Silas Marner door George Eliot

Summary:

This is the story of Silas Marner. This story is from the time there was already industry, but everyone worked at home. The countryside was very isolated. The people who where linen-weavers were looked at on the streets if they were aliens, and some people even thought the 'Evil One' was with a weaver. People looked very strange at them. Silas Marner is one of those linen-weavers.
He lives in the village of Raveloe near a stone pit. Raveloe is a rich village. It has a church and two or three farms of stone. He has been living there for fifteen years now. They thought he was a strange person. He never had any contact with the people from his neighborhood. Once a man, Rodney, met Silas. Silas was staring in the nothing (later on you will know it's was a 'fit'), and the man asked what was wrong, and Silas just said "goodnight" and walked away.
He has a very boring live: spinning, eating, sleeping and counting his money. Money had become a passion for him, and he saved a lot of it under the floor in moneybags.

In the past Silas was a member of a religious sect. He was an important member of the sect, because from time to time he had a fit (temporary fall out of consciousness).
He had a friend, William Dane, but this person was severe against his weaker brothers and he thought he was the best. He had small eyes and compressed lips.
Once Silas had a girlfriend, Sarah. Sarah's behavior changed so Silas asks if she wants to break off the engagement. She doesn't want that, because 'what will the people of the church think'?

One time a brother from the church is lying on his deathbed and Silas is with the man, watching and waiting. On that moment Silas has a fit, and after the fit the man is dead. William and the minister came to pick up Silas, because Silas was being accused of stealing money, and his knife was found on the crime scene (at the dead person's house). And because Silas had a fit he doesn't know what they're talking about. Silas doesn't know anything about the knife being there or the money being gone. But the moneybags were fount in Silas' house. Silas says: "God will clear me." The people from church are trying to find out if Silas is guilty or not, by praying and picking cards. He picked the wrong card. Silas loses trust in men. He also loses trust in God. The minister and one of the deacons came to him with a message from Sarah and she wants to break off the engagement. So this is why nobody liked Silas and why he is all alone.

The greatest man in Raveloe is Squire Cass. If people were in trouble they'd go to him to complain. He has two sons and lives in a large red house. Dustan, the second one of his two sons, has a very bad behavior. He is spiteful, mean, creepy, intelligent, lazy, and he also is an alcoholic.
Godfrey, the elder brother of Dunstan, can't be like that or else he will lose his girl, Miss Nancy Lammeter. He's handsome and hardworking. Dustan blackmails Godfrey, because he knows a terrible thing about Godfrey; Godfrey once was married in secret to a woman, Molly Farren, who was an alcoholic too and Dustan knows about that. Godfrey is now seeing Nancy and she does not know that he was married. So if she finds out, he will lose her. Dustan wants to have money for it, but Godfrey hasn't got the money, so that's why he has to sell his horse.

Dustan was on his way with the horse, 'Wildfire', to the future owner, because he sold it for 120 pounds. He went haunting with the horse first, before delivering it. But he gets an accident with the horse, the horse gets staked, and the horse is death. No horse means no money. So he makes a plan; stealing the money from Silas. At night Dustan walks back past the house of Silas. He had taken the whip from Godfrey.
He has a good idea how to steal the money. There is nobody in Silas' house. Dustan takes the money and disappears.

Silas is a hundred yards away from the house. Silas had been to the city to buy some things. When he gets home and wants to look at his money to count it again it is gone. He puts his trembling hands to his head. He can't remember where it is. A few moments after the first shock has past, he begins to think about that it could have been thieves. The robber must be arrested!

When Godfrey returns from a party at midnight, he is not surprised that Dustan isn't home yet. He's probably hanging around somewhere again.
The next morning everybody in the village knows about the robbery, but nobody believes it. And Dustan is gone, but nobody's able to put a connection between these two things, which happened at about the same time. Everyone thinks that he was drunk again. Silas is very down after this incident; he isolates himself and is very sad all the time. His neighbors feel sorry for him and want to help him but he won't talk to them and accept their help. Silas spends the Christmas days all alone. But in Raveloe everyone was happy. There was also a family-party at the Cass`, and nobody worried about Dustan.

On New Years Eve Godfrey wants to give a party and propose Nancy, than he will be honest with Nancy. But than his first wife, who happens to be a junky (she's addicted to opium) comes with a baby, his baby. She's making a scene. Godfrey doesn't want to admit it that she's his wife, and sends her away. Than woman is walking further with the child in the snow, but then she can't walk any further, and she dies in the snow. The child's going to make it, because she sees a light shining and walked to it. It is coming from Silas' house, and she's going to sleep there. Silas is there too, but he doesn't see the child, because he is only thinking about his money.
Later on he sees the child, and he doesn't know how the child came in. He gives her something to eat.

In the village everyone is talking about the child and Silas now. They have forgotten all about the robbery. Several mothers are giving Silas advice of how to educate a child. Dolly Winthrop is one of the people who helps Silas. She says that Silas should baptize the child, but Silas doesn't want that.
He calls the child Eppie (like his sister). Silas has completely changed his live, because of Eppie. They really love each other. Godfrey Cass is happy too, because Dustan hadn't come back ever, so he feels like a new man.

Now, 16 years, later Silas is fifty-five and Eppie is eighteen. Eppie's mother is dead and Godfrey is happy about it. Now she can't ruin his life again. He gives Silas money for Eppie. Eppie knows her past, and wants to know who her father is.

Eppie is in love with Aaron, the boy who lives next to Silas, and he will marry her. Eppie doesn't know that Godfrey and Nancy don't have children.
Nancy and Godfrey both want children, but they are too old. Godfrey and Nancy haven't got children of their own, so they want to adopt Eppie, but Eppie doesn't want that.
Dustan and money of Silas has been found in the stone-pit. So Silas gets back his money, but he doesn't really care about that, he only cares about Eppie. Godfrey and Nancy talk a lot about adopting Eppie, and Godfrey really wants than, because she is his own child. But when the ask her and Silas, Eppie say no.
Aaron and Eppie are getting married and are going to live with Silas.

Theme(s):

The theme here is love. Because of the love Silas Marner found in Eppie, Silas learned that loving is more important that money. At first money was everything to him, every coin was like a child to him.

Background:

The story takes place in the time there was already industry, but when everybody worked at home. The story is situated in Raveloe, that's where Silas lives.

Characters:

Silas Marner: At first all he can think of is money and he's very isolated. But when Eppie comes into his life and when the money is gone, all of that changes.
Dunstan Cass: He has a very bad behavior, and he's also an alcoholic.
Godfrey Cass: He once was married to an alcoholic, Molly Farren, but he left her. Now he's in love with Nancy Lammeter. Dunstan and Godfrey are brothers and the are suns of Squire Cass, the greatest man in Raveloe.
Eppie Farren: She Molly's daughter. When she was little she went to Silas and changed him. She's in love with Aaron.
Nancy Lammeter: She belongs to Godfrey. They both want to adopt Eppie, because Eppie is Godfrey's daughter.

Personal Opinion:
I didn't really like this story, because I didn't think it had much action in it. Though I did like the part where Dunstan gets an accident with the horse he had to sell.
I found the story a bit difficult to read, more difficult then the other ones.
But I do think that the theme is very good. Money isn't all there is in life, I think love is more important than money. Love makes you happier too. Maybe not at the beginning, but in the long run I think it does.