Silas Marner [In englischer Sprache] [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

Silas is a weaver, a rather grumpy and sour man, whose primary occupation and avocation is the making of money. He is an outsider in Raveloe, having been driven from his earlier community under the false accusation of theft, an accusation that also cost him his engagement to his beloved, and left him with little faith in human nature, particularly that of the church-ly humans.

The high society in Raveloe reached the pinnacle in the Cass family. Squire Cass had two sons, Godfrey and Dunstan, each his own unique form of scoundrel. Godfrey, who had an illicit marriage to a local barmaid Molly, is being blackmailed by his spendthrift brother Dunstan. Alas, Godfrey is expected to marry another, Nancy Lammeter, daughter of another society family. Godfrey attempts to buy off Dunstan with his horse, Wildfire, and during a journey to sell the horse Dunstan accidentally injures and kills Wildfire.

Dunstan is stranded in the countryside, but sees light from a cottage -- the home of Silas Marner, reputed after fifteen years of weaving and miserly activity of having accumulated a large stash. He steals the bags of money he finds in the deserted cottage, and disappears into the night.

Silas reports the theft, but is unaided. He is heartbroken, for his life's purpose has been the accumulation of this wealth. No one seems to make the connexion between the lost money and the disappearance of Dunstan (one flaw in the novel, in my opinion). Silas gradually recovers from this blow, and the people of Raveloe begin for the first time to see him in terms of friendship.

At a Christmas party, the Cass family is in full celebration, for the upcoming marriage of Godfrey and Nancy. However, Nancy is not pleased, given Godfrey's reputation. Later in the holiday season, Molly makes her way to the Cass estate and confronts Godfrey with a two-year-old daughter in tow. Upon her return from the estate, she falls and dies in a drunken, drug-induced stupor, and the child wanders through the snow to the cottage of Silas. Silas lays claim to the golden-haired child, and Godfrey is relieved to be free from Molly and paternity.

Sixteen years pass, and we come to meet a very different Silas, one who is now a truly human being, who is loved, and has an object of love in his daughter Eppie. Eppie is in fact about to be wed to the nice Aaron Winthrop. Godfrey and Nancy, however, have had a loveless and childless marriage.

Things develop rapidly near the end of the novel. A pond near Silas' cottage is drained, and the remains of Dunstand with two bags of gold coins is found. Godfrey feels compelled to tell his wife now everything, how Dunstan dishonoured the family, how he (Godfrey) was being blackmailed, and admits his paternity of Eppie. Nancy is strangely tolerant -- she only complains of not having been told sooner. They decide to demand that Eppie be returned to them.

In a beautiful scene of compassion and love, Eppie, given the free choice of deciding between Silas and connexion with the noble Cass family, opts for the man who was her true father, and chooses to remain with Silas.

Later, Silas and Eppie revisit Lantern Yard, from which Silas was expelled so many years before. Here in no longer the old church, his old home, or his old friends -- all has changed; life has gone on. The old place is dirty and noisy by comparison to the serene Raveloe. The question of Silas' guilt or innocence cannot be resolved, but then, is no longer a question of concern for anyone in either place. Eppie then marries Aaron, in a wedding paid for by Godfrey, who cannot attend due to business, and Eppie declares in the end that 'nobody could be happier than we are.'

Elliot intended to show that misfortune can lead to greater things, and provided a typical Victorian happy ending.

This novel has been a traditional one assigned to students of secondary school age for decades now; it is a classic, fairly simple in construction and vocabulary, and brings up the timeless themes of good, evil, fate, and has a wide range of characters who change over time. Alas, many school-age readers come away cold, often determined never to read another novel again, as it is presented poorly and not put in a more modern context which students will more readily understand. But, it remains a good story, and a fine representative of the Victorian novel.

Silas Marner is one of those 'silent' books of which you enjoy word by word. George Elliot had no need to rush from one climax to the other as many modern books do, she took her time to describe situations, characterize people, their habits their looks, how they became what they are. With lesser writers this is often problematic, their books become boring and you put them down quickly. Not so with Silas Marner; George Elliots colourful language is dense and some passages almost read like poems. Reading this book resembles to drinking a glass of a great wine, you enjoy every word of it, read it slowly and want to make it last forever.

So far I only spoke about the language and its effects and let the story aside. Even though it could be drafted in few senteces it reveals lots about human beings and the social conditions of 19th century England; Silas Marner becoming a miserly, grouchy loner after being unjustly shuned by the parish which meant his life, how he finds another task after the loss of his riches and his return to life as he brings up an orphan allow deep looks into the functioning of the human mind. And despite the fact that life dealt hard to this man, in the end he is optimistic and the ancient wound has been healed.
The story also covers massive social changes. In the beginning the events are catalyzed by the local noblety and the burgher Silas Marner is just tossed around by events he is ignorant of. As Silas Marner's money is stolen the one of the local 'top dogs' does not give a thought about the effects his actions have. He naturally wants to profit at the burgher's expense. The only intervening power is fate; the perpetrator dies without the opportunity to use the money. Half a life later, in the conflict about Eppie's future, a similar attempt fails in it's beginnings. A wonderful example how a burgher becomes a citizen and the noblety is reduced to become 'common' people.
These are just two examples to illustrate the incredible depth of this book.

Yet it is definetly not easy reading; the English language has changed considerably since the days of George Elliot. But the major problem people will face is the fact that the styles of narration have changed even more dramatically. The depth and subtlety I find so enjoyable must appear boring to a culture that consists of fast-cut videoclips, bright colours and blunt directness. Thus despite its quality the book now can only be recommended to few readers; most would not enjoy it becaus it violates many modern reading conventions. It has gathered some dust which costs the book one star; but losing a single star due to dust is very good consindering how long it has been, the book has first been published