Silas Marner by George Eliot

1631 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Main themes in george eliot's silas marner

Introduction:
Silas Marner is one of the 19th century novels written by George Eliot in 1861, it publishes by William Blackwood and Sons. In general, the novel is about a man named Silas Marner. His life changes by a betrayed friend named William Dane who is greed of Silas's position in the church. Therefore, Silas leaves his village and goes to another because of the accusation that causes his dismissed from the church while he is guiltless. Then he works as a weaver and he collects gold through his work. One day a thief who is by a chance a brother of Eppie's father steals Silas's gold. In addition, he avoids building any relationships with the new village people because he cannot trust anybody, until he meets a miracle golden hair girl named Eppie. Silas meets her when her mother died right outside his cottage. Her mother came to search for her husband, but she did not find him. By that time, she died because of the freezing weather and she is carrying her child, which adds fuel to the fire. In another words Eppie is a gift who returns to Silas for his stolen gold. Subsequently, it leads to the change of his life to a better one.
Any golden hair girl could attract any man in anywhere. According to Sherrow(2006), "Throughout most of human history, blonde hair is more attractive and alluring, possibly because this color is associated with gold and light, two things that people consider valuable and desirable" (p.149).
In fact, that is because the color of the girl's hair, it plays an important role in changing others' lives just like Silas. Consequently, what is the meaning of Eppie's, Hephzibah, and how that effects on Silas's life after he becomes a lone, enclosed on himself and unable to build any relationships.
I. A. Introdu...

... middle of paper ...

...holm,E. (1961). John Joubert's 'Silas Marner'. The Musical Times Journl, 102(1423), 553. Musical Times Publications Ltd.
Eliot,G. (1861). Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe. Edinburgh and
London: William and Blackwood & sons.
Kearney,J.P. (1971). The journal of time and beauty in Daniel Deronda: "was she beautiful or not beautiful?", 26(3), 286-306. University of California Press.
Ofek,G. (2009). Representations of Hair in Victorian Literature and Culture. USA: Ashgate publishing company.
Sherrow,V. (2006). Encyclopedia of hair: A cultural history. Greenwood Publishing Group.
Sophie,D. (2012). Choose your friends wisely: Social Networks and their Influence on Health and Happiness. The Cambridge Student Psychology Journal. Version9.
Swan,B. (1976). Criticism "Silas Marner" and the New Mythus. Wayne State University Press, 18(2).

Show More
Related

  • The Rise of Silas Lapham

    891 Words  | 2 Pages

    The society that Silas is trying to be accepted into cannot not find a way to accept Silas, nor find a way to make him acceptable. Although Silas is extremely wealthy, this does not make him acceptable in the community. Being rich situates him in the upper class allowing him to make an attempt at being one of them but in the end he fails because he cannot change his personality without losing sight of who he really was. At the Corey’s dinner party he has problems with wearing gloves while no one else is wearing them, and drinking from the wine glass like it was ice water served at his home table, also the conversation he could not enter into or follow. When he finally does he has drunk to much wine. After telling his War story he feels confident now that’s he has established himself in the conversation so he continues to talk about his paint to Bromfeild. As he goes on these rants unceasingly talking about pointless subjects he is the only one talking because no one at the party cares f...

    Read More

  • The Pearl, The Good Earth, and Silas Marner

    602 Words  | 2 Pages

    One major theme that runs through The Pearl, The Good Earth, and Silas Marner is the impact of money on the lives of the characters. All three books vividly incorporate this theme in different ways. Money can greatly alter the way of life of any individual. It can be an advantage or a disadvantage. These three authors used this theme in these novels to show the reader the impact money can have on a person.

    Read More

  • Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bornte

    924 Words  | 2 Pages

    From an early age Jane is aware she is at a disadvantage, yet she learns how to break free from her entrapment by following her heart. Jane appears as not only the main character in the text, but also a female narrator. Being a female narrator suggests a strong independent woman, but Jane does not seem quite that.

