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Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe

3.48 of 5 stars 3.48 · rating details · 23,616 ratings · 1,426 reviews

Silas Marner, a simple, religious man, angrily retreats from his community and church when he is unjustly accused of theft. In an isolated cottage, Silas spends his days weaving cloth and his nights sifting through the piles of gold he obsessively accumulates. Then, one New Year's Eve, a little girl, Eppie, appears at his home, and his life is miraculously transformed. Eli...more

Paperback, (Oxford World's Classics), 176 pages

Published December 3rd 1998 by Oxford University Press, USA (first published 1861)

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May 16, 2013 Richard rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was a real-life Book Circle read that, well, got mixed reviews. Some people thought the writing was brilliant and others found it dated; some people thought it was too short, others too long for the short story they felt it truly was and not the novel it's pretending to be.

I think it's a lovely book. I think Silas is about as honestly drawn and cannily observed a character as fiction offers. I think the village of Raveloe is as real as my own village of Hempstead. It's a delight to rea...more

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Oct 07, 2012 Terry rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A strong 3.5 stars

As with Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life, the only other Eliot book I’ve read thus far, _Silas Marner_ shows off just how keen an observer of human nature Eliot was both in the adept manner she has at detailing the psychological motivations of her characters’ actions and in the more explicit authorial asides in the narrative in which she details her insights into how the human mind and heart work, and the justifications that we give ourselves for our actions. No one in h...more A strong 3.5 stars

As with Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life, the only other Eliot book I’ve read thus far, _Silas Marner_ shows off just how keen an observer of human nature Eliot was both in the adept manner she has at detailing the psychological motivations of her characters’ actions and in the more explicit authorial asides in the narrative in which she details her insights into how the human mind and heart work, and the justifications that we give ourselves for our actions. No one in her stories seems to be either good or bad, though they may fall further on one side of the spectrum than the other, and as is always the case they have justifications for everything they do, even if they are justifications that will satisfy no one but themselves.

Silas Marner himself is an excellent character study of a miser who is more than a caricature. Thrown down by injustice and succumbing to despair the titular Silas exiles himself from his birthplace and becomes an outcast on the periphery of the village of Raveloe where his solitary life as a weaver is consumed by little more than work and the amassing of a small golden treasure upon which all of his love is centred. This state of affairs is not to last and Silas goes through yet another trial, the loss of his small fortune, though this is soon replaced by the person of a small orphaned child. As with the Grinch, Marner’s heart grew three times that day! Still a taciturn and awkward man, Silas’ new charge brings him into the fold of society from which he had been outcast nearly all of his adult life and we see him grow as a person as he learns to care for someone other than himself.

Eliot once again paints a wonderfully vivid picture of provincial English life in her village of Raveloe and we see all of the varied aspects of human nature on display: greed, cowardice, rigid moral inflexibility, filial love, devotion, despair, and hope. Even those characters that take up little of the narrative have a verisimilitude of life to them and we can readily believe that Raveloe is a real, living place filled with the foibles, defeats, and triumphs of real human life. Some might consider the story a bit saccharine, but I think the reality of its characters saves it from that fate.

An enjoyable read, especially good if you’re feeling leery about human nature.(less)

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Apr 24, 2008 Ferris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I listened to this audiobook while on vacation. It is a bit slow in the first third, but I stuck it out and became completely engrossed in this second of George Eliot's novels that I've read. I think she really believed in karma. In this novel, as in "Middlemarch", characters clearly reap the consequences of the choices they make, particularly in relation to their behavior towards other people.

If you can get through the first third, it is well worth the read.

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Apr 10, 2008 Michael Sorensen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When I was a teen, I heard that Silas Marner was a horrid old book about a rotten old miser and that I never wanted to read it. My Thanks to modern day Steve Martin who has updated several classics (ie Cyrano de Bergerac's 'Roxane') and 'Silas Marner' with modern movies that beautifully hold true to the books. The Movie was "A Simple Little Wish" and it was a beautiful story of a man and a child he adopts. In the credits I saw that the movie was based on 'Silas Marner'. At that point I had to re...more

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Oct 07, 2012 Mike (the Paladin) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

A read/trip worth taking...okay but really it's good. No way can I go further without spoilers, just "think" a book on redemption after pain and betrayal.

