How does Silas Marner change and develop during the course of the novel.

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How does Silas Marner change and develop

during the course of the novel

During the course of the novel Silas Marner experienced some very big changes which affect his life in many ways. The story begins with Silas living in a quiet village called Raveloe. He is a bitter and angry man who lives in isolation away from the other villagers. The reason for his way of living started fifteen years ago in a village called Lantern Yard where he was a weaver. He is kind hearted and popular among the other villagers, he had good knowledge of herbal remedies but believed that faith in itself was good enough to cure anyone. He was a very loyal man and put all his trust in God.

Silas suffered from cataleptic fits. While having one of these fits, at the bedside of the priest, he was betrayed by his best friend William Dane. William framed Silas with taking the priest's money and said that Silas's fits were visions from Satan 'to give Satan an advantage over you'. Silas trusted his faith and refused to lie at his trial, 'God will clear me' he believed. Silas was found guilty and was forced out of Lantern Yard leaving behind his love Sarah who ended up marrying William Dane. He left believing 'there is no god that governs the earth righteously'. He continued to work as a weaver but found he had no reason to give his money away to good causes. Now he could keep it for himself. He became very greedy and began to save the money. Silas didn't need friends if he had money 'that was deep enough for the seed of desire'. In those long nights Silas would sit and count his money and bathe his hands in it and sometimes stare at the money as if he were in a trance. This became a ritual for Silas. His obsession grew as more money was rolling in. Silas would work on his loom day after day like a selfless 'spinning insect' to ensure that the money would never stop.

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Although he seemed heartless, his instinct to help people as he had done in Lantern Yard did come to the surface one day, when he was going to get his shoe mended. The cobbler's wife Sally Oates was suffering from a disease similar to the one his mother had died of. Silas remembered the relief his mother had found in a herbal remedy. Although he did not know Sally very well he wanted to help her, so he made the remedy and gave it to her. This shows that Silas did remember his past, and deep down he was still ...

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