Silas Marner - A
simple, honest, and kindhearted weaver. After losing faith in both
God and his fellow man, Silas lives for fifteen years as a solitary
miser. After his money is stolen, his faith and trust are restored
by his adopted daughter, Eppie, whom he lovingly raises.
Read an
in-depth analysis of Silas Marner.
Godfrey Cass - The
eldest son of Squire Cass. Godfrey is good-natured but selfish and
weak-willed. He knows what is right but is unwilling to pay the
price for obeying his conscience.
Read an
in-depth analysis of Godfrey Cass.
Eppie - A
girl whom Silas Marner eventually adopts. Eppie is the biological
child of Godfrey Cass and Molly Farren, Godfrey’s secret wife. Eppie
is pretty and spirited, and loves Silas unquestioningly.
Nancy Lammeter - The
object of Godfrey’s affection and his eventual wife. Nancy is pretty,
caring, and stubborn, and she lives her life by a code of rules
that sometimes seems arbitrary and uncompromising.
Read an
in-depth analysis of Nancy Lammeter.
Dunstan Cass - Godfrey’s
younger brother. Dunsey, as he is usually called, is cruel, lazy,
and unscrupulous, and he loves gambling and drinking.
Squire Cass - The
wealthiest man in Raveloe. The Squire is lazy, self-satisfied, and
short-tempered.
Dolly Winthrop - The wheelwright’s wife who helps Silas with Eppie.
Dolly later becomes Eppie’s godmother and mother-in-law. She is
kind, patient, and devout.
Molly Farren - Godfrey’s
secret wife and Eppie’s mother. Once pretty, Molly has been destroyed
by her addictions to opium and alcohol.
William Dane - Silas’s
proud and priggish best friend from his childhood in Lantern Yard.
William Dane frames Silas for theft in order to bring disgrace upon
him, then marries Silas’s fiancée, Sarah.
Mr. Macey - Raveloe’s
parish clerk. Mr. Macey is opinionated and smug but means well.
Aaron Winthrop - Dolly’s
son and Eppie’s eventual husband.
Priscilla Lammeter - Nancy’s homely and plainspoken sister. Priscilla
talks endlessly but is extremely competent at everything she does.
Sarah - Silas’s
fiancée in Lantern Yard. Sarah is put off by Silas’s strange fit
and ends up marrying William Dane after Silas is disgraced.
Mr. Lammeter - Nancy’s
and Priscilla’s father. Mr. Lammeter is a proud and morally uncompromising
man.
Jem Rodney - A
somewhat disreputable character and a poacher. Jem sees Silas in
the midst of one of Silas’s fits. Silas later accuses Jem of stealing
his gold.
Mr. Kimble - Godfrey’s
uncle and Raveloe’s doctor. Mr. Kimble is usually an animated conversationalist
and joker, but becomes irritable when he plays cards. He has no medical
degree and inherited the position of village physician from his
father.
Mr. Dowlas - The
town farrier, who shoes horses and tends to general livestock diseases.
Mr. Dowlas is a fiercely contrarian person, much taken with his
own opinions.
Mr. Snell - The
landlord of the Rainbow, a local tavern. By
nature a conciliatory person, Mr. Snell always tries to settle arguments.
The peddler - An
anonymous peddler who comes through Raveloe some time before the
theft of Silas’s gold. The peddler is a suspect in the theft because
of his gypsylike appearance—and for lack of a better candidate.
Bryce - A
friend of both Godfrey and Dunsey. Bryce arranges to buy Wildfire,
Dunsey’s horse.
Miss Gunns - Sisters
from a larger nearby town who come to the Squire’s New Year’s dance.
The Misses Gunn are disdainful of Raveloe’s rustic ways, but are
nonetheless impressed by Nancy Lammeter’s beauty.
Sally Oates - Silas’s
neighbor and the wheelwright’s wife. Silas eases the pain of Sally’s
heart disease and dropsy with a concoction he makes out of foxglove.