By the way, if your only knowledge of the book is a movie, do yourself a favor and read the book.

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Apr 16, 2012 Aries Eroles rated it 5 of 5 stars

There were a lot if things that beyond of my expectations that I have encountered through my reading of the book.

Okey, I know Silas Marner a classic. Not because Silas Marner sounds an extinct name but I know George Eliot, its creator, have existed many years ago and lived during Victorian era. However, I never expected Silas Marner to be a subtle reading. I never did because Mary Anne (Mary Ann or Marian) Evans, George Eliot's real name, is a woman. And it is not on my expectation that a woman...more

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Apr 30, 2012 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 19th-century, victorian-era, social-realism, george-eliot, the-class-divide, village-life, 1001-books-you-must-read

Eliot does it again! I found, as with Eliot's short story 'Brother Jacob', and the doorstopper that is 'Daniel Deronda', that 'Silas Marner' became steadily more enjoyable as the story progresses. Silas is a weaver in the village of Raveloe, having been banished from his original home after being falsely accused of theft. He lives alone in a small cottage, with only his weaving (and his stash of gold) to get him through the day. A loner in many respects, his life consists of little more than cou...more Eliot does it again! I found, as with Eliot's short story 'Brother Jacob', and the doorstopper that is 'Daniel Deronda', that 'Silas Marner' became steadily more enjoyable as the story progresses. Silas is a weaver in the village of Raveloe, having been banished from his original home after being falsely accused of theft. He lives alone in a small cottage, with only his weaving (and his stash of gold) to get him through the day. A loner in many respects, his life consists of little more than counting his precious money, rather than socializing with the other village folk, who, in their turn, are inclined to think him strange, and understandably keep their distance.

Silas monotonous routine is turned upside down, however, when his money is stolen from him (leaving him even more f***ed up than before), but this calamity has unexpected rewards when he finds a small child asleep by his hearth. Could the mysterious girl's arrival herald an upturn in his fortunes? Eliot gives us the impression that the child may end up becoming Silas' salvation.

Overall, I enjoyed the story. Other leading characters such as Godfrey Cass, the handsome but weak-willed son of the local Squire, and Nancy Lammeter, the definition of the Passive Female Character *grumbles* could be a trifle irritating at times, but then again, we know that Eliot is deliberately lampooning the rich landowning families whose class has been elevated thanks to sheer good luck, so Godfrey and Nancy are only minor quibbles in an otherwise satisfactory story (even if they do come across as being thicker than the local peasantry at times). I debated between giving 'Silas Marner' three stars or four, as the story doesn't necessarily deliver the promised "dangers" to the character's lives that we are led to expect, but I eventually conceded that Raveloe is a sleepy village, not a disease-ridden London slum. You've got to hand it to Eliot - she can make a lot happen out of very little. I hear Middlemarch follows this formula? Please correct me if I'm wrong!

There. I told you that I should not be allowed to ramble on, and I've done exactly that. I will *try* to cut my next "review" down to a suitable length! (less)

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Aug 28, 2011 Julie Davis rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I remember hating this in high school English, but as I have learned lately, many books ruined by high school teachers deserve a second chance. This book was recommended by my daughter Rose as one that would be good for discussion on A Good Story is Hard to Find.

Truth be told, I brought it on a trip out of town because it was the smallest paperback I owned and it would fit in my purse. I have only had a chance to read a few pages but am fascinated by the description of England at that time and b...more

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Dec 30, 2012 Anne rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I think this was actually a re-reading...tho since I didn't remember much about it, perhaps it was a started and never finished! Admittedly, I read it about 35 years ago. I really enjoyed it. And kept waiting for a Mill on the Floss type ending...but it goes in a different direction. Am reminded of both the King Midas story and Rumplestiltskin and a more recent book called Straw Into Gold. If I were in school I could write a paper about gold imagery!

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Mar 04, 2009 Marni rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own-it, 2009

Early in the story Silas Marner has a great life - he's happily engaged, living among good friends, and doing work he enjoys. Unfortunately he is framed by his best friend who then marries the woman he is engaged to. Silas leaves the village and travels far away. He stays as secluded as he can, and hordes the money he earns as a weaver.

