Silas Marner also loses his trust in man and goes into solitude. He doesn’t socialise with the villagers of Raveloe in the way that most villagers would. He no longer goes to church, (a key place for the villagers to socialise) and he doesn’t go to the Rainbow Inn so the only chance he gets to meet anyone from the outside world is when he sells the cloth that he weaves. We know this because it says, “ The livelong day he sat in his loom, his ears filled with its monotony.” This is very significant because it shows how boring Silas’ life has become and this links back to how Lantern Yard is not a friendly place.
When Silas arrives at Raveloe he refuses to integrate into the town community and this is because he doesn’t want to trust anyone again. The villagers of Raveloe are a lot more trusting than those of Lantern Yard. You can tell this because of the accusation Silas made to Jem Rodney. These allegations were very ironic because Silas was also accused of stealing gold but in contrast to the events at Lantern Yard the allegations were dropped because of no evidence. This is significant because it shows how the people of Raveloe are more trusting than those of Lantern Yard. This evidence is very important to Silas’ transformation because when he drops the case against Jem Rodney you know he is softening a bit.
If Silas never lost his gold I believe that he would never have kept Eppie. The villagers of Raveloe are suspicious of Silas at first but are quick to sympathise with when he loses his gold. It says that neighbours would give him “verbal consolations” and discuss with him at length about his misfortune. They would also take the time to visit Silas’ cottage and this is something that the villagers of Lantern Yard would probably never have done. This evidence goes to show that Silas is slowly integrating in the community and this is important because without this happening the villagers would not have liked Silas taking in Eppie.
The villagers also care about Silas because they encourage him to become religious again and include hi more in conversation. Mr Macey says to Silas that he should be a bit “neighbourly”, get a Sunday suit and come to church regularly and Dolly Winthrop says, “ I’ll come and see to the child for you.” This shows that they want to socialise with Silas more and more and how he is becoming a central part in the community. This links back to they way Silas may never have kept Eppie because the community may never have trusted him enough to do so.
Eppie’s arrival was the main reason for Silas’ transformation. When she arrives on his doorstep it seems to him that God has sent the golden haired child to replace his gold. His caring side is shown and he is very protective of his child. He says things like, “She’ll be my little ‘un and nobody else’s.” This evidence is important because it show just how much Silas has transformed since he came to Raveloe. When he arrived in Raveloe he was lonely and boring but since his transformation he is caring and kind.
Since Eppie’s arrival Silas has been released from the clutch of his gold and he is open to new ideas. Silas has a great change in religious and social beliefs since Eppie’s arrival. He has started going back to church and now sees his betrayal at Lantern Yard as being god sent because without it he would never have moved to Raveloe and found Eppie. Since Eppie’s arrival Silas has been fully accepted and approved into the community. Everyone there respects him for taking in Eppie and realises what a good thing he has done. Villagers such as Dolly and Godfrey Cass have been very helpful towards raising Eppie by giving money and clothes. This evidence is significant because it shows Silas’ full acceptance into the community.
I think that Silas going back to Lantern Yard is the final part of his transformation for him. He realises how lucky he was to escape the community that the place has now become. A factory has replaced the church and in general the place is not as not nice as it was. Throughout the book Eliot makes references to the Industrial Revolution and I think this is the final one. Eliot doesn’t seem to like the idea of the Industrial Revolution because she thinks it is corrupting peoples lives. We are made to think that if it were not for the Industrial Revolution then every town would be like Raveloe.
In conclusion I believe that the two communities have a massive effect on the transformation of Silas’ character throughout the novel. A lot of things during the book affect Silas but I think the main ones are the betrayal at Lantern yard, his loss of gold and Eppie’s arrival. Without these three main factors Silas would never be the kind caring person that he turned out to be but rather he would probably have carried on living his monotonous life style being obsessed with his gold. As the book goes on I think that Silas’ character transforms for the better.
The moral of Silas Marner is of loss and redemption through love. Silas believes that when his gold is stolen he is ruined he is plunged into darkness but is redeemed again through his love for Eppie. Also, I believe that you can learn from this book that you have to take your chances because if Godfrey had have told people that Eppie was his child then he would have ended up happy.