As his key ring was holding the pot up he decided to leave his home unlocked, as he would be back very soon. So the door was open and no one was at home. Meanwhile a complete stranger to Silas Marner came to visit him. The door was open and so he went in and searched for the money he knew that Silas Marner had. He had over heard strangers at the pub saying how rich Silas Marner was because he saves up his money and looks after it in a safe place. The stranger found the money underneath the brick on the floor and ran away. Silas Marner returned and was devastated and heartbroken at what he saw. He had worked so hard to earn that money and in the blink of an eye all his money had gone. His faith in God fell apart because of this incident. Now Silas Marner had no one to look up to, no one that cared or loved him. His future was bleak, one or more doors were slammed back in his face, “And the future was all dark, for there was no unseen Love that cared for him.”
In chapter 1 and 2 George Elliot gave a big hint that Silas Marner would not remain like this throughout the story, he would change as well as his priorities in life, “But while opinion concerning him had remained nearly stationary and his daily habits had presented scarcely any visible change, Marner’s inward life had been a history and a metamorphosis, as that of every fervid nature must be when it has fled, or been condemned to solitude.”
In the story it seemed to me that it was out of God’s will for a change in Silas Marner to exist. I don’t think Silas Marner had any plans to change, but certain situations occurred in Silas Marner’s life, which made him have to change.
In chapter 14, the daughter of an opium addict and a very rich man was somehow shown the way to Silas Marner’s house. The opium addict’s mother died in Silas Marner’s front garden whereas the rich father of the child was still alive, but did not accept the child because he prioritised status above relationships. Silas Marner graciously accepted the child as his own when nobody claimed the child, “She’ll be my little un’ said Marner, rather hastily. She’ll be nobody else’s.” From that day forward Silas Marner was a changed man. Silas Marner with no other option had to change his whole lifestyle to revolve around this child. He also changed his main priority from money to Eppie; the child, “Now something had come to replace his hoard which gave him a growing purpose.” From that day onwards Silas Marner became more sociable and was treated with respect from the Raveloe people. He was once again a strong believer of God because he thought to himself that all the bad things God did to him were for a reason because of all the happiness he was receiving now, “Since the child was sent to me… I’d have light enough to trusten by; and now she says she’ll never leave me, I think I shall trusten till I die.”
From this I can sum up the change in character and circumstances for Silas Marner. In chapter 1 and 2 Silas Marner was a lonely unsociable character that went through a lot of depression because of the things he lost in life. His circumstances were that the things he went through were difficult to handle and the only thing that could cure him was his love for others and their love back in return. In chapter 14 his character changed immensely because he became more sociable and well respected in the community. His life now revolved around Eppie, she changed his whole life.
At the beginning of the story in chapters 1 and 2 Silas Marner was treated really badly whereas in chapter 14 Silas Marner was treated with respect. In chapter 1 and 2 Silas Marner was treated terribly as he came from Lantern Yard, North ‘ard. In those days people did not travel and if anyone did, like Silas Marner, people thought they were strangers as they did not know anything about them, “In that far-off time superstition clung easily round every person or thing that was all unwonted, or even intermittent and occasional merely, like the visits of the pedlar or the knife-grinder,” “Hitherb. He had been treated very much as if he had been… A queer and unaccountable creature.” The children in the community are very rude to him because he had distinct physical characteristics; they were all scared but still teased Silas Marner for the fascination, “Silas’s loom… Had a half fearful fascination for the Raveloe boys.” The whole community stayed away from him because he cured someone with some home made medicine so they all got frightened, all were fearful of anything they did not understand.
Nevertheless in chapter 14 Silas Marner was treated with respect because of Eppie. The community respected him because they appreciated him looking after an unknown child as if it was his own. There was a bond forming between Silas Marner and the community; they became very friendly to him, “A softening of feelings towards him.” The whole community was not afraid of Silas Marner anymore.
From this I can sense the change in attitudes of the villagers towards Silas Marner. In chapter 1 and 2 he was treated like an outcast whereas in chapter 14 he was treated like a friend, a member of the community.
Silas Marner is very important to the novel’s theme because it shows the good and the bad shades of the same character. The story makes us think about trust, betrayal, love, faith, death, greed, jealousy, hope and money. The story shows us individual’s values, for example Godfry Cass values his reputation whereas Dolly Winthrop values her relationships with friends and family.
In this book George Elliot makes Silas Marner and the reader learn a lot about values. In chapter 1 and 2 Silas Marner only valued money because he was all alone. He had no one to look after and no one to look after him. His life only revolved around linen weaving and earning money, which kept him happy in the short term, but in the long term it made him depressed, upset and very bitter. In chapter 14, when Eppie came into Silas Marner’s life it changed drastically. His values had changed in life. He started to value Eppie and realized money is not everything and does not bring you happiness. In chapter 1 and 2 he used to earn money for the satisfaction, but now in chapter 14 he earns for Eppie, to provide for her.
To an extent Silas Marner is a product of those times (1860-19th Century) because firstly he was a linen weaver. I chose this as a point because these days there are no more linen weavers, it was only in the olden days where linen weavers existed and spinning wheels were used do everything. In those days transport was also different because there were no cars or trains. No one travelled much in those days because they thought it was strange, whereas in today’s society travelling is normal and is done by everyone. The living accommodation in those days was different too, they lived in small huts made from stone, but now everyone has big houses with heating and air-conditioned rooms. Religion was also very important in those days because if you were not religious you were regarded as an outcast, possibly even an evil person. Religious beliefs still exist in society but are not regarded as fundamental characteristics as they were in Silas Marner’s time. Freedom of speech and the freedom to live your life as you see fit has made the western world a diverse place where in reality no one is an outcast, or all are outcast in their own unique ways.
In chapter 1 and 2 the narrative style of the author is very serious because it is all mainly concentrated on Silas Marner’s past, whereas in chapter 14 the narrative style of the author is very humorous, due to the fact that Eppie has come into Silas Marner’s life. In chapter 1 and 2, instead of conversation between two people there is narrative description of Silas Marner, which emphasizes the fact that he was alone and he had no one to speak to, which caused the depression in his life. In chapter 14 the chapter was made more light-hearted by Eppie’s mischievous behaviour. There was a lot of direct speech between Silas Marner and Eppie as well as between Silas Marner and Dolly Winthorp, which emphasizes the fact that he had people to talk to, and people spoke to him. This reiterates the dramatic change in Silas Marner’s life when he offered a home to an innocent little child. George Elliot also used techniques in her writing for certain purposes, for example George Elliot uses hyphens to make sentences longer, in shorter sentences the dramatic power of what is trying to be said would be lost, “In the days when the spinning wheels hummed busily in the farm houses – and great ladies, clothed in polished oak – there might be seen in districts far away among the lanes, or deep in the bosom of the hill’s, certain pallid undersized men, who, by the side of the brawny country-folk, looked like the remnants of a disinherited race.”
Overall, it can be concluded that the entrance of Eppie had a life changing effect on Silas Marner. This is perceived in the manner in which the chapters vary, outlining the time before and after the entrance of a new person in Silas Marner’s life. This completely altered Marner’s personality; hence the language and narrative style of writing also changed to emphasis the metamorphosis.