His money, the only thing he loves, is taken away from him, and while stewing over that, a young child appears at his door that he accepts as from God. "Men are l...more

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Mar 22, 2009 Kathy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, reviewed

I read this over the weekend -- it was difficult to get into at first because I'd just finished _Lost in the City_. Eliot's use of language is so different from the contemporary Edward P. Jones' use of words. Long sentences that I had to read over and over again to get all the meaning out of. The first sentence in my little mass market sized book (so pages are small) covers over 6 lines. And you had to get used to the archaic use of "nor" for "than". I learned some new vocabulary though.

But don'...more

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Mar 11, 2009 Becky rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shocker of all shockers: I liked this one. Quite a lot, in fact. Why is that shocking? When I read this little volume--and no, it's not the same copy--in tenth grade I absolutely hated it. Hate is really too kind a word for what I felt. Needless to say, it held the title of most-hated-book until my college days when Jude the Obscure took its place. (It still holds the honor, in case you're curious.) Which just goes to show you that almost without a doubt classics--at least some classics--fail to...more Shocker of all shockers: I liked this one. Quite a lot, in fact. Why is that shocking? When I read this little volume--and no, it's not the same copy--in tenth grade I absolutely hated it. Hate is really too kind a word for what I felt. Needless to say, it held the title of most-hated-book until my college days when Jude the Obscure took its place. (It still holds the honor, in case you're curious.) Which just goes to show you that almost without a doubt classics--at least some classics--fail to be appreciated by high schoolers. Maybe that's inaccurate. I'll rephrase, anytime a person--especially a teen person--is required to read a book, no matter how good or great that book is (sometimes they're really bad, I'm not saying all are good) then it's an uphill battle to have him/her have a positive response to it. It just goes against human nature to like something we're forced against our will to read. And its understandable to me. What could a fifteen year old have in common with Silas Marner, a middle-aged weaver obsessed with gold? He's old (relatively speaking at least!). He's strange. No one likes him in his village of Raveloe. He's an outsider, it's true, a loner. And arguably some teens could see themselves in that way. But is that enough?

Silas Marner, in case you've never been subjected to it, is the story of a man, a weaver, who takes refuge in Raveloe after escaping his unfortunate past. He is living only for himself. The money he makes from his trade, he hoards. He loves his gold. Treasures it. He's not the only one keeping secrets in the village. There's a man, Godfrey Cass, who has quite a secret. Something in his past that he's willing to do just about anything, pay just about anything to prevent from coming to light. His brother, Dunstan Cass, is blackmailing him. He'll tell all to their father--Squire Cass--if Godfrey doesn't do things his way. Why does Godfrey care? really really care? He wants to marry Nancy Lammeter. The secret? He already has a wife, a wife his father would never approve of, a wife he's ashamed of, a woman he'd never claim in a hundred million years. Dunstan (and Godfrey) are in need of money, Silas Marner has plenty. Put the two together and you've got a robbery destined to happen. But things don't always go according to plan, Dunstan disappears the same night as Silas' gold. But that's just the beginning. Silas doesn't know it then, but things are about to start looking up! His life is about to change for the better! Why? His "gold" will be returned to him--providentially according to Silas and his friends--in the form of a golden-haired baby girl whom he names Hepzibah (Eppie) whom he adopts and raises to the satisfaction of all but one....Godfrey Cass.

This one had themes that I couldn't even begin to grasp as a sophomore. And the language? the style? I didn't appreciate the little things. The phrases. But here's the thing. I can now. Everything that I missed then, I can appreciate now. Here is one of my favorite passages:

I suppose one reason why we are seldom able to comfort our neighbors with our words is, that our goodwill gets adulterated, in spite of ourselves, before it can pass our lips. We can send black puddings and pettitoes without giving them a flavour of our own egoism; but language is a stream that is almost sure to smack of a mingled soil. There was a fair proportion of kindness in Raveloe; but it was often of a beery and bungling sort, and took the shape least allied to the complimentary and hypocritical. (77)

I liked the characters--some more eccentric than others--too. I came to appreciate the flavor of this one.(less)

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Apr 21, 2013 Vlad rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Silas Marner is primarily a character study of its title protagonist, a weaver who lives completely alone in Raveloe village. Only his hoarded gold keeps him company and provides any joy in life. However, Marner's life and personality change when the gold is stolen and is replaced by something else.

