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On George Eliot’s Silas Marner

            George Eliot’s Silas Marner is one of the classic tales that tackles the position of an isolated man who finds love through a fateful event.  It can be observed there are a number of contrasting elements in the novel.  The story starts with Silas current dreary condition: a weaver who does not make friends in the town he lives in, Raveloe, and the impressions of the townspeople on him, which mainly associates him the devil.  Hence, the interesting aspect about this strange man may have been due to his past, and evidently, Silas’ life before Raveloe contrasted with his current condition.

            Through the novel’s imagery it seems as though Silas is initially shrouded in the dark; he is always described as “pale”, yet at the beginning of the novel he is categorized as among those who are “dark against the early winter sunset”[yc1] .  Moreover, although he is associated with the “Evil One” a symbol of darkness, Silas, interestingly is not as interested to redeem himself in the eyes of those who live in Raveloe.  The stark contrast of his life took place in his past, when he was living a life not as dark: he was a member of a religious congregation and he was engaged to be married when he still lived in Lantern Yard.  In Lantern Yard he found the light in God, which Silas can not seem to find in Raveloe.  Silas found the comfort of his home, at night, everytime he holds his accumulated wealth from his work, and despite his condition and his environment, Silas’ hearth remains on fire.

            However, the town would also contain people with shady intentions and their own state of decline and trouble that Godfrey is also going through with regards to the money arrangement he had with Dunsey; as described in the novel[yc2] : “The fading grey light fell dimly on the walls […] signs of a domestic life destitute of any hallowing charm, with which the look of gloomy vexation on Godfrey's blond face was in sad accordance”.

            However, despite the trouble Silas went through when his gold was stolen, the darkness that he found himself in again would take a turn when the orphaned child Eppie found a moving light and found herself in Silas’ doorstep:

That bright living thing must be caught; and in an instant the child had slipped on all-fours, and held out one little hand to catch the gleam. But the gleam would not be caught in that way, and now the head was held up to see where the cunning gleam came from. It came from a very bright place [yc3] […]

            This is an important turning point in the novel which would start to make changes in Silas’ and even the child’s life.  This shows how darkness has shrouded both the lives of Silas and Eppie, but Silas’ continuous light would become integral to the young child’s consciousness to follow.  Silas’ lost his trust towards his environment because of the robbery whereas the child could only trust the environment because she’s all alone.  The child would go to his hearth, and when Silas saw her he thought it was gold, but it was the child sleeping.  At that point, Eppie would start to become a light in Silas’ life, and Silas would also become a light in hers; throughout the novel Silas and Eppie will continue to face challenges but the light in each other’s hope will lead them to a much better life.