    Read More

  • Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

    758 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the fair city of Verona, two rival families, the Montagues and Capulets were involved in a nasty family feud that goes back years before any of the members were born. Even the townspeople were involved in the dispute, because the families were always fighting in the streets and causing disturbances. They disrupted the streets of Verona and even Prince Escalus tried to break up the fighting. They were given a warning, by him that another public fight would result in death. While this was occurring, Romeo, (a Montague) the main character, was getting over his last love, Rosaline, and was very upset. Juliet of the Capulet household had just been introduced to a wealthy young man, Paris, whom her parents wished her to marry. Yet she did not love him. Romeo goes to a party in an effort to forget about Rosaline. At this party he met Juliet, and immediately fell in love with her. He later finds out that she is a Capulet, the rival family of the Montagues. He decides that he loves her anyway and they confess their love for each other during the very famous "balcony scene" in which they agreed to secretly marry the next day. Friar Lawrence agreed to marry them in an effort to end the feuding between the families. Unfortunately, the fighting gets worse and Mercutio (Montague) a good friend of Romeo ends up in a fight with Tybalt (Capulet), Juliet's cousin. Tybalt killed Mercutio, which caused Romeo to kill Tybalt in an angry rage. For this, Romeo is banished from Verona. At the same time, the Capulet's were planning Juliet's marriage to Paris. Juliet didn't want to marry this man so she arranges with Friar Lawrence to fake her own death with a sleeping potion that would make everyone think that she was dead. Friar Lawrence promised to send word to Romeo to meet her when the potion wears off and to rescue her to Mantua, where Romeo was currently staying. There they would live happily ever after. Unfortunately, Romeo didn't receive the message on time and upon hearing of her "death" went to Juliet's tomb where he drinks poison and dies. When Juliet's potion wears off, she wakes to find her lover's dead corpse. She then proceeds to stab herself with Romeo's dagger. The two families find the bodies and with their shared sorrow, finally make peace with each other.

    Read More

  • silas lapham

    808 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the beginning Silas is a rich and powerful man, greed and selfish ambition had just started to take its toll on his decisions. Throughout the novel Silas continually does wrong by buying out his partner and becomes greedy to the point of money being the only thing that mattered to him. In result Silas loses everything, it is not until Silas loses his home and his company that he is forced to change. By the end of the novel Silas “rises” to become a good moral man that exemplifies honesty and humility.

    Read More

  • The Power Struggle in The Yellow Wallpaper

    1090 Words  | 3 Pages

    Delamotte, Eugenia C. reprinted in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism Vol. 37. Ed. Paula Kepos. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1991.

    Read More

  • Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare

    626 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fate or choice? Choice or fate? How does one separate these ideals? Can one? Shakespeare could not. Nor can we. Fate and choice are so intertwined that our choices determine our fate, and our fate determines our choices. William Shakespeare trusts the audience to scrutinize whether it is fate or choice that rules our human life. Shakespeare aptly conveys this oxymoron (with which people have been dealing for ages) through the evidence and structure of his play, Romeo and Juliet.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Loneliness

    1137 Words  | 3 Pages

    Various studies such as one survey which concluded that the mean size of networks of personal confidants decreased from 2.94 people in 1985 to 2.08 in 2004. Similarly, in 1985, only 10 percent of Americans said they had no one with whom to discuss important matters, and 15 percent said they had only one such good friend. By 2004, 25 percent had nobody to talk to, and 20 percent had only one confidant (Bercovici). In addition, a 2010 AARP survey found that 35 percent of adults older than 45 were chronically lonely, as opposed to 20 percent of a similar group only a decade earlier (Marche). By analyzing all of this compiled data it is evident that the sense of loneliness is on the rise especially after the launch of Facebook in 2004. Thus this has led critics to correlate the increased use and number of Facebook users with the noted increase in loneliness. This in turn has led critics to hypothesize and condemn the social network as the not so social network and therefore believing that Facebook causes loneliness. But is this all

    Read More

  • Emma by Jane Austen

    5646 Words  | 12 Pages

    Emma by Jane Austen Question: How does Jane Austen present the themes of love and marriage in the novel Emma? Answer: Jane Austen's novels incorporate her observations on the manners of her time and class, and while they often relate courtship, love, and marriage, Austen herself never married. In the essay below I will be discussing how the author, Jane Austen, presents the themes of love and marriage in the novel Emma. The novel Emma is about a young woman who is interested in matchmaking. Emma is the central character, who is the daughter of wealthy gentleman, her mother died when she was young leaving her to be brought up by Miss Taylor.