This is the very definition of a stodgy old classic. On the one hand, Silas Marner is well-written and demonstrates decent knowledge of human society, behavior, and motivation. Unfortunately, very li...more

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Apr 05, 2013 Gale rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: british-classics

MORE PRECIOUS THAN GOLD, March 15, 1999

This 19th century classic by George Eliot/Mary Ann Evans retains its timeless appeal; it charms and touches us no matter how jaded or sophisticated we consider ourselves. Perhaps the characters are something out of Dickens (in their extreme personality types and the idealized heroine). Yet this novel reaches our inner selves, where it is safe to applaud the unselfish and the compassionate, to appreciate social redemption and sincere devotion.

Silas, a dis...more

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Feb 13, 2013 Cleo rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I failed miserably at reading The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot, but I loved Silas Marner. I think it was just that my edition of The Mill on the Floss has really off-putting font, and seems really long. At any rate, I sped through Silas Marner, which is a slim little volume, and is quite interesting. "Wrongly accused of theft and exiled from a religious community many years before, the embittered weaver Silas Marner lives alone in Raveloe, living only for work and his precious hoard of mone...more I failed miserably at reading The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot, but I loved Silas Marner. I think it was just that my edition of The Mill on the Floss has really off-putting font, and seems really long. At any rate, I sped through Silas Marner, which is a slim little volume, and is quite interesting. "Wrongly accused of theft and exiled from a religious community many years before, the embittered weaver Silas Marner lives alone in Raveloe, living only for work and his precious hoard of money. But when his money is stolen and an orphaned child finds her way into his house, Silas is given the chance to transform his life. His fate, and that of the little girl he adopts, is entwined with Godfrey Cass, son of the village Squire, who, like Silas, is trapped by his past. Silas Marner, George Eliot's favourite of her novels, combines humour, rich symbolism and pointed social criticism to create an unsentimental but affectionate portrait of rural life." (from the Penguin Classics edition). Yes, "her." George Eliot was a pen name. My question is, why do we still use the pen name in this case, but Charlotte Bronte's pen name (Currer Bell) isn't used anymore? I might research that...

The actual edition that I read called it a moral fairy tale, and I would agree with that term. The book is fairy-tale-like, and highly entertaining, but also thought-provoking, as moralities (and fairy tales for that matter) are supposed to be. The sentences can be very long, but somehow, unlike Charles Dickens, they don't seem overwritten; they seem to fit the tone of the story just right.

I loved how the little golden-haired orphan Eppie made her appearance; she is the child of Godfrey Cass, and when her mother keels over, Eppie toddles into the cottage of none other than Silas Marner, who now has a chance for redemption. She is the reappearance of his precious gold that he lost.

A chance for redemption. I suppose that's not really the right phrase; Silas Marner isn't bad per se. He's complicated, and yes, he's miserly, but that's because he was wrongfully accused of a crime in his past life. He's just drawn into himself, and he no longer wishes to associate with the rest of the world or have anything to do with religion. But bright little Eppie gives him a chance to get past that and start again. Godfrey too isn't strictly good or evil. He's conflicted, and he's done some bad things which he wants to forget about, and he's done some good things. I won't tell how the book ends, but suffice to say that Silas Marner is an amazing classic novel, for its social commentary, and its humor, and its symbolism. I would highly recommend it, and am thinking of trying to tackle The Mill and the Floss once again. Or perhaps Middlemarch. I do think Silas Marner is a good book to start off with if you're going to read George Eliot; it's short and (it seems to me) less overwritten.

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Jan 12, 2013 Emily rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2011, general-fiction

Although I've watched a few TV adaptations of George Eliot’s work, this was my first Eliot novel. It was one of her early-to-mid novels (written a good ten years before Middlemarch, for example). It’s left me feeling a bit lukewarm. There were parts I loved, parts I disliked, and some structural/pacing choices which left me bewildered.

