Silas Marner - George Eliot wrote that her story of Silas Marner "sets in a strong light the remedial influences of pure, natural human relations". Show how Silas' character changes and develops in the course of the book.

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Silas Marner - George Eliot

George Eliot wrote that her story of Silas Marner “sets in a strong light the remedial influences of pure, natural human relations”. Show how Silas’ character changes and develops in the course of the book.

 

         Silas Marner was a weaver who through certain events during his life, became alienated and dehumanised from the rest of the world, turning him into an antisocial miser. This essay will show how Silas’ character develops and changes through the course of the book.

        In Lantern Yard, where Silas grew up he was part of a strong, religious, evangelical sect to which he devoted most of his life and money.

Silas lost his faith in the church, God and man for three reasons. His cataleptic fits, which the parish saw as a gift, gave him a high amount of respect amongst the parish, but Silas’ state was taken advantage of when one night, while he was watching over one of the dying leaders of his church, Silas went into one of these fits, and was framed for stealing the leaders money by William Dane, who was thought to be Silas’ best friend. Silas knew that he wasn’t guilty, but when the stolen money, was found in his cottage, he realised what William Dane had done and he thought that God would clear him in the drawing of lots.

“But God will clear me”

The lots declared that Silas was guilty. This is when Silas lost his faith in God and people. His faith in God was lost, because God allowed him to have the fits, which were used to frame him, and because there was no divine intervention from God in the drawing of the lots to clear him. Silas lost faith in people because he was used and betrayed by his best friend William Dane who benefited from Silas’ alienation from Lantern Yard as he then married the one person Silas loved, Sarah. Silas shows his loss of faith when he says to William Dane,

“You stole the money, and you have woven a plot to lay sin at my door. But you may prosper for all that. There is no just God that governs the earth righteously, but a God of lies, that bears witness against the innocent.”

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Silas, demoralised by his complete loss in faith took comfort from his loom.

“The second day he took refuge from benumbing unbelief by getting into his loom and working away as usual…”

Here, notice Silas gets “into” his loom. He becomes part of the machine and starts becoming dehumanised.

 Silas soon left Lantern Yard and moved to Raveloe. Raveloe is described as a complete contrast to Lantern Yard, Silas’ religion was alien here there was nothing here to make Silas remember his old religion and regret his loss of faith.

“There were no lips in ...

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