full title
Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe
author
George Eliot
type of work
Novel
genre
Victorian novel, novel of manners, pastoral fiction
language
English
time and place written
1860–61, London
date of first publication
1861
publisher
William Blackwood and Sons
narrator
An anonymous omniscient speaker with no part in the
plot
point of view
The narrator speaks in the omniscient third person,
describing what the characters are seeing, feeling, and thinking
and what they are failing to see, feel, and think. The narrator
uses the first person singular “I,” but at no point enters the story
as a character. Near the beginning, a personal story unrelated to
the action of the novel is relayed to provide corroborating evidence for
a generalization, hinting that the narrator is a real person.
tone
Morally uncompromising, slightly condescending, but nevertheless
deeply sympathetic to characters’ failings
tense
Past
setting (time)
The “early years” of the nineteenth century
setting (place)
Raveloe, a fictional village in the English countryside
protagonist
Silas Marner
major conflict
Silas Marner lives for a long time without any connection
to other human beings or his youthful faith in God. Though he does not
struggle to find purpose and connection in his life, the novel is
about his recovery of purpose, faith, and community through his
finding Eppie.
rising action
Silas spends fifteen years in relative isolation, amassing
a hoard of gold coins that is then stolen by Dunstan Cass.
climax
Eppie appears in Silas’s cottage, and he decides to
adopt her.
falling action
When Godfrey fails to claim Eppie as his daughter and
marries Nancy, Silas raises Eppie. Silas’s love and care for Eppie
make him a revered member of the Raveloe community, ending his isolation.
Sixteen years later, Godfrey admits that he is Eppie’s father and
tries to adopt her, but she elects to stay with Silas.
themes
The individual versus the community; character as destiny;
the interdependence of faith and community
motifs
The natural world; domesticity; class
symbols
Silas’s loom; Lantern Yard; the hearth
foreshadowing
Silas opening his door to look outside as Eppie toddles
toward his cottage; Mr. Macey telling Silas his money will be returned
to him; Dunsey claiming that he always lands on his feet.