It is essentially a very straightforward story. Silas Marner, a linen-weaver, has lived in bitter solitude after an unhappy event in his youth. His only joy is in...more Although I've watched a few TV adaptations of George Eliot’s work, this was my first Eliot novel. It was one of her early-to-mid novels (written a good ten years before Middlemarch, for example). It’s left me feeling a bit lukewarm. There were parts I loved, parts I disliked, and some structural/pacing choices which left me bewildered.

It is essentially a very straightforward story. Silas Marner, a linen-weaver, has lived in bitter solitude after an unhappy event in his youth. His only joy is in his growing hoard of golden money. When this is stolen, it’s like his life is snatched away. But when a toddling girl with golden curls appears on his hearthstone instead of the money, he learns to love again. According to some introductory notes at the beginning of my edition, Eliot was striving for a fairytale- or myth-like feel – and she succeeded, to some extent. The golden coins/golden hair parallel is an obvious fairytale element. Also, with only one exception, the action of the story takes place in one insular village, with the outside world figuring as a distant, slightly mysterious place. Wrongs are righted or avenged, people are good/bad/only bad because they’re forced to be, and only the undeserving die.

I had a difficult time sympathising with Silas at first. His complete and voluntary isolation from human company is hard to comprehend, and his stony heart isn’t very appealing. But as the story unwound, as he fell apart and learned to care again, I understood him better: a simple character who had shut down all emotional faculties after a traumatic experience, and then had to learn to love once more. The scenes with him and the little girl (Eppie) were incredibly sweet and my favourite parts of the book. It’s quite rare for a child of that age (two/three) to be featured as an actual character in a 19th century novel – of course tots appear on page, but not as central characters, with all their babyish doings described. Eppie got in lots of scrapes. :) The sections where Silas learned to cope with an imaginative toddler were really, really lovely.

Onto the structural issues I mentioned earlier. The first two-thirds of the book are set sixteen years prior to the final third. This is a daring choice, and for me it didn’t work. The first part of the book was all about the theft of Silas’s money and (at length) the appearance of Eppie. There is a chunk dealing with Eppie’s toddlerhood and Silas learning to love her – and then we cut to Eppie at eighteen, with Silas very old, and all sorts of wrongs/issues from sixteeen years before on the verge of reappearing and being resolved. After some pondering, I think this is meant to reinforce one of the book’s themes: that you shouldn’t wait overlong to fix a problem, but get to it asap, or it’ll still be haunting you in sixteen years. That said, the time-leap had a very bad result on the character of Eppie, since all her formative years had been missed out. Apart from some infodump in the narrative, there is almost no illumination about what kind of person she’s grown up to be. We also get no sight of how she and Silas had developed their relationship over the years.

Everything in this final third felt rushed and uneven, flitting between narrative infodumps and action. It was frustrating. A lot of the novel’s climax/conclusion rested on decisions made by Silas and Eppie, and although I could understand Silas’s motives, Eppie’s were more opaque. She made the right choice for the book’s narrative/theme/message, but her character was so slightly developed that I didn’t know why she made the choice. I wonder if Eliot did this on purpose to reinforce the parallels with fairy tales – where characters are often one-dimensional. Then again, other characters were far more developed than Eppie … but Eppie was meant to be really central … It puzzled me.

I did like the book. It was readable at a fairly fast pace (the final third overfast), although I think readers unfamiliar with Victorian language might find it harder going than I did, because there are a lot of period colloquialisms and archaic words. The novel was quite absorbing, even when some narrative choice wasn’t working for me. There were some scenes (Eppie as a tot) which I thought were delightfully written; Silas Marner was a strong central character; the Cass family & associates were solid. But I was left puzzled by the novel’s structure, and the reasons I can find to account for that structure aren’t compensating for the way it jarred me out of the story. Still: other people's mileage may vary, and it’s certainly not a book to be ignored. I’m glad I read it.(less)

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Nov 20, 2012 Michael Moseley rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Cast out from his non-conformist past. Silas escapes to a new home and gives up his religious past. He turns his faith in to the love of gold. After amassing a small fortune, £200, he is robbed, but his this furious despair is turned into the gift of a daughter. The child rescues herself from her dying mother’s drug induced coma by crawling to Silas’s house. Eppie become the love of his life, giving him a purpose that has been missing. The squire’s week will son seems to prosper with the death o...more

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Oct 21, 2012 Kyle rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

