Summary: Chapter 13
Back at the Red House, the men dance and Godfrey stands
to the side of the parlor to admire Nancy. Godfrey suddenly notices
Silas Marner enter carrying Godfrey’s child, and, shocked, he walks
over with Mr. Lammeter and Mr. Crackenthorp to discover what has brought
Silas here. The Squire angrily questions Silas, asking him why he
has intruded. Silas says he is looking for the doctor because he
has found a woman, apparently dead, lying near his door. Knowing
that it is Molly, Godfrey is terrified that perhaps she is not in
fact dead. Silas’s appearance causes a stir, and the guests are
told simply that a woman has been found ill. When Mrs. Kimble suggests
that Silas leave the girl at the Red House, Silas refuses, claiming
that she came to him and is his to keep.
Godfrey insists on accompanying the doctor, Mr. Kimble,
to Silas’s cottage, and they pick up Dolly along the way to serve
as a nurse. Kimble’s title is “Mr.” rather than “Dr.” because he
has no medical degree and inherited his position as village doctor.
Godfrey waits outside the cottage in agony, realizing that if Molly
is dead he is free to marry Nancy, but that if Molly lives he has
to confess everything. When Kimble comes out, he declares that the
woman has been dead for hours. Godfrey insists on seeing her, claiming
to Kimble that he had seen a woman of a similar description the
day before. As he verifies that the woman is in fact Molly, Godfrey
sees Silas holding the child and asks him if he intends to take
the child to the parish. Silas replies that he wants to keep her,
since both he and she are alone, and without his gold he has nothing
else to live for. He implies a connection between his lost money,
“gone, I don’t know where,” and the baby, “come from I don’t know
where.” Godfrey gives Silas money to buy clothes for the little
girl, and then hurries to catch up with Mr. Kimble.
Godfrey tells Kimble that the dead woman is not the woman
he saw before. The two talk about the oddness of Silas wanting to
keep the child, and Kimble says that if he were younger he might
want the child for himself. Godfrey’s thoughts turn to Nancy, and
how he can now court her without dread of the consequences. He sees
no reason to confess his previous marriage to her, and vows that
he will see to it that his daughter is well cared for. Godfrey tells
himself that the girl might be just as happy without knowing him
as her father.
Summary: Chapter 14
Molly is given an anonymous pauper’s burial, but her death,
the narrator notes, will have great consequences for the inhabitants
of Raveloe. The villagers are surprised by Silas’s desire to keep
the child, and once again they become more sympathetic toward him. Dolly
is particularly helpful, offering advice, giving him clothing outgrown
by her own children, and helping to bathe and care for the girl.
Silas is grateful but makes clear that he wishes to learn to do everything
himself, so that the little girl will be attached to him from the
start. Silas remains amazed by the girl’s arrival and continues
to think that in some way his gold has turned into the child.
Dolly persuades Silas to have the child baptized, though
at first Silas does not really know what the ceremony means. Dolly
tells him to come up with a name for her and he suggests Hephzibah,
the name of his mother and sister. Dolly is skeptical, saying that
it doesn’t sound like a “christened name” and is a little long.
Silas surprises her by responding that it is in fact a name from
the Bible. He adds that his little sister was called Eppie for short.
Eppie and Silas are baptized together, and Silas finds
that the child brings him closer to the other villagers. Unlike
his gold, which exacerbated his isolation and did not respond to
his attentions, young Eppie is endlessly curious and demanding.
Her desires are infectious, and as she hungrily explores the world
around her, so does Silas. Whereas his gold had driven him to stay
indoors and work endlessly, Eppie tempts Silas away from his work
to play outside. In the spring and summer, when it is sunny, Silas
takes Eppie to the fields of flowers beyond the stone-pit and sits
and watches her play. Silas’s growth mirrors Eppie’s, and he begins
to explore memories and thoughts he has kept locked away for many
years.
