Jem Rodney sees Marner go into an epileptic fit. At this time, the villagers of Raveloe did not think it was an illness but his soul leaving his body to the devil and coming back again. The villagers would think that Marner was either the devil in disguise or some sort of other being with magical powers. This view suggests that Elliot’s society, is full of superstition and lacks understanding.
The rich women of Raveloe felt that Silas Marner was rather strange but a good man really, a hard worker and he does his work at a generous rate. The poor people of Raveloe thought he overcharged them. This reveals that in Elliot’s society there is a difference in what class someone is in to the way they think.
Silas Marner doesn’t spend much of his money and does not go out of his house unless it is to get food or for business purposes. He does not have any parties and rarely anyone is allowed in his home. Because of this rumours start to spread that he has piles of gold in his house, enough to buy the whole of Raveloe.
In Lantern Yard Silas Marner was happily married had a good best friend and was a godly person that went to church all the time. He gave a most of his money in to charities and the church and only kept the money that he needed to survive.
One day he was looking after the dieing church deacon and as he was he entered an epileptic fit. While he was in a fit his best friend William Dane stole some of the deacons money and framed Marner for it. Marner was found guilty and banished from lantern yard because he would not admit too committed the crime he didn’t do. Shortly after this his wife left him for William Dane. Silas left Lantern Yard to Raveloe knowing his best friend had betrayed him and then so had his wife. Marner was left with nothing. These events that happened in Lantern Yard have a big effect on the reader because it makes them feel very sorry for Marner because he has done nothing wrong to deserve what happened. The readers really want Silas Marner to become happy again. So the reader’s read on to hope Silas becomes happy which he does later on in the book.
Silas Marner's friendship with William Dane is really strong they seem to be very close and care about each other. This reveals that his character is very trusting and trusts William a lot. William Dane then betrays Marner and Silas’s reaction shows that really he knew that Dane was not as trusting as he made out to be because he knew it was Dane that had stolen the money as soon as he’d been framed for it.
When Silas Marner is in Raveloe he does not go to church this is very significant as party of the story and to the reader because it shows how his character has changed from a god-lover to a god-hater because he believes if there was a god he would have saved him from being framed. He seems like a completely different person when he goes to Raveloe he is quiet, mysterious and obsessed with money the complete opposite of what he was like in Lantern Yard.
Silas Marner works hard in Raveloe as he has no friends and does not want to socialise or go to church he works a sixteen hour day and because he doesn’t have to give any of his money away he soon builds up a lot of money and becomes very rich.
There is nothing else for Marner to live for without his money there would be nothing else left to live for. He is so obsessed to his money and attached to it like it was his child or something really special.
Marner cures Sally Oates from her illness this encounter with Sally Oates is very significant because it shows that deep down he is the same kind, caring person as he was in Lantern Yard. This incident is also significant because it gives the villagers an insight in to what Marner is really like. It shows the reader that Silas Marner’s character has not really changed it just seems to have by the way he acts in Raveloe. Really he is the same person but loves his money instead of god because he feels god has betrayed him.
When Silas Marner is robbed of his money he loves so much he has nothing to live for and all the villagers are really sympathetic towards him and see him in a hole new way. The orphaned baby Eppie walks into Silas Marners house as he is mourning for his money as soon as he sees her he falls in love with her. When he adopts her as his own all the villagers forget everything they have thought of Marner in the passed and start forging new relationships with him. They all find out what Silas Marner is really like and start to see him as the person he was in Lantern Yard. No one has ever anything bad to say about Marner just friendly advice, help, support and chat about how to look after Eppie. The baby coming into his life is a wonderful replacement for his missing money it gives him something special to live for and someone to share his life with. If the baby had never coming into his life he would nothing to live for and nobody to love and care for. This shows the reader how caring Silas Marner is because a lot of people in his situation would have not wanted to look after the child and give it away. Marner is a very caring, loving and kind person the perfect person to look after a child. Eppie brings out the real Silas Marner for everyone to see what he's really like.
Godfrey Cass wants to gain custody of Eppie as he is her biological father but she does not want to leave Silas Marner. This shows that Marner has looked after and cared for Eppie very well. This also shows that the relationship between Eppie and Marner is very loving like it would be between two biological daughter and father. Showing this tells the reader how loving and kind person Silas Marner is.
When Godfrey Cass wants custody of Eppie, Marner is prepared to let Eppie go if she wants to. This shows that he is not selfish and truly loves Eppie because he wants what would benefit Eppie the most without forcing her to do anything and do what she wants to do.
George Elliot’s readers would have felt that Marner getting his money back after all those years would have changed him back to the same selfish person that he was before he lost it and found Eppie. George Elliot surprises the readers by making Marner not care. Marner's reaction is that he’s glad to have his money back but it does not change his personality at all. All Marner thinks about the money is that it will help him and Eppie have a better life.
Marner is a very trusting, honest man that is very humble to people and sensitive. He very loves others especially Eppie. He is very caring and also very forgiving. Marner does not have very many negative qualities he used to have some before Eppie came into his life like he was very unsociable and completely obsessed with money. When Eppie comes into Marner's life he loses all his negative qualities and enhances his good ones.
I feel that Marner as a character is a very loving person who would never hurt anyone and genuinely a friendly kind man. The only reason I think he acted badly when he got banished from lantern yard because he had been badly betrayed and did not have anything to live for but inside all the time he was the same trusting, honest, humble, sensitive, loving, caring and forgiving person he was at the beginning of the story and the end. This is how I also feel Eliot’s readers would have thought about Marner as a character.