1. What specific themes did the author emphasize throughout the novel? What do you think he or she is trying to get across to the reader?
One theme that George Eliot emphasized throughout the novel was the importance of being established in your community. Silas, the main character in the book, was excommunicated from his last town because he was falsely accused of theft. In Raveloe, his new town, he is a foreigner and not well known by the community. The 19th century was a time when being connec...more 1. What specific themes did the author emphasize throughout the novel? What do you think he or she is trying to get across to the reader?
One theme that George Eliot emphasized throughout the novel was the importance of being established in your community. Silas, the main character in the book, was excommunicated from his last town because he was falsely accused of theft. In Raveloe, his new town, he is a foreigner and not well known by the community. The 19th century was a time when being connected with your community was important because it provided a source of support, identity and interconnectedness with everyone else. Eliot uses Silas’ difficulty and eventual acceptance with townspeople to show the value of a community for proving identity, loyalty and togetherness.
2. In what ways do the events in the books reveal evidence of the author’s world view?
The connection between church and community reflects the author’s view of the importance of membership in a religious institution. For example, when Silas is brought before the church in response to his alleged theft, his church membership is subsequently withdrawn. This reflects Eliot’s Victorian Era values
3. Did certain parts of the book make you uncomfortable? If so, why did you feel that way? Did this lead to a new understanding or awareness of some aspect of your life you might not have thought about before?
There weren’t any parts of the book that made me uncomfortable. However, it was somewhat somber that the townspeople wouldn’t accepts Silas even though he displayed a talent for weaving. It made me realize that life won’t always be so easy like I’ve been used to here.
4. Do you recommend this book? (Was it recommended to you, if you liked it then give them a ‘shout-out’)? Why or why not?
I would recommend that people read this book. The diction is modern and easy to read and the storyline of an outcast makes you more sympathetic toward Silas and his hardships.
5. What insights has it helped you add or realize to your own life?
I realized that I have my own support community: family, school, band and cross country. Each of them helps me to be the best person I can be and I am happy to have gotten to know them.
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Apr 21, 2012 Juanita Rice rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Compared to her later book Middlemarch this is a simple story, and yet it has the basic distinctions of Eliot's writing, fully humanized people and events, and endings less cataclysmic than most eighteenth-century writing we associate with melodrama. It features a character who emerges from a kind of Dickensian misery to develop wisdom, dignity and great happiness. Silas Marner is a weaver, and as such is suspect in the countryside where he moves in a stunned trance after having been deeply wron...more Compared to her later book Middlemarch this is a simple story, and yet it has the basic distinctions of Eliot's writing, fully humanized people and events, and endings less cataclysmic than most eighteenth-century writing we associate with melodrama. It features a character who emerges from a kind of Dickensian misery to develop wisdom, dignity and great happiness. Silas Marner is a weaver, and as such is suspect in the countryside where he moves in a stunned trance after having been deeply wronged by a friend and a religious community in the city. His life seems doomed to sink into an even more abject misery year after year, until his hoarded savings, a treasure of gold which he had begun to substitute for every other kind of happiness, is stolen. What more can happen to him?

A mildly sympathetic young man of the upper classes, Godfrey Cass, also suffers a seemingly insoluble problem, having made a mess of his life by impulsively marrying a city woman addicted to opium. He reminds one of the weak Fred Vincy of Middlemarch in his refusal to face his problems, hoping against hope that something will "happen" to deliver him from the consequences of his irresponsibility. Godfrey yet hopes he will find a way yet to marry the admirable Nancy Lammeter, and tolerates being blackmailed by his frankly unlovable brother Dunstan, a character closer to Dickens' villains than even Middlemarch's villain Raffles. Dunstan, however, conveniently disappears under conditions which lead the ever-hopeful Godfrey to suspect he will not return. And the addict-wife dies unidentified in a winter trek to lay her claim and damnation on him. Thus, after waiting for some time, Godfrey does marry the woman he hoped for.

It is the eccentric loner Silas Marner who finds the dead woman and her surviving toddler. He persuades the rural community that he has a right to keep her from the poorhouse and raise her himself. Years pass: the child grows. And the tension is the question of how and when the girl's parentage will be discovered. Will the crows come home to roost? Will a father's crime demand punishment, or will it be visited on the girl, Eppie? Or Silas Marner?

