Silas Marner分析

Silas Marner 1.Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe is a dramatic novel by George Eliot. Her third novel, it was first published in 1861. A story of a reclusive weaver, in its strong realism it represents Eliot's attitude to religion. 2.[edit] Plot summary The novel is set in the early years of the 19th century. Silas Marner is a member of a small Calvinist(加尔文主义信徒) congregation in Lantern Yard, Northern England. He is accused of stealing the congregation's funds while sitting with a very ill elder of the group. Two clues are given against him: a pocket-knife and the discovery of the bag formerly containing the money in his own house. Silas says that he last used the knife to cut some string for his friend William, who leads the campaign against him. Silas is proclaimed guilty and the woman he was to marry casts him off, and later marries William. With his life shattered and his heart broken, he leaves Lantern Yard and the city. Marner settles near the village of Raveloe, where he lives as a recluse, existing only for work and the gold. When it is stolen by Dunstan ('Dunsey') Cass, a dissolute younger son of Squire Cass, the town's leading landowner, Silas sinks into a deep gloom, despite the villagers' attempts to aid him. Dunsey disappears, and no association is made between him and the neighbor .Godfrey Cass, Dunsey's elder brother harbours a secret. He is married to, but estranged from, Molly, an opium-addicted woman of low birth. This secret threatens to destroy Godfrey's blooming relationship with Nancy, a young woman of higher social and moral standing. On a winter's night, Molly tries to make her way into town with her two-year-old child to prove that she is Godfrey's wife and ruin him. On the way she takes opium, becomes disoriented and sits down to rest in the snow, child in arm. The child wanders from her mother's still body into Silas' house. Upon discovering the child, Silas follows her tracks in the snow and discovers the woman dead. Godfrey also arrives at the scene, but resolves to tell no one that she was his wife and the child is his. Silas decides to keep the child and names her Eppie, Eppie changes Silas' life completely. Symbolically, Silas has been robbed of his material gold but has it returned to him in the golden-haired Eppie. Godfrey Cass marries Nancy, but continues to conceal the existence of his first marriage - and child - from her, while continuing to aid Marner in caring for Eppie with occasional financial gifts. Sixteen years pass, and Eppie grows up to be the pride of the town with a very strong bond with Silas, who through her has found inclusion and purpose in life. Eventually, the skeleton of Dunstan Cass - still clutching Silas' gold - is found at the bottom of the stone quarry he lives nearby, and the money is returned to Silas. Shocked by this revelation, and coming to the realization of his own conscience, Godfrey confesses to Nancy that Molly was his first wife and that Eppie is his child. The couple, who are childless, go to Silas and reveal this to him, asking that Silas give Eppie up to their care. However, the decision falls to Eppie, who has no desire to be raised as a gentleman's daughter if it means forsaking Silas. but Silas contentedly resigns himself to the fact that he now leads a happier existence among his family and friends. At the end, Eppie marries a local boy, Aaron, son of Dolly Winthrop, and both of them move into Silas' newly enlarged house, courtesy of Godfrey. The fruits of Silas' actions have borne joyful fruit as the extended family celebrates their happiness. 3.[edit] Characters Silas Marner – a weaver and miser He is cast out of Lantern Yard by his friend William Dane,and accumulates a small fortune only to have it stolen by Dunstan Cass. Despite these misfortunes, he finds his faith and virtue restored by the arrival of young Eppie. (protagonist) Godfrey Cass – eldest son of the local squire, [skwa??] n. <英>地主;乡绅 who is being constantly blackmailed by his dissolute brother Dunstan over his secret marriage to Molly. When Molly dies, he feels relief, but in time realises he must account for his deceit to those he has wronged. Dunstan Cass – Godfrey's greedy brother with a penchant for alcohol and manipulation, and the real culprit in the theft of a bag of gold that results in Silas' exile from Lantern Yard. Molly Farren – Godfrey's first (and secret) wife, who has a child by him. She dies in the attempt to reveal their relationship and ruin Godfrey, leaving the child, Eppie, to wander into Silas' life. Eppie – child of Molly and Godfrey, who is cared for by Silas after the death of her mother. Mischievous in her early years, she grows into a radiant young girl devoted to her adoptive father. Nancy Lammeter – Godfrey Cass' second wife, a morally and socially respectable young woman. Aaron Winthrop – son of Dolly, who marries Eppie at the end of the novel. Dolly Winthrop – mother to Aaron; godmother to Eppie. Sympathetic to Silas. William Dane – William Dane is Silas’ former best friend, who looked after and respected Silas in Lantern Yard. William ultimately betrays Silas by framing him for theft and marrying Silas’ fiancée Sarah after Silas is exiled from Lantern Yard. Sarah – Silas' fiancée in Lantern Yard, who subsequently marries his treacherous friend William Dane. [edit] Major themes