    Read More

  • Essay On Loneliness And Loneliness

    1109 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Social” networks and loneliness are two very unlike things to be discussed simultaneously... The two are complete opposite of one another: “social” is associated to relating to one’s society, loneliness can be defined as “a complex and unpleasant emotional response to a feeling of isolation” (Ye and Lin 166). While loneliness can mean solitude, it also includes feelings of isolation and disconnection to other people (Ye and Lin 166). John Cacioppo is labeled as the world’s leading expert on loneliness. He proposed a thought provoking analogy: a car can be used to pick up friends, but one chooses to ride alone. Did the car make the person lonely? (Marche 68). Absolutely not. The car is simply a tool in the person’s everyday life. This relates

    Read More

  • The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

    532 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the American literary movement known as Transcendentalism, many Americans began to looking deeper into positive side of religion and philosophy in their writing. However, one group of people, known as the Dark Romantics, strayed away from the positive beliefs of Transcendentalism and emphasized their writings on guilt and sin. The most well-known of these writers is Edgar Allan Poe. Poe was a dark romantic writer during this era, renown for his short stories and poems concerning misery and macabre. His most famous poem is “The Raven”, which follows a man who is grieving over his lost love, Lenore. In this poem, through the usage of tonal shift and progression of the narrator’s state of mind, Poe explores the idea that those who grieve will fall.

    Read More

  • Emma by Jane Austen

    2037 Words  | 5 Pages

    Emma by Jane Austen Setting Emma took place in a small town called Highbury in 18th century England. During the time period set in the novel, there was a definite social rank, or hierarchy. Almost all of the scenes in the book take place in or around the estates of the characters. Their property determines their social status.

    Read More

  • Silas Marner And Hard Times: Redemption

    1559 Words  | 4 Pages

    It cannot be said that Silas is a villain character, or else he would not have changed. He was in loss, when the lot that should have announced him not guilty, gave an opposite answer. This incident happened in Lantern Yard; he was then a part of a religious group. He was accused of stealing the dead man, who he was looking after that night. Their custom is to draw lot, so that God show them the right answer. It came negative; he lost faith in man and God as a result to this incident. When he moves to live in Raveloe, he worships money. He stay lonely for fifteen years; it can be said that it is his penance for losing faith in human kind, and disbelieving in a righteous “mysterious Power”. The penance ends, and the “re-generation” start with Eppie’s appearance in his life. She makes him trust again humans, and trust a new believe in a new God he never knew.

    Read More

  • Moral Values of Silas Marner and Godfrey Cass

    1642 Words  | 4 Pages

    Silas starts the story as a popular man from Lantern Yard as he is a regular attendee to church and is well respected. He is referred to as ‘Master Marner’. His best friend is William Dane. William frames Silas for a crime he did not commit. People in the village start to accuse Silas of the theft of the dead Deacon’s money. The way this church were organised in those days meant that it was down to pure luck to decide whether Silas was guilty or not. This was the main reason why lots were picked to decide Silas’ fate. He was a firm believer in God and was adamant that he would be cleared. “I can say nothing. God will clear me” (Chapter 1 page 12). Despite his solid belief, Silas was falsely found guilty and he had to leave his place of birth. The author, due to her different beliefs, portrayed this as if to say that it wasn’t up to God to decide your fate, but up to you to decide your own fate. However, contrary to this, his prayers did come true later on in his life, but in the form of a baby.

    Read More

  • Gerontion by T.S. Eliot

    1631 Words  | 4 Pages

    These lines from T.S. Eliot's "Gerontion" (1429, 34-37) appear in the final version of the poem, published in 1920. The speaker of this dramatic monologue is an old man sitting inside a “decayed house.” The reference to knowledge invokes the original sin of Adam and Eve, signifying that the man (or society as a whole) has disobeyed God. Christ is no longer a symbol of forgiveness, but is instead represented by the fierce image of “Christ the tiger” (20, 49). In the absence of spiritual redemption, the old man says, "Think now," immediately turning to “History.” History is described by its "passages" and "corridors," suggesting that it is the path the old man is looking to in his search for meaning. His description of the path of history as "cunning" and "contrived" further complicates the old man's disillusionment with his current predicament. However, in the 1919 manuscript of “Gerontion,” the word "Nature" appears in place of the word "History" in line 35. Though this revision is syntactically minor, thematically it greatly affects the reading and interpretation of the poem. In what ways does this revision change the circumstances of the old man’s dilemma in his search for order and belonging? Also, what can be learned about the development of Eliot’s poetry by examining his reasons for substituting “History” for “Nature?”

    Read More

More about Silas Marner by George Eliot

Open Document