A humane and touching, and surprising, little story, one of Eliot's first three novels,which are set in the "Midwest" of Victorian England, the English Midlands around Warwickshire: Adam Bede, 1859; The Mill on the Floss, 1860; and Silas Marner in 1861. Middlemarch, 1871-1872, was the last of the next three; it followed Romola in 1862-63 which depicted the Florence of Savonarola and the story of a Renaissance woman's choices, and Felix Holt the Radical of 1866. Daniel Deronda was her last in 1876.

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Apr 13, 2012 Trevor rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literature

This is an odd wee book. I quite enjoyed it, but it is rather more showing its age than Middlemarch did. And it is similar in some ways to Middlemarch, or seems to be in the middle if not at the start and the end. It has the feel of snapshots of small town life. But the main story seems really odd for someone who translated Feuerbach's Essence of Christianity. This is a tale of redemption, but also one of a special providence, and as such it is a very Christian work, I think.

The idea that a man...more

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Mar 05, 2012 Julia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Silas Marner is a lovely book. Silas was a good man and had a happy life in a little town in northern England, when his best friend committed an awful act of treachery against him, causing him to have to flee the area because of false accusations. He ended up in another little town as a stranger in looks, profession, and religion. He worked hard at his solitary trade and kept closely to himself, except when selling his product. Then his world fell apart again, brought about by the obnoxious son...more

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Jan 10, 2012 Isabella rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Gifts of a Child
Silas Marner, Book Review
By: Isabella Didier
Some people may say that money isn’t everything, but when you have nothing else to look forward to or to dedicate your life to it may become the only thing that matters. George Eliot, born Mary Ann Evans was one of the leading authors of the Victorian era she wrote seven novels one of them being Silas Marner. Her books were well known for their realism and psychological insight.
In the book Silas Marner an old weaver named Silas i...more The Gifts of a Child
Silas Marner, Book Review
By: Isabella Didier
Some people may say that money isn’t everything, but when you have nothing else to look forward to or to dedicate your life to it may become the only thing that matters. George Eliot, born Mary Ann Evans was one of the leading authors of the Victorian era she wrote seven novels one of them being Silas Marner. Her books were well known for their realism and psychological insight.
In the book Silas Marner an old weaver named Silas is forced to move from his house. While enduring small unusual struggles and fighting for his life and wealth; he finds a young infant girl, which changes his life forever. He adopts and raises her as his daughter; they grow with each other and learn deeper about each other, through their lives they gain an inseparable bond.
This novel being a classic had a very vast vocabulary, because of this it gave the book more depth and purpose also combining these complex words together added a lot of detail. I think it would be good if this book was revised or edited into a bit more simple version, to make it easier to comprehend on the reader’s part. I would add less outer information that made no sense at all and didn’t add to the book. I would also take out some of the random information, because that makes it harder to focus on the plot and basic scenes of the story. In order to understand this novel to the best of your ability you need to know that there are many extra characters that do not influence the book strongly also random topics are sometimes mentioned. The concept of this story was to show the importance of children and the happiness they invite into people’s lives. Coming from other aspects it means to never lose hope in finding happiness and friendship, even at your lowest points.
The message George Eliot was trying to portray was the message that children are some of the most valuable things God has to offer, that children are what makes the world- go-round. They add happiness and joy unlike any other. On a broader scale it means we are all blessed and found in certain circumstances for certain reasons which are usually unknown. It may be to bring happiness and joy, a desire or purpose. It also can mean to never lose hope in something you are doing or aspire to do. On the cover page it states: “A child, more than all other gifts that earth can offer to declining man brings hope with it, and forward- looking thoughts.”-Wordsworth
This book is a higher level of thought and comprehension because of this I would recommend this to college students, newlyweds and those who wish to partake of the sweet spirit of children and find out according to George Eliot how much they shape and mold you. I believe this novel was made for older audiences in other words not middle schoolers I think if I read this at an older age I would enjoy it more and gain a better understanding of the words and the concept/ plot of this novel. I encourage those to read who wish to read something more advanced and classic.

