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Silas Marner

George Eliot

Start date: February 1, 2022

Finish date: February 28, 2022

Discussion: Lesser Know Classics

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What Members Thought

May 11, 2018 Chrissie rated it liked it

Shelves: england, philo-psychol, victorian, classics, hf, audible-us, religion, 2018-read

Eliot’s prose style is difficult. It is wordy. Grasping the points she is trying to make is thwarted by her dated and convoluted prose. The sequence of plot events is not hard to follow, but when she switches to her "lecture-mode" what she is saying becomes difficult to understand. Eliot lectures, she preaches, she uses this book as a podium from which she pontificates her views on morality, on goodness, on superstition, on money, on social norms, on class and on religion. I was curious; I wante Eliot’s prose style is difficult. It is wordy. Grasping the points she is trying to make is thwarted by her dated and convoluted prose. The sequence of plot events is not hard to follow, but when she switches to her "lecture-mode" what she is saying becomes difficult to understand. Eliot lectures, she preaches, she uses this book as a podium from which she pontificates her views on morality, on goodness, on superstition, on money, on social norms, on class and on religion. I was curious; I wanted to understand her views on these topics. I took the difficult prose style as a challenge rather than a stumbling block. I was given a puzzle I wanted to solve; I wanted to understand her point of view, so I kept reading.

In describing how the book starts, I will also be giving one example of the questions that popped up and which I wanted to resolve. Why did Eliot set up the novel as she did? The story begins in northern England. The central protagonist, Silas Marner, is a member of a Calvinist community. He is accused of theft. His guilt is determined by the drawing of lots. Today, this seems utterly absurd, but it was not unusual in the England of the early 1800s, the era in which the book is set. We are told that the drawing of lots is advocated in the Bible. Judged guilty, he moves south to a rural village called Raveloe in Warwickshire. It is here the story comes to unfold. Why was the story set up in this fashion? Clearly the author was saying something with the story’s construction and with the drawing of the lots. What? The resolution of guilt by the drawing of lots and its connection to the Bible sent me to search internet. Do you see how one step led to another, how my search to understand why Eliot drew the story as she did became larger and more interesting?

Anyhow, look what I found among the diverse views expressed on the drawing of lots. I believe this represents Eliot’s view:

“A fool casts lots in order to make decisions, but the ‘wise’ and ‘prudent’ ‘avoid evil,’ ‘give heed to instruction,’ and ‘trust in the Lord.’ But even when unwise fools seek God’s will by resorting to the folly of dice throwing, God’s greater purposes will still be accomplished. In other words, stupid people making bad decisions in unGodly ways, like casting lots, won’t keep God from accomplishing His ultimate purpose. [For instance, the apostle’s hasty decision to cast lots in order to appoint Mathias to replace Judas (Acts 1:26) did not keep God from accomplishing his decision to call the apostle Paul (Gal. 1:11-12).] “ (Source: https://soteriology101.com/2016/04/24... )

The author’s convoluted prose became a puzzle to unravel. This in turn, led me to interesting information.

The story, the plotline--what shall I say about that? Do you want a feel-good story? Those in search of such will be pleased. This is not usually my cup of tea, but I have to admit to being happy at the end. The way the story is drawn is not infeasible, so I am willing to accept it.

As a book of historical fiction, the book is good. It draws with accuracy a time past. Superstitions, religious beliefs, class behavior, food and clothes and mannerisms are all well drawn. The characters are two dimensional, but typical of the era and their respective class.

The audiobook is VERY well narrated by Anna Bentinck. She uses different voices for different characters. All are well done. I think perhaps it is easier to listen to dated, wordy prose read by a good narrator than tackling the story in the paper format.

There is not a chance of my giving this more than three stars. The plotline is on the cutesy side. The wordy prose will be a stumbling block for many. The author’s preachiness is balanced by the down to earth sense of the views she is propounding. Once in a while she throws in a really good line, such as this—“It isn’t what a man says, it is the way he says it (that counts).” Eliot should have listened to her own advice! ...more

33 likes · Like · see review

Apr 25, 2018 Kelly_Hunsaker_reads ... rated it really liked it

Shelves: 1001-books, classics

I loved this book. The story of this sad and lonely man who finds love and redemption when he adopts a girl was just lovely to read.

Eliot took her protagonist from a tight knit and religious community to a solitary existence and then into the hearts of another community. She explored the theme of individual versus community so beautifully. At the time this book was written a person's village was extremely important; a person's identity was provided by the community. We see this most definitely w ...more

25 likes · Like · see review

Feb 11, 2010 Laura rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2010, victorians, fiction-19th-century, british-literature, audio-books, e-books, gutenberg, 1001-books-you-must-read-before-you, read-2013

From BBC Radio 4:
With the arrival of an orphan girl, the old recluse vows to change. Stars Michael Williams, Edward Woodward and Jenny Agutter.

Page 10:
If there is an angle who records the sorrows of men as well as their sins, he knows how many and deep are the sorrows that spring from false ideas for which no man is culpable.

Page 11:
Minds that have been unhinged from their old faith and love, have perhaps sought this Lethean influence of exile, in which the past becomes dreamy because its symbol ...more

5 likes · Like · see review