At lantern Yard is where Silas lost belief in everything and everyone, and moved to Raveloe. “…where he felt hidden even from the heavens by the screening trees and hedgerows” we now know that Silas feels like he is at such a miserable place, even God cannot get to him. “There were no lips in Raveloe from which a word could fall that would stir Silas Marner’s benumbed faith to a sense of pain.” Silas cannot be moved, nothing can be said or done that can remind Silas of his past, he has locked his emotions.
In Raveloe Silas, “…seemed to weave, like the spider from pure impulse, without reflection.” all Silas did was weave day and night. Silas Marner instinctively sought out his loom, from this we see that the constant weaving has made him anti-social, disconnected from the villagers.
His first job in Raveloe was to weave Mrs Osgood’s table linen, once don he was paid in gold. Silas wanted to keep them to himself “…no man expected a share of them, and he loved no man that he should offer him a share.” To him the sensation of having 5 pieces of gold in his hand was somehow meaningful and vaguely fulfilling,”.
Silas would not give the coins away or spend them, to him the gold has become conscious of him “…had become his familiars, for coins with unknown faces. He handled them, he counted them, till their form and colour were like the satisfaction of a thirst to him,” , Money doesn't mean anything to him in terms of what it can buy. Rather, he treats it as its own society-as a gathering of friends and family, of familiar faces.
Years went on and all he wanted to do was get money he had no links outside of weaving. “His life had reduced itself to the mere functions of weaving and hoarding,…”, all that was important to Silas was getting the gold and weaving, he could see nothing beyond this.
Eliot describes the guienas “as if they had been unborn children…”, Silas’s love is without purpose. Money doesn't mean anything to him in terms of what it can buy. Rather, he treats it as its own society.
In Raveloe the highest ranked family The Casses, included Suire Cass, his eldest son Godfrey “ …a fine, open-faced good natured young man,…”, this shows the character of Godfrey, he seems like a good boy, and fairly handsome. Godfrey had a younger brother, the complete opposite to him “… a spiteful jeering fellow, who seemed to enjoy his drink the more when other people went dry.” , the character of Dunsey is very different than from his brother, he seems to like it when he has something and other people don’t, show that Dunsey’s character is mean and snobbish.
Dunsey needed to find a way to get some money back that he had spent but was meant to give to his father. Dunsey wanted to sell Godfrey’s horse Wildfire and in doing so he killed the horse. As being the mean and spiteful character he is, Dunsey stole Silas’s treasured guineas. “ If the weaver was dead, who had a right to his money? Who would know where his money was hidden? Who would know that anybody had come to take it away?”, All Dunsey wants to do is steal the money and run, he does not care at all.
At this point Silas was not at his cottage and he had left the door open, when he came back did not notice the footsteps of Dunsey, “…and to his short-sighted eyes everything remained as he had left it,”, this shows the characteristics of Silas, that he is short sighted.
Silas wanted to see his guineas before he ate “…it sould be a long while to wait till after supper before he drew out his guineas,…” again this shows he has no intention of giving them away as they are ‘his’.
“He rose and placed his candle unsuspectingly on the floor near his loom, swept away the sand without noticing any change,…” again he doesn’t notice anything as he wouldn’t have thought that someone may have come in and stole the money, this shows the characteristics of Silas that his thoughts aren’t suspicious. “The sight of the empty hole made his heart leap violently, but the belief that his gold was gone could not come at once- only terror…” Eliot really makes us feel for Silas at this moment, Silas has just lost his money but cannot believe it.
Silas searched everywhere, “ …acting as if he believed in false hopes” , Slias believed in nothing so how could he have believed his money was still in his cottage. Silas is in despair, is hurt and does not know what to do so “…gave a wild ringing scream, the cry of desolation…he stood motionless…”, Eliot really emphasises Silas’s emotion, she makes us imagine Silas’s pain, you can almost hear the scream in your ears.
Since the 15 years Silas has been in Raveloe, he has had no contact with the public as he has been a “shrinken rivulet” , his soul has been sucked out of him and his only love is for weaving and his guineas. With the shock of his loss, he runs into The Rainbow, and gets his first contact in ages with the villagers “ Silas Marner was suddenly seen standing there in the warm light uttering no word, but looking round at the company with his strange unearthly eyes.” He was having his first encounter of other people, with having no links he is beginning to gain links.
From being a “shrunken rivulet” we see that Silas has started to regain contact with other people and this is completely opposite to what he was during those 15 years he was in Raveloe. By running into The Rainbow, Silas has gained friends and faith with the other villagers.