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Dec 30, 2011 Mary Ronan Drew rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Back in the fall of 1963 I was practice teaching at New Bedford High School. I didn't get to choose any of the books I taught and I was distressed that I had to teach Silas Marner. I had read it myself in high school not so long before and didn't like it at all and couldn't see the point of it all. Too sentimental, too stilted in language, too unrealistic.

But of course I sat down with the book and a notepad and started to do some close reading, as they taught us to do in those days. And a master...more

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Dec 09, 2011 Smita rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Quotes the resonate:

-"In that moment the mother's love pleaded for painful consciousness rather than oblivion--pleaded to be left in aching weariness, rather than to have the circling arms benumbed so that they could not feel the dear burden."
-"That quiet mutual gaze of a trusting husband and wife is like the first moment of rest or refuge from a great weariness or a great danger--not to be interfered with by speech or action which would distract the sensations from the fresh enjoyment of repose...more

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Nov 27, 2011 Benjamin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I liked the book, but I have a hard time putting my finger on why exactly that is the case. The characters are not easy to identify with, the plot is only moderately engaging, and Marner's redemption in and of itself is not very meaningful to me. Eliot's writing is superbly witty, however, and her story unfolds in an extraordinarily well-crafted manner. that being said, Part II felt like nothing so much as necessary wrapping up, with one notable exception in the big revelation,

my favorite quote:...more

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Aug 03, 2011 Brazos rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was my intro to George Eliot. The style and content certainly fit the times; a young man is betrayed by his best friend and framed for theft, whereupon he flees his hometown to an even smaller sleepy English farming community to continue his lonely miserable existence in peace, away from the hypocrisies of people or the Church. Somewhere along the line, his perfectly sealed shell of existence is infiltrated: first when his life savings are stolen from his home, and second, when he finds a s...more

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May 13, 2011 Tyler Jones rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

2011 marks 150 years since the publication of Silas Marner. I can see why some modern readers would find the pace slow, the language difficult, the moral message too strong and the story too neatly tied up. That will happen if you insist that a mid-19th century novel be judged by early-21st century standards. I don't understand why some people refuse to read a book on it's own terms, but insist that the book conform to their terms. It's like they live in a city with great restaurants that repres...more

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Apr 19, 2011 Carre rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The story of a simple weaver in an Olde Englande that's not quite as Merrie as some lore would have us believe. Silas, who has an affliction that would be recognized today as petit mal seizures, is suspected by the other townfolk of being possessed by the devil. Silas is unlucky enough to have a seizure as he sits vigil over a dying church deacon. When he comes out of his state of mental absentia, the church money is missing from the deacon's dresser. Silas is accused of stealing, and in a folk-...more

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Mar 31, 2011 Ana Mardoll rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Silas Marner / 0-553-21229-X

"Silas Marner" is a wonderful story of maintaining perspective in life - a tale extremely comparable to Charles Dicken's "A Christmas Carol". In the height of his youth, when he is healthy, happy, and totally in love, young Silas is betrayed, cast down, and taught the 'lesson' that only the criminal and avaricious get ahead in life. He moves to a new town and abandons any attempt to connect with the society around him, instead focusing on hoarding his wealth and lovin...more

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Jan 22, 2011 Ali rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the third time that I have read Silas Marner, and it remains for me an old favourite, and it was like revisiting an old friend whom I hadn't seen for some time, but with whom everything was just as it had always been. I read the first two thirds of the book on my ipod touch via the ibooks app. I had wanted to see what I thought of reading in this way before dismissing it out of hand. It is useful to always have a book with me - and so I have added a couple more free books to my ipod touc...more

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About George Eliot

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Mary Ann (Marian) Evans, better known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist. She was one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. Her novels, largely set in provincial England, are well known for their realism and psychological perspicacity.

She used a ma...more

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Quotes from Silas Marner

“Selfish- a judgment readily passed by those who have never tested their own power of sacrifice. ” — 99 people liked it

“Hurt, he'll never be hurt--he's made to hurt other people.” — 37 people liked it

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title link	preview: Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe
avg rating	preview: Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe Goodreads rating: 3.48 (23616 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/843250.Silas_Marner?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1178833048l/843250.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/843250.Silas_Marner?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe by George Eliot[/url]

Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe

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