George Eliot's Silas Marner

George Eliot's ‘Silas Marner’

The novel, ‘Silas Marner,’ is considered to be a moral fable. The

author, George Eliot placed parental responsibility as one of the

book’s main themes. She writes of two different parenting styles,

along with the happiness and responsibilities that come with this

through two characters, Silas Marner and Godfrey Cass.

At the beginning of the narrative the character, Silas Marner, is a

completely different person from the one he was later to become. The

book starts by explaining how Silas Marner left his original home-

‘Marner had departed from the town,’ because of a false accusation

that his best friend had made about him. The church deacon was

extremely ill, and whilst looking after him Silas was accused of

stealing the church’s money. The religious sect that he belonged to,

a strict Calvinistic sect, drew lots to decide whether Silas was

innocent or guilty. ‘The lots declared that Silas Marner was guilty.’

The lots where superstitious and one of the supertitions was that they

believed that their results where God’s will.

Marner is over come by a sense of betrayal, as it was his best friend

who has committed such a cruel, untrustworthy deed, Marner looses all

his faith in God. Marner leaves ‘Lantern Yard’ and moves to a small

place named, ‘Raveloe.’ This new place is a completely new environment

for Marner; it was as if he had travelled abroad in comparison to our

day and age, we can tell this because in the text it states, ‘ he left

his own country and people and came to settle in Ravaloe.’ Sadly

Marner looses all his trust in people, he moves into a cottage in the

forest, isolating himself from human contact. He works his loom

producing linen, when he sells this li...

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be destroyed by finance and inanamte objects.

This shows that Godfrey was too selfish and self centered to realize

what a strong relationship Silas and Eppie had. ‘ it had never

occurred to him that Silas would rather part his with life then with

Eppie.’

Godfrey finally suffers for all his years worth of mistakes, realizing

that he cannot separate them, they have the same bond as all GOOD

fathers have with their children, with deep compassion.

The novel shows the need to love and feel compassion, with out it life

appears to have no meaning.

What we understand by the term ‘Parental Duty,’ is to support a child,

not just financially but emotionally and to bring up the child in a

kind and understanding manner, making sure that the child has respect

for other people also, growing up to be a considerate and gracious

person.