What Changes Does Eppie Bring About In Silas's Life?

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Silas Marner

George Eliot

“A Child, More Than All Other                  

Gifts That Earth Can Offer To Declining Man,

Brings Hope With It, And Forward-looking Thoughts.”

What Changes Does Eppie Bring About In

Silas’s Life?

The motto chosen by George Eliot for the title page of the novel means Eppie is worth more than any gift that Silas can buy, because you can’t buy love, and she was given to Silas when he was at his worst, when he had nothing to live for. Eppie redeems Silas with the love she showed him. She helped him live again and as she was growing he grew with her. They were one.

The industrial revolution took place in 1780-1861, when the action of the book is set, but the book was written in 1861 so the author is commenting on how England has been changed by the industrial revolution. George Eliot’s view on the Industrial Revolution showed in her book, she thought the Industrial Revolution was bad because of the way it kept changing, things never stayed the same, and memories were lost. The people were strangers to each other and kept themselves to themselves.                                                  

George Eliot described the city as a dark and grim place where you feel cramped and imprisoned because of the high walls. The place was unnatural. The author thinks the countryside is better because of the spaced settings, historical traditions and culture. Everything is already established, and nothing hardly every changes. It’s calm, clean, with talkative and friendly neighbors.

Silas’s journey from the town to the countryside was one of a man cast away because of society, and brought back because of the love of a child. I think it was a journey George Eliot wanted people to take; she wanted them to find trust in people and know how to love. Eppie helps Silas on that journey by loving and trusting him. She taught him that the world was not all bad.

In Lantern Yard Silas was a well-known member of the church. He was engaged to a woman named Sarah, and had a best friend named William Dane. One night when Silas was looking after the deacon who was very sick (the whole church was taking turns and William was after Silas) he had one of his ‘visitations’, it was then that William came and took the money leaving Silas’s knife. When Silas was said to have stolen the money, William turned against him, at that time he did not know why. During the trial Silas started remembering things, he remembered that the knife was not with him on that night, that William had taken his knife a few days before and had not returned it. Silas had figured out what was going on, William Dane had tried to set him up, but he believed God would prove his innocence. When the drawing of the lots    

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had taken place (it was like tossing a coin, and the church believed God controlled the

coin, to prove whether the person prosecuted was guilty or not) Silas Marner was found guilty. It was then that he lost his faith in God.

“…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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